LACS Film Series

La ilusión viaja en tranvía (1954) is a wry social comedy from renowned filmmaker Luis Buñuel's Mexican period. Heartbroken that their favorite streetcar has been decommissioned, two Mexico City transit workers get drunk and take the streetcar out for a final—eventful—joyride. The film reveals a less well known side of Buñuel's work. Often thought of as a touchstone of surrealist and avant-garde filmmaking who floundered in commercial movie systems, Buñuel shows his deft and mischievous mastery of the tropes and conventions of Mexican popular cinema.

Director's Bio:

Born in 1900 in Calanda, Spain, Luis Buñuel is widely regarded as one of the most important filmmakers of the 20th century. Together with Salvador Dalí, he is credited with having pioneered surrealist filmmaking. From 1946-1953, Buñuel worked primarily on commercial films in Mexico. He died in Mexico City in 1983, having become a Mexican citizen in 1949.

The Department of Near Eastern Studies will offer a panel discussion, “Understanding Events in Israel – Palestine” from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 in Room 165 of McGraw Hall (Note: Location has changed to allow for greater occupancy, but seating is limited)

Panelists will provide historical context for the recent developments in the region and respond to questions from the audience.

Panelists will include:

Ross Brann, Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies & Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Department of Near Eastern Studies (A&S);

Alexandra Blackman, assistant professor, Department of Government (A&S); and

Paul Kohlbry, postdoctoral associate, Department of Anthropology (A&S).

Deborah Starr, professor and chair in the Department of Near Eastern Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences, will moderate the panel.

Note: Register for the lecture/conference at the following link by October 22: https://forms.gle/hEZsdEDGomtZgqo47

The lower Lurín Valley of central coastal Peru is the area most abundant in archaeological khipus. The montane upper Lurín is the area most abundant in patrimonial khipus. What could this mean? The Quechua-language mythohistory of the Lurín Valley written c.1608 limelights high-Andean herders as protagonist yauyos. Fighting down the Lurín Valley they master lower- and mid-valley yunca settlements, even to the outliers of Pachacámac, where their Inka allies would build religious hegemony. Yet the Huarochirí Manuscript is really more a yunca-oriented work than a yauyo-centric one; yuncas get 38 mentions, Inkas 33, and Yauyos 11. Now that the archaeology of the Lurín and nearby rivers has become profuse, we wonder who ‘conquered’ (atiy) whom. Was khipu use imposed on late prehispanic Yauyos by the Incas of Pachacámac? I will argue instead for a more complex, earlier history involving the coastal culture known as Ychsma. Ychsma also created khipus – “anomalous” khipus, whose peculiarities give clues about ethnographic khipus’ puzzling non-Inka attributes.

Frank Salomon, ethnographer and ethnohistorian of the Andes, is the author of At the Mountains’ Altar: Anthropology of Religion in an Andean Community (2017) as well as other books including The Huarochiri Manuscript, a Testament of Ancient and Colonial Andean Religion (1991), the Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas – South America (1999), The Cord Keepers (2004), and a forthcoming book on the Quechua-language songs of Rapaz village. A past president of the American Society for Ethnohistory, he has held NSF, Guggenheim, SAR, and NSF fellowships. He received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society for Ethnohistory.

Frank Salomon is the John V. Murra Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Join this walking tour around central campus to visit important sites that showcase the deep history between Cornell and China. Learn more about how modern Chinese language resulted from an overturned canoe in Beebe Lake, visit buildings of historical importance, and hear stories showcasing vibrant Cornell-China historical ties. This outdoor walking tour will happen rain or shine except in case of hazardous weather, in which case, registrants will emailed at least 1 hour in advance if the tour will shift to the next day at the same time. Limited to 15 participants. Co-hosted by the Cornell China Center and tour leader Liren Zheng from the Cornell Library's Wason Collection. Register here.

This talk considers Iran’s relations with America at a time when global concerns over racial politics, gender relations, and social inequality dominated world headlines. Iran's growing engagement with civil rights and gender relations came at an awkward moment in its history, as the ruling monarchy took on themes of social import despite its ironic legacy of political dictatorship. As in America, Iranians dealt with the role of the police in society; the avant-garde in art; and a sexual revolution of their own. However, as my research will show, the bipolar world that Iran navigated in diplomacy sometimes fell apart in the intellectual and political spaces that grappled with race, gender, and social change.

The Cadre Journal presents a discussion with Thongchai Winichakul—former Thai student leader and historian—on the Thai social movement in the 70s, the rise of socialism and anti-imperialism, American influence over Thai politics, and the atrocities that followed.

About the October 6 Massacre

On October 14, 1973, the Thai people succeeded in throwing out the military dictatorship that had been ruling Thailand for 16 years. The victory allowed for unprecedented freedom of expression and assembly. Interests in socialism and anti-imperialism flourished. Students, workers, and farmers joined forces to continue their struggle for a better future.

The right fought back through propaganda and violence. Paramilitary groups were set up. Assassinations were rampant. This concluded on the morning of October 6, 1976, during a sit-in at Thammasat University where people were protesting the return to the country of the previously ousted dictators. Police started shooting into where students were before advancing onto the campus. The massacre left at least 41 dead, with other estimations going up to hundreds

About the Speaker

Thongchai Winichakul was a student organizer in the 70s. He was one of the people arrested and later imprisoned on October 6, 1976. He and other student leaders were released 1978 on the condition that he was not involved in further political activities.

He is now Emeritus Professor of History at University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Research Fellow Emeritus at Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO), Japan, and currently a Visiting Professor at the Pridi Banomyong International College (PBIC), Thammasat University. His book, Siam Mapped (University of Hawaii Press, 1994), was awarded the Harry J Benda Prize from the Association for Asian Studies (AAS, USA) and the Grand Prize from the Asian Affairs Research Council (Japan). His other book, Moments of Silence: The Unforgetting of the October 6, 1976, Massacre in Bangkok (University of Hawaii Press, 2020) was awarded the humanities book prize by the European Association for Southeast Asian Studies in 2022.

His research interests are in the intellectual foundations of modern Siam under colonial conditions (1880s-1930s) including modern geography and sovereignty, historical ideology, and the legal system. He has published eight books and several articles in Thai. He is also a well-known critic of Thai political and social issues.

PACS Distinguished Lecture

Dmitri Alperovitch, a leading national security expert, will explain why he believes that China's Xi Jinping is preparing to conquer Taiwan in the coming years—and the dire stakes for the world if he is not deterred. Alperovitch makes the case that we are already in the midst of a second Cold War with Taiwan as the perilous strategic flashpoint of this new conflict. The conflict risks triggering a devastating war between major nuclear powers in a similar role that West Berlin nearly played during the first Cold War.

Laying out a comprehensive strategy to deter war and maintain the United States' status as the world's leading superpower in the face of rising China, Alperovitch breaks down the significant weaknesses that can prevent China from surpassing the U.S. and the key policies that will enable America to maintain primacy even as China ramps up its efforts. As Alperovitch explains, we must play to our strengths and address our weaknesses, using our leverage as the strongest nation on the planet to tactfully navigate the next Cold War.

About the Speaker

Dmitri Alperovitch is an internationally recognized thought leader on geopolitics and national security. He is co-founder and executive chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a think-tank focused on policy solutions in national security, trade and industrial security, and ecological and economic security. He is also the co-founder of the leading cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Inc.

Alperovitch serves on the Homeland Security Advisory Council of the Department of Homeland Security and as a founding board member of the U.S. government's Cyber Safety Review Board. He has previously served as a special advisor to the Department of Defense. He is the host of Silverado's "Geopolitics Decanted" podcast and author of an upcoming book, World On the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century.

Event Host

Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies