Register here.
Week of April 11, 2021 in UCIS
Thursday, April 8 until Friday, April 8
Sunday, April 11
Monday, April 12
The Euro Challenge is a national competition for cash prizes where 9th and 10th grade high school students test their knowledge and understanding of the European economy and the Euro, the currency shared by many of the 28 countries of the European Union. The European Studies Center is proud to host the Western Pennsylvania regional competition for Euro Challenge at the University of Pittsburgh.
This year's competitions will be held virtually. The top team(s) from the regional competition will advance to the national competition.
To learn more about Euro Challenge and register for the 2021 competition, please visit www.euro-challenge.org.
The next Charlemos event will be on Monday, April 12, 2021 at 15:00 EDT; the topic of discussion will be "Radical versus Moderate Voters in Latin America." Jennifer Cyr (University of Arizona) will moderate a conversation with Juan A. Moraes (Universidad de la República), Diego Luján (Universidad de la República), and Lucio Rennó. The discussion will be based on "The Electoral Success of the Left in Latin America: Is There Any Room for Spatial Models of Voting" (published in LARR), by Juan A. Moraes and Diego Luján, and "The Bolsonaro Voter: Issue Positions and Vote Choice in the 2018 Brazilian Presidential Elections" (published in LAPS), by Lucio Rennó. The event will be in English. Registration is required.
Wednesday, April 14
This presentation will explore the structure of decision-making on national security issues as established in the National Security Act of 1947 and as practiced today. While established by law, the US National Security Council is designed to advise the president; most decisions are ultimately up to him. Therefore, this presentation will also examine the varying leadership styles of modern US presidents and how those personal styles have influenced national security decision-making, with a particular focus on examples from the Bush and Obama presidencies, during which Professor Santucci was working in the US Government.
Julia Santucci, Senior Lecturer of Intelligence Studies, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
With a decade of experience in national security and foreign policy positions at the White House, CIA, and the Department of State, Senior Lecturer Julia Santucci has tackled policy challenges from an intelligence, national security, and human rights perspective. Not only has she interacted frequently with high-level government officials about decisions on critical policy decisions, she provided written assessments and oral briefings to the President.
REGISTER HERE: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iCAQh6i0Sb2cIzXFY9Ztsg
Meet with African Studies Program Student Ambassador Emmanuel Ampofo to ask questions about the African Studies Certificate, upcoming events, and more.
Meet via Zoom: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/97841843639
After Brexit and in the middle of pandemic borders being raised, this presentation offers a historic review of the moving images of the European Project. Even as the German troops were withdrawing from occupied countries, the resistance started to produce newsreels, and this postwar media generally presented Europe as a project of hope for the future. As the 50s began the European project gained momentum and the work of promoting Europe extended into short film, documentary and even feature film. With the establishment of the European Community new resources for media production emerged along with a more organized European information policy. Nevertheless national, regional and private production contributed visual material to the European project. And in the critical spirit of the 1960s and 1970s media projects started to explore the more difficult aspects of European open markets like unemployment and labor migration.
From surrealist Italian bureaucrats, to radioactive French scientists, to Churchill’s pro-Europeanism, these projects offer often surprising insights. Reviewing this work we not only see the struggles of the European project, but we follow changes in format and technology. Newsreels gave way to television style reporting give way to the satellite and streaming distribution of the European Commission’s Audiovisual Services.
This presentation will review the history of the moving images of Europe from those early postwar days to the present. It will rely on clips to provide the audience a chance to see for themselves. And it will offer a set of links to foster further viewing and exploration.
Join GSC BPhil candidate, Anna Coleman, as she defends her thesis to her defense committee. Past research on the environmental movement has demonstrated the pragmatic approach environmental groups take in their engagement with international governance organizations (IGOs). Coleman's research contributes to a discussion of what motivates this pragmatism, with a particular focus on what these types of relationships provide environmental groups and what these relationships may suggest about the future of international climate action. Drawing from updated data on the behavior of environmental social movements, she suggest that the scope of a TSMO’s focus influences their need for connections with other actors, including both other TSMOs and IGOs.
