IES Study Abroad Drop-In Advising

Interested in studying abroad with IES? Join us to learn more about IES study abroad programs and get your questions answered.

Date: Tuesday, January 30th
Time: 10am-12pm, 2pm-3pm
Location: Global Experiences Office, 810 William Pitt Union

This talk from Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affair's Center for Governance and Markets presents a political theory of governance of cultural diversity developed in Sadr's book, Negotiating Cultural Diversity. It argues that a pluralistic society should forge a balance between three key elements: individual autonomy, counter-homogenization measures, and intercultural dialogue.

Contemporary societies are increasingly facing a tremendous challenge in terms of finding social cohesion. A major challenge comes from disagreement over the issues related to social justice and other fundamental principles and ethical issues that should govern our societies. The challenge compounds when these disagreements intertwine with group and cultural identities such as race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. This leads to a conflict between individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom to practice religion, or equal opportunity with group or community preferences. A theory of governance of diversity should not only present a solution on how to peacefully accommodate deep differences, but should also present a way out on how to adjudicate disagreement between universal values and particularistic aspirations.

Join this workshop that is part of the Balkan Culture (SLAV 1850) class, where you will learn how to prepare Balkan coffee!

Are you looking to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market? Stop by Drop-In Hours to learn more about getting the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receiving special recognition at graduation, and standing out to prospective employers!

Spring 2024 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours: Tuesdays at 3:30-4:30 pm.

Yun-Oh Whang's opening Keynote for the Identity, Inclusion, and Information: The AANHPI Experience Conference.

The University of Pittsburgh observes AAPI month during January (instead of May), this conference seeks to celebrate and acknowledge what it means to be a person of AANHPI heritage at Pitt. An examination at the challenges people of AAPI descent face in Pittsburgh and a recognition of their 'belonging'.

A panel discussion on 'belonging' for AAPI members of the University of Pittsburgh, and the general Pittsburgh community.

Moderated by Katelan Hudson, this panel will discuss the effects a lack of sense of belonging has had on their mental health and experiences with a goal of moving forward with proposed solutions. From this panel, participants will develop an understanding of the AAPI experience in higher education, the importance of targeted efforts towards cultivating belonging for AAPI students, and how to be an ally to these efforts.

Join German Club at Pitt’s weekly meetings, on Tuesdays at 6-7 pm during Spring 2024, to converse in German and learn German culture!

Mai Khôi is an award-winning singer, composer, and activist. She rose to stardom in 2010 after winning the Vietnam Television Song and Album of the Year awards as one of the first female songwriters in Vietnam. As a pop star, Khôi released seven albums in genres of Vietnamese pop and dance, and made regular nationally televised performances. Several years later she became increasingly uncomfortable having to submit her work to government censors and, thinking she could reform the system from within, nominated herself to run in the National Assembly elections on a pro-democracy platform. Her campaign sparked a nationwide debate about political participation and culminated in a meeting with Barack Obama in May 2016. Her activism came at a high price, however: she had her concerts raided, was evicted from multiple residences, and was detained and interrogated by the police.

Khôi’s artistic transformation is evident in Mai Khôi Chém Gió, a genre-splicing dissident trio she founded in 2016 that combines protest music with free jazz and lost musical traditions of Vietnam’s hill tribes. She also went on to participate in Seaphony, a project that aims to create the first pan-Southeast Asian orchestra comprised of ethnic minority musicians, as a conductor, arranger, and composer. Her current project, Mai Khôi and the Dissidents, is an eclectic and experimental jazz-ish quintet that’s as likely to launch into a noisy protest song or collective improvisation as a lullaby or love ballad. She is also developing an autobiographical multimedia stage show called “Bad Activist” that combines original music, projections, archival footage, and storytelling to fiercely advocate for democracy and freedom of expression in Vietnam and around the world.

Since 2019, Mai Khôi has lived in exile in the USA. In 2019, she was a resident artist at SHIM:NYC, and in 2020, she was awarded an Artist Protection Fund Fellowship in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh, City of Asylum, and the International Free Expression Project. Mai Khôi was an Exiled Writer and Artist in Residence at City of Asylum in Pittsburgh from 2020-2023; she has continued to reside in Pittsburgh after the conclusion of this residency.

In recognition of her work at the intersection of art and activism, Khôi has been awarded the 2018 Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent and the 2022 Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Speech.