#JMintheUS

Amir Issaa is an Italian rapper, hip-hop artist, producer,
writer, and social activist who has worked in the Italian
music industry since the late 1990s. Born and raised in
the diverse working-class neighborhood of
Torpignattara in Rome, he is the son of an Egyptian
father and an Italian mother. Issaa was one of the
founders of the Rome Zoo, a collective of rappers and
musicians that helped to define the rap scene in Italy
and launched the careers of many artists. He has won
several awards for his music, in particular for his work
on the 2012 film, Scialla!, which garnered him the David
di Donatello for best song and best soundtrack.
Issaa's work as an activist began as a reaction to his
own family's struggles; his father, an Egyptian
immigrant, was incarcerated for most of Issaa's
childhood. In 2017, Issaa published an autobiographical
novel, Vivo per questo (This is What I Live For), in which
he reflects on his formative years growing up in
Torpignattara and the prejudice and racism that he
faced. Issaa has long been an activist for immigrants'
rights, particularly those of the children of immigrants
living in Italy. More recently, Issaa has been involved in
the Italian Black Lives Matter movement and published
the song "Non respiro" ("I Can't Breathe") in response to
the murder of George Floyd. ​Register Here: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GJDIU1dFTLGApPc0uiu_RQ

The New Speed of Politics: Is Gender Equality Accelerating or Shutting Down? With Former MEP Maria Gabriela Zoana and faculty discussant Helga Varden, Assoc. Professor of Philosophy and Women and Gender Studies, U of I.

#JMintheUS

Event Registration: https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebbdCX2k4hcc7aJ

#JMintheUS

Event Registration: https://gatech.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebbdCX2k4hcc7aJ

#JMintheUS

A UHC scholar community is a collaborative, interdisciplinary group of people who share interests in researching issues, imagining projects, resolving problems, and learning from each other’s experiences. The “Horror Genre as a Social Force” scholar community seeks to build on existing Pitt initiatives devoted to the scholarly study of horror in its social, historical, cultural, political, and artistic forms. Key partners include the Global Studies Center (home of the Global Horror Studies Archival and Research Network), the University Library System (home of the George A. Romero Collection and the Horror Studies Archive), the Department of English, the Film and Media Studies Program, and the George A. Romero Foundation.
At this session, we will have a chance to meet each other, discuss projects in progress, and imagine projects to come that connect to horror studies conceived as broadly and ambitiously as possible. Your curiosity is much more important than any expertise in horror!

Faculty and Staff Event Link: https://pitt.zoom.us/s/96802462278
There will be a separate information session for students earlier that same day: Friday, October 9th at 2:00pm. Zoom link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/96813508616

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d

Considering graduate school? Preparing your application materials?

Join us as Pitt graduate program experts and current graduate students from the School of Public Health, GSPIA, Economics, History, and Asian Studies share expertise on crafting strong applications in a Zoom discussion. Learn tips on writing effective personal statements, securing letter writers, and submitting desired credentials. Ask admissions professionals and students individual questions for successful preparation.

Dr. Kevin Broom, Director of MHA and MHA/MBA Programs, Vice Chair, Associate Professor, Pitt Public Health
Dr. Emily Rook-Koepsel, Asst. Director for Academic Affairs, UCIS Asian Studies Center
Dr.Michel Gobat , Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Professor of History
Dr. Daniele Coen-Pirani, Director of Graduate Studies, Professor of Economics
Ms. Kelly McDevitt, Admissions and Enrollment, GSPIA
Accompanying Graduate Students

Don’t miss out on an opportunity to hear from the experts. Click the link below to secure a spot today!
Tuesday, Sept 29th, 6:30pm
Online Discussion

Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9238996364

Sign up today at:
https://signup.com/go/ffYmFVe

Water Infrastructure and Regional Governance, September 29 - October 2, 2020

The Regional Studies Association’s Research Network on Infrastructural Regionalism (NOIR) is convening three online (Zoom) workshops to showcase empirical and conceptual research at the intersection of water governance, infrastructure, and regionalism. Water infrastructure performs a vital role in making and remaking regions. Watersheds and reservoirs, pipelines and ports, and storm water management and climate change mitigation represent complex political, economic, and environmental challenges. They are essential, if often black-boxed infrastructures that define how regional space is constructed, territorialized, and experienced. As critical urban infrastructures and contested political objects, water systems are fundamental to conversations about sustainability and economic development trajectories for communities across the global South and global North.

