Week of October 27, 2024 in UCIS

Wednesday, April 3 until Thursday, April 3

12:00 pm Lecture
Yellow Peril in Vladivostok: The Chinese Diaspora in Russia and the Soviet Union
Location:
4217 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center, Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies, European Union Center of Excellence and European Union Studies Association along with Department of German
See Details

Dr. Urbansky discusses the challenges faced by Chinese immigrants during the late Tsarist Empire and early Soviet Union, highlighting the racial and cultural prejudices that fueled hostilities in urban settings. His analysis explores how these early interactions shaped the experiences and perceptions of Chinese communities in a rapidly changing socio-political landscape.

Friday, October 25 until Sunday, October 27

5:00 pm Seminar
Technology, Humanity, and Social Justice Micro-Course
Sponsored by:
Global Studies Center along with Carnegie Mellon University
See Details

The focus of Fall 2024's Micro-Course is on the role governments and corporations play in the control of information networks and its impacts on privacy as well as ownership and access to data. This will include discussion of the bias and possibilities in surveillance and predictive technology on local and global communities. Virtual links will be shared with registrants. Pitt students who register for and successfully complete the course can receive one credit.

Sunday, October 27

(All day) Film
Pittsburgh Polski Film Festival: Day 3
Location:
Harris Theater
Sponsored by:
European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence along with Polish Cultural Council of Pittsburgh
See Details

This event is a three-day Polish film festival at the Harris Theater, running from October 25-26, 2024.

@ 1:30 pm - Mensch (2024) documentary dir. Paweł Wysoczański
80 min. Polish with subtitles

Fascinating life of Ludwik Hirszfeld, an eminent 20th century Polish bacteriologist and immunologist, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1950.

@ 4:00 pm - Camera Buff (Amator) 1979 dir Krzysztof Kieślowski, Jerzy Stuhr retrospective
112 min. Polish withEnglish subtitles.

The film is about a humble factory worker whose newfound hobby, amateur film, becomes an obsession, and transforms his modest life. Awarded at the Polish Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Prize, and at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Tickets will be available at the movie theaters website & box office
https://trustarts.org/pct_home/visit/facilities/harris-theater

11:59 pm Deadline
Global Health Case Competition Deadline for Videos
Sponsored by:
Global Studies Center
See Details

GHCC Team Videos are Due on October 27 no later than 11:59 p.m.

Monday, October 28

3:30 pm Lecture
Heinz Lecture and Panel Discussion with Zealan Hoover: Shifting from Climate Anxiety to Climate Optimism
Location:
University Club, Ballroom A
Announced by:
Director's Office on behalf of Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
See Details

Join us for a lecture and panel discussion exploring how science, technology, and human creativity offer hope in our fight against the climate crisis while underscoring the continuing need for collective action that drives meaningul, long-term change.

Special Guest:

Zealan Hoover, Senior Advisor to the EPA Administrator

Panelists:

Nicole Heller, Associate Curator of Anthropocene Studies , Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Tomas Matza, Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology

Ruth Mostern, Associate Professor, Department of History

Light refreshments provided. Event open to all students, faculty, and staff - RSVP is required.

5:00 pm Language Table
Bate-Papo: Portuguese Language Hour
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with Brazil Nuts
See Details

Join Brazil Nuts for weekly Bate Papo: Portuguese Language Hour in the Global Hub, every Monday at 5-6 pm during Fall 2024!

6:00 pm Lecture
Jewish Immigration to Latin America: Brazil and Argentina
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies
See Details

Free and open to the public

Tuesday, October 29 until Tuesday, November 5

(All day) Student Club Activity
Día de los Muertos
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies and Global Hub along with Spanish Club
See Details

Join the Spanish Club for a celebration of Day of the Dead with crafts and a presentation, and gain an insight into Mexican culture!

Tuesday, October 29

4:00 am Information Session
Career Talk with ESC Alums: From Treasury to Liechtenstein, from FEMA to Nuclear Security
Location:
Wesley W. Posvar, Room 4130
Sponsored by:
European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence
See Details

From personal stories to expert tips, this session with European Studies Center alumni will provide you with insight and strategies for successfully seeking government and policy-oriented jobs in the DC area.

