Week of March 12, 2023 in UCIS

Monday, March 13

4:30 pm Student Club Activity
Bate-Papo Portuguese Conversation Table
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of Brazil Nuts Portuguese Club
See Details

Join Brazil Nuts for their weekly Portuguese language conversation table during Spring semester, every Monday from 4:30-5:30 pm in the Global Hub!

Tuesday, March 14

8:00 am Conference
China in Revolution
Location:
Oaklander Hotel and 4130 WW Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center
See Details

For more information and the conference schedule, please go to https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/asc/china-in-revolution.

11:00 am Information Session
Center for Latin American Studies Ambassador Tabling
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies and Global Hub
See Details

Join CLAS ambassadors to learn more about CLAS academic offerings and related programs.

3:30 pm Award Ceremony
Sheth International Achievement Awards
Location:
WPU Lower Lounge
Sponsored by:
Director's Office
See Details

Please join PittGlobal at a 10 Year Anniversary Celebration of the Sheth International Achievement Awards as we honor our 2022 winners:

  • Dr. Nicole Constable, 2022 Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement winner
  • Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi, 2022 Sheth International Young Alumni Achievement Award winner

Join us in celebrating the accomplishments of these prestigious global leaders at an in-person awards ceremony.

3:30 pm Lecture Series / Brown Bag
Panoramas: "Prevention of biopiracy and regulation of bioprospecting in Latin America and the Caribbean"
Location:
4217 Posvar
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies
See Details

Castilleja is a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences. She is an ecologist whose research focused on forest dynamics and biodiversity. She teaches a minor in her department and is getting a graduate certificate in Latin American Studies. Her work has been funded by Mellon, Gutierrez, and Aguirre fellowships at Pitt and by the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship for her tropical field work.

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.

6:30 pm Student Club Activity
German Conversation Hour
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of Pitt German
See Details

Join the German Club for Spring 2023's weekly conversation hours, on Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30 pm!

7:00 pm Career Counselling
National Scholarship Alumni Panel
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Ethnic Studies Research, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, European Studies Center, Global Studies Center and Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs
See Details

UCIS presents a national scholarship alumni panel to offer unique perspectives on international scholarship experiences such as the Fulbright and Boren programs. Students will gain information on these global opportunities, receive application tips, and more!

7:00 pm Workshop
Portuguese Mini Series
Location:
4130 Posvar
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies
See Details

Join the Portuguese Mini Series for the second session! All levels welcome. Prizes included!

Wednesday, March 15

8:30 am Conference
China in Revolution
Location:
Oaklander Hotel and 4130 WW Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center
See Details

For more information and a detailed schedule for this conference, please go to https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/asc/china-in-revolution.

12:00 pm Lecture
Let's Talk Africa with Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi: "Human Trafficking and the Nigerian Society"
Location:
Barco Law Building, Alcoa Room, Floor 2
Sponsored by:
Center for African Studies along with Center for International Legal Education
See Details

Join the Center for African Studies and the Center for International Legal Education in welcoming Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi for her lecture "Human Trafficking and the Nigerian Society." Lunch will be provided!

Registration: https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/lets_talk_africa_with_dr_fatima_waziri-a...

University of Pittsburgh School of Law alumna Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi (JD ’11) was named the 2022 recipient of the Sheth International Young Alumni Achievement Award. Since graduating from Pitt Law, Waziri-Azi’s work in her home country of Nigeria has been dedicated to safeguarding the human rights of the marginalized, especially women and girls, and advocating for disadvantaged urban poor and rural communities in Nigeria by undertaking sustainable institutional reforms focused on people-centered access to justice.

4:00 pm Lecture Series / Brown Bag
Europe Today Lecture Series: Forging Consensus in Crisis: Changing Macroeconomic Regimes and European Integration
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
European Studies Center
See Details

TBD

4:00 pm Lecture
Propaganda Images of World War Two
Location:
3708 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies along with Department of History
See Details

From 1941 to 1945, Germany aged a war of extermination on the Soviet Union. This war produced many images: in propaganda posters, the opponents emphasised their own strength while at the same time defaming the enemy as the spawn of evil; both sides attempted to create trust virtually, encouraging the enemy's soldiers to defect. Konrad Tschäpe will show how these images of the other were entangled and communicated with each other- despite the destruction, violence, and war crimes committed.

