"Cows, Cars and Cycle-Rickshaws: The Politics of Nature on the Streets of Delhi"
A talk by Amita Baviskar, Associate Professor at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University. As an embodied public sphere, city streets are sites for multiple exchanges between differently located people and things. This talk focuses on cows, cars and cycle-rickshaws as they navigate Delhi's roads, and on the people who own, use and seek to control them. All three have b
"Poverty and Income Inequality in Brazil"
A presentation by Ricardo Paes de Barros, University of Chicago Tinker Visiting Professor, and Researcher at the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), a public foundation linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management. This lecture stems from a 2006 IPEA report on the "Recent Fall in Income Inequality in Brazil". This report sought to consolid
Roksonaki Concert
A smash hit at the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Roksonaki pioneered the creation of a unique sound that integrates ancient Kazakh instrumentation with contemporary rock and jazz using motifs drawn from Eurasia's indigenous religious traditions. This tour gives lucky audiences an opportunity to learn about Central Asian culture directly from the s
Francis Deng: Genocide Conference Keynote Address
Keynote address by Ambassador Francis Deng, Research Professor, Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and Director of the SAIS Center for Displacement Studies; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretary General for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. Part of a two-day conferen
Genocide Conference Panel 1: “Defining the 'Crime without a Name'"
This panel will compare various instances of genocide and explore the possibility of developing models that can be used to prevent the occurrence of genocide.
Marie Fleming, Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University;
Juan Mendez, President, International Center for Transitional Justice, New York, & former Special Adviser to the U.N. Secretar
Genocide Conference Panel 2: “Prevention and Response"
This panel will examine the response of home and international communities to acts of genocide. The panel will focus on a variety of responses including legal action, both national and international, social action, and memorialization. It will analyze how these various responses are used to try to stop genocide as it is occurring, restore justice, an
"Muslim Peace Building in Conflict Regions of Southeast Asia"
A historical overview of the situation in southern Thailand and southern Philippines is presented, followed by a discussion on peace building efforts in conflict regions. Panelists give special attention to welfare and security issues in these areas. The panel is moderated by Kikue Hamayotsu (Ph.D., Department of Political Science, Northern Illinois University). Panelists include: Kriya Lanputeh (Yala Islamic University), Abdulghoni Suetair (Prince of Songkla University), Pattama Hamingma (Asian
"Pens and Swords: How the American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict"
A talk by Marda Dunsky, former Arab affairs reporter for the Jerusalem Post and editor on the national/foreign desk of the Chicago Tribune. As world attention is renewed and refocused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the sixtieth anniversary of its seminal year of 1948, Marda Dunsky takes a close look at how more than two dozen major American print and broadcast outlets have reported the conflict i
"Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror"
"Our government can make you disappear." Those were the words Steven Wax never imagined he would hear himself say. In his twenty-nine years as a public defender, Wax had never had to warn a client that he or she might be taken away to a military brig, or worse, a "black site", one of our country's dreaded secret prisons. How had our country come to this? The disappearance of people happens in places ruled by t
"Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan,
The growing instability and resurgence of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan pose a great threat to U.S. interests and global security. In his new book, "Descent into Chaos", Ahmed Rashid examines the rising insurgency, booming opium trade, and weak governance in Afghanistan, concluding that U.S. strategy in the region has been a complete failure. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based i
"Putin's Labyrinth: What Russia Won in Georgia; Why the U.S. Will Continue to Lose"
A talk by Steve LeVine.
Russia is once again front and center in the wake it's invasion of Georgia and effective re-assertion of dominance in the Caucasus region. What levers can the U.S. and Europe assert against Putin's aggression? What is Russia's political calculus and how can we change the inputs into their equation? Are there key insights into the Che
"The U.S. and R.O.C.: A Fresh Start"
Keynote speech by Deputy Representative Ta-tung Jacob Chang, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States. Part of a free conference sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, and International House.Author(s):
"Taiwan's New Approach: Opportunities and Challenges for President Ma Ying-jeou's Government"
Introduction and Welcome: Professor Dali L. Yang, University of Chicago. Panel 1: Taiwan's Participations in International Affairs (Chair: Professor Te-Yu Wang, Illinois State University) -- Professor Chong-Pin Lin, Tamkang University, "Sightful Carrot and Shrouded Stick: Beijing's Adjusted Taiwan Policy" (Discussant: Professor John J. Mearsheimer, University o
"Prescription for Survival: A Doctor's Journey to End Nuclear Madness"
A talk by Bernard Lown, MD.
Physician, author, and Nobel Prize-winning peace activist Bernard Lown discusses his new memoir, "Prescription for Survival: A Doctor's Journey to End Nuclear Madness". The inventor of the defibrillator, Dr. Lown was also a peace and anti-nuclear activist, participating in the founding of Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1960
"Challenges for the New Administration in Iraq and Afghanistan"
A talk by Juan Cole.
Juan Cole will discuss the future of U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan beyond the November presidential elections. Juan Cole is Richard P. Mitchell Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He has written extensively about Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and South Asia. He studies and writes about contemporary Isl
"The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power"
Writer, film-maker, and leading figure of the international left Tariq Ali speaks about Pakistan, Afghanistan and the future of U.S. involvement in the region. Ali's new book, "The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power", weighs the prospects of those contending for power in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, and demonstrates Pakistan
"Terror in Mumbai: Reflections on the Aftermath"
A panel discussion with Steven Wilkinson, Martha Nussbaum, Tarini Bedi, Robert Pape, and Manan Ahmed.
On November 26, 2008, the world watched while terror attacks paralyzed Mumbai, India's financial capital and largest city. Mumbai bounced back, but the bold, new strategies of the attacks shifted the discourse of the global war on terror. The panelists discuss the consequences of terror in Mumbai for the region and the world. Introductory
"The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do to Stop It"
A talk by Antonia Juhasz, author, policy expert, and activist. Antonia Juhasz is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies, a fellow with Oil Change International, and a senior analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus. The author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time (2006), Juhasz has also written extensively on various aspec
"Crime and Responsibility: War, Indiscriminate Bombing, and Mass Killing"
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
"Dignity and Defiance, Stories from Bolivia's Challenge to Globalization"
A talk by authors Jim Shultz & Melissa Crane Draper. (Moderated by Jerome McDonnell, host of Chicago Public Radio's Worldview.)
Author Jim Shultz is founder and Executive Director of the San Francisco based Democracy Center and has lived and worked in Bolivia for much of the past decade, chronicling grassroots movements to control exploitation o
