CHIASMOS: The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source [video]

“The Future of the South African Dream: Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and the South African Elections” (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by South African author and journalist Mark Gevisser. Mark Gevisser is currently The Nation's Southern African correspondent. In South Africa, his work has appeared in the Mail & Guardian, the Sunday Independent, the Sunday Times and many magazines and periodicals. Internationally, he has written widely on South African politics, culture and society, in publications ranging from Vogue and the New York Times to Foreign Affairs and Art in America. Read Mark Gevisser's featured CIS article connecting Barack Obama's election and the legacy of liberation in South Africa... From the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series. Cosponsored by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT), the Political Science Department, the African Studies Workshop, and the Human Rights Program.

“Reconceptualizing the Question: Intervention Strategies” (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:00:00 -0500

A presentation and discussion with University of Chicago Professors Roger Myerson, Department of Economics & Marshall Sahlins, Department of Anthropology. Roger Myerson: "A Field Manual for the Cradle of Civilization" Marshall Sahlins: "On the Anthropology of the Counterinsurgency Field Manual" Part of the April 2009 conference on "Reconsidering American Power". In the STSS Workshop's 2008 conference on "Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency", participants analyzed and interrogated new relations among American power, geopolitics, military interventions and anthropological practice. This year, the issues were broadened to include the future of American power and the social sciences generally. "Reconsidering American Power" asks a difficult, timely question: In the face of two ongoing hot wars and after a potentially transformative election, what now? Organized by The Workshop on Science, Technology, Society, and the State, and the Center for International Studies.

Alash Ensemble Concert (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:00:00 -0500

A performance by the Alash Ensemble at International House. Tuvan throat-singing and traditional Tuvan instruments and music. Sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.

"Recent Developments in Indonesia's Forests: Revival, Resurgence, or Business as Usual?" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:00:00 -0500

A Program on the Global Environment Distinguished Lecture by Lesley Potter, Associate Professor, Department of Human Geography, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. Despite the global paradigm shift from centralized to decentralized forest management, this process has been slow to develop in "forest rich" Indonesia. Although both deforestation and forest degradation have continued at a high level, the Ministry of Forestry has been reluctant to provide communities with a legal role in managing their forests, especially those falling within the permanent forest estate. Forest tenure remains a huge problem, with the rights of traditional or "adat" communities subordinated to those of the state. This lecture examines the continuing role of the Ministry, especially in relation to domestic forests.

"Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Rashid Khalidi. Rashid Khalidi is Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies and Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, and is among the foremost U.S. historians of the modern Middle East. He is the author of numerous books on the region--several written during his many years on the faculty at the University of Chicago--including Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness; Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East; and The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Mexican Oil and Gas Policies" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:30:00 -0600

A presentation by Adrián Lajous, Former Pemex CEO. Adrián Lajous is Chairman of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, President of Petrométrica, SC and non-Executive Director of Schlumberger, Ternium, Trinity Industries and Grupo Petroquímico Beta. He is senior energy advisor to McKinsey & Company. In 2003-04 he was a Senior Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and a Visiting Fellow in the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame during the first quarter of 2005. In 1994 Adrián Lajous was appointed Director General of Pemex (CEO) and Chairman of the boards of the Pemex group of operating companies. He stepped down from this position in December 1999 after 29 years in public service. Adrián Lajous taught at El Colegio de México (1971-76), joined the Ministry of Energy in 1977, where he was appointed Director General for Energy. In 1983 he moved on to Pemex where he held a succession of key executive positions: Executive Coordinator for International Trade, Corporate Director of Planning, Corporate Director for Operations (COO) and Director for Refining and Marketing. He also served on the Board of Repsol-YPF. Mr. Lajous holds degrees in Economics from the National University of Mexico and Cambridge University. Event organized by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies and co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies.

"Dignity and Defiance, Stories from Bolivia's Challenge to Globalization" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by authors Jim Shultz & Melissa Crane Draper. (Moderated by Jerome McDonnell, host of Chicago Public Radio's Worldview.) Author Jim Shultz is founder and Executive Director of the San Francisco based Democracy Center and has lived and worked in Bolivia for much of the past decade, chronicling grassroots movements to control exploitation of Bolivia's natural resources, from water resources to oil and natural gas. With Melissa Crane Draper and other Democracy Center affiliates, Shultz places Bolivians' struggles in a broader context of Latin America's experiences with forces of globalization. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Music and Dance Rhythms from the Balkans" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:00:00 -0600

A demonstration by John Kuo, Director of the Chicago ensemble Balkanske Igre. Presented in Angelina Ilieva's class on Balkan Folklore. Co-sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, and the University of Chicago Arts Planning Council.

"Challenges in Latin America: The Importance of Increased Economic and Political Integration" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by Ambassador Charles S. Shapiro, Senior Coordinator for the Western Hemisphere Free Trade Agreements Task Force, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Ambassador Charles Shapiro was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (2005-2007) and U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela (February 2002 until August 2004). In addition to his posting as Ambassador to Venezuela, he has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassies in Santiago, Chile and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Other overseas postings include El Salvador and Denmark. His Washington assignments include Director of the Office of Cuban Affairs as well as various assignments in Public Affairs, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and Western Hemisphere Affairs. Ambassador Shapiro was the recipient of a Presidential Meritorious Service Award in 2005. Event Organized by the Center for Latin American Studies, co-sponsored by the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

"Crime and Responsibility: War, Indiscriminate Bombing, and Mass Killing" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:30:00 -0600

A talk by Yuki Tanaka, Professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute. Dr. Tanaka examines the question of the criminality of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the responsibility of American political and military leaders who were closely involved in the decision-making and execution of the order to drop the bombs. Criminality is examined in accordance with international law effective at the time that the bombs were dropped and in the light of the Charter of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. The lecture also examines the history and present situation of indiscriminate aerial bombing of civilian populations. It examines how the use of this tactic started, what kind of military logic was used to justify it, and why it is still being widely sanctioned despite the fact that large numbers of civilians are repeatedly victimized in various war-torn regions of the world. It further explores how we should utilize the result of the International Peoples' Tribunal of Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to increase understanding of the fact that killing civilians is a crime against humanity, regardless of the asserted military justification. The Center for East Asian Studies 2009 Najita Distinguished Lecture.

"The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do to Stop It" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by Antonia Juhasz, author, policy expert, and activist. Antonia Juhasz is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies, a fellow with Oil Change International, and a senior analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus. The author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time (2006), Juhasz has also written extensively on various aspects of globalization. Her articles and commentary on politics and policy have appeared in New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Petroleum Review Magazine, In These Times, and Washington Post, among other sources. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Terror in Mumbai: Reflections on the Aftermath" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:30:00 -0600

A panel discussion with Steven Wilkinson, Martha Nussbaum, Tarini Bedi, Robert Pape, and Manan Ahmed. On November 26, 2008, the world watched while terror attacks paralyzed Mumbai, India's financial capital and largest city. Mumbai bounced back, but the bold, new strategies of the attacks shifted the discourse of the global war on terror. The panelists discuss the consequences of terror in Mumbai for the region and the world. Introductory remarks by Steven Wilkinson. Steven Wilkinson is an Associate Professor of Political Science and an expert in colonization, ethnic conflict and nationalism in India. Martha Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics and an expert on rights, justice and democracy. Tarini Bedi is a cultural anthropologist who conducted her research with the Shiv Sena party in Mumbai and is the Associate Director of the South Asia Language and Area Center and the Committee on Southern Asian Studies. Robert Pape is a Professor of Political Science specializing in international security affairs and the author of Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. Manan Ahmed, recently minted PhD in the history of Islam in South Asia, blogs on international affairs at Chapati Mystery with a focus on media and Pakistan. This event was presented by the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, and the Center for International Studies, and co-sponsored by the International House Global Voices Lecture Program.

"The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:00:00 -0600

Writer, film-maker, and leading figure of the international left Tariq Ali speaks about Pakistan, Afghanistan and the future of U.S. involvement in the region. Ali's new book, "The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power", weighs the prospects of those contending for power in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, and demonstrates Pakistan's unique influence on the emergence of a secure world or global conflagration.