5:00 pm Student Club Activity
Polish Conversation Table
Location:
1219 Cathedral of Learning
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
5:00 pm Seminar
Seminários CULTNA (Cultura Negra no Atlântico)
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies along with LABHOI/AFRIKAS UFJF
See Details

Discussão do livro "A coleção adandozan do museu nacional". Evento em Português.

5:00 pm Student Club Activity
French Conversation Hour
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of French Club
See Details

Join the French Club for Spring 2023's weekly conversation hours, on both Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5-6:30 pm!

Note: French Conversation Hour will not meet in the Global Hub on Thursday, April 13.

7:00 pm Student Club Activity
Mesas de Conversación
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of Spanish Club
See Details

Join the Spanish Club for Spring 2023's weekly conversation hours, on Wednesdays from 7-8 pm!

7:30 pm Student Club Activity
Arabic Language Table
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of Arabic Language and Culture Club
See Details

Join the Arabic Language and Culture Club for this weekly get-together and safe space for Arabic speakers to have a conversation and work on their language skills!

Thursday, March 16

12:00 pm Student Club Activity
Tavola Italiana
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of Department of French & Italian
See Details

Mangia con noi! Bring your lunch and chat with us! Pitt students only, al levels welcome!

2:00 pm Information Session
Languages Across the Curriculum Online Info Session
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for African Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, European Studies Center and Global Studies Center
See Details

The University Center for International Studies (UCIS), with funding from Pitt's Title VI National Resource Centers, has embarked on a four-year initiative to increase the number of LAC courses offered on campus. Join us to learn more about LAC and how you can combine your personal world language proficiency with your non-language teaching/research expertise and provide students with exciting opportunities to enhance their learning. Any faculty, administrators, and students who are interested in LAC courses are welcome.

5:00 pm Teacher Training
Daria: A Roma Woman's Journey
Location:
4217 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies and Global Studies Center along with University of Texas at Austin Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
See Details

In the fifth installment of the Global Issues Through Literature Series (GILS), educators will convene to discuss Daria: A Roma Women's Journey, a full graphic novel based on fieldwork conducted in Eastern Europe highlighting some of the issues that Roma women face everyday.

GILS is a reading group for K-16 educators to literary texts from a global perspective. Content specialists present the work and its context, and participants brainstorm innovative pedagogical practices for incorporating the text and its themes into the curriculum. This year’s theme is Graphic Novels in Global Context: Social Justice Through Illustration and Text. See registration for more information!

Dr. Sunnie Rucker-Chang is an Associate Professor who works, writes, and researches on the social construction of race and culture as it relates to privileged and marginalized communities in Central and Southeast Europe. In her research, Rucker-Chang focuses on how literature and film contribute to culture and nationalist identities, especially in the creation and maintenance of racialized communities in Southeast Europe. Her other research interests include émigré and exile literature and the application of post-colonial thought to post-socialist contexts. Her research has been funded by the American Association of University Women, Taft Research Center, and University Research Council.

She is Co-director and Co-PI of the Howard University Undergraduate Think Tank. This program addresses the issue of systemic racism and discrimination by supporting and promoting the advancement of students and scholars from underrepresented and underserved populations in the field of REEES.]Howard University Undergraduate Think Tank, a program that "addresses the issue of systemic racism and discrimination by supporting and promoting the advancement of students and scholars from underrepresented and underserved populations in the field of REEES." She is also Co-director of the University of Cincinnati STARTALK Russian language programs.

5:00 pm Student Club Activity
French Conversation Hour
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of French Club
See Details

Join the French Club for Spring 2023's weekly conversation hours, on both Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5-6:30 pm!

Note: French Conversation Hour will not meet in the Global Hub on Thursday, April 13.

