Past Events

Daniela Fargione, Fulbright Fellow from Italy and Associate Professor of American Literature, University of Turin, Italy. We are living at the cusp of extinction, an impending event marked by a baffling paradox: while it has mass-death proportions, it prodigiously escapes our gaze. In the backdrop of this dramatic (and seemingly invisible) contraction of bio- and cultural diversity, a whole repertoire of well-intended, even passionate narratives resort to the conventions of elegy and tragedy to foster a restoration ecology (Heise 2010). Not only do these narratives amplify the urgency to tell stories that imagine human rebirth, but they also imply potential escapes from loss and death. This complacent anthropocentric standpoint urgently calls for a reconfiguration of the ontological “exceptionality” of the human and solicits alternative, more inclusive perspectives. As a consequence, the traditional approaches to the humanities need to be reconsidered as well, including the questions that we ask about ourselves and the ways in which we explore the world to find adequate answers. What emerges is the need to rely on a novel interdisciplinarity, where scientific disciplines are in dialogue with the humanities in new and exciting ways. Reception to Follow.

Join two Pitt alumnae for a student-moderated discussion about their journeys from undergraduates to their work in Pittsburgh and Kenya. During this gathering in the Global Hub, you will hear from Founder and CEO of Kakenya's Dream, and 2023 Exemplary Leader award recipient Kakenya Ntaiya, and from Pitt alumna and Executive Director of Alliance for Refugee Youth Support and Education (ARYSE) Jenna Baron, about how these women's time at Pitt shaped their professional journeys. As we share a lite bite together, you will learn more about important skills for inspiring the next generation of changemakers and how Pitt can help you get there. Register here: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_71FZ2nySjZoVzVk

This event has been canceled.

The University Center for International Studies (UCIS), with funding from Pitt's Title VI National Resource Centers, has embarked on a four-year initiative to increase the number of LAC courses offered on campus. Join us to learn more about LAC and how you can combine your personal world language proficiency with your non-language teaching/research expertise and provide students with exciting opportunities to enhance their learning. Any faculty, administrators, and students who are interested in LAC courses are welcome.

UCIS presents a national scholarship alumni panel to offer unique perspectives on international scholarship experiences such as the Fulbright and Boren programs. Students will gain information on these global opportunities, receive application tips, and more!

2022-23- MEET EU EMERGING FILMMAKER: VIDA SHERK, Director, Night Ride (Noćna vožnja) This is a three-part seminar that focuses on what makes a film visually distinctive, and how mood boards and storyboards can be used in the pre-production process to help the director, the cinematographer, the costume designer, the art director, and the rest of the crew envision the right atmosphere for the film - and choose the right tools to do so. The goal of this seminar is also to encourage even Screenwriting students to develop mood boards for their stories, as they can be a useful tool during the screenwriting process as well. FEB 14, 2023 @ 10:00-11:30 AM EST- Required PART I: MOOD BOARDS - What are mood boards, and why are they important? Can they be useful for screenwriters (during the development phase) as well, and how? FEB 21, 2023 @ 10:00-11:30 AM EST (2nd Half-Optional) PART II: STORYBOARDS – How do mood boards influence storyboards? How do we make a storyboard? FEB 28, 2023 @ 10:00-11:30 AM EST (Optional) PART III: THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG? WHICH COMES FIRST? Are mood boards useful only in the later stages of pre-production? Is there even a right way to approach the development and pre-production process, or can we shake things up and start with the parts of pre-production which are usually reserved for the later stages in the process of making a movie, only after a story (or script) is already set in stone? REQUIRED WORK: Participants will be asked to produce mood boards and storyboards for their own projects. We will discuss their own exercises and work during the seminar. They will also be asked to watch Vida Skerk's short film “Night Ride” beforehand, as this film and the material made during the preparation for this project will be used as examples during the seminar.

In this session of the UCIS Career Toolkit, our guest is an editor for Yen Press with experience working with some of the biggest names in tech. Join us for this discussion of how you can find your own career in publishing and/or translation. Co-hosted by the Asian Studies Center.