In partnership with the American-Hellenic Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and the European Art Center in Greece (EUARCE), the Greek Nationality Room's commemoration and celebration of the 250th Anniversary of America unearths previously unknown and underdiscussed facets of its founding. From Revolution to Constitution, Greeks played direct and indirect roles on land and at sea even before 1776.

As we celebrate those unknown Greeks, we also consider the 250th Anniversary of Thomas Paine’s landmark essay “Common Cause”. How ancient Greek thought shaped it, but also how ancient Greek thought tempered it. This synthesis culminated in the Constitution of the United States of America.

With the contribution of distinguished invited guests, this synthesis is discussed, distilled and debated. Is it stable in a modern America facing internal and international challenges?

Last, the distinguished invited guests are asked to consider if and how this synthesis travelled back to a nascent modern Greek state following the Revolutionary War and how the Greek Church acted as the bridge to stabilize the synthesis between the Fire and the Pillar, represented by Paine and Aristotle/Kapodistrias.

With the overarching theme “America 250: The Aegean Arc”, we invite you this October to a first-in-history exploration of the unknown Greeks in the American Revolution, the “Fire” of Paine’s “Common Cause” and what it means to America 250 years lager. Additionally, how Paine and Aristotle were synthesized through the stabilizing bridge of the Church in Greece and how this can help nurture a more perfect American union.

Abstract:

Between 2019 and 2021, Colombia’s Paro Nacional (National Strike) established sound and music as central instruments of political protest. This lecture examines two significant instances of this phenomenon: the viral 2019 Cacerolazo Nacional, in which banging pots and pans spread across the country as a spontaneous form of dissent, and the 2021 Cacerolazos Sinfónicos, in which orchestral musicians brought their instruments into public demonstrations. Reading mediated sources, including videos, WhatsApp communications, press coverage, and human rights reports, as situated representations rather than transparent evidence of lived experience, this analysis develops a theoretical framework that extends Achille Mbembe's concept of necropolitics from lethal exposure to what might be termed aural governance. This framework, theorized here as a necropolitics of silence, accounts for how states render certain voices, communities, and experiences inaudible as a means of fragmenting and managing populations. In response to this imposed silence, citizens mobilized practices of noising and musicking to form ephemeral sonic communities that contested state-imposed inaudibility and briefly redistributed the sensible, reclaiming urban space for democratic claim-making. However, insofar as these practices functioned as political tactics rather than as elements of a broader strategy engaged with institutional politics, they also left the collectives and individuals involved vulnerable to both state repression and eventual absorption into institutional frameworks. This ambiguity, at once generative and self-limiting, offers a productive lens through which to examine the transformative potential and the political constraints of sound as a medium of resistance.

Juan Fernando Velasquez is an Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the Moores School of Music, University of Houston. He studies how sound, technology, and social life intersect across Latin America, bridging musicology, ethnomusicology, cultural history, and sound studies, with additional interests in brass bands, protest music, and ecomusicology. His first book, Los Ecos de la Villa (2011), received a Grant for Research on Cultural Heritage from Medellín’s Secretary of Culture, and his articles have appeared in Latin American Music Review and Americas: A Hemispheric Music Journal. He is completing his second book, Inscribing Sounds, on music technology and culture in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Colombia, under contract with Oxford University Press. Velasquez earned his BA and MA from Universidad EAFIT and his PhD in Musicology, with certificates in Latin American and Cultural Studies, from the University of Pittsburgh. His honors include a Michigan Society of Fellows fellowship, a Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship, a Thinker grant, and a Fulbright grant.

Come and learn about undergraduate and graduate students about their global learning experiences abroad in the summer!

The Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs 2026 Scholarship Awardee Poster Showcase will be held on Thursday, October 22 from 5-6:30 pm in the Connolly Ballroom in Alumni Hall. Come join undergraduate and graduate students to learn about their global learning experiences abroad in the summer.

The NRIEP Scholarship Program is nearly sixty years old and supports study abroad, internships, independent research and experiential learning for Pitt students around the world.

4227 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

2026 - 2027 Series
Re-Centering Narratives: Indigenous and Island Peoples

This professional development workshop series is designed for K-12 educators seeking to deepen their understanding of global issues through literature. This year, we will explore the theme of "Re-Centering Narratives: Indigenous and Island Peoples." Through global and regional perspectives, we will discuss narratives of Indigenous and Island Peoples, whose identities, spaces, and lived experiences are informed by global phenomena such as migration and displacement, economic and political struggles, environmental issues, human rights, and human conditions. By exploring compelling stories from diverse cultural perspectives, educators will gain insights into the complexities of this theme, its impact on individuals and communities, and how to engage students in meaningful discussions around these topics.

Each session features a carefully selected book, paired with historically contextualized presentations, interactive discussions, teaching strategies, and cross-disciplinary activities to inspire classroom implementation.

Sessions this year will take place virtually on Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:30 p.m. (ET). Three Act 48 credit hours (for PA educators) and a copy of the book are provided for each session.