"Challenges for the New Administration in Iraq and Afghanistan" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by Juan Cole. Juan Cole will discuss the future of U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan beyond the November presidential elections. Juan Cole is Richard P. Mitchell Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He has written extensively about Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and South Asia. He studies and writes about contemporary Islamic movements, whether mainstream or radical, whether Sunni and Salafi or Shi`ite. His media and press interviews since September 11, 2001 and throughout the war in Iraq have received worldwide attention. His most recent book is "Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East." From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"India: The Emerging Giant" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by Arvind Panagariya. Arvind Panagariya discusses his new book, "India: The Emerging Giant", a history of the economic development of India since independence and the "definitive book on the Indian economy" according to Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria. Panagariya is Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy, International and Public Affairs, and Economics at Columbia University. He is also a former chief economist at the Asian Development Bank and an adviser to several multilateral financial institutions including the IMF and the WTO. The author or editor of several books and numerous scholarly articles, Panagariya also writes a monthly column in the Economic Times, India's top financial daily, and contributes to multiple media outlets including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, India Today, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and CNN (Asia). From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Prescription for Survival: A Doctor's Journey to End Nuclear Madness" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Bernard Lown, MD. Physician, author, and Nobel Prize-winning peace activist Bernard Lown discusses his new memoir, "Prescription for Survival: A Doctor's Journey to End Nuclear Madness". The inventor of the defibrillator, Dr. Lown was also a peace and anti-nuclear activist, participating in the founding of Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1960 and of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1981. In 1985, IPPNW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Lown is currently Professor of Cardiology Emeritus at the Harvard School of Public Health. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Taiwan's New Approach: Opportunities and Challenges for President Ma Ying-jeou's Government" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:00:00 -0500

Introduction and Welcome: Professor Dali L. Yang, University of Chicago. Panel 1: Taiwan's Participations in International Affairs (Chair: Professor Te-Yu Wang, Illinois State University) -- Professor Chong-Pin Lin, Tamkang University, "Sightful Carrot and Shrouded Stick: Beijing's Adjusted Taiwan Policy" (Discussant: Professor John J. Mearsheimer, University of Chicago); Professor Shelley Rigger, Davidson College, "The Domestic Politics of Taiwan's Foreign Policy" (Discussant: Professor Tun-jen Cheng, The College of William and Mary). Part of a free conference sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, and International House.

"The U.S. and R.O.C.: A Fresh Start" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:30:00 -0500

Keynote speech by Deputy Representative Ta-tung Jacob Chang, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. Part of a free conference sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, and International House.

"Putin's Labyrinth: What Russia Won in Georgia; Why the U.S. Will Continue to Lose" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Steve LeVine. Russia is once again front and center in the wake it's invasion of Georgia and effective re-assertion of dominance in the Caucasus region. What levers can the U.S. and Europe assert against Putin's aggression? What is Russia's political calculus and how can we change the inputs into their equation? Are there key insights into the Chechen wars and Putin's post-presidency plans that can help us visualize the future? BusinessWeek foreign affairs correspondent and author Steve LeVine discusses Russia's objectives, advantages and vulnerabilities in Georgia and the Caucasus region in the wake of the recent clash in Georgia. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Hugo Chavez y la Realidad Venezolana de Hoy" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Teodoro Petkoff, prominent Venezuelan politician, journalist and economist. From the Center for Latin American Studies.

"Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Jonathan Mahler and Neal Katyal. In his latest book, The Challenge: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power, Jonathan Mahler chronicles the challenge to the assertion of presidential power in the designation of enemy combatants. Written with the cooperation of the attorneys who represented Hamdan, Lt. Commander Charles Swift and Georgetown constitutional law scholar Neal Katyal, Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld is the inside story of the historic Supreme Court case and its effect on executive authority and the rule of law. Mahler and Katyal appear together to discuss the book, the case, and the future of presidential power. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:00:00 -0500

The growing instability and resurgence of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan pose a great threat to U.S. interests and global security. In his new book, "Descent into Chaos", Ahmed Rashid examines the rising insurgency, booming opium trade, and weak governance in Afghanistan, concluding that U.S. strategy in the region has been a complete failure. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He was the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, for 22 years until the magazine was recently closed down. He presently writes for the Daily Telegraph, London, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Review of Books, BBC Online, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, and academic and foreign affairs journals. He appears regularly on international TV and radio such as CNN and BBC World Service. He is the author of three books, including the best sellers Taliban and most recently Jihad. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:00:00 -0500

"Our government can make you disappear." Those were the words Steven Wax never imagined he would hear himself say. In his twenty-nine years as a public defender, Wax had never had to warn a client that he or she might be taken away to a military brig, or worse, a "black site", one of our country's dreaded secret prisons. How had our country come to this? The disappearance of people happens in places ruled by tyrants, military juntas, fascist strongmen?governments with such contempt for the rule of law that they strip their citizens of all rights. But in America? "Kafka Comes to America" reveals where and how our civil liberties have been eroded in favor of a false security, and how each of us can make a difference. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:00:00 -0500

In his book "Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War", Jimmie Briggs book provides a vitally important perspective on the global tragedy of child soldiers. More than 250,000 children have fought in three dozen conflicts around the world. From the "little bees"" of Colombia to the "baby brigades" of Sri Lanka, the subject of child soldiers is changing the face of terrorism. Briggs was awarded the John Bartlow Martin Award from Northwestern University for a story about the Gulf War's impact on children, which became a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Briggs is a New York-based writer, teacher, and freelance journalist. He has written for the Washington Post, The Village Voice, El Pais, Emerge, Vibe, LIFE, and The New York Times Magazine. He served as an advisor to the movie "Blood Diamond", and is currently completing a book on rape as a weapon of war. Briggs is the first African American to be appointed as Goodwill Ambassador and Special Envoy for Children and Armed Conflict by WAFUNIF at the UN. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

PGE Distinguished Lecture: "Is Development Sustainable? Not Even Close" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Robert Repetto. Is development sustainable? Certainly not the way the world is now going about it. Major trends are heading straight toward ecological and human disasters and if they are not changed and changed soon, development efforts will fail for billions of people, comprising mainly the world?s most vulnerable populations. Climate change, water scarcities, pollution, population growth, and growing pressures on natural resources that are already extremely stressed reinforce one another in raising these vulnerabilities. Is disaster inevitable? Of course not. But a change in direction is essential and bringing about that change will require significant, even drastic, changes in economic, political, and social patterns. The institutional, market, and political failures that have brought the world to this point will have to be addressed and reformed. If development is to be made sustainable, business as usual is not an option. Robert Repetto is Professor in the Practice of Economics and Sustainable Development at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. This event was the keynote address for "Is Development Sustainable?", a conference in honor of Ted Steck's retirement.

"Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They are Making" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0500

"Superclass" provides the first in-depth examination of the connections between the global communities of leaders who are at the helm of every major enterprise on the planet and control its greatest wealth. It is an unprecedented examination of the trends within the superclass, which are likely to alter our politics, our institutions, and the shape of the world in which we live. Rothkopf is also the widely acclaimed author of "Running the World: The Inside Story of the National Security Council and the Architects of American Power". He is currently a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a teacher of international affairs at Columbia University's Graduate School of International and Public Affairs. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Marda Dunsky, former Arab affairs reporter for the Jerusalem Post and editor on the national/foreign desk of the Chicago Tribune. As world attention is renewed and refocused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the sixtieth anniversary of its seminal year of 1948, Marda Dunsky takes a close look at how more than two dozen major American print and broadcast outlets have reported the conflict in recent years. Marda Dunsky has developed and taught a unique media literacy course on American mainstream reporting of the Arab and Muslim worlds at Northwestern University and DePaul University. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"The Next Great Clash" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by Michael Levin. In The Next Great Clash, Michael Levin presents evidence of a global political order on the verge of a historic power shift from West to East. A reemerging China is the only nation with the latent capacity to challenge American hegemony, and Levin demonstrates that such challenges to the status quo usually lead to war. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Muslim Peace Building in Conflict Regions of Southeast Asia" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A historical overview of the situation in southern Thailand and southern Philippines is presented, followed by a discussion on peace building efforts in conflict regions. Panelists give special attention to welfare and security issues in these areas. The panel is moderated by Kikue Hamayotsu (Ph.D., Department of Political Science, Northern Illinois University). Panelists include: Kriya Lanputeh (Yala Islamic University), Abdulghoni Suetair (Prince of Songkla University), Pattama Hamingma (Asian Muslim Action Network and Asian Resource Foundation), Shahana Abdulwahid (Institute for Islamic Studies, University of the Philippines), Minalang Barapantao (Mindanao State University). From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

Genocide Conference Panel 3: “Confronting Darfur" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:00:00 -0500

This panel addressed the conflict in the Darfur region of The Sudan and the allegations of genocide; the adequacy of the international response to the crises and proffer solutions to end the conflict. Vincent O. Nmehielle, Principal Defender of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Associate Professor of Law, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) School of Law, Johannesburg, South Africa; Samuel Totten, Senior Researcher (Fulbright Scholar), National University of Rwanda; Genocide Scholar, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Ambassador David Scheffer, Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law, Director, Center for International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago; former U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for War Crimes Issues Part of a two-day conference on "Genocide: Crimes Unpunished, Lessons Unlearned."

