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Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Land, Justice, Resistance, and Community Solidarities in Puerto Rico

October 3, 2023

4:45 pm

165 Mc Graw Hall

A discussion with three Puerto Rican community leaders from Caño Martín Peña CLT, Taller Salud and La Colmena Cimarrona who will be speaking about strategies of resistance, community solidarities and emancipatory processes to advance collective land ownership and land-based repair mechanisms that improve access to housing, built environment, environment, food security, and climate adaptation; ultimately contributing to achieving health justice. Land is at the root of structural inequities. It is also the basis for community sovereignty, justice and healing. Within a Puerto Rican context, community land claims acquire particular relevance due to the continuous exposure to climate injustices, the lack of adequate investment for basic infrastructure on the island and structural power inequities.

Una discusión con tres lideresas comunitarias puertorriqueñas del Caño Martín Peña CLT, Taller Salud y La Colmena Cimarrona quienes hablarán sobre estrategias de resistencia, solidaridad comunitaria y procesos de emancipación para avanzar en mecanismos de tenencia colectiva y reparación en torno a la tierra para mejorar el acceso a la vivienda, entorno construido, medio ambiente, seguridad alimentaria y adaptación al clima; contribuyendo en última instancia a avanzar hacia la justicia en la salud. La tierra está en la raíz de las desigualdades estructurales. También es la base para la soberanía, la justicia y sanación comunitaria. En el contexto puertorriqueño, los reclamos sobre la tierra adquieren particular relevancia debido a la continua exposición a injusticias climáticas, la falta de inversión adecuada para infraestructura básica en la isla y las desigualdades estructurales de poder.

Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) Public Issues Forum, Co-sponsored by: City and Regional Planning & Cornell Center for Health Equity and funded in part with a UISFL Title Vi grant from the U.S. Department of Education

Zoom link: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3yN578-RQgO39rMXJEbHeg

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

N. K. Jemisin: Building Our World Better

October 4, 2023

5:30 pm

Cornell University, Rhodes Rawlings Auditorium, Klarman Hall

Bartels World Affairs Lecture

Fantasy author N. K. Jemisin discusses how she learned to build unreal worlds by studying our own—and how we might in turn imagine a better future for our world, and reshape it to fit that dream.

Jemisin's lecture kicks off The Future—a new Global Grand Challenge at Cornell. We invite thinkers across campus to use their imaginations to reach beyond the immediate, the tangible, the well-known constraints. How can we use our creativity to plan and build for a future that is equitable, sustainable, and good? Learn more on October 4.

After her talk, Jemisin joins a panel of distinguished Cornell faculty to explore how we can take a brave leap into the visionary future. What can we collectively achieve when we focus on "what we want," rather than "what I can do"? And when we've imagined a better future for our world, how do we chart the path—starting today—with practical steps to take us there?

Anindita Banerjee, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, College of Arts and SciencesJohn Albertson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of EngineeringKaushik Basu, Carl Marks Professor of International Studies, Professor of Economics, A&S***

A reception with refreshments will follow the lecture and panel.

Lecture: 5:30 | Rhodes Rawlings Auditorium, Klarman HallThe Future panel, featuring Jemisin and Cornell faculty: 6:15Reception and book signing: 7:00-8:00 | Groos Family AtriumReserve your free ticket for the in-person watch party.

General admission seating is now sold out. By registering for a watch party ticket, you will have an in-person seat reserved in an adjacent classroom near the auditorium where the lecture will be livestreamed. Please follow signage upon your arrival. All watch party attendees are invited to join the post-lecture reception and book signing at 7:00 in Groos Family Atrium, Klarman Hall.

Livestream: For Local, National, and International Viewers

The lecture and panel will be livestreamed. Register to attend virtually at eCornell.

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How are N. K. Jemisin’s novels acts of political resistance? Read a Bartels explainer by Anindita Banerjee.

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Book Signing

Ithaca’s cooperatively owned independent bookstore, Buffalo Street Books, will be selling a wide selection of N. K. Jemisin’s books after the lecture.

Meet N. K. Jemisin and get your book signed at the reception!

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About N. K. Jemisin

N. K. Jemisin is the first author in the science fiction and fantasy genre’s history to win three consecutive Best Novel Hugo Awards, for her Broken Earth trilogy. Her work has also won the Nebula and Locus Awards. She was a 2020 MacArthur Fellow. Jemisin’s most frequent themes include resistance to oppression, the inseverability of the liminal, and the coolness of Stuff Blowing Up. She has been an advocate for the long tradition of science fiction and fantasy as political resistance and previously championed the genre as a New York Times book reviewer. She lives and works in New York City.

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About Global Grand Challenges at Cornell

Global Grand Challenges bring together Cornell's world-class strengths—vision, expertise, people, and resources—in a multiyear focus to understand humanity's most urgent challenges and create real-world solutions. Global Cornell organizes and supports related research collaborations, courses and academic programs, student experiences, campus events, and more. Cornell's first Global Grand Challenge is Migrations, launched in 2019.

