The webinar will focus on the impact and strategies of managing the pandemic to date and policies for the future. How did the African countries respond initially when the pandemic first struck and what are the plans for the next academic year? Will the school system revert to face to face pedagogy, adopt a hybrid mode of instruction, or pivot to remote learning? What are the mechanisms and best practices being implemented? Overall, how have teaching and learning been impacted by the pandemic? What are the long-term consequences? How can African countries mitigate the negative effects at all the levels of their systems of education?

On Tuesday, August 4, a massive blast rocked downtown Beirut. In minutes, over 200 lives were lost, thousands of people injured, and 300,000 left homeless. In the wake of the explosion, people have poured into the streets, calling for government reform and an end to the corruption that many argue was directly responsible for both the blast and years of economic and political crisis.

Six days after the incident, the government resigned and protests continue. In this webinar, Cornell faculty and students will talk about the political, economic, cultural, and personal dimensions of the events in Lebanon—and the implications for the future of the state and civil society.

Moderator:

Ross Brann, Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow

Panelists:

Rima Majed, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies at American University of Beirut

Mostafa Minawi, Associate Professor of History and the Director of the Ottoman & Turkish Studies Initiative

Amanda Rizkallah, Assistant Professor of International Studies, Pepperdine University

Kevork Lochkajian, Professional Student in Cornell’s MBA of the Americas Program

Alexandra Blackman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Government

Joseph Moukarzel, Graduate Student at Cornell’s M. Eng in Engineering Management

Dina Bishara, Assistant Professor of International and Comparative Labor

This webinar is hosted by Global Cornell, Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and the Office of Global Learning.

In his seminar presentation, Aching proposes that we think of processes of racialization as ways of measuring the tolerance that societies possess for their own practices of dehumanization during specific historical periods. In examining this proposition, he will describe his training as a scholar of race and racialization in the context of the Caribbean and the challenges of applying that training to his current projects on the Underground Railroad in Central New York.

Please register through the following link: Please register through the following link:
https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XuOeOKHJRIawwLWd0XMOww