The pandemic has hit Europe hard. Tough shutdowns and social distancing measures have caused an unprecedented drop in economic contraction, while the recovery has been slowed down by the surge in new variants. Despite a rocky start, however, vaccines are now being rolled-out and the EU is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Large fiscal transfers and supportive monetary policy have cushioned the economic blow and the EU economy is expected to come out of this new crisis with a few scratches, but hopefully not the deep scars that characterised the European Debt Crisis. This is also thanks to innovative tools developed by the EU to support its weakest Member States. Despite these efforts, there is a material risk that not all Member States would recover at the same pace. Through its Next Generation package the EU is aiming at boosting green and digital investments to address risks of economic divergence and fragmentation. At the same time it is preparing the EU economy for the challenges of decarbonisation and digital transformation. Join us for a webinar with Mr. Moreno Bertoldi, Mr. Kristian Orsini and Mr. Ben Carliner to discuss how the pandemic is reshaping EU economic governance and preparing Europe for the key challenges of the 21st century.
#JMintheUS
Chat with other French students, French faculty, and PhD students and practice your French language skills. Email PhD student Pat Nikiema at PAN32@pitt.edu for the Zoom link.
The Latin America and Caribbean Competency Virtual Series is an opportunity for students to learn more about different topics related to this area and connect with the guest speakers outside of the classroom environment. The students will also have the chance of discussing and asking questions regarding the topic of the presentation. The fifth presentation will be by Dr. Diego Chaves-Gnecco (MD, MPH, FAAP), developmental and behavioral pediatrician at UPMC. He will talk about how COVID-19 has affected Latinx populations. In the presentation Dr. Chaves will also review demographic characteristics of Latinos in the US and in Southwest PA, epidemiologic characteristics of COVID-19 in Latinos, explain why Latinos are especially vulnerable to COVID-19, and talk about what we can all do to support/help/provide for Latino communities. You can earn myPittGlobal and OCC credit as well as a certificate of participation by attending! Registration is required.
A series of NCTA Master Teacher workshops on integrating East Asia into your classroom.
Join us for a teacher to teacher presentations that will cover content, strategies, implementation, and resources for bringing East Asia into your classroom this year.
“Your dynasty is so weak you lost to Korea FOUR TIMES! You're like the Buffalo Bills of China.”
“Oh yea, then why are we so Suite?!”
Historical debates can be fun and educational. In this presentation we’ll look at one way to turn a dry, document-based discussion into a smack down, drag-out, no holds barred, debate. This tool is appropriate for 7-12 classrooms and with some modification can be used at the elementary level. Students learn important research skills, historical analysis and interpretation, and have a great time doing it.
Although video culture can be traced to earlier periods, its surge in the digital age marks the arrival of a new era in which anywhere can be a performance stage, and anybody can become
a social celebrity. The blurring boundaries between public and private, between stars and fans, and between national and transnational; the paradoxical relations between freedom and
surveillance, between connection and isolation, and between actual and virtual, together challenge our perceptions about intimacy, affect, and identity. This roundtable discussion will address some of the issues reflected in the video culture in East Asia, The panelists will share their experiences and expertise in Asian pop culture, hoping to open up more directions and
perspectives to look at contemporary East Asia and beyond.
Register here.
Thursday, April 15
For the first time after World War II, a radical right party is represented in the German federal parliament. In this regard, the Federal Republic has finally ‘caught up’ with other European countries who have witnessed the ongoing success of radical right pariahs. The presentation will analyze the ideology of the AfD in this context and reflect on the causes and consequences of its electoral success.
Marcel Lewandowsky is a DAAD Visiting Assistant Professor at the Center for European Studies, University of Florida.
The ESC’s 2020-21 theme, Creating Europe, explores both the political, social, cultural, and geographical forces that have given shape to contemporary Europe and also individuals who create and are creative in their daily or artistic expressions of what it means to be European.
Audience participation is encouraged.
Event information will be updated to include panelists and moderator.
