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Bartels World Affairs Lecture

The Einaudi Center’s flagship event brings distinguished international figures to campus each year to speak on global topics and meet with Cornell faculty and students, particularly undergraduates. The Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellowship supports the speaker’s visit.


October 23, 2024: Doppelganger Politics

Naomi Klein, Bestselling Author and Activist

Klein described how “conspiracy influencers” thrive when the government and civil society fail to address “the myriad hardships and debasements of racial capitalism.” After her talk, she joined Cornell democracy experts for a conversation on the U.S. election.

Naomi Klein Bartels lecture, Oct. 23, 2024
Naomi Klein speaking at Einaudi's 2024 Bartels lecture: “Politics hates a vacuum. And if you don’t fill that vacuum with credible hope … someone else is going to fill it with hate.” Photo: Simon Wheeler

Klein: Conspiracy Influencers Filling Political Vacuum | Global Experts Look Abroad in Super Election Year(link is external)


Past Bartels World Affairs Fellows

Fall 2023: N. K. Jemisin, Hugo Award–Winning Novelist

Spring 2023: Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Former President of Costa Rica

Cornell Chronicle: "Love Can Change the World"(link is external), Former Costa Rican President to Speak(link is external) | Sun: “Power of Leading by Example”(link is external) | Bartels Explainer by Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez | YouTube Video: Fighting for Democracy and the Planet(link is external) 

2022: Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate

Cornell Chronicle: Nobel Laureate Offers Wisdom(link is external), Gbowee to Speak on May 3(link is external) | Bartels Explainer by Naminata Diabate | YouTube Video: Forging Lasting Peace(link is external)

2021: Amartya Sen, 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics

Cornell Chronicle: Bartels Lecturer Speaks Out on Rising Threats to Democracy(link is external), Nobel Laureate Sen to Lecture on Protecting Democracy(link is external)

See previous Bartels World Affairs Fellows in Cornell Library’s eCommons archive(link is external).