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.

This conference aims to bring together Afghan scholars and Afghanistan experts, primarily the next generation, to engage in discussions about the future of Afghanistan by analyzing past failures.

Afghanistan has faced conflict, crisis, instability, and civil war for the past half-century. In each period, political elites implemented top-down approaches, paired with external interventions, to overcome these problems. Unfortunately, these political frameworks failed to bring about lasting positive change in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan have experienced communist, Islamic, and democratic regimes, and they have witnessed the destructive consequences of these political designs. To envision a better tomorrow for Afghanistan, it is crucial for the country's next generation of scholars to critically examine the past and ask several critical “what” and “why” questions.

What events led us to the current situation? What failures and problems prevented us from seizing opportunities for state-building and nation-building? Why did different political designs fail in Afghanistan? Why did the democratic establishment collapse? Why has Afghanistan been unable to utilize international aid effectively for infrastructure and development? By asking such questions, we can move on to asking “how” questions. How can the people of Afghanistan come together, learn from the past, and build a brighter future? This future must be inclusive, egalitarian, multicultural, democratic, free, and, above all, a home for every citizen of the country.

SCHEDULE

9:00 am Welcome Sharif Hozoori, South Asia Program, Cornell University

9:15-10:45 am Panel 1: Balancing Governance in Afghanistan: Secularization, Sharia, and Patrimonialism

Farid Tookhy, Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy Divergent Notions of Political Authority: A Century of Theoretical and Physical Contestation

Mohammad Mansoor Ehsan, International Affairs, George Mason University Sharia Vigilantism Under the Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

Zinab Attai, Government, Cornell University Seeing like a Neopatrimonial State: Reframing the Study of Afghanistan’s Political Architecture

Chair: Mathew Evangelista, Government, Cornell University

11:00 am – 12:30 pm Panel 2: Afghanistan's Nation-Building Struggle: Identity, Inclusivity, and the Public Sphere

Mirwais Balkhi, Fellow, Wilson Center Afghanistan’s Next Generation’s Initiative: A New Social Contact for Living Together

Omar Sadr, Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh The Rise and Fall of Afghanistan’s Public Sphere

Sayed Hassan Akhlaq, Philosophy and Critical Thinking, Coppin State University Acknowledging Effective Afghan subjectivity

Chair: Seema Golestaneh, Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University

1:30-3:00 pm Panel 3: Constitutional Law: Political Order, Rule of Law, and Public Perspectives

Bashir Mobasher, Sociology, American University Islamic Republic versus Islamic Emirate: What Constitutional Order People Want?

Mahir Hazim, Law, Arizona State University The Politics and Constitutionality of Law-Making in the Afghan Republic: An Authoritarian and Unrestrained Executive

Shamshad Pasarlay, Law, University of Chicago A Constitutional Postmortem: The Rise and Fall of Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution

Chair: Chantal Thomas, Law School, Cornell University

3:00 pm Conclusion Tawab Danish, Law School, Cornell University

Register to attend virtually. No registration required for in-person attendance.

Organized by the South Asia Program and the Cornell Law School's Clark Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa. Cosponsored by the Departments of Near Eastern Studies and Government, and the Religious Studies, Comparative Muslim Societies, and Peace & Conflict Studies Programs.

The Cornell Population Center brings Luca Maria Pesando, Associate Professor of Social Research and Public Pollicy at New York University Abu Dhabi. He will give his talk, "Dynamics of School Expansion and Sociocultural Changes in inter-Casate Marriage in India."

Talk by Sarah Thompson (Political Science, Stanford University)

In areas where traditional institutions rival the state, how does providing information regarding the quality of state services and whom they benefit induce individuals to use state fora, or continue with tradition? Findings from a combination of an experiment with 2,100 participants in Pakistan’s Newly Merged Districts who invest in state or nonstate legal aid funds and an original survey embedded within it indicate that social inequalities play a large role in determining compliance with the state’s laws. Men and women update favorably to state courts and away from a traditional method of dispute resolution after hearing about general improvements in courts’ efficiency. However, this effect for men goes away when explicitly making clear that women, who remain subjugated to men in the traditional system, will have equal rights in state proceedings. This study provides novel evidence on political behavior from 142 Pashtun villages in an underdeveloped and unstable area typically not accessible to researchers. My findings show that preexisting social inequalities can hinder state-building projects, and point to the distinct political preferences of men and women regarding traditional governance.

Sarah Thompson is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Stanford University. She utilizes causal inference methods (particularly field experiments and quasi-experimental methods) to research the politics of women and indigenous groups in South Asia and Latin America. She also works closely with policymakers in the field. Her dissertation examines why individuals choose traditional forms of governance over the state, and the impacts this has on security and access to justice.