EU DEMOCRACY FORUM – IMAGINE THE FUTURE
Democracy cannot be taken for granted -- not in Europe, not anywhere. With this series of talks by experts on European politics and society we want to encourage discussion about the future of democracy in the European Union, its member states, and the neighborhood. As the EU Commission launches its Conference on the Future of Europe in 2021, we invite you to imagine this future with us. Our contributors will reflect on the EU’s achievements and challenges. We will hear their reflections on how to strengthen and expand democratic processes and institutions, both in Brussels and in Europe more broadly.
Laber Rhabarber - More than a German conversation hour!
"... the most human thing we have is language, and we have it in order to talk." German author Theodor Fontane wrote in 1892. So, here's chance! Be human with us for an hour every week, albeit in German ;D
Everyone and every level of German welcome!
Zoom Meeting link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/99661883076
German Dept. website: http://www.german.pitt.edu/
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @UPittGerman
Join the Nationality Rooms Program and Mid-Atlantic Mother's Milk Bank for a series of panel discussions on the health and cultural aspects of Human Milk. Also sponsored by CLAS, African Studies, the School of Health and Rehab Sciences, UPMC, the Latino Community Center, and the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh.
Register Here: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsc-GoqzovGdfCpUmYkgU6dlM_nIBVAcOC
In the last decade, technological advancements have enabled a boom in the use of computer assisted language learning (CALL) for Japanese language learning. Recent research (Zimmerman and McMeekin, 2019) shows how new directions are breaking ground, moving beyond the drill-based behaviorist/structural approach of previous decades into areas of inquiry that focus on more integrative and even ecological approaches to technology use. This talk reviews major findings on the effects of CALL on learning, teaching, and acquisition of the Japanese language, identifies gaps in the research and discusses specific observations/suggestions for the direction of future Japanese CALL research.
Friday, April 16
This is a professional development workshop aimed primarily at faculty and instructors who are interested in teaching on global geopolitics. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions.
REGISTER: https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcqce6rqz4qEtd2CGDgQGiXIQXxb8E7k8...
SCHEDULE
8:30 a. m. (EDT)
Welcome and Program Overview
9:00 a.m. (EDT)
CHINA-RUSSIA-US RELATIONS AND STRATEGIC TRIANGLES: AN INTERVIEW
Dr. Thomas Graham, Distinguished Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Dr. Sean Guillory, Curator, Sean's Russia Blog and Podcast
10:15 a.m. (EDT)
Refreshment Break
10:30 a.m. (EDT)
CHINA’S GLOBAL ROLE IN THE XI JINPING ERA: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE ‘BELT AND ROAD’ INITIATIVE
Dr. Matthew Johnson Research Director/Founder and Principal, AltaSilva LLC, Philadelphia
12:00 p.m. (EDT)
Lunch Break
1:00 p. m. (EDT)
RUSSIA, AMERICA, AND THE NEW GLOBAL ORDER: AN INTERVIEW
Dr. Andrei Tsygankov, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, SFSU
Dr. Sean Guillory, Curator, Sean's Russia Blog and Podcast
2:15 p.m. (EDT)
Refreshment Break
2:30 p.m. (EDT)
RULING THE EAST: CHINESE-RUSSIAN ENCOUNTERS ON THE FRONTIERS OF CAPITAL IN CONTEMPORARY VLADIVOSTOK
Joseph Livesey, Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology, NYU
3:45 p.m. (EDT)
Closing Remarks
Is it getting harder to speak up in both democracies and dictatorships? This forum will explore the role of political cartooning in the development of civil and political freedoms in our times. Please join us for a discussion of cartooning and free speech regulation in Europe, the cartooning experience of the Ghanaian satirical artist Bright Ackwerh, and the strategies of the Iranian government that changed the life of the editorial cartoonist and activist-in-exile Kianoush Ramezani.
MODERATOR:
Oleg Minin is Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian at Bard College. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. His fields of specialization include the literature, visual, and performing arts of the Russian Silver Age and Russian avant-garde; the satirical press of the Russian fin de siècle; Habermas’s social theory and Bourdieu’s theory of cultural production; and language pedagogy. His work has been published in The Russian Review, Experiment: A Journal of Russian Culture, and Slavic and East European Journal. He is the co-curator of the exhibition Demonocracy: All Hell Breaks Loose in 1905 Russia at the Doheny Memorial Library, USC, and curator of the Ferris Collection of Sovietica at the Institute of Modern Russian Culture. He previously taught at the University of Southern California; California State University, Northridge; Glendale Community College; and University of California, Riverside. At Bard since 2012.