Genocide Conference Panel 2: “Prevention and Response" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0500

This panel will examine the response of home and international communities to acts of genocide. The panel will focus on a variety of responses including legal action, both national and international, social action, and memorialization. It will analyze how these various responses are used to try to stop genocide as it is occurring, restore justice, and prevent genocide in the future. Hasia R. Diner, Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History, Department of Hebrew & Judaic Studies, New York University; Gerald Gahima, Senior Justice Adviser, Australian Agency for International Development, East Timor; former Judge, Bosnia War Crimes Panel; former Vice President, Supreme Court of Rwanda; Chuck Meyers, Senior Program Associate, Facing History and Ourselves; Kathleen Z. Young, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University Part of a two-day conference on "Genocide: Crimes Unpunished, Lessons Unlearned."

Genocide Conference Panel 1: “Defining the 'Crime without a Name'" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0500

This panel will compare various instances of genocide and explore the possibility of developing models that can be used to prevent the occurrence of genocide. Marie Fleming, Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University; Juan Mendez, President, International Center for Transitional Justice, New York, & former Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide; Ervin Staub, Director Emeritus, Psychology of Peace and the Prevention of Violence, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA Part of a two-day conference on "Genocide: Crimes Unpunished, Lessons Unlearned."

Francis Deng: Genocide Conference Keynote Address (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0500

Keynote address by Ambassador Francis Deng, Research Professor, Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and Director of the SAIS Center for Displacement Studies; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary General for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. Part of a two-day conference on "Genocide: Crimes Unpunished, Lessons Unlearned."

Roksonaki Concert (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:00:00 -0500

A smash hit at the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Roksonaki pioneered the creation of a unique sound that integrates ancient Kazakh instrumentation with contemporary rock and jazz using motifs drawn from Eurasia's indigenous religious traditions. This tour gives lucky audiences an opportunity to learn about Central Asian culture directly from the source. A program of the Central Asian Cultural Exchange, with collaboration from the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States of America. Generously supported by Air Astana, Lancaster Group, Kazakh-American Business Association, Keleshek Kazakhstan Public Foundation, Turkish Airways

"The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:30:00 -0500

A talk by Parag Khanna, Director of the Global Governance Initiative of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation. In "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order", Parag Khanna examines the intersection of geopolitics and globalization to argue that America's dominant moment has been suddenly replaced by a geopolitical marketplace wherein the European Union and China compete with the United States to shape world order on their own terms. Mr. Khanna has worked previously at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, where he specialized in scenario and risk planning, and at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he conducted research on terrorism and conflict resolution. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"The Closing of the ICTY and its Effect on Justice and Accountability in the Former Yugoslavia (video)"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:00:00 -0600

This panel explores how the impending closing of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will affect justice and accountability in the Balkans including: the integration of international human rights standards on a national level, the challenges and opportunities confronting the domestic courts and the role of the media/civil society. Distinguished panelists included: M. Cherif Bassiouni, Distinguished Research Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law and President Emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute; Gordana Igric, Regional Network Director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN); Judge Shireen Avis Fisher, International Judge to the War Crimes Chamber of Bosnia & Herzegovina. From the World Beyond the Headlines series. Co-Sponsored by the Center for Eastern European and Russian/Eurasian Studies and the Human Rights Program in partnership with Amnesty International USA Program for International Justice and Accountability.

"The Sixth Anniversary of the Gujarat Riots" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by Shabnam Hashmi, Managing Trustee and Executive Secretary of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) in New Delhi, India. Presented with Professor Steven Wilkinson and Mona Mehta of the University of Chicago. The Gujarat violence was a series of communal riots that took place in the Indian State of Gujarat from February to May 2002, involving violence between Hindus and Muslims. Official estimates of the death toll tabled in the Indian parliament reported 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus killed, as well as 223 people missing and 2,548 injured. Co-Sponsored by the South Asia Language and Area Center and the Committee on Southern Asian Studies.

Displacement Week: "Forum on the University of Chicago and Hyde Park/Kenwood/Woodlawn" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:00:00 -0600

A panel discussion with Susan Cambell: University of Chicago Office of Community Affairs; Bryan Echols: MAGIC; Mattie Butler: Woodlawn East Community and Neighbors.

"One Hundred Years, One Hundred Voices" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:00:00 -0600

As part of "Displacement Week 2008", architect and women's rights activist Neera Adarkar discusses the history of central Bombay's textile area — one of the most important, least known, stories of modern India. Covering a dense network of textile mills, public housing estates, markets and cultural centers, this area covers approximately one thousand acres in the heart of India's commercial and financial capital. In One Hundred Years, One Hundred Voices, Adarkar presents one hundred testimonies from residents of the former mill districts: a window into the history, culture and political economy of a former colonial port city now recasting itself as a global metropolis. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

Displacement Week: "The Effects of Gentrification on Chicago's Communities" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:00:00 -0600

A panel discussion with Jamie Kalven: Writer, Invisible Institute; Tom Walsh: Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, Jewish Council on Urban Affiars; Victoria Romero: President of the Board, Pilsen Alliance. Moderated by Virginia Parks: Assistant Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago.

Displacement Week: "Chicago and the 2016 Olympics" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:00:00 -0600

A talk by Larry Bennett, Political Science Department, DePaul University. Chicago is one of seven finalists seeking the designation as host city for the 2016 summer Olympic Games. Eight years in advance of the Games, several major components of the Chicago proposal have been worked out and have drawn the attention of local residents and the media. Many other parts of the Chicago Olympic plan remain unspecified at this time. Among the uncertainties associated with the Chicago Olympic bid, and if Chicago wins the contest to host the 2016 Games, with the Games themselves, are the following: How will the Games be financed? What kind of overall economic boost can Chicago anticipate from hosting the 2016 Olympics? Are the city's neighborhoods where major Olympic facilities will be located--notably the mid-South Side Washington Park area, and the near-South Side lakefront--likely to benefit in any fundamental, long-term way from the Games?

"Immigrant Organizations in the U.S.: Opportunities and Challenges" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:00:00 -0600

A talk by Oscar Chacón, Executive Director of the National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities (NALACC). From the Katz Center for Mexican Studies.

"Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:00:00 -0600

A talk by Ayesha Siddiqa, Islamabad-based independent political and defence analyst and author. Pakistan has emerged as a strategic ally of the US in the 'war on terror'. It is the third largest receiver of US aid in the world, but it also serves as a breeding ground for fundamentalist groups. How long can the relationship between the US and Pakistan continue? This book shows how Pakistan is an unusual ally for the US in that it is a military state, controlled by its army. The Pakistan military not only defines policy - it is entrenched in the corporate sector and controls the country's largest companies. So Pakistan's economic base, its companies and its main assets, are in the hands of a tiny minority of senior army officials. This merging of the military and corporate sectors has powerful consequences. Ayesha Siddiqa's book, "Military Inc." analyses the internal and external dynamics of this gradual power-building and its larger impact that it is having on Pakistan's relationship with the United States and the wider world. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series. Co-Sponsored by the South Asia Language and Area Center and the Committee on Southern Asian Studies.

"Poverty and Income Inequality in Brazil" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:00:00 -0600

A presentation by Ricardo Paes de Barros, University of Chicago Tinker Visiting Professor, and Researcher at the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), a public foundation linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management. This lecture stems from a 2006 IPEA report on the "Recent Fall in Income Inequality in Brazil". This report sought to consolidate the recent and dramatic decline in income inequality in Brazil, evaluate its impact and relevance, identify its main determinants, and finally to draft public policy recommendations so that the decline in income inequality could continue, or even increase, in coming years. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies.

"New Partnership Paradoxes in U.S.-China Relations" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Keynote Address at the 2008 China Symposium by Sun Zhe, professor of the Institute for International Studies and Director of the Center for U.S.-China Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Professor Sun identifies three new "partnership paradoxes" in U.S.-China relations: Trade, Taiwan and Democracy. (1) China and the U.S. today are traversing an economic glacier of mutual interdependence and they have to depend on each other much more than either would probably choose; (2) Taiwan has become the most critical issue that constitutes an interlocking web of misperceptions which may lead to a potentially explosive relationship between the U.S. and China; and (3) The Chinese model of development has attracted the world's attention and has led to questions such as whether democracy "made in China" is also possible. In dealing with these new partnership paradoxes, the U.S. and China should seek consensus and to define principles and work out proper policies. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series. Part of a day-long symposium presented by the US-China Peoples Friendship Association (USCPFA) Chicago chapter. Co-Sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies.