We are now accepting registrations for the NOIR Workshops on Water Infrastructure and Regional Governance. This event will assess how water infrastructure shapes formal and informal regional spaces, communities, and governance dynamics and explores how these shape how water infrastructure is developed. We are hosting four public panels that present research on what water infrastructure reveals about the politics and governance of metropolitan regions.

REGISTER: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7amhh1MQpKV09Eh

TUESDAY, September 29 | 11am - 1pm ET
Water Infrastructure and Regional Governance in and beyond Western Pennsylvania

11 - 11:10am | University of Pittsburgh/CONNECT Welcome
CONNECT Executive Director Lydia Morin

11:10 - 11:20am | Regional Studies Association Welcome, Keynote Introductions
Michael Glass, University of Pittsburgh

11:20 - 11:50am | Keynote 1: Infrastructures of Inequality
Leila Harris, University of British Columbia

11:50am - 12:20pm | Keynote 2: Thinking Regionally, Acting Strategically: New Approaches to Governing Regional Water Infrastructures
Andy Karvonen, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

12:20 - 12:35pm | Discussant Response
Dan Bain, Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory

12:35pm - 1pm | Moderated Audience Q&A

WEDNESDAY, September 30 | 11am - 12pm ET
RESEARCH PANEL 1: Decision-Making and Engagement in Water Governance
MODERATOR: Jen Nelles; Q&A: JP Addie

Regional infrastructures are often taken for granted by the public, with the consequence that infrastructural management and planning is surrendered to experts and institutions that may not be representative of the region overall. By tracing the lines of authority and influence that shape city-region infrastructures, we hope to reveal opportunities for greater engagement of more diverse publics in the deliberations over infrastructural futures.

Anne Taufen, Lisa Hoffman, Ken Yocom (University of Washington-Tacoma): Unveiling Infrastructures
Ramazan Sayan & Nidhi Nagabhatla (UN University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health): An Infrastructure Turn in Water Sharing
Fenna Hoefsloot, Javier Martinez, & Karin Pfeffer (University of Twente): Speculative futures of Lima’s water infrastructure
Cat Button (University of Newcastle): Governing Water Infrastructure from our Homes

THURSDAY, October 1 | 1am - 12pm ET
RESEARCH PANEL 2: Regional Partnerships Under Threat
MODERATOR: Michael Glass; Q&A: Jen Nelles

Whereas regional infrastructures such as sewer lines, water treatment plants, and water transportation technologies (namely locks and dams) were constructed as part of earlier periods of urban and regional development, shifting patterns of demand threaten to diminish the utility of these assets. We need to ascertain how such changing dynamics are influencing (and being influenced by) the existing governance of those infrastructural networks.

Andrew Dick & Sara Hughes (University of Michigan): The Multi-City Growth Machine in Regional Governance Networks—the case of the Karegnondi Water Authority
Dayne Walling (University of Minnesota): Urban Geographies of Fragmentation and Distress: Government Planning, Development, Infrastructure, and Inequality around Deindustrialized US Cities
Sachin Tiwale (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai): Grabbing Water Resources in Urban Agglomeration—The Case of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)
Grete Gansauer & Julia Haggerty (Montana State University): Regionalizing the Rural through Large-Scale water Infrastructure
Karsten Zimmerman (TU Dortmund): Infrastructure Regionalism as Driver for Metropolitan Governance? The Case of the Ruhr Region in Germany

FRIDAY, October 2 | 11am - 12pm ET
RESEARCH PANEL 3: Emerging Complexities in Regional Water Governance
MODERATOR: JP Addie; Q&A Michael Glass

Health crises, Federal mandates, technological innovation, and exogenous shocks can all disrupt formal and informal governance structures. We seek empirical examples and theoretical advances that can help to conceptualize how city-regions across the Global North and Global South are affected by these complexities, and to seek out best practices whereby specific regions are confronting these complexities.

