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East Asia Program

2025 Korean Game Night

October 9, 2025

6:30 pm

PSB, Atrium (near Goldie's)

Come enjoy Korean games and delicious treats from Paris Baguette! Explore several game stations, and collect at least 5 stamps to receive a free treat from Paris Baguette (a French-style Korean bakery). You can also learn K-Pop Demon Hunters’ dance moves and try playing traditional Korean musical instruments. Bring your family and friends to this festive community event hosted by the Cornell Korean Language Program!

Additional Information

Program

East Asia Program

Information Session: Fulbright U.S. Student Program

November 17, 2025

4:45 pm

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program supports U.S. citizens to study, conduct research in any field, or teach English in more than 150 countries. The program is open to graduate students, recent graduates, and young professionals. Undergraduate students who wish to begin the program immediately after graduation are encouraged to start the process in their junior year. Recent graduates are welcome to apply through Cornell.

The Fulbright program at Cornell is administered by the Mario Einaudi Center for International studies. Applicants are supported through all stages of the application and are encouraged to start early by contacting fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu.

Register for the virtual session.

Can’t attend? Contact fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Institute for European Studies

South Asia Program

Migrations Program

Institute for African Development

Southwest Asia and North Africa Program

Is (Cutting) International Aid Good?

October 22, 2025

5:00 pm

Goldwin Smith Hall, G76, Lewis Auditorium

Lund Critical Debate

Since January 2025, the United States has slashed billions in international aid—and effectively dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), responsible for administering U.S. development and humanitarian aid around the world. In what has become the largest restructuring of aid in the nation’s history, thousands of UN-administered programs have also lost funding, disrupting critical programs and services, breaking supply chains, and leading to widespread closures and layoffs.

These sweeping cuts affect food security, global health, democratic governance, and more—and the stakes have never been higher. As the landscape of international aid evolves, the world faces new questions about the impact of aid on communities, what makes international aid effective—and how to move forward.

This year's Lund debate from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies brings together policy and practice experts for an unfiltered look at the future of international aid. Join Einaudi Center faculty Chris Barrett (Dyson/Brooks) and Muna Ndulo (Law) as they tackle these questions: Who benefits from aid? Do some types of aid work better than others? Should we pursue new approaches to international development? What are the best ways to take strategic action in the world while investing in America’s security, economy, and global position?

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Interested in attending? Complete this RSVP.

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Panelists

Chris Barrett is the Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and a professor in the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy. He is coeditor-in-chief of the journal Food Policy and a frequent commentator and policy advisor on food security and agricultural economics. Barrett won the USAID Science and Technology Pioneers Prize (2013), among many other awards for research, teaching, and public outreach. Read recent Chronicle coverage of Barrett's research.

Muna Ndulo is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of International and Comparative Law at Cornell Law School and an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of constitution making, governance and institution building, international criminal law, African legal systems, and human rights. Ndulo has served as consultant to the African Development Bank, World Bank, Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Development Program, and other international organizations. He led the Einaudi Center's Institute for African Development from 2001 to 2020.

Moderator

Paul Kaiser is the Einaudi Center's practitioner in residence in fall 2025. Kaiser has extensive experience in international development, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. His career spans roles at USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and World Bank. Previously, Kaiser taught political science and African studies at Mississippi State University and the University of Pennsylvania.

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About the Debate

The Lund Critical Debate is a signature event of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. Established in 2008, Einaudi's Lund Debate series is made possible by the generosity of Judith Lund Biggs '57.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Institute for African Development

Institute for European Studies

South Asia Program

Migrations Program

Southwest Asia and North Africa Program

Mandarin Conversation Hour

December 3, 2025

3:30 pm

420 College Ave, Ithaca, NY 14850

Come to CTB to practice your language skills and meet new people. Conversation Hours provide an opportunity to use the target language in an informal, low-pressure atmosphere. Have fun practicing a language you are learning! Gain confidence through experience! Just using your new language skills helps you learn more than you might think. Conversation Hours are open to any learner, including the public.

Additional Information

Program

East Asia Program

Research at Risk: Cultural and Language Fluency

Phoebe Wagner FLAS India
September 15, 2025

SEAP and SAP lose funding, seek solutions

The federal government has announced the end of National Resource Center and FLAS funding, which have supported area studies training for decades.