"Cows, Cars and Cycle-Rickshaws: The Politics of Nature on the Streets of Delhi" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:30:00 -0600

A talk by Amita Baviskar, Associate Professor at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University. As an embodied public sphere, city streets are sites for multiple exchanges between differently located people and things. This talk focuses on cows, cars and cycle-rickshaws as they navigate Delhi's roads, and on the people who own, use and seek to control them. All three have been the subject of strenuous efforts at regulation by courts, citizens' groups and traders' associations. Professor Bavkiskar interprets these conflicts as instances of bourgeois environmentalism, the (mainly) middle-class pursuit of urban order, hygiene and safety, and ecological conservation. She argues that collective action in the "public interest" by "citizens" concerned about congestion and the collapse of civic infrastructure constitutes a public that excludes the city's poorer sections. The talk examines state attempts to regulate the traffic between cars, cows and rickshaws, and concludes by arguing that complex interdependencies avert imminent collision and enable "the republic of the street" to survive. From the Program on the Global Environment.

"Human Rights in Mexico: Inside the Labyrinth of Drugs, Elections and Billionaires" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by Sergio Aguayo, professor of political science at the Colegio de Mexico. Aguayo has been one of Mexico's leading public intellectuals and human rights advocates for the past three decades. He has been a professor of political science at the Colegio de Mexico since 1977 and was a founder of the Mexican Academy for Human Rights, the electoral reform organization Alianza Civica, and other civil society initiatives. His weekly newspaper column appears in 17 papers across Mexico and the U.S. and he makes regular appearances as a commentator on Mexican television. A past Tinker Visiting Professor at the University, Aguayo most recently visited Chicago in 2006, when an NGO he founded to monitor transparency issues (Fundar) received a major award from the MacArthur Foundation. Co-Sponsored by The Katz Center for Mexican Studies.

"The Mind of the Market" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:00:00 -0600

Author and psychologist Michael Shermer explains how evolution shaped the modern economy-and why people are so irrational about money. How did we make the leap from ancient hunter-gatherers to modern consumers and traders? Why do people get so emotional and irrational about bottom-line financial and business decisions? Is the capitalist marketplace a sort of Darwinian organism, evolved through natural selection as the fittest way to satisfy our needs?

"China's Brave New World and Other Tales for Global Times" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:00:00 -0600

A talk by Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine. If Chairman Mao came back to life today, what would he think of Nanjing's bookstore, the "Librairie Avant-Garde", where it is easier to find primers on Michel Foucault's philosophy than copies of the Little Red Book? What does it really mean to order a latte at Starbucks in Beijing? Is it possible that Aldous Huxley wrote a novel even more useful than Orwell's 1984 for making sense of post-Tiananmen China...or post-9/11 America? In these often playful, always enlightening "tales", Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom poses these and other questions as he journeys from 19th-century China into the future, and from Shanghai to Chicago, St. Louis, and Budapest. He argues that simplistic views of China and Americanization found in most soundbite-driven media reports serve us poorly as we try to understand China's place in the current world order...or our own.

"The Oil and Glory" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:00:00 -0500

A talk by journalist and author Steven LeVine. Pipeline politics became a modern day version of the 19th Century's Great Game, in which Britain and Russia had employed cunning and bluff to gain supremacy over the lands of the Caucasus and Central Asia. “The Oil and Glory” is the story of how, at the dawn of the 21st century, the game was played once more across the harsh environs of the Caspian Sea. Co-sponsor: Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.

"The Talibanization of South Asia: Can it Be Stopped?" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0500

A talk by Pervez Hoodbhoy, Department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azama University. Dr. Hoodbhoy received his bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics, master's in solid state physics, and Ph.D in nuclear physics, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been a faculty member at the Department of Physics, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad since 1973. He is chairman of Mashal, a non-profit organization that publishes books in Urdu on women's rights, education, environmental issues, philosophy, and modern thought. Dr. Hoodbhoy has written and spoken extensively on topics ranging from science in Islam to education issues in Pakistan and nuclear disarmament. He produced a 13-part documentary series in Urdu for Pakistan Television on critical issues in education, and two other major television series aimed at popularizing science. He is author of Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality, now in 5 languages. Co-sponsors: Committee on Southern Asian Studies, South Asia Language and Area Center.

"Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0500

A talk by Dahr Jamail, independent journalist and author. As the occupation of Iraq unravels, the demand for independent reporting is growing. Since 2003, unembedded journalist Dahr Jamail has filed indispensable reports from Iraq that have made him this generation's chronicler of the unfolding disaster there. In these collected dispatches, Jamail presents never-before-published details of the siege of Fallujah and examines the origins of the Iraqi insurgency. Dahr Jamail makes frequent visits to Iraq and has published his accounts in newspapers and magazines worldwide. He has regularly appeared on Democracy Now!, as well as the BBC, Pacifica Radio, and numerous other networks. Co-sponsors: Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

"Less Safe, Less Free: Why America Is Losing the War on Terror" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0500

A talk by David Cole, Professor of Law at Georgetown University. In "Less Safe, Less Free: Why America Is Losing the War on Terror," Professor Cole and Jules Lobel, two of the country's preeminent constitutional scholars, argue that the great irony is that the Bush administration's sacrifices in the rule of law, adopted in the name of prevention, have in fact made us more susceptible to future terrorist attacks. They debunk the administration's claim that it is winning the war on terror and offer an alternative strategy in which the rule of law is an asset, not an obstacle, in the struggle to keep us both safe and free.

"In Defense of Academic Freedom" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0500

The growing evidence of outside interference in the hiring process at universities and the recent tenure denials at DePaul University, has prompted leading scholars across the nation to begin to speak out in defense of academic freedom. The DePaul University Academic Freedom Committee, Verso Books, and Diskord Journal sponsored a public symposium chaired by Tariq Ali, editor of Verso Books and New Left Review, and featuring: Akeel Bilgrami (Columbia University), Noam Chomsky (MIT), Tony Judt (NYU), John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago), Norman Finkelstein (formerly of DePaul University), Neve Gordon (Ben-Gurion University), Mehrene Larudee (DePaul University) and Evan Lorendo (DePaul Academic Freedom Committee).

"Bunraku: A Look into the World of Japanese Puppetry" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0500

A look into the world of Japanese puppetry featuring a performance and lecture demonstration of Japanese puppetry and traditional music by members of Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe and Imada Puppet Troupe.

"Legal Defense and Human Rights in Russia" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:35:44 -0500

A talk with Robert Amsterdam, founding partner, Amsterdam & Peroff, legal defense counsel for Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In practice since 1980, Mr. Amsterdam has extensive experience litigating and arbitrating corporate disputes in emerging markets, focusing on the areas of individual and corporate human rights. Mr. Amsterdam was retained by Mikhail Khodorkovsky in August, 2003 as part of the YUKOS-Group MENATEP defense team. Since then, he has worked with Russian human rights lawyers to prepare a White Paper on international human rights issues as they relate to the prosecution of Platon Lebedev, Alexei Pichugin and Mr. Khodorkovsky. (Moderated by Thomas Ginsburg, Visiting Professor, University of Chicago Law School.) Co-sponsor: The Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.

"Time and the Sacred" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:00:00 -0500

A discussion with Pance Velkov, Macedonian artist and preservationist. "Time and The Sacred" is a collection of photographs which redresses the general lack of knowledge about religious art of the Republic of Macedonia, and at the same time it provides a venue for acquainting viewers with a unique environment in which Christianity and Islam have coexisted for more than six centuries. Created by Pance Velkov with the support of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in particular the French Cultural Centers of Skopje, the Republic of Macedonia and Sofia, Bulgaria, the exhibit’s objectives are to investigate the complex issues related to the meaning and the future of the sacred heritage of the Balkans. Co-sponsor: Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies.

"The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:35:44 -0500

A panel featuring John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. "The Israel Lobby" was originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006. It provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy. Now in a work of major importance, Mearsheimer and Walt deepen and expand their argument and confront recent developments in Lebanon and Iran. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

Chicago Humanities Festival: Wangari Maathai (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:35:44 -0500

Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan politician and environmental activist who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace, the first black African woman to win a Nobel Prize. Maathai was elected to Kenya's National Assembly with 98 percent of the vote in 2002 and in 2003 was appointed assistant minister of environment, natural resources, and wildlife. She is the author of "The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience". Co-sponsors: The Division of the Humanities and Rockefeller Chapel.

