Week of December 4, 2022 in UCIS

Sunday, December 4

12:00 pm Cultural Event
Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs 31st Holiday Open House
Location:
Cathedral of Learning | Commons Room & Nationality and Heritage Rooms
Sponsored by:
Global Hub and Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs along with Nationality and Heritage Room Committees
See Details

The Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs 31st Holiday Open House will return to an in-person event on Sunday, December 4, 2022 from 12-4 pm in the Cathedral of Learning Commons and in the Nationality and Heritage Rooms.

In the spirit of an open house tradition and to foster connections among neighbors, members of the Nationality and Heritage Room Committees will welcome guests into the Cathedral of Learning for an afternoon of exploration and engagement. Guests will be invited into the Nationality and Heritage Rooms which will be decorated for the holiday season. Guests will have the opportunity to participate in traditional crafts and cultural demonstrations to learn about the rooms and the Nationality and Heritage Room Committees and their ethnic communities and traditions. In the Cathedral of Learning Commons, guests will enjoy traditional foods and baked goods as they listen to world and holiday music and shop for handcrafted and cultural wares and other items that represent the cultural diversity of the Nationality and Heritage Rooms. St. Nicholas will make an appearance for photos with children and families.

The event is free and open to the public. Food and gift items will be available for purchase. We look forward to welcoming you home to the 31st Holiday Open House to celebrate traditions and make memories!

Co-Sponsors:
- Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs
- University Center for International Studies
- Nationality and Heritage Room Committees

Monday, December 5

4:00 pm Student Club Activity
Bate-Papo: Portuguese Language Hour
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Center for Latin American Studies and Global Hub on behalf of

Tuesday, December 6

12:00 pm Lecture Series / Brown Bag
Conversation on Europe: "The State of Democracy in Europe"
Location:
Zoom Webinar
Sponsored by:
European Studies Center
See Details

This panel considers several aspects of the current state of democracy in Europe, with special attention to the rise of right-wing populism, illiberal forms of democracy, declining party loyalty, and evidence of increasing disenchantment with the current state of democracy in Europe. The panel will seek to discuss these issues with the help of a broad comparative and historical perspective.

Professors Mohammed Bamyeh and John Markoff, Department of Sociology, Pitt, will moderate a panel discussion on "The State of Democracy in Europe."

The panel members include:

Timm Beichelt, Professor of Social and Cultural Sciences, Viadrina University, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
Donatella della Porta, Dean of the Faculty of Political and Social Science, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy
Jae-Jae Spoon, Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh
Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of Government, Harvard University

5:00 pm Student Club Activity
Hungarian Conversation Table
Location:
Cathedral of Learning 329
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
See Details

Come and practice your Hungarian and meet others interested in the language! All levels welcome.

Wednesday, December 7

(All day) Conference
18th Annual High School Model European Union
Location:
William Pitt Union
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies, European Studies Center, European Union Center of Excellence and Global Studies Center
See Details

The High School Model European Union is an annual event for area high school students. The goal of the Model EU is to give high school students a chance to learn about the workings of the European Union through a hands-on simulation. Playing the roles of presidents and prime ministers, students spend a day engaged in intense negotiations over conflicting issues about the EU. The objective is to simulate a specific European Council meeting that focuses on recent current events impacting the EU. Model EU enhances students’ understanding of classroom learning and gives them a real sense of the challenges involved in the decision-making process of the European Union.

12:30 pm Panel Discussion
The Politics of Sport: A Discussion of the World Cup in Qatar
Location:
4130 Posvar Hall and Zoom
Sponsored by:
Global Studies Center along with Urban Studies Program and Department of History
See Details

As national teams join to compete in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, join the Global Studies Center to discuss the intersection of politics, global branding, human rights, and activism, and how they converge upon the most popular sport in the world. Panelists will discuss the historical context of sports and capitalism, the reconfiguration of urban spaces, and the -isms and phobias that exist within the sporting community. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Rob Ruck, Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh.

4:30 pm Career Counselling
Politics and First Jobs in REEES
Location:
Zoom
Announced by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies on behalf of Yale MacMillan Center
See Details

This 4:30 to 5:30 pm webinar (free and open to anyone who registers here) will focus on professions relating to and/or affected by U.S.-Russian relations and will highlight how graduates of Northeast U.S. institutions have navigated the start to their careers in the geopolitically troubled times of the past few years and of the Cold War’s escalation in the early 1980s. Our panel will feature recent graduates as well as the Honorable Roman Popadiuk, first U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, who entered the Foreign Service in 1981 after completing his advanced degrees at the CUNY Graduate Center.

This is a referred event.

5:00 pm Student Club Activity
Polish Conversation Table
Location:
1219 Cathedral of Learning
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
7:00 pm Cultural Event
Arabic Language Conversation Hour
Sponsored by:
Global Hub

Thursday, December 8

12:30 pm Cultural Event
Tovala Italiana
Sponsored by:
Global Hub
5:00 pm Student Club Activity
French Club Conversation Hour
Location:
Global Hub, Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with French Club
8:00 pm Cultural Event
Persian Table Hour
Sponsored by:
Global Hub

Friday, December 9

2:00 pm Cultural Event
Russian Winter Holiday Celebration
Sponsored by:
Global Hub