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About the Bartels World Affairs Lecture

The Bartels World Affairs Lecture is a signature event of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. This flagship event brings distinguished international figures to campus each academic year to speak on global topics and meet with Cornell faculty and students, particularly undergraduates. The lecture and related events are made possible by the generosity of Henry E. Bartels ’48 and Nancy Horton Bartels ’48.

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

Language Resource Center Speaker Series - Mari Noda - Fail Better: Learning to Participate in Another Culture

September 27, 2023

4:45 pm

Stimson Hall, G25

"Fail Better: Learning to Participate in Another Culture"
Mari Noda
Professor Emeritus in Japanese, The Ohio State University

Learning a language is like learning to play a new game. Since the rules of the game are determined by the culture, players new to the culture will experience failures. These failures are both inevitable and frequent. Their consequences could be serious, too. Yet the game is thrilling enough to keep players at it, and through playing, the players who keep at it improve on their scores. The improved scores entice players to take more risks. Pedagogical materials offer ways for both language learners and their teachers to continuously improve their level of performance in the language game.

I will discuss the role of pedagogical materials in the language game of participating in another culture. In doing so, I hope to address questions such as the following: What can we expect to see in well-designed pedagogical materials? What can we expect to experience with well-designed pedagogical materials? What can we do to learn to participate in another culture with the help of well-designed pedagogical materials? What can we do to ameliorate shortcomings of pedagogical materials?

Bio: A specialist in East Asian language pedagogy, Mari Noda is primarily interested in curriculum, material development, and assessment. She directs SPEAC (Summer Programs East Asian Concentration), which currently offers intensive Japanese and Chinese language programs. She is a lead producer of the NihionGO NOW! series (2021, Routledge), a new beginning-to-intermediate-level learning material, and the Japanese Sills Test (JSKIT), a low-stake online assessment tool. She is also a co-author of Japanese: The Written Language (2006 and 2018, Yale University) and “Remembering the future: Compiling knowledge of another culture” (with Galal Walker, 2010, National East Asian Language Resource Center at The Ohio State University). She serves on the Board of Directors of Japan-America Society of Central Ohio. At OSU, she serves as the faculty advisor for the Nihongo Osyaberi-kai (Japanese Conversation Club).

This event will be held in person in G25 Stimson and will also be streamed live over Zoom (registration required). Join us at the LRC or on Zoom.

The event is free and open to the public. Campus visitors and members of the public must adhere to Cornell's public health requirements for events.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

A Generation’s Questioning: Notions of Diaspora in the Caribbean

October 18, 2023

4:45 pm

Uris Hall, G08

Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) Public Issues Forum.

In 1979, the Caribbean island of Grenada became the first and so far only nation in the history of the English-speaking world to declare itself revolutionary, oust its elected government, and adopt socialist approaches. Visits from Brazilian educationalist Paulo Freire, African-American activist Angela Davis, Kenyan novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and support from the then Cuban government, signalled that this was not just a "small island" affair but a major international one, reverberating throughout Latin America and the African Diaspora.

On the 40th anniversary of the revolution's 1983 collapse and the US invasion that swiftly followed, the distinguished Grenadian novelist Merle Collins reflects on how the revolution encouraged participants like herself to think in global terms and how it influenced her own life and writing. The talk comes as she publishes her latest novel, Ocean Stirrings, about Louise Langdon, the Grenadian activist who was also the mother of Malcolm X.

Merle Collins is Professor Emerita, University of Maryland, where she taught for several years in the Department of English and the Comparative Literature Program. During the period of the Grenada Revolution, she served as a coordinator for research on Latin America and the Caribbean for the Government of Grenada. She left Grenada in 1983. The author of three novels, a collection of short stories and three collections of poetry, she also served as Director of University of Maryland's Latin American Studies Center (now Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center).

A Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) Public Issues Forum funded by the US Department of Education's Title VI UISFL grant, co-sponsored by English Literatures Department, Society for the Humanities, and the American Studies Program.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Land Justice, Resistance, and Community Solidarities in Puerto Rico

October 3, 2023

4:45 pm

165 McGraw Hall

Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) Seminar Series, Co-sponsored by: City and Regional Planning (CRP) and the Cornell Center for Health Equity (CCHEq).

A discussion with three Puerto Rican community leaders from Caño Martín Peña CLT, Taller Salud and La Colmena Cimarrona who will be speaking about strategies of resistance, community solidarities and emancipatory processes to advance collective land ownership and land-based repair mechanisms that improve access to housing, built environment, environment, food security, and climate adaptation; ultimately contributing to achieving health justice. Land is at the root of structural inequities. It is also the basis for community sovereignty, justice and healing. Within a Puerto Rican context, community land claims acquire particular relevance due to the continuous exposure to climate injustices, the lack of adequate investment for basic infrastructure on the island and structural power inequities.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

EMI Conference 2023: Risks and Realignments

November 3, 2023

9:00 am

Bloomberg Center, Cornell Tech, NYC, Bloomberg Auditorium

Register Here

Featured Speakers:

Iván Duque Former President of Colombia (2018-2022) Colombia
Heather Henyon Founding Partner Mindshift Capital, UAE
Andrew Karolyi Charles Field Knight Dean and Harold Bierman Jr Distinguished Professor of Management Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, USA
Mark Mobius Founding Partner Mobius Capital Partners, UAE
Juan Pablo Ortega Co-founder and CEO Yuno, Puerto Rico
Shaanti Shamdasani CEO & Founder S. ASEAN International Advocacy & Consultancy - SAIAC, Indonesia
Vera Songwe Chair and Founder Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, Africa
Marcos Troyjo Transformational Leadership Fellow University of Oxford
Edward Tse Founder and Chairman Gao Feng Advisory Company, China

The Cornell Emerging Market Institute Conference is the United States’ leading annual forum for discussing the ongoing trends and phenomena in our world’s rapidly growing emerging markets. Bringing together heads of the world’s largest multilateral institutions and preeminent business, the conference fosters engaging discussions on economic development and this year, specifically, through the lens of global supply chains.

The Conference is hosted at Cornell’s landmark Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City and will feature a variety of key-note speakers, thought-provoking panel discussions, networking sessions, and two sponsored competitions: the Cornell EMI Mark Mobius Pitch Competition and the Cornell EMI Corning Case Competition. The Conference also marks the launch of the Institute’s Annual Report, a collection of research and articles from the past year developed by researchers within Cornell as well as the Emerging Multinationals Research Network in collaboration with OECD Development Center, UNCTAD, IFC, and Inter-American Development Bank.

This year’s conference is centered around the compelling theme Risks and Realignments:

Emerging markets are in flux—no longer the future, already central to the present. And yet Capital is flowing as if there is doubt, with new partnerships dawning, old questions lingering. The EMI Conference straddles the crossroads, here to capture a seminal moment, when crises — even the specters of financial contagion — may not have to threaten us, so much as invite us to think anew. This Conference reaffirms our commitment to building bridges, as risks spill over, as potential realignments draw closer. The conference will hold 4 panels, the Cañizares Award ceremony, and the competition finals:

Central Bank Digital Currencies: Looking Back and Looking ForwardReorganizing investments in Emerging MarketsRealignments: Multilaterals and Sovereign Wealth FundsLaunch of the EMI Report 2023Cornell EMI Corning Case CompetitionCornell EMI Mark Mobius Pitch CompetitionJoin us.

Cornell University’s Emerging Market Institute is holding its annual conference on November 3rd at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, NYC.

The Emerging Markets Institute holds an Annual Conference every first Friday of November, in which Emerging Markets are brought to the forefront of discussion. Within the conference, EMI also holds the finals of the and the . Stay connected to the EMI Conference website to find more about the speakers and agenda, and follow our newsletter.

Additional Information

Program

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

South Asia Program

East Asia Program

40 New York State Teachers Attend ISSI

A museum staff person shows a work of art to a group of standing teachers.
August 11, 2023

Testimonies of Migration in the Classroom

Forty elementary, middle, and high school educators from across New York State participated in the 2023 International Studies Summer Institute (ISSI), hosted annually by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. 

This year’s theme, “Testimonies of Migration,” explored personal narratives from migrants and offered resources for teachers to engage with migrant stories and students in a culturally responsive way. 

Teachers stand around outside before an activity.

Teachers learned from scholars and experts in panel discussions, networked with each other in breakout groups, and engaged in hands-on activities around the Cornell campus.

Panels and workshops included scholars and experts from the Migrations initiative, who cosponsored the event, and community partners who work with migrant populations in the state.

A morning panel discussion on ethical and culturally responsive engagement preceded a conversation with Mary Jo Dudley of the Cornell Farmworker Program on supporting immigrant families in schools.

"I personally felt this was the best workshop I have attended. The material was so tangible and relatable regardless of population taught." 

- A 2023 ISSI participant

Teachers attend an ISSI workshop, looking up at a presentation.

Afternoon sessions brought teachers together in small groups to explore migrant narratives using hands-on, project-based learning. A session led by Nausheen Husain, a journalist and assistant professor in the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, shared tools for exploring data sets with students to better understand people’s experience of migration.

The final session of the day took place at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Inspired by a past museum exhibit called "how the light gets in," museum staff displayed artwork on migration ranging from a collaborative handmade dress to  that might influence curriculum in teachers' classrooms. 

Among artworks from Ai Weiwei, Mohamad Hafez, and Meschac Gaba, participants were especially struck by the collaborative fabric piece “DAS KLEID / THE DRESS” by Elisabeth Masé. A group of immigrant women created this piece, embroidering their hopes for the future with red thread on tan cloth, which was then sewn into a dress.

Teachers view a fabric sign that reads, "Fight Ignorance Not Immirgrance."

"I am excited to incorporate what I have learned into my lessons. I also feel more at ease teaching about other cultures. I realize I don't have to know everything and can learn with my students about new cultures."

- A 2023 ISSI participant

View more photos from the institute on Facebook.

ISSI was sponsored by the Einaudi Center, East Asia Program, Institute for African Development, Institute for European Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, South Asia Program, Southeast Asia Program, Migrations: A Global Grand Challenge, the South Asia Center at Syracuse University, TST-BOCES, and the U.S. Department of Education Title VI Program. 

Additional Information

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