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Institute for African Development

Chasing Dreams from Africa to China - "Guangzhou Dream Factory"

February 19, 2021

3:00 pm

"Guangzhou Dream Factory" Film discussion (participants watch the film on their own) with filmmakers Christiane Badgley and Erica Markus. Watch a film trailer here: https://vimeo.com/197863673

Featuring a dynamic cast of men and women from Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and, Uganda, Guangzhou Dream Factory is a provocative story of immigration, globalization, and the pursuit of “Made in China” African dreams.

Immigration, globalization, Chinese factories, and African dreams… Guangzhou Dream Factory weaves stories of Africans chasing alluring, yet elusive, “Made in China” dreams into a provocative critique of 21st-century global capitalism.
Guangzhou, a.k.a. Canton, is southern China's booming commercial center. A mecca of mass consumption, the city’s vast international trading centers attract more than half a million Africans each year. Most are doing business – in China to buy goods they’ll sell back in Africa. But some choose to stay, and for these Africans, China looks like the new land of opportunity, a place where anything is possible. But is it?

Discussants:

Tristan Ivory, Assistant Professor at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR);Tao Leigh Goffe, Assistant Professor at Africana Studies and Research Center and Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.This event is hosted by the East Asia Program Graduate Student Steering Committee (GSSC) and co-hosted by the Afro-Asia Group. Kun Huang, a Ph.D. candidate in Comparative Literature, and GSSC officer will moderate.

Cornell Cinema also co-sponsors this event as part of their Migrations Stories film series in conjunction with Global Cornell's Global Grand Challenges Migrations Initiative.

How to view the film:

Cornell students, faculty, and staff and those with library access to Kanopy may view the film here: https://cornell.kanopy.com/video/guangzhou-dream-factory.

A time-limited screening link will be made available one week in advance to other community members who have registered for the event.

All participants need to register to receive the Zoom link for the discussion with the filmmakers.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

East Asia Program

Institute for African Development

Institute for African Development Seminar: Students' Presentations

December 16, 2020

4:00 pm

Issues in African Development Special Topic Seminar Series (CRP 4770/6770) - Fall 2020 Theme: Environment, Sustainability and Health Challenges in Africa: Managing Human-Nature Interactions. Issues in African Development Seminar Series examines critical concerns in contemporary Africa using a different theme each semester. The seminars provide a forum for participants to explore alternative perspectives and exchange ideas. They are also a focal activity for students and faculty interested in African development. In addition, prepares students for higher level courses on African economic, social and political development. The presentations are designed for students who are interested in development, Africa’s place in global studies, want to know about the peoples, cultures and societies that call Africa home, and explore development theories and alternate viewpoints on development.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Institute for African Development

Seed Grants

The deadline for this opportunity has passed.
Application Deadline: March 16, 2026
Application Timeframe: Spring
Kassam climate/calendar research team in the field

Details

The Einaudi Center's faculty seed grants launch international studies research and activities that show promise to grow and secure external follow-on funding.

Tenured and tenure-track Cornell faculty are eligible to apply. All disciplines and topics are welcome. Read about recent research Einaudi seeded.


Building International Studies Capacity

Einaudi Center seed grants support international studies research and collaborations that reach across world regions and bring together researchers who have deep knowledge in different regions and disciplines. The awards launch early-stage interdisciplinary research projects with clear plans for scaling up and securing external funding support. 

The Einaudi Center is dedicated to international studies. Our seed grants focus on complex global and regional issues and community-engaged methodologies across the social sciences, hard sciences, and humanities. Some research conducted abroad and international collaborations—while valuable—do not qualify for the awards.

Proposals must align with the mission and interests of at least one of our international studies programs. The application requires only your own thoughtful assessment of how your project might contribute to the work of one or more programs. 

Proposals that engage with two or more geographical regions are eligible for larger awards of up to $25,000.