Mark Usher (University of Manchester): Hydraulic Territory: Internal colonization through urban catchment management in Singapore
Filippo Menga & Michael K. Goodman (University of Reading): The Good Samaritan: Capitalism, Religion and the Political Economy of Care in International Water Charity
Mike Finewood (Pace University), Marissa Matsler, Olivia Pierce, Zenya Lederman, & Ruthann Richards: What does it mean to empower communities? Green infrastructure incentive programs as a form of neoliberal governance
Scott Raulerson, Richard Milligan, & Ellis Adams (Georgia State University): Urban Water and Hydrosocial Inequalities

Learn how to sign up for your Pitt Commons profile, the benefits of using this networking platform, and how to apply for our new International Careers Mentoring Program.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3bWdwPN

Seventy years after the historic Schuman declaration, which kick-started the process of European integration, the Franco-German partnership remains as important and necessary as ever for Europe. Aside from the major fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union faces significant internal and external challenges, whether democratic backsliding or navigating relations with Great Powers like the United States and China. German Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Emily Haber, French Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Philippe Etienne, and EU Ambassador to the US, H.E. Stavros Lambrinidis, will discuss these subjects and more during this virtual conversation. SIS professors Michelle Egan and Garret Martin will moderate the event, including a Q&A with the audience.

#JMintheUS

The covid-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on Europe. While not all EU member states have suffered equally, none has been spared social and economic hardship either. Early on, national impulses led to border closures and export restrictions on medical supplies.

Nevertheless, even in the earliest days of Europe’s exposure to the novel coronavirus, pan-European solidarity was on display. Individual acts of solidarity paved the way for donations of hundreds of thousands of protective masks and other medical supplies to those countries most affected. The institutions of the European Union eventually assumed a critical role in coordinating Europe’s response to the crisis. And as discussions shifted toward economic recovery after months of lockdown measures and restrictions on cross-border trade and travel, different proposals emerged for how to kickstart Europe’s economies and return to something approaching normal life.

What does European solidarity look like during this pandemic? How have European citizens perceived and contributed to European solidarity? What might the crisis mean for the future of the European project? In this talk, Rafael Loss, the coordinator for pan-European data projects at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), will discuss the European Solidarity Tracker, an interactive online tool that collects and visualises instances of pan-European solidarity during the covid-19 crisis.

#JMintheUS
https://ufl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q5ggRupQSja4u4oVcR5O4A

#JMintheUS

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d

Please join the European Studies Center as we remotely socialize and share some food. To create a more reception-like feel, we will be partnering with Grubhub and encourage you to enjoy something from one of your favorite local restaurants on us!

We're excited for the opportunity to connect with students, faculty, and staff, and share our upcoming events and new initiatives, recent grants, and funding opportunities.

Please register to receive the link to join us and for details of how to set up your food delivery.

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d

Federal Employee Wendy Walsh discusses her career at FEMA, as well as her education and prior work that led her to that position.

Speak with a student ambassador from the European Studies Center to learn about their four certificate offerings, events, scholarships, symposia and more.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86171673232?pwd=aThWaHhxeDFsTEdPeGZsdzZaS01EQT09
Password: 4Lkh8d

Viewing world history from the vantage point of the Silk Roads can challenge the Eurocentrism of mainstream history and introduce a more balanced view of the past. In this online workshop, Dr. Margarita Delgado Creamer (University of Pittsburgh) and Dr. Thomas R. Mueller (California University of Pennsylvania) will explore with us the global significance of this trade network that connected India, Central and East Asia, and Europe for over a thousand years. We will especially focus on the development and spread of Buddhism and also discuss the momentous discovery of the largest cache of historic documents and artifacts found in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang that bear witness to the cultural, religious, social and commercial activity that took place along the Silk Roads. Part of our exploration of the Silk Roads will involve interactive mapping (using ArcGIS Online) which teachers and students can use throughout the school year to:
1) Complete a distance analysis of the locations along the Silk Roads
2) Examine the landscapes of the Silk Roads
3) Evaluate "the reach" of the Silk Roads in terms of goods, cultures and diseases

All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion for professional development reporting. Pennsylvania educators will receive Act 48 professional development hours.