"Indigenous Rights: The Case of Chiapas" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 21 May 2007 13:19:45 -0500

A talk by Jorge Fernandez-Souza, Magistrate Judge, Professor of Law and former Dean of Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, former Delegado of Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, and lawyer for Bishop Samuel Ruiz in the Chiapas negotiations (1994 – 1997). From the Human Rights in Mexico Series. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

“Democracy, Governance, and War in Oil Exporting Nations” (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 19 May 2007 13:05:44 -0500

A panel featuring Terry Lynn Karl, William and Gretchen Kimball University Fellow and Gildred Professor of Political Science at Stanford University; Miriam R. Lowi, Visiting Research Scholar at Princeton’s Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia; Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science of The College of New Jersey; and Kevin K. Tsui, Assistant Professor of Economics at Clemson University. Session 5 of the conference "Petroleum: Prospects and Politics." Sponsored by the Chicago Society. Co-sponsored by the Student Government of the University of Chicago, The Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, The George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State, The Global Voices Fund at International House, The Norman Wait Harris Fund at the Center for International Studies, The College of the University of Chicago, The Office of Community Affairs at the University of Chicago, and The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies.

"Petroleum Technology Presentation" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 19 May 2007 13:04:46 -0500

A talk by Brian C. Gahan, Energy Consultant; Chair of the Chicago Section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; former Senior Scientist and Manager of E&P Technology Development at the Gas Technology Institute. Session 4 of the conference "Petroleum: Prospects and Politics." Sponsored by the Chicago Society. Co-sponsored by the Student Government of the University of Chicago, The Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, The George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State, The Global Voices Fund at International House, The Norman Wait Harris Fund at the Center for International Studies, The College of the University of Chicago, The Office of Community Affairs at the University of Chicago, and The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies.

"Japanese Education and Society in Crisis" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 17 May 2007 23:46:53 -0500

A talk by Yoshifumi Tawara, Secretary General of the Children and Textbooks Japan Network 21. Part of the Japan at Chicago Lecture Series: Celebrating Protest. Sponsored by the Japan Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Center for International Studies.

"The Modern Human Rights Movement in Mexico" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:19:46 -0500

A talk by Mariclaire Acosta. Acosta is affiliated with the Organization of American States, co-founder of the Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos; founder, Comision Mexicana para la Promocion y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, and former director of Human Rights in the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. From the Human Rights in Mexico Series. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

"The Atomic Bazaar: The Rise of the Nuclear Poor" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 15 May 2007 10:56:54 -0500

Lecture by journalist William Langewiesche. In his book The Atomic Bazaar, Langewiesche investigates the burgeoning global threat of nuclear weapons production. As more unstable and undeveloped nations find ways of acquiring the ultimate arms, the stakes of state-sponsored nuclear activity have soared to frightening heights. Even more disturbing is the likelihood of such weapons being manufactured and deployed by guerrilla non-state terrorists. Langewiesche also recounts the recent history of Abdul Qadeer Khan and examines in dramatic and tangible detail the chances for nuclear terrorism.

"The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:28:30 -0500

Lecture by Martha Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. While America is focused on religious militancy and terrorism in the Middle East, democracy has been under siege from religious extremism in another critical part of the world. As Martha Nussbaum reveals in The Clash Within, the forces of the Hindu right pose a disturbing threat to India's democratic traditions and secular state. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Colonialism, Militarism, and the Political Economy of Transracial Adoption" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 09 May 2007 09:11:45 -0500

A talk by Emi Koyama. Part of the Japan at Chicago Lecture Series: Celebrating Protest. Sponsored by the Japan Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Center for International Studies.

2007 COSAL: Prose Reading: Salma (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 05 May 2007 15:14:50 -0500

2007 COSAL: Roundtable (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 05 May 2007 15:14:48 -0500

The Norman Cutler Conference on South Asian Literature (COSAL) honors the life and work of the late Norman Cutler, former Professor of Tamil in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. Roundtable featuring all participants. Co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Committee on Southern Asian Studies, Division of the Humanities, Franke Institute for the Humanities, South Asia Language and Area Center, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Center for Gender Studies.

2007 COSAL: Keynote Address (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:14:49 -0500

The Norman Cutler Conference on South Asian Literature (COSAL) honors the life and work of the late Norman Cutler, former Professor of Tamil in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. Keynote Address by A.R. Venkatachalapathy, History and Literary Historiography, Madras Institute of Development Studies. Co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Committee on Southern Asian Studies, Division of the Humanities, Franke Institute for the Humanities, South Asia Language and Area Center, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Center for Gender Studies.

2007 COSAL: Presentations (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:14:46 -0500

The Norman Cutler Conference on South Asian Literature (COSAL) honors the life and work of the late Norman Cutler, former Professor of Tamil in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. Presentations in this recording include: Bernard Bate, "Naaladiyar in the Bajaar: Protestant Textuality and the Tamil Public Sphere"; Lakshmi Holmström, "The Tiger in the Picture: A Reading of Salma's Novel Irandaam Jaamangalin Kadai"; and David Shulman, "Beyond the Margin: On G. Nagarajan and Tomorrow is One More Day." Co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Committee on Southern Asian Studies, Division of the Humanities, Franke Institute for the Humanities, South Asia Language and Area Center, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Center for Gender Studies.

2007 COSAL: Remembrance of Norman Cutler & Poetry Reading: Salma (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:13:33 -0500

The Norman Cutler Conference on South Asian Literature (COSAL) honors the life and work of the late Norman Cutler, former Professor of Tamil in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. The 2007 conference featured the work of the Tamil author “Salma” [R.A. Rokkiah, b. 1968], a Muslim woman who has recently catapulted into public controversy over her frank poetry on the female body. Co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Committee on Southern Asian Studies, Division of the Humanities, Franke Institute for the Humanities, South Asia Language and Area Center, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and Center for Gender Studies.

"(Questions) History Textbooks and the Profession: Comparing National Controversies in a Globalizing Age" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:04:49 -0500

This one-day symposium was convened to compare the controversies surrounding historical texts that emerged during the last fifteen to twenty years with the onset of the post-Cold War era and the acceleration of globalization, multi-culturalism and the neo-liberal order. Sponsored by the Department of History, Center for East Asian Studies, Center for International Studies, South Asia Language and Area Center, Morris Fishbein Center for the Study of History and Medicine, and the Franke Institute for the Humanities.

"Session 3 (Futures) - History Textbooks and the Profession: Comparing National Controversies in a Globalizing Age" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:03:51 -0500

A symposium panel featuring the following papers: "School Textbooks as Collective Memory and Social Design: Some Thoughts on Developing a World Consciousness" — Hanna Schissler (Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, Braunschweig, Germany); "Historical Reconciliation: A Tool for Conflict Resolution" — Elazar Barkan (Columbia University); Discussant: Dipesh Chakrabarty, University of Chicago. This one-day symposium was convened to compare the controversies surrounding historical texts that emerged during the last fifteen to twenty years with the onset of the post-Cold War era and the acceleration of globalization, multi-culturalism and the neo-liberal order. Sponsored by the Department of History, Center for East Asian Studies, Center for International Studies, South Asia Language and Area Center, Morris Fishbein Center for the Study of History and Medicine, and the Franke Institute for the Humanities.

"Session 2 (Boundaries) - History Textbooks and the Profession: Comparing National Controversies in a Globalizing Age" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:01:50 -0500

A symposium panel featuring the following papers: "Textbook Controversies and the Limits of American History" — Thomas Bender (New York University); "Testing the limits of historical imagination: Mexico’s history-textbook controversies and the U.S. question (circa 1957-2000)" — Mauricio Tenorio Trillo (University of Chicago); Discussant: Simone Laessig, Georg-Eckert-Institut für Internationale Schulbuchforschung (Braunschweig, Germany). This one-day symposium was convened to compare the controversies surrounding historical texts that emerged during the last fifteen to twenty years with the onset of the post-Cold War era and the acceleration of globalization, multi-culturalism and the neo-liberal order. Sponsored by the Department of History, Center for East Asian Studies, Center for International Studies, South Asia Language and Area Center, Morris Fishbein Center for the Study of History and Medicine, and the Franke Institute for the Humanities.

"Session 1 (Politics) - History Textbooks and the Profession: Comparing National Controversies in a Globalizing Age" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:00:00 -0500

A symposium panel featuring the following papers: "Historical Memory, International Conflict and Japanese Textbook Controversies in Three Epochs" — Yoshiko Nozaki (SUNY Buffalo) and Mark Selden (SUNY Binghamton); "The Politics of History Textbooks in India" — Neeladri Bhattacharya, (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi); "Weapons of Mass Instruction: How Schoolbooks & Democratization Destroyed Multiethnic Central Europe" — Charles Ingrao, (Purdue University); Discussant: Prasenjit Duara, University of Chicago. This one-day symposium was convened to compare the controversies surrounding historical texts that emerged during the last fifteen to twenty years with the onset of the post-Cold War era and the acceleration of globalization, multi-culturalism and the neo-liberal order. Sponsored by the Department of History, Center for East Asian Studies, Center for International Studies, South Asia Language and Area Center, Morris Fishbein Center for the Study of History and Medicine, and the Franke Institute for the Humanities.

