Einaudi Center for International Studies
Einaudi Spring Showcase
April 20, 2026
4:30 pm
Statler Hotel, Room E/F
Come and explore international research from students at the Einaudi Center for International Studies. Our undergraduate Global Scholars will present posters on their international aid projects.
Global Scholars Showcase
Global Scholars will present a showcase of their capstone projects providing public commentary and perspectives on international aid.
Undergraduate global scholars consider the multiple perspectives that shape the global landscape of international aid and the communities impacted. They have partnered with Einaudi Center practitioner in residence Paul Kaiser and faculty mentor Ed Mabaya—expert researchers and practitioners on international development—to design their projects. Applications for the next cohort will open in fall 2026.
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The Einaudi Spring Showcase is hosted by the Einaudi Center for International Studies.
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
Many in Egypt Struggle as the Costs of a Distant War Drive up Prices in Local Markets
Alexandra Blackman, SWANA
Alexandra Blackman, an expert in Mideast politics at Cornell University, comments on the mounting challenges for Egypt's regime in managing the economic fallout.
Additional Information
Iran War: Wheat Prices Jump as US Weather Raises Inflation Fears
Chris Barrett, IAD/SEAP
“It’s unclear whether the added costs of fuel and fertilizer will outpace the higher prices crops fetch,” said Chris Barrett, professor of public policy and economics.
Additional Information
Sotong & Against This Messy World
April 6, 2026
5:00 pm
Rockefeller Hall, 374
Join SEAP and GETSEA for a simulcast film screening of two short films: Sotong and Against This Messy World.
We will watch the films on the Cornell campus, then join an online discussion with audiences at universities across the US for a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Sotong follows four fierce local drag queens who were part of the 2022 Halloween party raided by the authorities. One of them, Juan, was arrested for ‘a man dressing up as a woman’. Two years later, they revisit on the fallout of that night as they continue to perform underground and nurture the Malaysian drag scene in all its beauty, joy, and pain.
Against This Messy World is a deeply introspective and visually captivating short documentary that delves into the heart and soul of artistic expression in Malaysia. A personal exploration, narrated by Malaysian artists, this documentary takes viewers on an evocative journey to understand the essence and purpose of being an artist in a world marked by chaos and uncertainty and piece together conversations and unfiltered moments in their lives.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Southeast Asia Program
The Era of US Dominance in Economic Warfare Is Over
Nicholas Mulder, IES
Nicholas Mulder, an assistant professor at Cornell University, authored the piece analyzing changes in global economic warfare.
Additional Information
Building an Ontology of Art: Hindustan Painting as a Case Study
March 24, 2026
4:45 pm
A. D. White House, Guerlac Room
Department of History of Art & Visual Studies Findley Lecture Series.
Join us for a talk by Murad Khan Mumtaz, (Associate Professor, Williams College).
This Findley Lecture will take place in the AD White House's Guerlac Room.
Abstract
Islamic art is often misrepresented as an iconophobic tradition. As a result of this assumption, the polyvalence of figural artworks made for Hindustan’s Muslim audiences has remained hidden in plain view. By combining an art historical survey with an analysis of primary Indo-Persian literature, this talk shows how figurative painting was intimately linked to a unique Indo-Muslim religious expression that had a wide circulation across South Asia.
Biography
Murad Khan Mumtaz is an associate professor in the Art Department at Williams College. He examines historical intersections of art, literature and religious expression in South Asia, with a primary focus on Indo-Muslim patronage. By combining art history with textual analysis, his recent book, Faces of God: Images of Devotion in Indo-Muslim Painting (Brill, 2023), examines the cultural contexts within which these Islamicate images of devotion were made and viewed. Murad is also an artist trained in traditional Hindustani painting techniques which he teaches at Williams. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions internationally.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
South Asia Program
Southwest Asia and North Africa Program
The Authoritarian Feelings Machine
IES Director on Emotions as Political Tools
IES director Mabel Berezin talks with Jacobin about how leaders around the world have turned fear, grievance, and national pride into political instruments.
Additional Information
A History of Timelessness: Constructing Authenticity at the Ise Shrines
April 13, 2026
4:30 pm
Uris Hall, G-08
Speaker: Jordan Sand, Professor of Japanese History, Georgetown University
Abstract: The Ise shrines stand at the ritual center of Japanese imperial ideology. At the same time, they are admired around the world for their architecture and for the unique practice of periodic reconstruction. Yet the historical relationship between their ideological role and their architecture is seldom considered. By tracing the evolution of meanings attributed to the buildings and their reconstruction over a millennium, this lecture will reveal the many ways the shrine sites have been mobilized and show the gradual emergence of modern conceptions of architectural value.
About East Asia Program
As Cornell’s hub for research, teaching, and engagement with East Asia, the East Asia Program (EAP) serves as a forum for the interdisciplinary study of historical and contemporary East Asia. The program draws its membership of over 45 core faculty and numerous affiliated faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from eight of Cornell’s 12 schools and colleges.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
East Asia Program
China Approves 'Ethnic Unity' Law Requiring Minorities to Learn Mandarin
Magnus Fiskesjö, EAP/PACS/SEAP
Magnus Fiskesjö and Allen Carlson, both Cornell University associate professors, provide critical analysis of China's new ethnic unity law and its impact on minority rights.
Additional Information
IAD Community Grant Supports Research on Community Fisheries
Cornell PhD candidate Aalayna R. Green's community project on “Care, Instead of Violence: Building Capacity and Countering Violence with Communal Fisheries in the Zambezi,” explores how community-managed fisheries could help strengthen local livelihoods along Namibia's Chobe River, where fishing plays a central role in daily life.
The project was funded by an Africa Community Grant from the Einaudi Center's Institute for African Development (IAD).
For many households in the region, fishing provides both income and an important source of food. At the same time, the river is also an international boundary between Namibia and Botswana. In some areas, fishermen from local Namibian communities have encountered difficulties while fishing near the border, including interactions with the Botswana Defense Force (BDF), which patrols parts of the river. These encounters have occasionally led to tensions that affect fishing activities and the security of local livelihoods.
Green’s research examines whether communal fisheries could offer a more stable framework for managing fishing access while supporting both community needs and sustainable resource use. The project places particular emphasis on approaches grounded in local knowledge and community participation.
One part of the work involves mapping fishing activity along the Chobe River. This mapping will help identify areas where fishing commonly takes place and locations that might support community-managed fishing points. It will also help clarify how communities currently use and depend on the river.
The project will also organize workshops and discussions with community members, village leadership, and regional stakeholders from both Namibia and Botswana. These gatherings are intended to share knowledge about fisheries management while opening space for dialogue about community experiences and potential cooperative solutions.
By focusing on community engagement and local capacity-building, the project aims to support fishing communities in the region while encouraging more collaborative approaches to managing shared natural resources.
Green is a PhD candidate at Cornell University in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) and Department of Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies (College of Arts & Sciences). Her research examines the connections between conservation, livelihoods, and social justice.
IAD Community Grants support Cornell students conducting research and community-engaged work across Africa. Projects like Green's highlight how locally grounded approaches can contribute to both sustainable resource management and community well-being.