Additional Information

Faculty Research Seed Grants: Global Hubs Info Session

October 1, 2025

12:00 pm

Join this info session to learn about 2026 Global Hubs Faculty Research Seed Grants offered by Global Cornell as part of our Global Hubs initiative. Info session attendees will learn about the grant opportunity and application tips through a short presentation and Q&A.

Through these seed grants, Cornell faculty from across the university are invited to apply for research funds to work with collaborators at Hubs partner institutions. Funded projects should lead to tangible outcomes, including the submission of at least one co-authored peer-reviewed publication and at least one application for external grant funding.

Up to 20 applications for research with a Global Hubs collaborator will be funded.

Successful proposals will receive up to $5,000 from Cornell, with the potential for matching funds from some Global Hubs partner universities.

Application deadline: October 15, 2025, 4:00 p.m. ET

Project duration: January 1–December 31, 2026

Virtual information sessions:

September 18, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)

October 1, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)

Learn more and apply for a Global Hubs joint seed grant.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

Institute for African Development

Institute for European Studies

South Asia Program

Migrations Program

Southwest Asia and North Africa Program

Faculty Research Seed Grants: Global Hubs Info Session

September 18, 2025

12:00 pm

Join this info session to learn about 2026 Global Hubs Faculty Research Seed Grants offered by Global Cornell as part of our Global Hubs initiative. Info session attendees will learn about the grant opportunity and application tips through a short presentation and Q&A.

Through these seed grants, Cornell faculty from across the university are invited to apply for research funds to work with collaborators at Hubs partner institutions. Funded projects should lead to tangible outcomes, including the submission of at least one co-authored peer-reviewed publication and at least one application for external grant funding.

Up to 20 applications for research with a Global Hubs collaborator will be funded.

Successful proposals will receive up to $5,000 from Cornell, with the potential for matching funds from some Global Hubs partner universities.

Application deadline: October 15, 2025, 4:00 p.m. ET

Project duration: January 1–December 31, 2026

Virtual information sessions:

September 18, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)

October 1, 2025, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET (register)

Learn more and apply for a Global Hubs joint seed grant.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

East Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

Institute for African Development

Institute for European Studies

South Asia Program

Migrations Program

Southwest Asia and North Africa Program

Einaudi Welcomes SWANA Program

Bright orange and red rugs hang over buildings in Marrakesh.
September 11, 2025

Four New Program Directors

We welcome the Einaudi Center's new Southwest Asia and North Africa Program and four new program directors this fall.

We're excited to introduce the Southwest Asia and North Africa Program! SWANA is Einaudi's new hub for research, learning, and engagement with the cultures and peoples of the vast geographical region stretching from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east.

Seema Golestaneh headshot
SWANA director Seema Golestaneh

SWANA gathers expertise and perspectives from across Cornell's colleges and schools under the leadership of the program's inaugural director, Seema Golestaneh. Golestaneh is an associate professor of Near Eastern studies in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). Her research focuses on contemporary Islamic thought in the Persian-speaking world.

“We approach the Middle East as a region of complex engagements, shifting boundaries, and shared histories.”

Golestaneh looks forward to partnering with communities in the SWANA region and scholars around the world, she said, noting plans this year to “further develop our burgeoning relationship with the American University in Cairo.” 

Extending beyond the Middle East, Southwest Asia and North Africa is a place-based description that highlights geographical and cultural inclusion. Golestaneh hopes SWANA will embody that spirit on campus by serving as a social and intellectual home for Cornell's diverse community of researchers and students. 

“This year we'll host interdisciplinary scholars whose work represents the cutting edge of the field,” she said. “We are particularly excited about the graduate student conference we have scheduled for spring 2026.” 

SWANA premiered as an initiative through a cosponsored speaker series last spring. Don't miss its first event as an Einaudi program: a lecture by Islamic art historian Margaret Graves on September 25.


New Program Directors

Joining SWANA's Seema Golestaneh are new program directors in the East Asia Program, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, and Southeast Asia Program.

program director and staffer at international fair
New SEAP director Eric Tagliacozzo (left) joined grad student Xintong Chen at this year's international fair on August 27.

EAP: Nick Admussen

Nick Admussen is an associate professor in the Department of Asian Studies (A&S). His research on contemporary Chinese poetry focuses on inventing and refining methods of interpretation through which people separated by linguistic or political distance can come to understand one another.