Please register at: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYscO6trjIvGdOctbko0eX12p_QiwcHjiUL

Join Karen Lue, Pitt Global Hub Manager, for an information session on how you can Be Global Ready. Learn about all of the international and global opportunities Pitt has to offer: on-campus co-curricular activities, study abroad programs, international studies certificates, foreign languages, overseas internships, and more! Students looking to internationalize their Pitt experience are encouraged to attend. Parents and other family members are also welcome!

Register here: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_F_Y_2dcgSuyvBc6DKMCyQg

#JMintheUS

The ESC is pleased to announce the first event in its joint initiative with other Jean Monnet Chairs and Centers throughout the United States, the Jean Monnet in the USA Lecture Series. The first event is organized by our colleagues at the University of Florida, but is open to Pitt students, faculty, and friends. Stay tuned for more #JMintheUS events throughout the 2020-21 academic year!

The Corona crisis is the "hour of the executive": European countries are taking measures to regulate public life and prevent the spread of the disease. On the one hand, these seem to be unfavorable conditions for populist radical right parties. On the other, they present themselves in many countries as the voice of those who see the interventions as an inadequate restriction of their freedom or even believe in a conspiracy of the elites. This presentation will discuss how populist parties adjust their programs in the pandemic, shed light on common narratives, assess their electoral support, and pay special regard to the case of the AfD in Germany.

Have you wished for the opportunity to work with colleagues at your school to globalize a unit, lesson, or module?

Collaborate across disciplines with colleagues from your school to (re)design global curriculum! This program will provide educators with the time, (virtual) space, and material support to work with like-minded colleagues and (re)design an interdisciplinary, global unit or lessons. We are accepting applications from teams of 2-4 educators (teachers, librarians, curriculum development specialists, and/or administrative personnel are welcome to apply). Act 48 credits and a stipend provided to each participant as well as a mini-grant offered to each team for curricular materials.

Submit your application here by June 19, 2020: https://forms.gle/JLMzDuRxRmmR267T7

Have you wished for the opportunity to work with colleagues at your school to globalize a unit, lesson, or module?

Collaborate across disciplines with colleagues from your school to (re)design global curriculum! This program will provide educators with the time, (virtual) space, and material support to work with like-minded colleagues and (re)design an interdisciplinary, global unit or lessons. We are accepting applications from teams of 2-4 educators (teachers, librarians, curriculum development specialists, and/or administrative personnel are welcome to apply). Act 48 credits and a stipend provided to each participant as well as a mini-grant offered to each team for curricular materials.

Submit your application here by June 19, 2020: https://forms.gle/JLMzDuRxRmmR267T7

Have you wished for the opportunity to work with colleagues at your school to globalize a unit, lesson, or module?

Collaborate across disciplines with colleagues from your school to (re)design global curriculum! This program will provide educators with the time, (virtual) space, and material support to work with like-minded colleagues and (re)design an interdisciplinary, global unit or lessons. We are accepting applications from teams of 2-4 educators (teachers, librarians, curriculum development specialists, and/or administrative personnel are welcome to apply). Act 48 credits and a stipend provided to each participant as well as a mini-grant offered to each team for curricular materials.

Submit your application here by June 19, 2020: https://forms.gle/JLMzDuRxRmmR267T7

Postponed until 2021

The Undergraduate Research Symposium is an annual event since 2002 designed to provide undergraduate students, from the University of Pittsburgh and other colleges and universities, with advanced research experiences and opportunities to develop presentation skills. The event is open to undergraduates from all majors and institutions who have written a research paper from a social science, humanities, or business perspective focusing on the study of Eastern, Western, or Central Europe, the European Union, Russia, or Central Eurasia. The Symposium is held on the University of Pittsburgh-Oakland campus.

After the initial submission of papers, selected participants are grouped into panels according to their research topics. The participants then give 10- to 15-minute presentations based on their research to a panel of faculty and graduate students. The presentations are open to the public.

