2007-2008 Events

September 13, 2007 -  International Studies Colloquium
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium, Ames Library
Panel Discussion focusing on this year's theme, "Consuming the World"

September 13, 2007
5:30 p.m.
McPherson Beach (or rain place - Turfler Room)
Welcome back barbecue for International Studies majors and minors, international students and International Studies faculty associates

September 27, 2007
4:00 p.m. - Beckman Auditorium, Ames Library
Jack Zipes, Professor of German
University of Minnesota
Title: "Why We Love to Kiss Repulsive Frog Princes: Memetics and Fairy Tales"
Sponsored by International Studies--Russian and Eastern European Studies and Western European Studies Teams and the German Club.

October 4, 2007 -  International Studies Colloquium
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium, Ames Library (moved to Dec. 6)
Zsuzsa Gille, Associate Profesor of Sociology, UIUC
"The Politics of Waste in Socialist and Postsocialist Hungary."

African Culture Week
October 29 – November 11, 2007
Ames Library Rotunda: African Drum Exhibition

MONDAY OCTOBER 29 - Beckman Auditorium, 4.00 p.m.
"Lost Boys of Sudan”
Discussion session with Peter Magai Bul and Maketh Bul on the civil war in Sudan, the continuing atrocities in Darfur, their personal experiences, and their efforts to rebuild their home community in southern Sudan.

MONDAY OCTOBER 29 - Beckman Auditorium, 7.00 p.m.
“God Grew Tired of Us”
An award-winning documentary that follows three ‘Lost Boys’ from their early days in the US to their moving search for surviving family members in Africa. Followed by a q&a session with Peter Magai Bul and Maketh Bul.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6 - Shaw Hall 108, 6.00 p.m.
“Mapantsula” (1988)
Described as the first anti-apartheid film for and about black South Africans, Mapantsula tells the story of Panic, a petty gangster who inevitably becomes caught up in the growing anti-apartheid struggle and has to choose between individual gain and a united stand against the system.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 - Westbrook Auditorium, 11.00 a.m.-1.00 p.m.
Master Drum Class with Abass Camara of Guinea

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 -  Beckman Auditorium, 4.00 p.m.
Dr Rebecca Gearhart
Associate Professor of Anthropology, IWU“
Breaking into the ‘Global Village:’ Arts and Crafts in Coastal Kenya”

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11- Hansen Student Center, 7:00 p.m.
African Culture Night
A celebration of African food, fashion and entertainment.

All African Culture Week events sponsored by African Studies Team

November 1, 2007 -  International Studies Colloquium
4:00 p.m. - Beckman Auditorium, Ames Library
Linda Giles, Sociology and Anthropology Department, IWU
"The Long Journey Home: The Saga of the Repatriation of Two Stolen Kenyan Ancestor Statues"
Part of African Culture Week events. Sponsored by African Studies Team

November 15, 2007
Hunger Banquet - 5:30 p.m., Davidson Room
Ever wondered how the rest of the world eats?
We live in a world of plenty. Countries in North America and Western Europe produce vast surpluses of food crops. Yet, about one in eight people in the world is either hungry or malnourished. Paradoxically, the countries with the lowest nutritional profiles tend to generate the highest proportion of their gross domestic product in agriculture. In short: WHAT YOU EAT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU LIVE.
Tickets: $5.00, available at CLA150

December 6, 2007 -  International Studies Colloquium
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium, Ames Library
Zsuzsa Gille, Associate Professor of Sociology, UIUC
"The Politics of Waste in Socialist and Postsocialist Hungary"
(Reception to follow.)

January 17, 2008 -  International Studies Colloquium
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium, Ames Library
Abigail Jahiel, Director.,Environmental Studies & Associate Professor of Environmental & International Studies,  IWU
" Visualizing the Globalization of Consumption through the Asian Lens"
Film Clips followed by an open discussion led by Professor Jahiel

January 22, 2008
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium-Ames LIbrary
Dr. Kirill Kobrin
(Dr. Kobrin is a writer, editor/broadcaster on Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe (Prague) and a  member of the Editorial Board of one of the leading Russian journals, Neprikosnovennyi Zapas: Journal of Political Science, Sociology and Cultural History.
"Building up Ordinary Autocratism: Putin's Russia, 2000-2007"
Sponsored by MCLL Funk Endowed Professorship Fund.

February 7, 2008 -  International Studies Colloquium (cancelled)

February 13, 2008 - Social Sciences Division Lecture Series
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium-Ames Library
Taye Woldesmiate. Visiting Professor of Political Science from Ethiopia, IWU
Scholars at Risk Network
"Globalization and the Crisis in the Horn of Africa"

March 6, 2008 -  International Studies Colloquium
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium-Ames LIbrary
Larry Lohmann
Founding member, Durban Group for Climate Justice
Editor, Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change
"A Critical Conversation on Carbon Trading:  Why a Carbon tax and government regulations are much Better than Cap and Trade for Reversing Global Warming."
Co-sponsored by Environmental Studies and International Studies

March 10, 2008
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium-Ames Library
Peace Fellows Program -Informational Meeting
Through the generous support of Trustee Emeritus John Stutzman and his wife Erma, the Peace fellows program was established in 2007. Each year two IWU students are selected to be Peace Fellows. Those who are selected will agree to complete a few regularly offered courses dealing with issues of peace, conflict resolution and/or social justice. They will also do relevant independent study and an off -campus internship in the U.S. or abroad. Costs for program activities (e.g., internship) will be subsidized up to $1000.00 per student. This opportunity is open to students from across the campus. We encourage all interested students in their first or second year to attend this meeting.

March 11, 2008
4:00 p.m. - Beckman Auditorium-Ames LIbrary
Mehrangiz Kar, Ph.D.,
Scholars at Risk Network
"Under Attack: Women's Rights in Iran"
Dr. Kar's talk will focus on the recent decision by the government to revoke the publishing license of the influential, independent women's magazine Zanan. The role of civil society and women's rights organizations and the actions taken against them by the government will also be covered.
Sponsored by International Studies-Development Studies Team and Women's Studies Program.

March 31, 2008
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium-Ames LIbrary
African Studies Symposium- Panel Presentation
"Contesting Identities: Re-Centering Kenya Coastal History & Society"

Jesse Benjamin, Ph.D. (Sociology, Kennesaw State University)
Diane Ciekawy, Ph.D. (Anthropology, Ohio University)
Rebecca Gearhart, Ph.D. (Anthropology, Illinois Wesleyan University)
Linda Giles, Ph.D. (Anthropology, Independent Scholar)
Thomas Hakansson, Ph.D. (Human Ecology, Lund University, Sweden and Anthropology, University of Kentucky)
Celia Nyamweru, Ph.D. (Anthropology, African Studies, St. Lawrence University)
Monica Udvardy, Ph.D. (Anthropology, Women’s Studies, University of Kentucky)

Introduction & Discussion by Cynthia Brantley, Ph.D. (History, UC Davis)

This presentation will be the culmination of a three-day symposium devoted to editing a volume of essays dedicated to major revision of the history of what is commonly referred to as the “Swahili coast” of Kenya. The volume, Contesting Identities: Re-Centering Kenya Coastal History & Society has grown from a set of essays delivered at the 2005 African Studies Association meetings to include thirteen chapters, half of which are authored by Kenyan scholars. Panelists will provide an overview of the volume’s contribution to East African history in general and to our understanding of Kenya coastal society in particular, as well as discuss the stakes involved in identity politics in contemporary Kenya.

Contact Rebecca Gearhart (rgearhar@iwu.edu) for more information.
Sponsored by International Studies-African Studies Team, Environmental Studies program, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, and Department of History

April 3, 2008
4:00 p.m., Beckman Auditorium-Ames Library
Anna Dolidze
Scholars at Risk Network
Human rights lawyer and
Albert Podell Fellow at Risk
New York University School of Law
Title: "From authoritarianism to democracy- Is Central Eurasia actually becoming more democratic?"

April 11, 2008 -  International Studies Colloquium
4:00 p.m., CNS C102
David V. Carruthers
Associate Professor, Political Science
San Diego State University
"Environmental Justice in Latin America? Observations from the U.S.-Mexico Border"

Abstract:  Fusing narratives of social justice and environmental wellbeing, environmental justice holds great promise for Latin America, both analytically and as a rallying cry for popular mobilization. This project explores the promise and limits of environmental justice in Latin America, drawing its lessons from community struggles against industrial hazardous waste and energy installations along the US-Mexico border.