LACS: Alex Nading

Alex Nading is a medical and environmental anthropologist (A&S). His research—mostly focused on Nicaragua—has examined transnational campaigns against dengue fever, bacterial disease, and chronic kidney disease, as well as grassroots movements to address these issues.

SEAP: Eric Tagliacozzo

Eric Tagliacozzo is the John Stambaugh Professor of History in A&S. His research centers on the history of people, ideas, and material in motion in and around Southeast Asia, especially in the colonial age.

Additional Information

Book Talk with Dr. Brendan Galipeau

September 30, 2025

4:45 pm

Rockefeller Hall, 374

"Catholic and Buddhist Ecologies in Tibetan Wine Production in Southwest China"

Brendan A. Galipeau
Lecturer
Environmental Studies Program
Binghamton University

Drawing from material in my recently published book, Crafting a Tibetan Terroir, this talk discusses the historical Catholic roots and modern Buddhist environmental responses to viticulture in Tibetan Southwest China. Vineyards were first introduced to this region by nineteenth-century French and Swiss Catholic missionaries to make sacramental wine, a tradition continued and expanded upon today by Catholic households today. These developments have formed in response to twenty-first century commercialization of the region for tourism, and a desire among Catholic families to differentiate themselves within the wider landscape of wine across Northwest Yunnan Province. Here Tibetan agropastoral livelihoods have been transformed by monocropping vineyards for state supported wineries. Catholic families have resisted these commercialization efforts and instead produce their own wines identified with French history and Catholic ritual. In neighboring Buddhist communities, a majority of households have welcomed state capitalism and viticulture and the new economic opportunities they bring. However, select active Buddhist environmentalists are agitating against these new economies in response to increasing use of agrochemicals and pollution. These reactions are largely driven by perceived degradation of sacred landscapes and failing devotion to mountain deities, observed through changes in the landscape such as glacier retreat.

Brendan A. Galipeau is a Lecturer in Environmental Studies at Binghamton University. He previously served as Assistant Professor of Anthropology at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan from 2019 to 2024 and as a postdoctoral fellow in Transnational Asian Studies at Rice University from 2017 to 2019. He received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa in 2017 and MA in Applied Anthropology at Oregon State University in 2012.

Galipeau has lived in and been conducting research in Tibetan Southwest China for almost two decades since 2007. His research and publications broadly focus on environmental change and human relations with nature in Southwest China and Taiwan, with a particular focus on agrarian change, hydropower resettlement, and religious ecologies. His work and publications have been featured in a variety of publications and media including Made in China, Journal of Agrarian Change, Human Ecology, Culture, Agriculture, Food, and Environment, National Public Radio, and the web publication The Third Pole. Crafting a Tibetan Terroir published by the University of Washington Press in 2024 is his first book.

Sponsored: Religious Studies Program

Co-sponsors: East Asia Program, Department of Asian Studies

Additional Information

Program

East Asia Program

Unification, Threat, and Security: Public Views Across the Strait

October 3, 2025

2:00 pm

A. D. White House

Speaker:

Chih-Jou Jay Chen, Director of Institute of Sociology, Research Fellow, Academia SinicaPanelists:

Victor Nee, Frank and Rosha Rhodes Professor of Economic Sociology, and Director of the Center for the Study of Economy and SocietyPeter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International StudiesNaoki Sakai, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies

Description: This study compares perceptions in China and Taiwan regarding military unification and threat. Drawing on recent national survey data in China and long-term representative surveys in Taiwan, the findings reveal a widening gap. Many in China favor the use of force and often assume strong support for unification in Taiwan, though views differ across social groups and fall into distinct orientations ranging from moderates to militant hardliners. In Taiwan, confidence in China’s development has steadily declined, more people view China as a threat, and unification support remains marginal. Preference for maintaining the status quo is dominant, while support for independence has grown. Despite consistent willingness to resist aggression, confidence in Taiwan’s defense capacity has weakened, alongside stronger expectations of U.S. support. These mutually reinforcing perceptions sustain polarization across the Strait and raise concerns for regional stability and global security.

This is a hybrid event. To join the livestream, please register here: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7cdUCO70TaG76o8j-56JAA

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

East Asia Program

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