"U.S.-Cuban Academic Relations Part II: Roundtable Discussion on U.S.-Cuban Academic Exchange" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 03:15:51 -0500

Introduction: Alan Kolata, University of Chicago. Discussants: Stephan Palmie, University of Chicago; Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, University of Chicago; Shannon Dawdy, University of Chicago; Laurie Frederik, University of Chicago; Paul Ryer, University of Chicago.
U.S. and Cuban scholars involved in academic, scientific, and cultural research face significant difficulties in maintaining open and thorough dialogue with each other due to restrictions governing travel between the two countries. Such exchanges, however, hold the potential for improved interpretations of our economic, cultural, and historical ties, and ultimately for improved political relations. The aim of this conference was to convene scholars, practitioners, and members of civil society in order to foster a broad, interdisciplinary discussion on the current conditions of U.S.-Cuban academic exchange, the challenges that new governmental restrictions pose to academic research agendas, and the manners by which scholars may engage in projects related to Cuban history, economics, public policy, and culture. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies.

"U.S.-Cuban Academic Relations Part I: The Politics of U.S.-Cuban Exchanges" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 04 May 2007 03:15:50 -0500

Wayne Smith, Center for International Policy and Louis Pérez, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
U.S. and Cuban scholars involved in academic, scientific, and cultural research face significant difficulties in maintaining open and thorough dialogue with each other due to restrictions governing travel between the two countries. Such exchanges, however, hold the potential for improved interpretations of our economic, cultural, and historical ties, and ultimately for improved political relations. The aim of this conference was to convene scholars, practitioners, and members of civil society in order to foster a broad, interdisciplinary discussion on the current conditions of U.S.-Cuban academic exchange, the challenges that new governmental restrictions pose to academic research agendas, and the manners by which scholars may engage in projects related to Cuban history, economics, public policy, and culture. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies.

"The Fifteen-Woman Lawsuit Opposing the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 03 May 2007 14:11:10 -0500

A talk by lawyer Michiko Nakajima. In the course of the Iraq War, citizens in Japan, singly or in groups, have been taking the state to court alleging violation of the "no war" clause of the Constitution in deploying Self-Defense Force troops. Feminist labor lawyer Michiko Nakajima led a group of 15 women plaintiffs in one such suit. This endeavor builds on her half-century of activism engaging with many of the great struggles of postwar Japan, from the US-Japan Security Treaty, gender equality in the workplace, and the Women's Tribunal on Military Sexual Slavery. Part of the Japan at Chicago Lecture Series: Celebrating Protest. Sponsored by apan Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies, the Human Rights Program, the Center for International Studies, the Center for Gender Studies, the Public Interest Law Society and the Japan Law Society.

"Labor Rights: The Case of Ciudad Juarez" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:19:42 -0500

A talk by Bertha Lujan, Secretaria del Trabajo, Gobierno "Legitimo" de México (de Andrés Manuel López Obrador), former Controlora, Cd. de México (2000-2006), and lead organizer of Frente Auténtico del Trabajo. From the Human Rights in Mexico Series. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

"Failing America’s Faithful: How Today’s Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:28:18 -0500

A conversation between Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, and Susan Thistlethwaite, President of Chicago Theological Seminary. In her book Failing America's Faithful, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend issues a spiritual call to arms to those who feel like her that today's churches—Catholic and Protestant alike—are failing to promote the welfare of those who depend upon them. After recounting her personal story in one of the most prominent Catholic families in America, she shows how America's neediest are now forgotten while their churches fight political battles against abortion rights and homosexual marriages. She provides hope through powerful examples of individuals effecting change and maintains that our individual actions can return our churches to their traditional role as shepherds to their flock. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series. Cosponsored with the Chicago Theological Seminary.

"Q&A with Director Hitomi Kamanaka" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:15:50 -0500

A discussion with the director of the film Rokkashomura Rhapsody: A Plutonium Plant Comes to Northern Japan. Part of the Japan at Chicago Lecture Series: Celebrating Protest. Sponsored by the Japan Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies, the Human Rights Program, the Center for International Studies, the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies, the Environmental Studies Program and Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. Co-sponsored by DePaul University.

"Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:22:31 -0500

Based on nearly a decade of painstaking research in archives and census records, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elliot Jaspin's book Buried in the Bitter Waters provides irrefutable evidence that racial cleansing occurred again and again on American soil, and fundamentally reshaped the geography of race. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series. Co-sponsored with the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.

"Militarization of U.S. Foreign Relations with Latin America: Prospects for Change" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:30:15 -0500

A panel discussion with: Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director of the Latin America Working Group; Joy Olson, Executive Director of the Washington Office on Latin America; Adam Isacson, Senior Associate at the Center for International Policy. From the Latin American Briefing Series. Co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies and the International House Global Voices Program.

"Poetry Reading by Yevgeny Yevtushenko" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:22:31 -0500

Sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Division of the Humanities, the Division of the Social Sciences, the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the College, the Committee on Jewish Studies, the Program in Poetry and Poetics, the Russian Studies Workshop, the Department of History, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, and Critical Inquiry.

"The Current Security and Economic Situation on the Korean Peninsula" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:54:22 -0500

A discussion with Alexander Vershbow, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and Lee Tae-sik, Korean Ambassador to the United States. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series. Cosponsored by the Korea Economic Institute, the Korean Consulate of Chicago and the Center for East Asian Studies.

"Truth, Lies, and Duct Tape" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:43:50 -0500

Sara Paretsky is the author of the bestselling V. I. Warshawski novels, including, most recently, Fire Sale and Blacklist. She is the winner of many awards, including the Cartier Diamond Dagger award for lifetime achievement from the British Crime Writers’ Association. This lecture series honors the life and work of Dr. Robert Kirschner, noted forensic pathologist and international human rights activist, who was a founder of the University of Chicago Human Rights Program. From the Human Rights Program's Robert H. Kirschner Memorial Lecture Series.

"The Rise and Fall of the Myth of the Mexican Revolution" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 16:30:58 -0500

A talk by Alan Knight, Professor of History, University of Oxford. Prof. Knight is a scholar of modern history and politics in Latin America, especially Mexico. His research interests include revolutions, state-building and peasant movements, and British-U.S. relations with Latin America. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies.

"Rubber Tit: A Joint Performance by Performance Artist Tari Ito and Jazz Saxophonist MASA"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:37:53 -0500

Part of the Japan at Chicago Lecture Series: Celebrating Protest (http://ceas.uchicago.edu/celebratingprotest); sponsored by the Japan Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies, the Human Rights Program, the Center for International Studies, and the Center for Gender Studies.

“Baltimore Drowning: A Slavic Microhistory of Global Proportions" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 16:41:07 -0500

This talk by Keith Brown of Brown University was the keynote address of "Rethinking Crossroads: Macedonia in Global Context." The conference assembled both young and established scholars whose social-scientifically and humanistically informed work speaks to the contemporary realities of the Republic of Macedonia as they continue to be reshaped by actors and processes from both within and without. The metaphor of "crossroads", of course, has long been applied to Macedonia, but too often in a manner that called up problematic dichotomies between East and West, Muslim and Christian worlds, center and periphery, tradition and modernity, etc., which were then used to ground analyses of the region. The aim of this conference was to challenge such understandings precisely by centering Macedonia within the global processes that intersect the country, from the economic and political restructurings indicative of a growing and deepening European Union to the obstacles faced by nation-states worldwide in a environment wrought by local identity politics and supernational political agendas. Through papers themselves rooted in ethnographic detail, the conference explored how such processes inform everyday practices in Macedonia, which in turn articulate, comment on, and contest the conditions of such political and social experiences. Sponsored by the University of Chicago Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Franke Institute for the Humanities, the Center for International Studies Norman Wait Harris Fund, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Anthropology of Europe Workshop, Anthropology Students Association, Anthropology Department, and Student Government.

"Why I Went to Iraq…Three Years Later"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:25:48 -0500

A talk by Noriaki Imai, student environmental and peace activist. At 18 years of age, Noriaki Imai traveled to Iraq to study the effects of depleted uranium on Iraqi children. While in Iraq, he was taken hostage and threatened to be killed unless Japan withdrew its troops from Iraq. Fortunately, he was released alive, but when he returned home to Japan, he faced enormous public criticism. Part of the Japan at Chicago Lecture Series: Celebrating Protest; sponsored by the Japan Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies, the Human Rights Program, the Center for International Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, the Environmental Studies Program and Middle Eastern Studies Students Association.