Please register to attend here: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkdeqpqzwqGtAzEUX1o93hQMl58NmZ6HjN

In this presentation Dr. Looney examines how the reception of Dante Alighieri –his biography and the Divine Comedy–contributes to the productive literary entanglement of several key figures of American literary life in the middle of the 20th century.

Communist revolution in the 20th century was reliant on a profound change in individual consciousness. It is not surprising that communist ideology spoke forcefully and often about creating “new people.” Revolutionary China was no different. But how did Chinese communists at various levels, from Mao Zedong to village cadres, understand their work to transform individual consciousness? What did “Maoism” mean in the everyday? This live interview with Aminda Smith will explore the profound and personal changes in individual’s consciousness through multiple points of contact between individuals, the state, the Party, and its propaganda apparatuses.

This event is part of the UCIS pop-up course.

Register to attend here: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Eoc-6gqDIobTfDZIYtgF7M51G4HMEOhQ

Designed for juniors, seniors, and graduate students to establish a career direction
and formulate a strategy for securing a full-time position in today's competitive
international and global workplace. Students focus on developing specific
competencies that include career selection, jobsearch activities, resume and
cover letter development, professionalnetworking techniques, behavioral
interviewing skills, and workplace ethicsin preparation for government, business,
and nonprofit sector careers. ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND WORKSHOPS.

Learning Goals
This initiative emphasizes developing readiness to transition to the
workplace. The focus is on the development of self-awareness, interviewing
skills, the acquisition of job-hunting knowledge as well as the formulation
of an action plan to achieve the student's job and career goals.

Learning Outcomes

1. To clarify personal interests, values, skills
and career options.
2. To research/explore various fields for
international and global careers.
3. To create a career search strategy that
can/will be used upon course completion.
4. To present self effectively in an interview or
conversation with potential employers.

During this session, the European Studies Center’s year-long exploration of Memory and Politics in Europe focuses in on one building in the center of Paris: the Notre Dame Cathedral. On the one year anniversary of the devastating fire that destroyed its roof, this virtual discussion will highlight Notre Dame’s standing a lieux de mémoire for the French, as well as its significance outside of France. The Conversation will also address our current crises: what has been the importance of cathedrals as social gathering points throughout history? What is the role that such places have in shaping local and global communities? What is the impact of disasters/crises such as fire and the current pandemic on heritage sites and other cultural institutions? And what role do the arts and cultural heritage sites play during such disasters? Audience participation is encouraged. Please join us.

To register, please go to https://coe_notredame.eventbrite.com

Moderated by: Prof. Christopher Drew Armstrong, History of Art and Architecture.

Forty years ago, Margaret Thatcher declared that “there is no alternative.” State socialism was dying and capitalism, restructured as neoliberalism, was ascendant. The collapse of state socialism in 1991 seemed to hammer the last nail into socialism’s coffin and vindicate Thatcher’s prophecy. Fast forward to today—socialism is back. However, the road to socialism is not easy. Today’s socialists cannot simply be dreamers. They must also be realists. This live interview with Sam Gindin will discuss the need for socialists to establish popular confidence in the feasibility of a socialist society and the pragmatic steps we can take to get there.

This event is part of the Socialism: Past, Present, and Future Pop-Up course.

Register to attend here: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAud-qtrzsjL38CYsBguvwlN3uu8N6HJQ

Designed for juniors, seniors, and graduate students to establish a career direction
and formulate a strategy for securing a full-time position in today's competitive
international and global workplace. Students focus on developing specific
competencies that include career selection, jobsearch activities, resume and
cover letter development, professionalnetworking techniques, behavioral
interviewing skills, and workplace ethicsin preparation for government, business,
and nonprofit sector careers. ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND WORKSHOPS.

Learning Goals
This initiative emphasizes developing readiness to transition to the
workplace. The focus is on the development of self-awareness, interviewing
skills, the acquisition of job-hunting knowledge as well as the formulation
of an action plan to achieve the student's job and career goals.

Learning Outcomes

1. To clarify personal interests, values, skills
and career options.
2. To research/explore various fields for
international and global careers.
3. To create a career search strategy that
can/will be used upon course completion.
4. To present self effectively in an interview or
conversation with potential employers.