SPEAKERS:
Nives Rumenjak obtained her Ph.D. in History from the University of Zagreb. She is a senior IR Lecturer and Head of the IR Department at Webster University’s Leiden campus. Since 2008, she has been a Center Associate at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. Previously, Dr. Rumenjak held a research position at the Croatian Institute of History in Zagreb for eleven years, where she published her most comprehensive book, The Political and Social Elite of Serbs in Croatia at the End of the 19 Century: The Rise and Decline of the SerbianClub. Dr. Rumenjak’s areas of expertise include Central and Southeast European studies, sociohistorical prosopography of elite groups, nationalism, borderland identities, freedom of expression and political cartooning in the modern era. Her recent article, titled "Freedom of expression in multicultural societies: Political cartooning in Europe in the modern and postmodern eras," is published in 2019 in Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication.
Bright Ackwerh, born 1989 is an artist from Ghana. He is a product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he earned a BFA and MFA in painting and sculpture. His practice is situated in the field of painting, illustration and street art. He was the recipient of the Kuenyehia prize for Ghanaian Contemporary Art for 2016, an honor conferred on him by a jury led by Professor Emeritus El Anatsui. Bright’s work had been gaining critical acclaim on social media because of his strategy to question the limited spaces available for displaying his art and for engaging a young art audience in his hometown of Ghana. Bright Ackwerh’s practice has been heavily influenced by the Ghanaian artist duo FOKN BOIS and the work of Nigerian activist and musician Fela Kuti in how they have made social commentary. Mr. Ackwerh’s work has recently been centered on investigating pop culture as a medium which he also explores through public poster making. His work has been shown in group exhibitions in Ghana and abroad including ‘Cornfields in Accra’ in 2016, ‘Orderly Disorderly’ in 2017 and his first solo ‘Where De Cho Dey’ in 2018. He has also been involved in organizing art workshops in the northern region of Ghana in collaboration with some development agencies based in Tamale. Bright is currently studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and continues to make work inspired by global popular culture.
Iranian award-winning editorial cartoonist and activist-in-exile, Kianoush Ramezani lives and works in Europe since 2009. His editorial cartoons appear regularly in French newspapers and media like Courrier International and La Croix, and have also been published in Libération, Arte, We Demain and other international media. A series of Kianoush's original cartoons are part of the collection of Kunstmuseum Solingen in Germany. He received the French award for artistic courage of 2018 in the Angouleme International Comics Festival. He has given educational lectures in high schools, colleges and universities since 2010 in Europe in order to raise awareness about the importance of "the freedom of expression" among the young generation. He chose “Cartooning: The Art of Danger” for his TEDx talk in 2014, months before Charlie Hebdo’s terrorist attack. Kianoush follows international and local societies, educational systems and other art fields like short films, installation and video arts. He has been curating and directing international cartoon exhibitions and awards since 2011 in Europe [France, Sweden, Germany, etc.]. He has been a jury member of Interfilm Berlin [International short film festival] in 2015 and 2016. Kianoush is the co-founder and President of “United Sketches,” an international organization promoting freedom of expression and cartoonists in exile.
We will be discussing the JAMA "no doctor is racist" issue. As you probably heard, in February JAMA published a podcast to discuss structural racism. The host made "strange" assertions. Sarah Sanders will guide us in a discussion of an article that talks about this, but please feel free to get more info on the topic.
How Whiteness Works: JAMA and the Refusals of White Supremacy, by Clarence, c. Gravlee, Somatosphere, March 27, 2021. http://somatosphere.net/2021/how-whiteness-works.html/
With the support of the Center for Latin American Studies, we explore 1) the problems Latinos in small yet rapidly growing populations face, and 2) how to solve those problems. We hope to get new writing and research collaborations going! Open to all interested: students, faculty, staff, and practitioners from Pitt and beyond. If you want to get extra network time, we will be there 30 minutes before and after the meeting times.
