Events
Conference: Scholars at Risk (SAR) Conference
- 8:30 am to 12:00 pm
- Carnegie Mellon Univesrity, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
On October 16-17, scholars and advocates from the Scholars at Risk Network will gather to promote academic freedom locally, in the U.S., and around the world. The 2024 SAR United States General Assembly will provide a forum for us to discuss how we can best protect scholars and defend everyone’s freedom to think, question, and share ideas.
Please register today, and see the draft program below. We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please write to Brian Evans at be2219@nyu.edu.
Draft agenda: (Please note that this schedule is subject to change and additional sessions may be added.)
Tuesday, October 15 @ 4:30-6:00 pm – Informal ticketed reception at City of Asylum (optional).
Wednesday, October 16:
8:30 am-3:00 pm – Conference check-in
8:30-9:30 am – Coffee and tea
9:15-10:45 am – Opening plenary: Academic freedom in the global context (Eve Darian-Smith & Abdullahi An-Na’im)
11:00 am-12:15 pm – Breakout sessions:
Session 1 – Introduction to hosting scholars: Administrative models for building out a SAR program
Session 2 – Student engagement: Advocacy seminars and legal clinics
Session 3 – Scholar connections
12:15-1:30 pm – Lunch provided and guided tours of the exhibition “What We Brought With Us”
1:30-2:45 pm – Breakout sessions:
Session 1 – SAR’s “Free to Think” report: Advocating for academic freedom
Session 2 – Sharing the Platform: Making the most of scholar placements
3:00-4:15 pm – Town hall meeting on promoting academic freedom in the USA and the role of the SAR USA section
5:00-7:00 pm – Evening reception @ University of Pittsburgh, featuring tours of the Nationality Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning
7:30-9:30 pm – Dessert and a movie
Thursday, October 17:
8:30-9:30 am – Scholar conversations on navigating threats to academic freedom (continental breakfast provided)
9:30-10:45 am
Session 1 – Post-placement planning for scholars
11:00 am-12:00 pm – Closing plenary
Creating community with at-risk artists and scholars (City of Asylum)
Scholars at Risk USA into the Future
Student Club Activity: French Club at Pitt
- Ryan Heng
- 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm
- Global Hub
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.
Cultural Event: Trivia Conversamos en español
- Camila Pulgar Machado
- 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
- Global Hub
Film: Syrian Dessert & a Movie: The Day I Lost My Shadow
- 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
- William Pitt Union Assembly Room
"Syrian Dessert and a Movie" is presented in conjunction with the Scholars at Risk (SAR) United States 2d General Assembly, which is convening in Pittsburgh Oct. 16 & 17, 2024. This event is free and open to the public.
Plot: As winter hits hard in Syria, all Sana wants is to cook a hot meal for her son. When a seemingly simple errand – a search for gas – goes awry, Sana is dragged deeper into the war, where people lose their shadows.
About: The Day I Lost My Shadow premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2018 and won the Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut Film. It made history for being the first Syrian fiction film to win in Venice, and was screened at many festivals including TIFF, BFI London, Busan and IFFR. The film has garnered many other awards, including the World Fiction Special Jury Prize for Best Direction at the LA Film Festival (2018), Official Selection at the Valencia Film Festival (2019), Best Feature Fiction Award at the Karama Human Rights Film Festival (2018), Best Feature at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (2019), and Best Film at the Joburg Film Festival (2018).
Co-sponsorship and support for this event have been provided by The Humanities Scholars Program Diane and Bradford Smith Family Fund, The Humanities Center, The Sustainability Initiative, The Center for Black European Studies and the Atlantic, the Artists and Scholars at Risk Program, and the University of Pittsburgh's Global Studies Center.
Presentation: Webinar: The State of Cancer care in Appalachia and Nigeria
- 9:00 am to 11:00 am
Presented by students leading the Global TEACH Project, this webinar will give a review of the current state of cancer care in Nigeria and Appalachia. You’ll learn about key similarities and differences between the two regions, cancer risk factors, screening methods for early detection, cancer treatment methods, and how patients cultivate support networks.
The webinar will conclude with the next steps for the Global TEACH Project, as well as a Q&A session.
Learn more about Global TEACH here: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/africa/global-teach-project
Lecture Series / Brown Bag: CLAS Speaker Series
- Cristiano Rodrigues
- 12:30 pm
- 4130 Posvar and Zoom
Register to attend in-person: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/clas/content/clas-event-registration
Presentation: Global Partnership: A New Frontier of Japan-US Relationship with Ambassador Mikio Mori
- Ambassador Mikio Mori
- 3:30 pm
- University Club Ballroom A
“The U.S.-Japan Alliance has reached unprecedented heights “. This was clearly stated in the Joint Leaders Statement released this past April. Cooperation between the two countries has never been so necessary, not only from bi-lateral perspective, but also from global point of view. Ukrainian crisis, the situation in Middle East, successive missile launches by North Korea, unilateral attempts to change the status quo - these are all urgent issues that must be addressed by Japan and the United States.
Interestingly enough, the strong Japan-U.S. relationship has taken a unique path in history. Guest speaker, Ambassador Mikio Mori, will provide reflections/perspective on how it has changed/grown/deepened since his first appointment as consul in New York in the 1980s, at the height of Japan-bashing and Japan-U.S. trade frictions, to his third and present assignment to New York as Consul General.