Speakers:

Christopher Burdick, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury
Carrie Nilsson, Supervisory Program Analyst at FEMA, with previous experience at the Departments of State and Defense
Matthew Keller, Senior Advisor for the Embassy of Liechtenstein
Kathleen Brett, NNSA Graduate Fellow, NA-122.4 at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

10:00 am Language Table
BCMS Conversation Table
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies and Global Hub
See Details

Come practice your conversational BCMS with fellow students at this conversation table!

12:00 pm Lecture
Asia Now Jessamyn Abel
Location:
David Lawrence Hall 211
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center along with Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA)
See Details

A symbol of the "new Japan" displayed at World's Fairs, depicted in travel posters, and celebrated as the product of a national spirit of innovation, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen—the first bullet train, dubbed the "dream super-express"—represents the bold aspirations of a nation rebranding itself after military defeat, but also the deep problems caused by the unbridled postwar drive for economic growth. At the dawn of the space age, how could a train become such an important symbol? In Dream Super-Express, Jessamyn Abel contends that understanding the various, often contradictory, images of the bullet train reveals how infrastructure operates beyond its intended use as a means of transportation to perform cultural and sociological functions. The multi-layered dreams surrounding this high-speed railway tell a history not only of nation-building but of resistance and disruption. Though it constituted neither a major technological leap nor a new infrastructural connection, the train enchanted, enthralled, and enraged government officials, media pundits, community activists, novelists, and filmmakers. This history of imaginations around the monumental rail system resists the commonplace story of progress to consider the tug-of-war over the significance of the new line. Is it a vision of the future or a reminder of the past, an object of international admiration or a formidable threat? Does it enable new relationships and identities or reify existing social hierarchies? Tracing the meanings assigned to high-speed rail shows how it prompted a reimagination of identity on the levels of individual, metropolis, and nation in a changing Japan.

12:00 pm Lecture Series / Brown Bag
Career Talk and Lunch with Christopher Budick, Deputy Assistant Secretary Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Location:
4217 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
European Union Center of Excellence and European Union Studies Association
See Details

Please come join us for this Career Talk with
Christopher Budick, Deputy Assistant of the Secretary Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury

This Career Talk session is for students interested in national security, economic sanctions, congressional affairs, illicit finance, or working at the Treasury Department.

Lunch will be provided. RSVP by 10/25/2024 to Steve Lund at slund@pitt.edu.

12:00 pm Information Session
Fall 2024 Global Distinction Drop-In Hours
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, Global Hub, Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs, Office of International Services and Global Experiences Office
See Details

Attention: Undergraduate students! 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!

12:00 pm Information Session
Career Talk: Lunch with Christopher Burdick
Location:
Wesley W. Posvar, Room 4217
Sponsored by:
European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence
See Details

Christopher Burdick is the Senior Advisor at the U.S. Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Come sit and have lunch with Christopher Burdick. Hear his expertise working as a senior advisor and ask questions in relation to government and policy.

2:30 pm Language Table
Slovak Conversation Table
Location:
Global Hub
Announced by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies and Global Hub on behalf of
See Details

Come practice your conversational Slovak with your classmates.

2:30 pm Lecture
CESR Speaker Series: Professor Perla Guerrero
Location:
4303 Wesley W. Posvar Hall (CUE Commons Room)
Sponsored by:
Center for Ethnic Studies Research and Center for Latin American Studies
See Details

Title: A Southern Take on Deportation: How Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Education Policies Displaced Migrants to Mexico

Description: This talk seeks to understand how local, state, and national laws shape deportation and coerced return for Mexicans at the turn of the twenty-first century. Guerrero argues that two types of laws were particularly devastating to undocumented communities—education-related legislation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreements. Her research shows that regional US differences in policing and immigration detention, paired with local policies and state laws, dramatically affect who is deported and who is coerced to return to their birth country. Thus, Latinx Southerners are disproportionately represented by the US deportation regime.

Bio: Perla M. Guerrero is an Associate Professor of American Studies and U.S. Latina/o Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research and teaching interests include relational race and ethnicity, space and place, immigration and illegality, labor, and U.S. history. She is the author of Nuevo South: Latinas/os, Asians, and Remaking of Place and is currently working on her second book, Deportation’s Aftermath: Displacement and Making a Life in Exile.