Friday, March 17 until Sunday, March 19

(All day) Seminar
Micro-Course: Technology, Humanity, and Social Justice
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
Global Studies Center along with Carnegie Mellon University
See Details

In this four-part weekend micro-course (spanning four semesters), we will examine the power of technology on humanity and its implications on social justice in four areas: governance, environment, education, and health. Please note that students do not need to complete all four parts and are welcome to participate in any and all micro-course offerings. The focus will be on the impact technology has on the future of schooling and work. This will include a discussion as to how technology can improve the efficiency and safety of the workforce through automation while also creating further divides between those who have educational access and those who do not. The effects of technology on education and the common language of the world, including how it impacts native languages and cultures, will also be discussed. This course requires a permission number that will be provided by contacting the instructor, Veronica Dristas, at dristas@pitt.edu.

Friday, March 17

9:00 am Panel Discussion
Digital History and Place Names: Using the World Historical Gazetteer in the College Classroom
Location:
AAS annual conference Boston Sheraton
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center and Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies along with World History Center
See Details

This workshop session will share the World Historical Gazetteer website, its interactive features, and resources to show how to incorporate the study of place names into course curriculum. The World Historical Gazetteer is a digital project that shows how ideas about places are embedded in their names. Ideas and actions change names and meanings associated with them. This workshop will illustrate this concept by introducing new classroom technology. Workshop participants will learn about the inception of and rationale for the creation of the World Historical Gazetteer and its teaching page focused on topics related to Asian Studies. They will then be walked through the features of the website including the search function for historical place names and collections of place name data. Participants will be asked to engage with a new pilot feature, the self-authored collections, which will allow them to create their own custom map of places that are important to them. Participants will be invited to offer suggestions for place name searches and will also be invited to explore individual lesson plans and supporting materials on the website.

12:00 pm Panel Discussion
Decolonization in Focus Series (Panel V) Syllabus Design and Critical Pedagogies in the Classroom: How Do We Teach Differently?
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies along with Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, “Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies, University of Chicago”
“Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison”
“Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of Kansas”
“Center for Russian, University of Michigan”
“Center for Russian, University of Texas at Austin”
“Center for Slavic, Ohio State University”
“Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill”
“Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center, Indiana University, Bloomington”
“Institute of Slavic, University of California, Berkeley”
“Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute and Bloomington”
See Details

Syllabus Design and Critical Pedagogies in the Classroom: How Do We Teach Differently? is the fifth panel of the Decolonization in Focus Series.

The Russian war in Ukraine has had innumerable impacts, from the personal to the political, local, national and global. One of the many sea changes wrought by the war has been the reckoning within Slavic/Russian & Eurasian Studies over the outsized role Russia has played and continues to play in the field and what could and should be done about it. The invited panelists in this series will consider the relationships of power that have long dominated the region, how they have impacted the field of study, and what, if anything, could and should be done about it.

The series will consist of six wide-ranging panels featuring speakers from various disciplines and institutions. Panelists and participants will be encouraged to consider why decolonizing Russian & Eurasian studies matters, how to implement concrete change in their classrooms, and how to conceive of the future of expertise within the field. All sessions will be convened using Zoom, live-streamed via YouTube, and recorded to be made available for later viewing.

1:30 pm Information Session
Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Global Hub
See Details

Are you looking to gain experience that will help prepare you for a globally-connected job market? Stop by Drop-In Hours to learn more about getting the Global Distinction added to your academic transcript, receiving special recognition at graduation, and standing out to prospective employers!

3:00 pm Lecture
Lived Religion in the Soviet Union
Location:
Zoom
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
See Details

Soviet ideology treated religion as an enemy, a tool of oppression and an expression of backwardness. Militant atheism, the prohibition of religious rituals, and the repression of religious communities aimed to create a secular, rational, and scientific society. Yet, religion mattered in Soviet people’s lives. And with institutional religion restricted, many people expressed their spirituality through “lived religion” - the practice of religion and spirituality in everyday lives. What were the practices of lived religion in the context of state socialism? And how did it converge and diverge with the return of institutionalised religion and spiritual lift after the collapse of communism? REEES Spring 2023 Series, Religion in (Post-Socialism) Societies, will explore the role of religion in socialist and post-socialist societies in eight online discussions on religion and its relations to repression, nation-building, indigenous cultures, and memory.

This is a part of REEES’s Spring 2023 lecture series.

5:30 pm Student Club Activity
Hindustani Conversation Hour
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Global Hub on behalf of Hindustani Club
See Details

Join the Hindustani Club for weekly conversations on Fridays at 5:30-6:30 pm!