“'I Am Who I Am': On Being Nostalgic in Sanskrit”
A talk by David Shulman, Renee Lang Professor of Humanistic Studies, Department of Comparative Religion, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From the South Asia Seminar.
“Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy”
A talk by Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz. The current global financial crisis carries a "made in America" label. In "Freefall", Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz explains how America exported bad economics, bad policies, and bad behavior to the rest of the world, only to cobble together a haphazard and ineffective response when
“The Consequences of the Escalation of War in Afghanistan”
A talk by political scientist Gilles Dorronsoro, visiting scholar in the Carnegie Endowment's South Asia Program. His research focuses on security and political development in Afghanistan, particularly the role of the International Security Assistance Force, the steps required to achieve a viable government in Kabul, and the conditions necess
Keynote: “Provincializing the World: Europeans, Indians, Jews (1704)”
A keynote address by Carlo Ginzburg, Scuola Normale di Pisa (partial recording). From the conference 'After Europe: Postcolonial Knowledge in the Age of Globalization'. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT), the Franke Institute for the Humanities, and the Nicholson Center for British Studies.
Panel 1: The Idea of Europe
Panel 1: Sandro Mezzadra, University of Bologna; Sanjay Seth, Goldsmiths, University of London; Faisal Devji, St. Anthony's College, University of Oxford. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT), the Franke Institute for the Humanities, and the Nicholson Center for British Studies.Author(s):
Panel 2: The Problem of Historical Difference
Panel 2: Miranda Johnson, University of MIchigan; Bain Attwood, Monash University; Ajay Skaria, University of MInnesota. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT), the Franke Institute for the Humanities, and the Nicholson Center for British Studies.Author(s):
“Celling India: The Mobile Phone's Contribution to Capitalism, Democracy and Unsettling Society”
A talk by Robin Jeffrey, Director, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. From the South Asia Seminar.
"Between Globalization and Global Warming"
A talk by Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History, South Asian Languages and Civilizations and the College, University of Chicago and David Archer, Professor in the Department of Geophysical Science at the University of Chicago on the global climate crisis. As part of the quarterly Workshop on the
“The Future of the South African Dream: Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and the South African Elections
A talk by South African author and journalist Mark Gevisser.
Mark Gevisser is currently The Nation's Southern African correspondent. In South Africa, his work has appeared in the Mail & Guardian, the Sunday Independent, the Sunday Times and many magazines and periodicals. Internationally, he has written widely on South African politics, culture and society,
Martin Varsavsky on How U.S. Tech Firms Differ from Their European Counterparts
Martin Varsavsky's fans see him as a rebel who has often disrupted the telecommunications industry. An Argentine/Spanish entrepreneur who has launched seven companies in the past 20 years, Varsavsky's current venture is FON, which he describes as a "community-empowered company dedicated to building the world's largest global WiFi network." He has a few partners helping him get there -- Skype, eBay and Google. In a podcast interview with Kevin Werbach, a professor of legal studies and ethics at W
27 Sep 2010: Energy Market Consequences of an Emerging U.S. Carbon Management Policy
Emerging energy and climate policies in the United States are accelerating the pace of technological changes and prompting calls for alternative energy and stricter energy efficiency measures. These trends raise questions about the future demand for fossil fuels, such that some energy-producing nations are reluctant to invest heavily in the expansion of production capacity. The abundance of shale gas resources in North America could allow the United States to utilize more gas in its energy mix a
04 Oct 2010: The Fate of Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Examining the Legal Battle Behind the Science
The Science and Technology Policy Program of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy invites you to attend a presentation on The Fate of Embryonic Stem Cell Research. At this event, experts will address recent court rulings that reinterpret the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which prohibits the creation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines from destroyed embryos. Federal funding currently is allowed for research using existing lines, all of which were created with private funds, but th
06 Oct 2010: How Things Really Work: Lessons From a Life in Politics
Bill Hobby was elected lieutenant governor of Texas in 1972. As the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Texas history, a media executive, distinguished university professor and philanthropist, he has worked to guide the state into the future. During his 18 years in office, Hobby made education a top priority and helped make health care more accessible. After leaving office in 1991, he continued to run Hobby Communications but was soon tapped to lead the University of Houston System through a
12 Oct 2010: Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future
When the nations economy foundered in 2008, blame was directed almost universally at Wall Street. But University of California, Berkeley, public policy professor Robert B. Reich suggests a different reason for the meltdown, and for the perilous road ahead. In his book Aftershock: The Next Economy and Americas Future, he argues that the real problem lies in the increasing concentration of wealth at the top, and in a middle class that has to go into debt to maintain a decent standard of living.
R
13 Oct 2010: Civic Scientist Lecture - Robert F. Curl Jr., Ph.D., and Sir Harry W. Kroto, Ph.D
The Civic Scientist lectures are a series of talks by leading scientists from around the country who have influenced public policy. The series seeks to expose scientists and future scientists to the notion that their roles extend beyond the laboratory. It also gives the Houston community an opportunity to hear leading scientists discuss their fields and careers, with the goal of promoting science and technology as a public priority worthy of federal, state and local funding.
Event co-hosted wi
Coroner's Report Plague
In the 14th century, a plague known as the Black Death claimed 75 million lives. Forensic medical investigator Shiya Ribowsky explores how exactly they died. Run time 02:37.
Martin Luther King's last speech King's last speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop", was given on April 3, 1968 at Mason Temple, the World Headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. King was assassinated one day later.
"Crime and Responsibility: War, Indiscriminate Bombing, and Mass Killing" (video)
A talk by Yuki Tanaka, Professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute.
Dr. Tanaka examines the question of the criminality of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the responsibility of American political and military leaders who were closely involved in the decision-making and execution of the order to drop the bombs. Criminality is examined in ac
Lecture 27 - 11/24/2010
Lecture 27
Depiction of terrorism in film and television
In this podcast, Professor Roberta Pearson from the School of American and Canadian Studies, discusses the fictional representation of terrorism in modern day television programmes and why more and more people are using fiction instead of the news to inform their opinions of world events.
Professor Pearson considers the frequent engagement of modern audiences with such television series’ as ‘24’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and how these common cultural experiences should not be underes
