Professor Sarkar, on the seventieth anniversary of the independence/partition of 1947, will return to the ever-contested borders of South Asia to speculate on the region’s fissured futures, and to think about the constitutive relation between borders and futurities. His lecture will draw on two instances of life and creativity in the borderlands of India: the resolute aspirations and precarious agencies wrought by frontier communities in the face of insurmountable adversities.

From about the 1990s onwards, in tandem with economic liberalization, the monumental iconic statue has become an increasingly prominent feature of the religious and now the political landscape. Focusing on the Statue of Unity– a figure of Sardar Patel intended to be the tallest statue in the world – and its multiple genealogies, this talk attends to what the novelty of this genre makes possible: the neoliberal scale-making project. The talk links locality at varying scales with the national and global, and the speculative sensibility at its heart.

This performance is an original work of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance form, and
tells the story of a prominent Indian feminist and anti-colonial activist, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, as she confronts racism in Louisiana in 1940. A powerfully moving work of dance that blends forgotten history with original music, poetry, and motion, Out of the Shadows will be performed by renowned dancer and choreographer, Anjal Chande. Free and open to the public.

Formerly known as the "Arab Courier," Pittsburgh's arguably most well-known diorama is being re-named "Lion Attacking a Dromedary" and moved from the second floor of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to the museum entry. This move represents a re-interpretation of the work-no longer considered "natural" and biological history, the diorama is now understood to reflect racialist stereotypes of the Arab world. Museums have long been institutions that categorize people, objects, and history.

Students will have the opportunity to try out several 15-minute language lessons in a variety of LCTL languages.
Our instructors are excited to offer students this opportunity to sample their language and consider whether they might like to study with us in the fall.
For more information, email or stop by G-47 in the Cathedral of Learning.

The Syrian refugee crisis is provoking timely discussions on human rights, immigration, and national security. How do we broach these issues in the classroom, make them accessible to our students, and offer impactful, yet sensitive, lessons? In this workshop, Mina Hogsett, a third-year doctoral student in Social and Comparative Analysis in Education at the University of Pittsburgh, and Ashley Davis, MEd and Manager of Educational Services at Snapology, will present original research from their time in Germany, on a Nationality Rooms Scholarship.

Professor Jett, author of American Ambassadors, Why Peacekeeping Fails, and Why American Foreign Policy Fails, will describe the current status of four peacekeeping operations in the Middle East and why, despite their $700 million annual cost, they are actually accomplishing very little. He will also discuss why it is nonetheless impossible to shut them down and how peacekeeping will be unable to make any contribution to a possible peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

Want to improve career placement skills in networking, communication, and resume writing? Come attend these events sponsored by the Career Development and Placement Assistance Office.