Meeting Passcode: Philadelphia
Please join the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center on Friday, April 16, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET for a discussion on the decreased support for leftwing parties and the rise of rightwing populism in Europe. The event– co-sponsored by the Center for European Union, Transatlantic & Trans-European Space Studies (CEUTTSS) at Virginia Tech– will be based on Dr. Maria Snegovaya’s paper How ex-Communist left parties reformed and lost, and will explore the connection between neoliberal economic policies and the rise of rightwing populism in Europe among economically diverse social classes, as well as the foreign policy implications of this trend.
The panel will be moderated by Mr. Ben Haddad, Director, Europe Center, Atlantic Council, and will feature the author of the paper Dr. Maria Snegovaya, Research Fellow, Center for European Union, Transatlantic & Trans-European Space Studies (CEUTTSS) at Virginia Tech. The other three panelists will be Dr. Sheri Berman, Professor of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University; Dr. Yascha Mounk, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University; and Dr. Dalibor Rohac, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
A Zoom link will be sent to those who register. The event is open to the press and on the record.
Featuring
Dr. Sheri Berman, Professor of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University
Dr. Yascha Mounk, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Dalibor Rohac, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Dr. Maria Snegovaya, Research Fellow, Center for European Union, Transatlantic & Trans-European Space Studies (CEUTTSS) A Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, Virginia Tech; Nonresident Fellow, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council
Moderated by
Mr. Ben Haddad, Director, Europe Center, Atlantic Council
#JMintheUS
Russian tutoring available for students by appointment.
Book your appointment here: https://calendly.com/katya-kovaleva/russian-language-tutoring
Join the Pitt German Club every Friday at 3PM to practice your German language skills and learn about different aspects of German culture!
Zoom ID: 950 0542 1812
The Columbian Exchange is categorized as the movement of life in both directions across the Atlantic—from Eurasia and Africa to the Americas and vice versa. Whether discussing horses in the Americas or chili peppers in Asia, introductions to new flora and fauna during the 15th and 16th centuries on these continents gave way to drastic changes in environment, resulting in changes in ways of life. How did these lifestyle changes translate to agriculture and food culture?
Join Adderse+Poesia for a live performance and conversation with Brazilian Hip Hop artists Rapper Azul and Tulipa Negra mediated by Mano Raul! Friday, April 16, 2021 at 5 pm EST on Zoom https://pitt.zoom.us/j/155705376
We will also be live on Facebook @addversepoesia
The event is a follow-up conversation started on Feb 26 about Brazilian Hip Hop Music and Poetry with Professor and Poet Paulo Dutra.
This event is made possible by our generous sponsors:
Department of Africana Studies; Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx Studies Initiative; Center for Creativity; Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program; Graduate and Professional Student Government; Global Hub; Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
You are invited to participate in the Spring 2021 book discussion with Dr. Patrick Hughes (Religious Studies, University of Pittsburgh). John V. Tolan’s book Faces of Muhammad explores the many and various ways that Europeans (and Americans) have understood, portrayed, and interpreted the life and legacy of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. The strength of Tolan’s book is that it shows both the negative and the positive ways that Westerners have viewed Muhammad at different times and in different contexts—from those who showed outright hostility, to others who used Muhammad for their own polemical purposes, to those who viewed him with grudging respect or outright admiration.
Saturday, April 17
Are you an educator wanting to diversify the content in your classroom? Are you seeking to expand your students' horizons? The need for students to learn about Africa is as important as ever. Educators, this workshop is the perfect opportunity to learn how to bring Africa into your classroom. The Teach Africa Workshop will be held April 17, 2021 via Zoom. This event will bring together K-16 educators to workshop on teaching Africa in the schools. All teachers, administrators, students, and the public are welcome whether you are an expert on teaching Africa or this is the first time you have even considered it.
Act 48 credits will be available to interested attendees.
This workshop is in preparation for the larger project of the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad that will focus on curriculum development. The African Studies Program received a grant to lead a group of educators to East Africa (Kenya and Uganda) to collect teaching resources and study education and return to build their own lesson plans for their classrooms.