3:30 pm Lecture
Leo Lucassen: From the 1921 Quota Acts to the Trump Wall. ‘Replacement’ Thinking then and now, from a Global Perspective
Location:
3911 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Global Studies Center along with World History Center
See Details

The accusation that ‘elites’ deliberately stimulate immigration of ‘inferior’ people who aim to take over society arose in the far right but is now mainstream. In the Atlantic world of US and Europe, in Modi’s India, and in parts of Africa, migrants and minorities are portrayed as a mortal threat. Today’s dehumanizing rhetoric and fear of migrants preserve roots from 19th-century mob violence against Irish in the US, Indian migrants in Burma, migrant restrictions after World War I, and the murders of minorities in World War II. Linking these instances of xenophobia and exclusion, this lecture focuses on the globalization of nation state ideology and its promotion of ethnic homogeneity, which fosters fear of losing racial or cultural superiority to ‘others’.

RSVPs are appreciated but not required. RSVP here: forms.gle/AotLEkLfS3SRB32m7

5:00 pm Student Club Activity
Hungarian Conversation Table
Location:
Braun Room
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies
See Details

Come practice your conversational Hungarian with fellow students!

5:00 pm Teacher Training
Global Migrations: Economic, Political, and Climatic Changes K-12 educator workshop
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, Global Studies Center and UCIS Engagement
See Details

This free online K-12 educator workshop will explore the topic of migration today through the global lens of politics, economics, and climatic changes. Using modern-day migration case studies, the presenters will share content and pedagogical strategies to help introduce or extend current study of the topic of migration in the classroom. ACT 48 hours will be provided for PA educators as well as resources and materials for classroom use.
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfuIxxUUHUwPIU_2ORCn_ER4fphIRUF...

5:30 pm Language Table
French Club at Pitt
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with French Club
See Details

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

French Club at Pitt will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Fall 2024, EXCEPT on October 1, October 15, and November 6.

6:00 pm Lecture
Pop-Up Course
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies
See Details

Register here: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/clas/pop-up_registration

Free and open to the public

6:30 pm Language Table
German Club at Pitt
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with German Club
See Details

Join the German Club on Tuesdays during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice German speaking and listening skills.

Wednesday, October 30

11:00 am Language Table
Swahili Conversational Hours
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for African Studies and Global Hub along with Less Commonly Taught Languages Center
See Details

Looking to brush up on your Swahili? Join Swahili TA and students every Wednesday and Thursday in the Global Hub.

1:30 pm Lecture
Who Fills the Seats? Publicly Employed Women in Russian Municipal Politics
Location:
3911 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies along with Department of Political Science and Center for Governance and Markets
See Details

On Wednesday, October 30 at 1:30 pm ET, Valeria Umanets will present, “Who Fills the Seats? Publicly Employed Women in Russian Municipal Politics,” based on her research on women’s political engagement in Russia's local politics. Her study explores how women’s involvement in municipal governance helps stabilize authoritarian regimes by enhancing the delivery of essential welfare services. The research draws on interviews with municipal representatives, fieldwork observations, and electoral data analysis.

3:00 pm Cultural Event
Presence and Resistance in Queer Mexico
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies and Global Hub along with The Department of Spanish and Portuguese
See Details

Join SPAN 1414 and a performance and talk by Lia Garcia.

5:00 pm Cultural Event
African Languages Conversation Hour
Location:
Global Hub, Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Center for African Studies and Global Hub along with Less-Commonly-Taught Languages Center
See Details

This is an informal time to meet fellow speakers of African languages and practice your skills with a seasoned facilitator! All levels are welcome.

Monthly schedule -

1st Wednesday: Arabic & Wolof
2nd Wednesday: Swahili & Amharic
3rd Wednesday: Yoruba & Akan/Twi
4th Wednesday: Haitian Creole

5:00 pm Language Table
Russian Conversation Table
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies and Global Hub
See Details

Come practice your conversational Russian with your peers at the Russian conversation table!

5:30 pm Language Table
French Club at Pitt
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with French Club
See Details

Join the French Club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during Fall semester for conversational meetings and to practice French speaking and listening skills and create a francophone community on campus!

French Club at Pitt will meet twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, during Fall 2024, EXCEPT on October 1, October 15, and November 6.

6:00 pm Lecture
Pop-Up Course
Location:
4217
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies
See Details

Introduction to contemporary race/ethnicity debates in Brazil and its role in the region’s politics.
Interdisciplinary approach to understand the intersections between race, ethnicity and politics

6:00 pm Film
Master and Margarita
Location:
Alumni Hall Auditorium
Sponsored by:
Center for Russian East European and Eurasian Studies along with Cultural Studies, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Film and Media Studies and Horror Studies
See Details

ADMISSION BY UNIVERSITY ID ONLY (REQUIRED AT THE DOOR)
Join us for a limited screening of the 2024 oppositional film Master and Margarita, followed by an in-person discussion with the film's director, Mikhail Lockshin.

