Past Events

How have the electric vehicle markets evolved in Europe and Asia in the past decade? How do these changes impact energy choices and consumption in the 21st century? Join us as we explore these questions and more in our BETH series on Energy. Speakers: Dr. John Helveston, George Washington University; Dr. Marianne Ryghaug, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Dr. Maciej Mazur, AVERE--The European Association for Electromobility. Register at https://tinyurl.com/PittElectric

On April 10th, France will hold a presidential election putting ideologies, personalities, and the future of France on the ballot. A run-off will be held on April 24th if no one secures a majority. The last Conversations on Europe for the 2021-22 academic year will focus on the ramifications of this election's outcome, how Russia's invasion of Ukraine will impact the election, and how this can shape the next decade not only of France but of Europe as a whole. Panelists: Jean Beaman, University of California Santa Barbara Arthur Goldhammer, Center for European Studies, Harvard University Philippe Marliere, University College London This event will be virtual.    

This keynote event is part of the European and Eurasian Undergraduate Research Symposium 2022. In this presentation Professor Balmaceda will revisit the burning question of how global, more specifically Europe's dependency on Russian fossil fuel chains has affected international responses to Ukraine's security. Her latest book, Russian Energy Chains: The Remaking of Technopolitics from Siberia to Ukraine to the European Union, sheds light on how Russia's fossil fuel exports have created what now seems like more of a threat than an opportunity for all parties involved. In her book, Professor Balmaceda follows the geopolitical journey of three fossil fuel molecules from production in Siberia to processing and transit in Ukraine, to final use in Germany, while giving us invaluable insight into the moving forces behind the politics and economics surrounding fossil fuels. View the Poster: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/creees/sites/default/files/images/documents/RE... Register to attend: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsdu6urzkpHNWK_cVUxGX2Ow1F-JSLOv...

Dr. Joseph-Masséna will present excerpts from her book manuscript Voicing Vodou: Haitian Women Writers and the Goddess Ezili. Her project highlights a previously unidentified literary genre created by three Haitian women writers which she calls “The Eziliphonic text. ”The term “eziliphonic” is a neologism which combines the name of feminine vodou deity “Ezili'' with the adjective “phonic,” referring to “voice” or “speech sound.” The book centers Haitian Women writers as theorists by demonstrating how, within this collectively created literary genre, they effectively rehabilitate vodou culture through their textualization of the feminine deity Ezili, while also centering voice and sound, not vision, as a critical category of the vodou imaginary. There are many iterations of Ezili spirits or lwas in Haitian vodou, but the ones studied here are Ezili Freda, the flirtatious mulatta and lover of all things beautiful, and Ezili Danto, the passionate dark-skinned single mother and fierce defender of her children. Each chapter draws on an interdisciplinary framework, grounded in Black feminist theory, Voice Studies, literary criticism, and Vodou Studies in order to show how Haitian women novelists mobilize Ezili’s vocal, or phonic, specificities in their narratives. In preparation for the session, students will get acquainted with Jacques Stéphen Alexis’ Réalisme merveilleux or Frankétienne’s Spiralisme. Then, they will read passages from Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley’s Ezili's Mirrors (2018) and Christina Elizabeth Sharpe’s In the Wake: On Blackness and Being (2016). They will also listen to a selection of jazz music. Dr. Cae Joseph-Masséna is an Assistant Professor of Comparative, Cultural and Francophone studies in the department of Modern Literature & Languages at the University of Miami. Her recent work focuses on contemporary Haitian women writers. A trained Jazz Vocalist and Berklee College of Music alumnus, her research focuses more broadly on the entanglement of voice, music, ritual and sound in Black women’s literary texts. Her research areas include comparative approaches to African diasporic literatures of the francophone Atlantic with an emphasis on Sound/Voice Studies, Haitian Studies and feminist queer of color critique.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a leading cause of death around the world, with the highest burdens in low-resource settings, and is expected to grow exponentially to cause around 10 million deaths annually in 2050. It is defined by high degrees of complexity given its international, multisectoral, ‘one health’ and ‘creeping’ features, which creates significant challenges for good governance. In addition, only 0,5% of all AMR related research comes from the social sciences, which indicates that we know relatively little about the behavioral and institutional aspects of antibiotics. It is also typically referred to as a low-salient political issue. This talk will introduce three dimensions of European governance of antibiotics; first, how experts, typically top senior bureaucrats, create an ‘administrative action space’ when politicians fail to raise the issue; second, the networking dynamics among domestic bureaucracies to create collaborative governance; and thirdly, the role and function of the EU Commission to act as a third-party enforcer in solving the large-scale collective action dilemma of AMR. Daniel Carelli is a PhD Candidate in political science at the University of Gothenburg. His dissertation investigates how administrative traditions and bureaucratic autonomy affect inter-bureaucratic collaboration around the issue of antimicrobial resistance in Europe.

Join us for a presentation live on April 8 from the Scottish Nationality Room celebrating the Tartan Week 2022! This free event will celebrate Scottish heritage in the Pittsburgh region, promote the new Glasgow Sister City initiative and showcase Scottish innovation! Speakers: - Neil Owen (Host, Scottish Business Network) - Kathy Risko (Sister Cities International) - Fergus Bruce (Edify.ac) - Bill McShane, Associate Director for Integrated Learning at the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business & Scottish Nationality Room Secretary Co-Sponsors: - University Center for International Studies - Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs - European Studies Center - Scottish Nationality Room - Scottish Business Network - Sister Cities International (SCI) - Edify In-Person: Scottish Nationality Room, Cathedral of Learning, Room #139, First Floor, 4200 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260 Please note, in-person capacity is limited and will be offered to the first registrants to select that they plan to attend in-person. Effective March 28, the University has announced that masks are optional indoors. Further information can be found at the Power of Pitt: Building a Healthy and Resilient Community: https://www.coronavirus.pitt.edu/healthy-community/pitts-health-rules If you are attending this event in-person, parking is available on-street or in Soldiers and Sailors parking garage. A small reception will take place in the Schenley Croghan Room following the event. Virtual: Please indicate that you plan to attend virtually when registering via Eventbrite. The virtual meeting link will be sent prior to the date of the event.