"Postwar Japan on the Brink: Militarism, Colonialism, Yasukuni Shrine"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:33:26 -0600

Professor Takahashi's writings, including his 2005 bestseller, The Yasukuni Issue, make unmistakably clear that the role of the Shrine is antithetical to democratic values in Japan and to reconciliation with Asia, which requires acknowledgment of the harms inflicted through colonialism and war. The subject of his lecture is Japan at a crossroads today, its hard-won postwar democratic values at stake as never before. Professor Takahashi teaches philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo. He specializes in contemporary European philosophy and has been particularly interested in the ethical aspects of the work of Jacques Derrida. Sponsored by the Japan Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies and the Center for International Studies.

"Environmental Challenges Across Asia - Q & A"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:53:50 -0600

There is little doubt that climate change, deforestation, erosion, and the unequal distribution of natural resources around the globe are of pressing importance everywhere, but these problems are perhaps most acute in Asia, home to 64 percent of the world’s population. Much of this population (1 and 1.3 billion, respectively) is concentrated in India and China, two countries with rapidly growing economies, increasing levels of personal consumption, and serious ecological problems. Southeast Asia, though less populated overall, is home to some of the world’s major rainforests and to significant biodiversity. Southeast Asian forests are disappearing at a rapid rate, in part as a consequence of resource demands from the first world. Understanding these human and environmental challenges requires detailed understandings of local histories and ecologies; in this symposium we introduce some of the major environmental challenges facing Asia today, focusing on some specific historical and cultural contexts in this diverse region. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

"Ecology, Human Rights, and Large Dam Projects in South Asia"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:53:49 -0600

Kathleen Morrison is Professor, Department of Anthropology; Director, Center for International Studies, The University of Chicago. There is little doubt that climate change, deforestation, erosion, and the unequal distribution of natural resources around the globe are of pressing importance everywhere, but these problems are perhaps most acute in Asia, home to 64 percent of the world’s population. Much of this population (1 and 1.3 billion, respectively) is concentrated in India and China, two countries with rapidly growing economies, increasing levels of personal consumption, and serious ecological problems. Southeast Asia, though less populated overall, is home to some of the world’s major rainforests and to significant biodiversity. Southeast Asian forests are disappearing at a rapid rate, in part as a consequence of resource demands from the first world. Understanding these human and environmental challenges requires detailed understandings of local histories and ecologies; in this symposium we introduce some of the major environmental challenges facing Asia today, focusing on some specific historical and cultural contexts in this diverse region. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

"Environmental Degradation and Deforestation in Thailand and Cambodia"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:53:48 -0600

Alan Kolata is Neukom Family Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology, The University of Chicago. There is little doubt that climate change, deforestation, erosion, and the unequal distribution of natural resources around the globe are of pressing importance everywhere, but these problems are perhaps most acute in Asia, home to 64 percent of the world’s population. Much of this population (1 and 1.3 billion, respectively) is concentrated in India and China, two countries with rapidly growing economies, increasing levels of personal consumption, and serious ecological problems. Southeast Asia, though less populated overall, is home to some of the world’s major rainforests and to significant biodiversity. Southeast Asian forests are disappearing at a rapid rate, in part as a consequence of resource demands from the first world. Understanding these human and environmental challenges requires detailed understandings of local histories and ecologies; in this symposium we introduce some of the major environmental challenges facing Asia today, focusing on some specific historical and cultural contexts in this diverse region. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

"Environmental Disaster in the Marshes of Southern Iraq"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:53:46 -0600

Josh Ellis has an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies/Public Policy, University of Chicago. There is little doubt that climate change, deforestation, erosion, and the unequal distribution of natural resources around the globe are of pressing importance everywhere, but these problems are perhaps most acute in Asia, home to 64 percent of the world’s population. Much of this population (1 and 1.3 billion, respectively) is concentrated in India and China, two countries with rapidly growing economies, increasing levels of personal consumption, and serious ecological problems. Southeast Asia, though less populated overall, is home to some of the world’s major rainforests and to significant biodiversity. Southeast Asian forests are disappearing at a rapid rate, in part as a consequence of resource demands from the first world. Understanding these human and environmental challenges requires detailed understandings of local histories and ecologies; in this symposium we introduce some of the major environmental challenges facing Asia today, focusing on some specific historical and cultural contexts in this diverse region. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

"Crocodiles and Humans in Southeast Asia: Four Centuries of Co-existence and Confrontation"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:53:45 -0600

Peter Boomgaard is Professor of Environmental & Economic History of Southeast Asia University of Amsterdam and Senior Researcher, KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Carribean Studies. There is little doubt that climate change, deforestation, erosion, and the unequal distribution of natural resources around the globe are of pressing importance everywhere, but these problems are perhaps most acute in Asia, home to 64 percent of the world’s population. Much of this population (1 and 1.3 billion, respectively) is concentrated in India and China, two countries with rapidly growing economies, increasing levels of personal consumption, and serious ecological problems. Southeast Asia, though less populated overall, is home to some of the world’s major rainforests and to significant biodiversity. Southeast Asian forests are disappearing at a rapid rate, in part as a consequence of resource demands from the first world. Understanding these human and environmental challenges requires detailed understandings of local histories and ecologies; in this symposium we introduce some of the major environmental challenges facing Asia today, focusing on some specific historical and cultural contexts in this diverse region. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

"Collateral Damage: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy in the 21st Century" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:55:26 -0600

Lecture by Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Samantha Power's book, A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. She was the founding executive director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, and covered the wars in the former Yugoslavia as a reporter for U.S. News and World Report, The Boston Globe and The Economist. From the Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series; co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies and Students for Global Public Health.

"Reflections on Argentina" - Session 3 of "Poverty & Growth: Reflections on Latin America" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 11:46:11 -0600

A three-part workshop with Professor Juan Pablo Nicolini, Winter Tinker Visiting Professor, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies

"An Evening of Russian Music with the University of Wisconsin Russian Folk Orchestra" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 15:55:43 -0600

The Orchestra is comprised of Russian domras and balalaikas, accordions, bayans, woodwinds, and percussion. This program ranges from traditional folk songs and dances to well-known works of Tchaikovsky and Glinka. Victor Gorodinsky, director; also featuring soprano soloist Jackie King. Sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Department of Music, Student Government, and the Union of Russian Students.

"Ending Global Poverty" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:55:39 -0600

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:13:04 -0600

Paul Barrett and Dr. Umar Abd-Allah in a discussion of their recent works, American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion and A Muslim in Victorian America. Dr. Abd-Allah's work is a biography of Alexander Russell Webb, one of the earliest American converts to Islam to achieve a modicum of fame. Mr. Barrett's book offers portraits of a number of contemporary American Muslims, demonstrating the complexity of the community and diversity of opinion within this community. Paul Barrett was a reporter and editor for 18 years at the Wall Street Journal, and currently directs the investigative reporting team at Business Week. Dr. Abd-Allah is Scholar-in-Residence at the Nawawi Foundation. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Growth, Poverty and Economic Development" - Session 2 of "Poverty & Growth: Reflections on Latin America" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:17:57 -0600

A three-part workshop with Professor Juan Pablo Nicolini, Winter Tinker Visiting Professor, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies

"Growth: Evidence and Sources" - Session 1 of "Poverty & Growth: Reflections on Latin America" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:17:56 -0600

A three-part workshop with Professor Juan Pablo Nicolini, Winter Tinker Visiting Professor, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies

"Nicaraguan Presidential Elections: Prospects for the Region" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:47:18 -0600

A panel discussion with: Alejandro Bendaña, Centro de Estudios Internacionales, Nicaragua; Michel Gobat, Professor, History, Iowa University; and Rose Spalding, Professor, Political Science, DePaul University From the Center for Latin American Studies' Latin American Briefing Series.

"Reading 'Legitimation Crisis' in Tehran" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:17:14 -0600

A talk by Danny Postel, Senior Editor of openDemocracy, an online global magazine of politics & culture. The Iran depicted in the headlines is a rogue state ruled by ever-more-defiant Islamic fundamentalists. Yet inside the borders, an unheralded transformation of a wholly different political bent is occurring. A "liberal renaissance," as one Iranian thinker terms it, is emerging in Iran, and in his pamphlet Reading 'Legitimation Crisis' in Tehran, Danny Postel charts the contours of the intellectual upheaval. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"New Writing from the Balkans" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:04:54 -0600

Readings of original poetry and fiction by two leading South Slavic authors, Igor Štiks from Croatia and Aleš Debeljak from Slovenia, both of whom currently reside in Chicago. The readings are followed by a discussion of the creative atmosphere and trends in contemporary literature in Southeast Europe, with time devoted to the experience of writing away from one’s home country. Sponsored by the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures, the Franke Institute for the Humanities, International House, and the Arts Planning Council.

"Human Rights and the Arts: Guantanamo in the Theater" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:25:41 -0600

A talk by Gillian Slovo, co-author of the play "Guantanamo: 'Honor-Bound to Defend Freedom.'" South African-born Gillian Slovo has published a family memoir and ten novels, including Ice Road, which was short-listed for the Orange Prize. From the Human Rights Distinguished Lecturer Series; co-sponsored by the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies.