7:00 pm Workshop
Day of the Dead Celebration and Papel Picado Workshop
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies and Global Hub along with Pitt Spanish Club
See Details

In honor of the Day of the Dead, the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) will build a vibrant altar from October 29 to November 5, 2024. Come, visit, and learns about this amazing tradition.

Honor your loved ones by bringing a photo, favorite treat, or writing their names on our paper monarch butterflies for the cimmunity altar.

Let's come together to celebrate and remember!

Register here: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/clas/content/clas-event-registration

Thursday, October 31

11:00 am Language Table
Swahili Conversational Hours
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Center for African Studies and Global Hub along with Less Commonly Taught Languages Center
See Details

Looking to brush up on your Swahili? Join Swahili TA and students every Wednesday and Thursday in the Global Hub.

12:00 pm Lecture
Asia Now Jon Abel
Location:
David Lawrence Hall 211
Sponsored by:
Asian Studies Center along with Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA)
See Details

A synthetic history of new media reception in modern and contemporary Japan, The New Real positions mimesis at the heart of the media concept. Considering both mimicry and representation as the core functions of mediation and remediation, Jonathan E. Abel offers a new model for media studies while explaining the deep and ongoing imbrication of Japan in the history of new media.

From stereoscopy in the late nineteenth century to emoji at the dawn of the twenty-first, Abel presents a pioneering history of new media reception in Japan across the analog and digital divide. He argues that there are two realities created by new media: one marketed to us through advertising that proclaims better, faster, and higher-resolution connections to the real; and the other experienced by users whose daily lives and behaviors are subtly transformed by the presence and penetration of the content carried through new media. Intervening in contemporary conversations about virtuality, copyright, copycat violence, and social media, each chapter unfolds with a focus on a single medium or technology, including 3D photographs, the phonograph, television, videogames, and emoji.

By highlighting the tendency of the mediated to copy the world and the world to copy the mediated, The New Real provides a new path for analysis of media, culture, and their function in the world.

12:30 pm Lecture Series / Brown Bag
CLAS Speaker Series: "Political Parties and Policy Reform: Expansion of Healthcare in Latin America"
Location:
4130 Posvar and Zoom
Sponsored by:
Center for Latin American Studies
See Details

Free and open to the public

Register to attend in person: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/clas/content/clas-event-registration

12:30 pm Language Table
Tavola Italiana
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with Italian Department
See Details

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

Friday, November 1

2:00 pm Presentation
Global Health Case Competition: Final Round Case Presentation
Location:
1501 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Global Studies Center along with School of Public Health's Center for Global Health and School of Nursing
See Details

The Pitt community is invited to attend presentations by the top four teams participating in the 2024 Global Health Case Competition. The 4 teams were selected from 13 teams who presented their videos and Powerpoints for an initial round of screening. The four top teams will give 15 minute presentations in front of a panel of judges responding to the following prompt:

“present a comprehensive strategy to address the need for prosthetics and accompanying rehabilitation for amputees among the refugee populations in Jordan. Teams should consider and demonstrate potential sustainability, including quality and timeliness, an equitable accessibility of their approach. Be sure that strategies demonstrated cultural sensitivity of the refugee population’s particular needs and living situations. The plan should be able to be implemented over three years with a budget of $5 million USD. You will be presenting your proposed strategy to representatives from the Jordanian government and a large private foundation who will select and fund the best proposal. Each team will have the discretion to select the in-country location and health care setting to implement their propose strategy.”

4:00 pm Language Table
Kya Baat Hai!
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with Kya Baat Hai!
See Details

Join undergraduate Pitt students for a conversation hour to practice speaking in Hindi and Urdu and connect over shared cultural experiences.

Kya Baat Hai will meet weekly, on Fridays, during the 2024-2025 academic year, EXCEPT on the following dates:
September 20
September 27
December 20
December 27
January 3

6:00 pm Student Club Activity
Addverse
Location:
Global Hub
Sponsored by:
Global Hub along with Addverse Poesia
See Details

Join Addverse, a transcultural, multilingual, and intergenerational poetry organization, for weekly meetings in the Global Hub