The 2011 documentary film visits more than a dozen countries across five continents to discover what makes people happy. Among those who share their thoughts with Academy Award-nominated director Roko Belic and his crew are a crab fisherman in Louisiana, a Kolkata rickshaw driver, an Okinawa centenarian, a lifelong surfer dude, and scientists who probe the neuropsychological roots of our emotional lives. The film addresses many of the fundamental conflicts inherent in modern society and provides insights into ways to not only cope but thrive.

For the last decade there has been wide debate on European Union (EU) as a normative power actor in international politics. Visiting scholar Işık Kuşçu contributes to this debate by analyzing the impact of the EU in Kazakhstan in the field of human rights. As one of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, Kazakhstan has emerged as an actor with a desire to win the recognition of the West as a modern, progressive power in the region. While the EU`s engagement in Central Asia does not have a long history, it considers Kazakhstan an important partner in the region.

Jason Dury is an International Security and Crisis Management leader with experience in counterterrorism, counterintelligence, Insider Threat and Corporate Espionage awareness among other areas. With over 20 years of experience, he has served in the US Intelligence Community, worked for Fortune 500® companies, and as a consultant to corporations and individuals around the world. He has successfully developed key security programs for employee travel safety, investigations, and corporate information protection to enable success in the complex international business arena.

With responses by Paul Bove (English), Nancy Condee (Global Studies), and Michael Goodhart (Political Science)

Readings for Thursday's colloquium can be found here.

Arif Dirlik is now an Independent Scholar living in Oregon. Arif Dirlik was Professor of History at Duke University from 1971 – 2001. He was then Knight Professor of History and Anthropology and Director of Center for Critical Theory and Transnational Studies at the University of Oregon. Dirlik is one of the leading experts on the political culture and party politics of the People’s Republic of China. He is the author of more than a dozen books on Chinese Communism, Revolution, Chinese Historiography, and historiography from such presses as Oxford, California, and Duke.

Mr. Carliner, an American economist working for the EU Delegation in Washington, D.C., will join the Pitt community via videoconference from the EU Delegation in Washington to offer a talk focused on the E.U. and the future of economic regionalism. He will also answer questions about the nature of the Eurozone crisis, its resolution and its implications for the future of the EU.

Sewickley Academy's Michael-Ann Cerniglia, will frame Conor Grennan's Little Princes in in the context of Human Security to discuss Nepal's child workers. She will share with our K-12 community on how she also used the book to look at globalization and how she incorporated the text into her Human Geography. Participants will receive a free copy of the book. To register: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGtrNGFva2JUQU9RN0x...

The African Studies Program, Asian Studies Center, Center for Latin American Studies, and Global Studies Center are delighted to celebrate this year's graduates at a joint graduation ceremony and reception!

All Spring 2014 graduates are invited to attend, as are faculty and friends. The dress code for this event is casual.

Graduates who plan to attend are strongly encouraged to RSVP at http://tinyurl.com/PittUCISGrad

Food may be a marker of identity, metaphor for social change, and means of resistance. Gezi Park events started after brutal interventions were made by police against Gezi Park occupiers on May 29, 2013, quickly escalating into one of the greatest civil protests in Turkish history, and spreading to other parts of the country. During the events, protesters responded to misinformation from mass media and accusations of the government in a variety of creative ways.

The last session of the five part Breaking Down the Headlines series, where Dr. Hakim will present on the literature and poetry shedding light on the aspirations as well as daily life of the Arab populations past and present who reside in this region in spirit or in person.