"Mexico's 2006 Presidential Elections and the Fragility of Democratic Institutions"

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 14:33:24 -0600

A lecture by François Prud'homme, El Colegio de Mexico. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies.

Symposium: One Hundred Years of All-India Muslim League - "Shibli and Early Years of Muslim League" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 15:34:09 -0600

A talk by I.A. Zilli, Aligarh Muslim University. Sponsored by the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies, and the American Institute of Pakistan Studies.

Symposium: One Hundred Years of All-India Muslim League - "Law, Community and Society: Writing the Histories of Muslim League" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 15:34:09 -0600

A talk by David Gilmartin, North Carolina State University. Sponsored by the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies, and the American Institute of Pakistan Studies.

Symposium: One Hundred Years of All-India Muslim League - Keynote Address: "A Sentimental Essay in Three Scenes - With An Epilogue" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 15:34:08 -0600

A talk by C.M. Naim, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago. Sponsored by the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, the Norman Wait Harris Fund of the Center for International Studies, and the American Institute of Pakistan Studies.

"Youth in Low-Income Communities in Rio de Janeiro: Education and Job Prospects" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 11:20:17 -0600

A talk by Malcolm Bush, President of the Woodstock Institute. From the International Child Welfare Conference, co-sponsored by The Center for International Studies' Norman Wait Harris Fund, School of Social Service Administration, SSA International Social Welfare Group, and Chapin Hall Center for Children.

"Youth Civic Engagement, A Three City Study: Chicago, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 11:20:16 -0600

A roundtable discussion with Maria de los Angeles Torres (Chicago), Norma del Rio (Mexico), and Irene Rizzini (Brazil) from the International Child Welfare Conference, co-sponsored by The Center for International Studies' Norman Wait Harris Fund, School of Social Service Administration, SSA International Social Welfare Group, and Chapin Hall Center for Children.

Honoree: Dr.Harold Richman (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 11:20:16 -0600

Remarks by and honoring Dr.Harold Richman, Hermon Dunlap Smith Professor of Social Welfare Policy Emeritus in the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration and College and founding Director and current Research Fellow at the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago; from the International Child Welfare Conference, co-sponsored by The Center for International Studies' Norman Wait Harris Fund, School of Social Service Administration, SSA International Social Welfare Group, and Chapin Hall Center for Children.

Keynote Address by Irene Rizzini (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 11:20:15 -0600

A talk by Irene Rizzini, Professor, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio, Department of Social Work). From the International Child Welfare Conference, co-sponsored by The Center for International Studies' Norman Wait Harris Fund, School of Social Service Administration, SSA International Social Welfare Group, and Chapin Hall Center for Children.

"Mexico's 2006 Presidential Elections and Challenges for the New Government" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:36:51 -0600

A lecture by María Amparo Casar, Centro de Investigacíon y Docencia Económicas, A.C. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies.

"Newsrooms in Conflict: Journalism and the Democratization of Mexico" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 10:03:56 -0500

A talk by Sallie Hughes, Asst. Prof. in the School of Communication at the Univ. of Miami, on her book, Newsrooms in Conflict: Journalism and the Democratization of Mexico. The book examines the dramatic changes within Mexican society, politics, and journalism that transformed an authoritarian media institution into many conflicting styles of journalism with very different implications for deepening democracy in the country. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Monsters to Destroy: Bush's War on Terror and Sin" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 13:47:49 -0500

A talk by Ira Chernus, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Colorado-Boulder on his book, Monsters to Destroy. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Right vs. Left & the Newborn Mexican Democracy: Can the the Three Survive?" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:36:52 -0500

A lecture by Lorenzo Meyer, El Colegio de Mexico. Sponsored by the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies Latin American Briefing Series, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan.

"Blind Into Baghdad: America's War in Iraq" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:22:46 -0500

Atlantic Monthly editor James Fallows discusses his new book, based on his award-winning series of articles for the magazine. Fallows analyzes the decision-making behind the Iraq war, and argues that the administration didn't fail to plan — it just ignored the plans of its own experts. Fallows also places the war within the larger context of the war on terror, arguing that the Iraqi venture has greatly undercut our global efforts to curtail terror attacks and the effectiveness of terrorist organizations. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

"Infections, Transmissions, Cultures: the AIDS Scandals of 1990s Japan and the Genesis of 'J-Horror'" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 10:25:07 -0500

Lecture by Brian Bergstrom, PhD candidate, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago. From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Graham School of General Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Human Rights Program and the University of Illinois Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

"Local and Global Public Health Links: Preparation for an Influenza Pandemic" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 10:24:06 -0500

Dr. Nicole Cohen, Medical Director, Acute Disease Surveillance, Chicago Department of Public Health. From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Graham School of General Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Human Rights Program and the University of Illinois Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

"The Cholera Pandemic and 19th Century Japanese Culture" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:25:09 -0500

Lecture by Susan Burns, Professor in the History Department, University of Chicago. From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Graham School of General Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Human Rights Program and the University of Illinois Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

"'Virgin Soil' Epidemics and Demographic Collapse in the Americas" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:25:08 -0500

Lecture by Kris Jones, Associate Director and Senior Lecturer in CLAS, University of Chicago. From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Graham School of General Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Human Rights Program and the University of Illinois Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

"DPT - From Epidemics to Immunizations a Modern Success Story" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:24:26 -0500

Lecture by Dr. Mindy Schwartz, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago. From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Graham School of General Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Human Rights Program and the University of Illinois Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

"Black Death in the Middle East and Europe" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:24:25 -0500

Lecture by Stuart Borsch, Assistant Professor in History Department at Assumption College. From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Graham School of General Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Human Rights Program and the University of Illinois Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

"Health Care and Epidemics in Antiquity: The Example of Ancient Mesopotamia" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 10:25:05 -0500

Lecture by Walter Farber, Professor of Assyriology, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. From the "Epidemics Then & Now: Infectious Diseases Around the World," the 2006 University of Chicago Summer Institute for Educators. Co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies, the Graham School of General Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the South Asia Language and Area Center, the Human Rights Program and the University of Illinois Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

"Constructing a North American Community" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 12:11:55 -0500

Lecture by Robert Pastor, Director, Center for North American Studies, American University; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

"The Weakness of the State in Latin America" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 12:12:02 -0600

Lecture by Fernando Escalante, Tinker Visting Professor in History, University of Chicago and Professor, El Colegio de Mexico; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

"NAFTA & Mexico: Ten Years Later" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 12:06:44 -0600

Lecture by Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, founder of Mexico's Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD); from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

"Venezuela: A Proposed Social Charter of the Americas" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:06:42 -0600

Discussion with Fermín Toro, Venezuela's Ambassador to the United Nations, and Nelson Pineda, Venezuela's Ambassador to the Organization of American States; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

"Mexico: Problems of a New Democracy" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 12:04:54 -0500

Lecture by Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez, Professor of Law at the Instituto Tecnólogico Autónomo de México; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

Latin American Business Conference: "Sustained Growth in Latin America: Key Lessons From Chile" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 22 May 2004 12:06:48 -0500

Lecture by Pedro Aspe, Protego, former Finance Minister of Mexico; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

Latin American Business Conference: "Argentina: Development, Outlook, Opportunities" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 22 May 2004 12:06:47 -0500

Lecture by Ricardo Lopez Murphy, former Finance and Defense Minister of Argentina; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

Latin American Business Conference: "Managing Growth: Uncertainty in Latin America" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 22 May 2004 12:06:43 -0500

Panel discussion with Edmundo Vallejo, General Electric Latin America; Christopher Baudoin, Aon Risk Services Latin America; and Luis Ramirez Rojas, Nusoft; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

"Consolidating Democracy in Mexico: Adapting and Reforming Institutions for Democracy" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Sat, 24 Apr 2004 12:06:40 -0500

Panel featuring Jacqueline Peschard, former member of the Federal Electoral Institute; Lorenzo Meyer, El Colegio de Mexico; and Jorge Chabat, Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economica; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

"Consolidating Democracy in Mexico: Keynote Address" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Fri, 23 Apr 2004 12:06:38 -0500

Keynote address by Jose Woldenberg, former president Federal Electoral Institute; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).

"The 'Urban' in International Economic Development: Lessons from a Colombian City" (video)

The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago — Tue, 20 Apr 2004 12:06:45 -0500

Lecture by Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor of Bogota; response by Ronald Grzywinski, President of South Shore Bank; discussion with Luis Medina and Alicia Mendez, University of Chicago; from the Latin American Briefing Series of the Center for Latin American Studies (http://clas.uchicago.edu).