Now, Japan has a new prime minister. The United States is also preparing for a presidential election. From the perspective of professional diplomat who has been watching Japan-U.S. relations for more than 30 years, Ambassador Mori will talk about the his outlook for the future of Japan-U.S. relations, and invites future global leaders at Pittsburg to reflect upon these thoughts in their research and career planning, which we hope will contribute to the continued vitality and strength of Japan-U.S. relations.
Film: Bis hierhin und wie weiter? / Stick together?
- Directed by: Felix Maria Buhler
- 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
- 4130 Posvar Hall
Panel Discussion: Civic Action Week: Indigenous Rights & Pitt Community Activism
- Molly McSweeney
- 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
- Global Hub
As part of Civic Action Week 2024, join us for a panel discussion to hear about the University of Pittsburgh's community development work with indigenous groups through the Lakota Perspectives on Environmental and Sustainability and Indigenous Rights study away program. Hear from student participants, as well as from Pitt faculty and staff, and learn why such programs are critical for universities to offer and how you can get involved.
Panelists:
- Mark Kramer, Department of English
- Zsuzsánna Magdó, Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
- Alaina Roberts, Department of History
- Penelope Peck, Class of 2026
- Fiorente Pompena, Class of 2026
Moderator:
- Molly McSweeney, Global Hub
Student Club Activity: Kya Baat Hai!
- Hiba Siddqui
- 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm
- Global Hub
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
Workshop: Global Health Case Competition In-Person Workshop (Required)
- 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
In-Person Workshop (case reveal, team assignments, lectures, etc.) All students must participate in person. Breakfast and lunch provided. Students participating from other campuses wanting to get their transportation reimbursed will need to complete this form: https://forms.gle/aygHRCj5b7VGDtVDA
Lecture: Europe’s Other Jew and Muslim: Past and Present
- Farid Hafez
- 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
- Wesley W. Posvar, Room 4130
Unmasking Prejudice: Confronting Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Racism Across Europe Lecture Series
Lecture led by Farid Hafez daily politics, antisemitism and Islamophobia are often debated as two opposing concepts, though they have much in common. This talk delves into often neglected relationships of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim racism and opens up horizons for a critical discussion about these phenomena.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Hafez is an Assistant Teaching Professor of International Relations. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Vienna (2009). From 2014 to 2021, he was a Post-Doc at the University of Salzburg’s Department of Political Science and Sociology. From 2021 to 2024, he was the Distinguished Class of 1955 Visiting Professor of International Studies at Williams College. In 2017, he was a Fulbright Professor at the University of California’s Center for Race and Gender. Since 2017, he has also been a non-resident Senior Researcher at the Georgetown University’s The Bridge Initiative.
At William & Mary, Hafez will start to teach classes on far-right populism, Islamophobia, international relations, and terrorism.
Lecture: Crossing Languages: Expanding Vision and Elevating Style
- 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
The Italian Program is delighted to announce a lecture by the novelist and educator Amara Lakhous (Professor in the Practice, Department of Italian Studies, Yale University) on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 5pm in Barco Law Building, Room 111. Audience Q&A will follow Prof. Lakhous’ lecture.
"Writing fiction in both Arabic and Italian has significantly broadened my vision. I’ve had to step into my characters’ shoes and view the world through their eyes. Many of these characters are vastly different from me: an elderly Neapolitan concierge, an Iranian refugee, a young Egyptian migrant woman, and others. When I write, I temporarily set aside my identity as a Muslim man—Algerian, Italian, and American—and embrace a world of diversity. Moreover, blending Italian and Arabic opens up new creative paths, allowing me to develop a distinctive style, enriching Italian with Arabic influences and infusing Arabic with Italian elements."
One of Italy’s most acclaimed novelists and an established writer in Arabic and Italian, Amara Lakhous is an outstanding example of a novelist, essayist, public intellectual, translator, and navigator between and among very different cultures. Indeed, according to Pulitzer-Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri, Lakhous “has transformed the Italian literary landscape” precisely by “conveying the reality of a transforming Italy.”
Lakhous is the author, among other things, of the novels Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore in Piazza Vittorio (published in English as Clash of Civilizations over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio); Divorzio all’islamica a viale Marconi (Divorce Islamic Style); and Contesa per un maialino italianissimo a San Salvario) (Dispute Over a Very Italian Piglet).
This event is organized by the Department of French & Italian, and generously co-sponsored by the Department of English, the English Writing Program, the Less Commonly Taught Languages Program, the Department of Linguistics, and the Italian Nationality Room Committee
Lecture Series / Brown Bag: Democratizing the EU: Is there a need for institutional reform?
- 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
- Wesley W. Posvar, Room 4217
Beyond the Ballot: Europe's Democratic Journey:
The panelists will facilitate a discussion about the history of the EU, and its efforts to increase its democratic credentials. Beginning with the first direct elections to the European Parliament (EP) in 1979 and with every Treaty reform since Maastricht, new sources of democratic legitimacy have been introduced. Yet, the notion of the EU’s democratic deficit persists, with citizens demanding greater democratic accountability of EU institutions and of the decision-making process.
Join us as we take stock of EU democracy and consider ways to alleviate both the real and perceived deficits that exist.
About the Panelists:
Manuel Müller is a Senior Research Fellow in the European Union research programme. His research focuses mainly on institutional reform of the EU and supranational democracy.
Christine Neuhold is a Professor of EU Democratic Governance and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University, Netherlands.
- 1 of 5
- next ›