Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
The somatic-security industrial complex: theorizing the political economy of informationalized biology

December 10, 2020
11:30 am
Rebecca Hester, Assistant Professor, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Virginia Tech will join the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies for a discussion of “The somatic-security industrial complex: theorizing the political economy of informationalized biology,” Review of International Political Economy, Vol 20, issue 1, 2020, 98-124.
This piece is co-authored with Owain D. Williams, Lecturer in International Relations, School of Politics & International Studies, University of Leeds.
Please note that the author will not give a formal presentation of their work, so it is best to read in advance. A link to the reading will be sent to you upon registration.
Please pre-register at https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvceGvrzwrHNSicEtRjCZE3DAdUR….
Organizers:
This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Science & Technology Studies and is part of the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) Reading Group Series.
About the speaker:
Rebecca Hester is an assistant professor in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society and an associate director of the Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies at Virginia Tech. She received her PhD in Politics from the University of California Santa Cruz. She was subsequently a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a faculty member in the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Hester's research and teaching interests focus on the intersections of migration, health, the body, and security. Her current research examines contemporary accounts of “biological danger” and the social, political, and scientific implications of preempting, preventing, and eradicating such danger.
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Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Social Media and International Relations

November 12, 2020
11:30 am
Sarah Kreps, John L. Wetherill Professor of Government, Cornell University, will join the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies for a discussion of her new book Social Media and International Relations (Cambridge University Press, 2020).
Please note that the author will not give a formal presentation of her work, so it is best to read in advance. A link to the reading will be sent to you with the registration confirmation.
Please pre-register at https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUpde-hrTMoHdZTwJtmIrjAAyRNJL….
This is part of Peace and Conflict Studies Institute Reading Group Series.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality

November 5, 2020
11:30 am
Peace and Conflict Studies Institute Reading Group for November 5. Ian Lustick, Professor and Bess W. Heyman Chair, Political Science Department, University of Pennsylvania, will join us for a discussion of Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019), Chapter 5, “The One State Reality and Its Future.” Please note that the author will not give a formal presentation of their work, so it is best to read in advance.
Please pre-register at https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEudemhrTkoGtFSable5i_dq5Yhuc…, and a link to the reading will be sent to you with the registration confirmation. Please contact pacs@cornell.edu with any questions.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
The Dilemma of Cybersecurity

What does cybersecurity mean when computer systems remain vulnerable to hacking? Rebecca Slayton, Director of the Reppy Institute, investigates.
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US States Roll Out Apps Alerting People to COVID-19 Exposure

Sarah Kreps, PACS
“In order for these apps to be effective, you need to have enough of a critical mass of people who are willing to download and use the app,” says Sarah Kreps, professor of government and faculty with the Reppy Institute. “And short of mandating that, as was done in China, then you need a kind of public trust.”
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Book Talk: Worldbuilding After Empire

October 1, 2020
11:30 am
Join author Adom Getachew for a discussion on her new book, Worldbuilding After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination. This event is sponsored by Buffalo Street Books in downtown Ithaca.
The event also serves as the Peace and Conflict Studies Institute Reading Group for October 1.
Register at https://www.buffalostreetbooks.com/event/adom-getachew.
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Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Experts: Acknowledge uncertainty in COVID communication

Sarah Kreps and Doug Kriner, professors of government, found that different presentations of scientific uncertainty influence attitudes about policy preferences. Prof Kreps is a faculty fellow with the Reppy Institute.
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Destroying or Deploying the "Deep State" (video)

Democracy 20/20 webinar (September 18, 2020): President Donald Trump came into office vowing to disrupt the “deep state” and to “drain the swamp” of the federal bureaucracy. This panel examines how the capacity and professionalism of the federal government has fared over the past four years, assessing the extent to which it has been weakened or deployed for political purposes.
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How Finland Got 20% of Its Population to Download a Contact Tracing App in One Day

Peace and Conflict Studies Faculty Sarah Kreps says the two key factors driving improved numbers of contact tracing app downloads in Finland can be attributed to the fact that people are less likely to view the apps as scary, more as an essential tool, and European apps have prioritized privacy by housing the data in third-party data centers, not the government.
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Comparing National Power in an Age of Transition

September 10, 2020
11:30 am
Peace and Conflict Studies Institute Reading Group for September 10. Jennifer Lind, Associate Professor, Department of Government, Dartmouth College, will join us for a discussion of her working paper, “Comparing National Power in an Age of Transition.” Please note that the author will not give a formal presentation of their work, so it is best to read in advance.
Please pre-register at https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEvcuCvqDsrE9DXibREd-fOndLvbv…, and a link to the reading will be sent to you with the registration confirmation. Please contact pacs@cornell.edu with any questions.
Additional Information
Program
Einaudi Center for International Studies
Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies