Revised date TBA.

Nationalization is one of the most important epochal events in the history of twentieth-century China. Through the large-scale expropriation of factories, mines, and plants first from the Nationalists in the late 1940s and then from private businesspeople in the early 1950s, the Communist regime transformed the Chinese economy into full state ownership. More importantly, by eliminating capitalists and private business, nationalization laid the ideological foundation of the Communist rule, a legacy that continues to resonate in contemporary China.

Please join us as we celebrate the Lunar New Year with dancing, activities, and refreshments.

Nearly two million Vietnamese immigrants escaped to the United States in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, many of them prospering in America's $8 billion nail economy. Join us as we explore this topic with a screening of the film documentary, "Nailed It," followed by a panel discussion with members of Pittsburgh's Vietnamese community on the enduring economic entrepreneurialism of 20th & 21st century Vietnamese immigrants to the United States, and a K-14 educator workshop on how to utilize digital storymapping in the classroom.

Globally cities are on the front lines of dealing with greenhouse gas and air pollution issues, particularly Chinese cities that are growing rapidly. Steps Chinese cities take to become truly low carbon will ultimately determine China's success to address climate change emissions. Through the case studies of three cities - Shenzhen, Nanchang, Xiamen and Zhenjiang - the research seeks to bring a more nuanced understanding to how China’s pioneer low-carbon city model contributes to China’s climate governance and the bottom-up approach in the world.

ARYSE is a local organization that facilitates after school and summer programming for immigrant youth in Pittsburgh. They are currently recruiting for directors and counselors (paid positions) for their summer program, PRYSE Academy.

Through engaging academic curricula, creative expression workshops, team-building activities, field trips, and soccer programming, PRYSE is proven to help participants develop literacy skills, build personal confidence, prepare for the school year, and deepen their sense of belonging.

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?

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.

There has been a resurgence of the Left since the 2008 Great Recession. A class-based politics, dormant for so long, has finally returned to mainstream political discourse. But what is this Left? What are its goals, possibilities and limitations? How will it organize itself for the politics of the 21st century? This live interview with Jodi Dean will discuss her book trilogy that provokes us to rethink and even revisit the Left with a renewed vision of communism, a efficacy of the political party, and the ethics and spirit of comradeship.

Ever since Deng Xiaoping effectively de-radicalized China in the 1980s, debates have swirled around which path China would follow. Would it democratize? Would it embrace capitalism? Would the Communist Party's rule be able to withstand globalization and the internet? One thing few seriously considered: Mao Zedong would make a political comeback. This live interview with Jude Blanchette will discuss the return of the populist enthusiasm for the Great Helmsman's policies, and what it means for the present and future of Chinese communism.