Eligibility

Tenured and tenure-track Cornell faculty in all colleges and schools are eligible to apply as individuals or teams. The Einaudi Center will not accept proposals from past awardees who failed to submit the required final report by the deadline stated in the award letter.

  • Funding-eligible activities: Data collection, research assistance, travel, meetings
  • Not eligible for funding: Salary offset, summer salary, computers and equipment, student stipends/tuition

Requirements

  • All funds must be used within one year of the award date.
  • You must submit a final report to the Einaudi Center director within one year of the award date. The report must include:
    • A summary and assessment of the research and activities you accomplished.
    • An update on your external follow-on funding proposal.
    • A promotional paragraph written for nonspecialists (100 words maximum) describing the outcome and value of your project.
  • The Einaudi Center must be acknowledged in all publications, promotion, and media coverage related to your funded research and activities. Please inform the Einaudi Center in advance of publications and other project outcomes.

How to Apply

Complete the seed grant funding application and submit a proposal including the following:

  • Curricula vitae (CVs) for principal faculty
  • Statement including objectives, activities, work plan, expected outputs, beneficiaries, and impact
  • Human subjects approval, if relevant
  • Detailed budget with justification of expenses
  • Plans for pursuing future research and external funding support

Evaluation 

All successful proposals will meet these criteria. The proposal:

  • Shows a high likelihood of generating new knowledge of key economic, environmental, social, cultural, or political problems in the world.
  • Includes clearly articulated deliverables.
  • Includes a budget appropriate for planned activities.
  • Includes a plan for obtaining full project funding to sustain and expand the research.

Questions?

Please email our academic programming staff if you have questions about the seed grant program or your application.

 

Additional Information

Fixing the Food System to Produce Healthy Diets

Crops on a field
December 14, 2020

Chris Barrett, IAD

While many of the speakers during the event lamented a broken system, Chris Barrett, professor and co-editor-in-chief of Food Policy at Cornell University, said it is not all gloom and doom. He said the system has been phenomenally successful in 2020 such that the world is seeing a record high cereal harvesting despite the pandemic and climate change. He also said about 5 billion people will have access to affordable healthy diets this year.“How do we combat the challenges while acknowledging the successes?” he asked.

Additional Information

"Genetic Afterlives" Roundtable

February 26, 2021

1:00 pm

In Genetic Afterlives: Black Jewish Indigeneity in South Africa, Noah Tamarkin considers new ways to think about belonging that can acknowledge the importance of historical and sacred ties to land without valorizing autochthony, borders, or other technologies of exclusion.

Tamarkin will join a panel of anthropology professors from around the country to discuss his recently published book, which analyzes the Lemba people of South Africa and illustrates how they have given their own meanings to the results of DNA tests and employed them to manage competing claims of Jewish ethnic and religious identity, African indigeneity, and South African citizenship.

Noah Tamarkin, Author of Genetic Afterlives, Cornell UniversityYulia Egorova, Durham UniversityJonathan Marks, UNC CharlotteKaren-Sue Taussig, University of MinnesotaRayna Rapp, New York UniversityCasey Golomski, University of New HampshireJ. Lorand Matory, Duke UniversityKimberly Arkin, Boston UniversityJonathan Boyarin, Cornell UniversityModerator: Juno Parreñas, Cornell UniversityThis talk is part of Reimagining Citizenship, a speaker series by Cornell Migrations.

Co-sponsored by the Cornell Departments of Anthropology and Science & Technology Studies, Africana Studies & Research Center. Hosted by eCornell.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Institute for African Development

Institute for African Development Seminar: The Impact of Structural Adjustment on Social Services in Africa Vulnerability Issues

December 10, 2020

3:00 pm

Issues in African Development Special Topic Seminar Series (CRP 4770/6770) - Fall 2020 Theme: Environment, Sustainability and Health Challenges in Africa: Managing Human-Nature Interactions. Issues in African Development Seminar Series examines critical concerns in contemporary Africa using a different theme each semester. The seminars provide a forum for participants to explore alternative perspectives and exchange ideas. They are also a focal activity for students and faculty interested in African development. In addition, prepares students for higher level courses on African economic, social and political development. The presentations are designed for students who are interested in development, Africa’s place in global studies, want to know about the peoples, cultures and societies that call Africa home, and explore development theories and alternate viewpoints on development.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Institute for African Development

Institute for African Development Seminar: Treating COVID-19 Clinical Patients: The case of Niger

December 3, 2020

3:00 pm

Issues in African Development Special Topic Seminar Series (CRP 4770/6770) - Fall 2020 Theme: Environment, Sustainability and Health Challenges in Africa: Managing Human-Nature Interactions. Issues in African Development Seminar Series examines critical concerns in contemporary Africa using a different theme each semester. The seminars provide a forum for participants to explore alternative perspectives and exchange ideas. They are also a focal activity for students and faculty interested in African development. In addition, prepares students for higher level courses on African economic, social and political development. The presentations are designed for students who are interested in development, Africa’s place in global studies, want to know about the peoples, cultures and societies that call Africa home, and explore development theories and alternate viewpoints on development.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Institute for African Development

Institute for African Development Global Africa Monthly Webinar Series: Prospects and Impediments to Peaceful Democratic Transitions in West Africa: Focus on Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Nigeria

December 11, 2020

9:00 am

December 11, 900am-12:00pm (EST)/2:00pm-5:00pm (GMT)

This webinar will focus on the geo-politics of the democratic process in selected members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Scholars, members of political organization, practitioners and civil society representatives will share their insights and provide forward-looking perspectives toward social progress in the West African region.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Institute for African Development

Institute for African Development Seminar Series: Utilizing the One Health Concept to Combat the Effects of Changing Agricultural and Environmental Systems

November 12, 2020

3:00 pm

Issues in African Development Special Topic Seminar Series (CRP 4770/6770) - Fall 2020 Theme: Environment, Sustainability and Health Challenges in Africa: Managing Human-Nature Interactions. Issues in African Development Seminar Series examines critical concerns in contemporary Africa using a different theme each semester. The seminars provide a forum for participants to explore alternative perspectives and exchange ideas. They are also a focal activity for students and faculty interested in African development. In addition, prepares students for higher level courses on African economic, social and political development. The presentations are designed for students who are interested in development, Africa’s place in global studies, want to know about the peoples, cultures and societies that call Africa home, and explore development theories and alternate viewpoints on development.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Institute for African Development

The Police and the Public: Global Perspectives (Lund Critical Debate)

December 9, 2020

6:30 pm

Protests against racism and police violence crescendoed in the United States and around the world in 2020. In the United States and internationally, how can we balance social justice, accountability, and personal freedom with demands for order and security?

This Lund Critical Debate brings together the United Nations’ police commissioner and a noted expert on political conflict resolution to discuss strategies—both inside and outside the policing framework—for public safety and law enforcement. The conversation will address current questions around security and policing, including political violence, racial injustice and Black Lives Matter, and global responses to unlawful use of force.

The panel welcomes questions in advance and during the event. Registration is required.

Panelists
Luís Carrilho, United Nations Police Adviser. He has served since November 2017 as police commissioner and director of the UN’s Police Division. He previously served as the police commissioner in multidimensional United Nations peacekeeping operations in Timor Leste, Haiti, and the Central African Republic.

Christian Davenport, Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Michigan. His research focuses on racism, social movements, and political conflict, including human rights violations, genocide, torture, political surveillance, and civil war. His most recent book is The Peace Continuum: What It Is and How To Study It (Oxford University Press, 2018).

Moderator
Sabrina Karim, Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies; Hardis Family Assistant Professor for Teaching Excellence, Department of Government, A&S. Her research focuses on conflict and peace processes, international involvement in post-conflict security, and state building in the aftermath of civil war.

About the Debate
This year’s Lund Critical Debate is hosted by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, part of the Einaudi Center. Established in 2008, the Einaudi Center's Lund Critical 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

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