Today in class we will discuss the outcome of the Syria Simulation and consider how it compares to the real events. We’ll also look at the guidelines for writing the reflection paper and talk about your digital projects. I also have a list of co-curricular events through Nov. 21 (remember that you have to do one event of your choosing and at least one of the Middle East films, though your two co-curricular papers can both be ME films.)
Regarding digital projects, the last day to post on Diigo is coming up on 11/21. Because we won’t have class at all the next week, anyone who hasn’t made progress on their projects needs to meet with me next week. I’m also going to check your blogs at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 11 and mark anything everything as zero credit that is not up-to-date. Check your rubric to see where you should be.
Middle East Film Series, Tuesday, Nov. 11, Moody 126, 6:00 PM
Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets (Dir. Nabil Ayouch, Morocco 2000)
The death of a friend becomes a rite of passage for a group of orphaned boys in the docks and alleys of Casablanca. Ayouch’s film combines soul-searching magical realism with keen sociological insights into the modern population explosion in the Middle East and North Africa.
Faculty-led discussion following.
| Strauss Center, UTChoosing Terror: Rebels’ Use of Terrorism in Internal Armed Conflicts, 1970-2010 |
| Wednesday, November 12th from 12:15-1:30pm in SRH 3.122. |
Why do some rebel groups use terrorism as a tactic while others do not? Why some opposition groups engage in terrorism while others do not is of obvious importance both to the study of terrorism more generally, and to policy makers. But most existing studies of terrorism are not well-equipped to answer this question as they lack an appropriate comparison category. This project examines terrorism in the context of civil war to remedy this problem. A presentation with Dr. Page Fortna, Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and member of the Salzman Institute of War and Peace studies.
South Asia Institute, UT
Thursday, November 13th from 3:30-5p with a reception preceding the seminar at 3p, Meyerson Conference Room (WCH 4.118)
Prof. S. Akbar Zaidi, Columbia University will talk on ‘Still Feudal After All These Years? Pakistani Political Culture Today’ where he will examine the persistent dominant narrative about Pakistan and its politicians, that it is ‘feudal’, a term used by different scholars and analysts very loosely, and explain why this myth persists in Pakistan.
Strauss Center, UT
| The Arab Spring: The Politics of Transformation in North Africa and the Middle East |
| Monday, November 17th in the Avaya Auditorium (POB 2.302), running from 8:00am-12:00pm |
A book launch for The Arab Spring: The Politics of Transformation in North Africa and the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2014). The book is co-authored by Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Jason Brownlee, Harvard University’s Tarek Masoud, and Andrew Reynolds of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. The half-day conference will include the three co-authors and three experts on Middle Eastern policy. Please find conference schedule and speakers: https://www.strausscenter.org/events/details/315-the-arab-spring-the-politics-of-transformation-in-north-africa-and-the-middle-east.html
CFR Conference Call Series
Thursday, November 20, 11:00- 12:00pm, Lucas Room, RAGS 301
“U.S. – China Relations” with Speaker Robert D. Blackwill, Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
RSVP kozmetskycenter@stedwards.edu or 512-233-1678
Workshop for Global Understanding Film Series
RX for Health, Disease Warriors (PBS Documentary)
Thursday, November 20, Fleck 305, 7:00pm
Before there was an understanding of infectious disease, few weapons were available to fight it. Disease Warriors chronicles the groundbreaking work of early researchers, such as the famed scientist Louis Pasteur, who unmasked germs as the source of illness. Pasteur went on to develop a rabies vaccine — a great scientific triumph. Today, vaccines have made huge strides against epidemics, conquering smallpox and bringing the global eradication of polio within reach. But the world still faces major challenges in getting basic vaccines to those who still need them, and in creating new ones to combat modern nemeses, like AIDS.
Dr Holly Carter will lead discussion following the film.
South Asia Institute, UT
Thursday, November 20th from 3:30-5p with a reception preceding the seminar at 3p, Meyerson Conference Room (WCH 4.118) Free and Open to the Public!
Dr. Anastasia Piliavsky, University of Cambridge will be presenting on ‘Elective Aristocracy, or Representative Democracy the Indian Way’ as part of the fall South Asia Seminar Series.
