When: Tuesday, April 20th @ 12pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live Join us online for a program with Ana Rodriguez-Rodriguez, who will speak to us on "Wise and Valiant: Spanish Women Writers and their Legacy". ![]() Professor Ana Rodríguez will present and discuss the exhibition she recently curated in Spain, staged by the Cervantes Institute and Spain's National Library, and which also has an online version, where Spain's female writers' lives are celebrated and their works displayed Ana M. Rodríguez-Rodríguez is an Associate Professor specializing in Early Modern Spanish Literature. She has published many articles on a variety of topics such as Christian-Muslim relations in the Mediterranean, women's writing, and the Asian Spanish empire. In 2013, she published a book exploring Spanish captivity writings during the 16th and 17th centuries (Letras liberadas. Cautiverio, escritura y subjetividad en el de la época imperial española. Madrid: Visor Libros), and she is currently writing a monograph about the Philippines during Spanish colonial rule of the archipelago. Rodríguez-Rodríguez completed a Ph.D. on Spanish Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007 and a second PhD in Philology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) in 2021. In 2015 she received the M.L. Huit Faculty Award for her teaching and research, and in 2020 she also received the International Engagement Teaching Award, awarded by International Programs and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa.
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We are excited to announce our second unique fundraiser event of the year, featuring a discussion with Jim Leach. These events will be limited to a small group of participants in order to create a virtual environment that invites dialogue directly with the speaker. Tickets for this fundraising event will cost $100. When: Thursday, April 29th @ 7pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live. Join us online for an evening discussion with former congressman and previous NEH Director, Jim Leach, who will explore the following question: "Can a Biden agenda at home and abroad succeed without developing a constructive relationship with a splintered Republican party?" ![]() Just a few months into his Presidency, Biden and his administration have signaled their plans to shift foreign policy significantly away from the priorities of the previous administration. Adapting to this relatively quick but drastic change in the foreign policy of the U.S. poses many challenges to international policy on the global stage. However, it also points to a bigger problem. That is, the damaging effects of wither domestic politics on our greater foreign policy. In this talk, Leach will discuss his thoughts on why, as a society, we are obligated to re-think the imperative need for pulling the country together at home in order to re-establish a more stable and diplomatic foreign policy abroad. Jim Leach began a public career as a Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State and ended it as the 9th Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and thence as the inaugural University of Iowa Chair in Public Affairs and Visiting Professor of Law in the university’s College of Law. Prior to heading the NEH, Leach was John L. Weinberg Professor at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and Interim Director of the Institute of Politics and Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School. Leach’s stint in academia was preceded by 30 years of service as a Member of Congress where he chaired the Banking and Financial Services Committee, the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the bi-cameral Arms Control and Foreign Policy Caucus, and the Humanities Caucus. Leach graduated with honors from Princeton, received an M.A. from the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins, and did additional graduate studies at the London School of Economics. He holds fifteen honorary degrees and has received decorations from two foreign governments. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Council on Foreign Relations, and formerly served as a trustee of Princeton and president of the largest international association of legislators (Parliamentarians for Global Action). A three sport athlete in college, he was inducted in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. When: Wednesday, April 14th @ 12pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live. Join us online for a program with Luis Martin-Estudillo, who will speak to us on "EU: Europe Undreamed. Artistic Responses to a Political Initiative". ![]() Questioning and reassessing the European Union (EU) is vital for the future of the transnational organization as it struggles to connect with its people. Many works of art of the last few decades pointed to the roots of popular discontent with the EU even before it was known as such. Recent pieces exude a sense of urgency, manifesting deep concern about the European integration project. Their contribution provides new perspectives to debates that are often the monopoly of politicians, technocrats, and academics. Luis Martín-Estudillo is a Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Iowa and holds affiliate positions at the Universities of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Groningen (The Netherlands). He specializes in modern and contemporary Spanish cultural and intellectual history, visual culture, and European studies. He has published and edited eight books, including The Rise of Euroskepticism: Europe and Its Critics in Spanish Culture (Vanderbilt University Press, 2018), winner of an inaugural National Endowment for the Humanities' Open Book Award. His latest book, Goya and the Mystery of Reading, will be published this year. When: Wednesday, April 7th @ 12pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live. Join us online for a program with Michael Zmolek, who will speak to us on "Impeachment and Empire". ![]() The United States of America is a signatory to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions yet routinely transgresses these and other treaties and agreements comprising our system of international law. Why then are presidents not held accountable or impeached? This talk will address this question in light of the ‘informal empire’ that the United States has managed since 1945 and the violations of human rights and international law which have occurred. In sharing personal experiences of helping draft articles of impeachment against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Dr. Zmolek will attempt to help us connect the dots between the assault on civil liberties and the escalation of violence in US foreign policy post-9/11 and the January 6th assault on the US Capitol by a mob incited by Donald Trump. While this resort to violence in attempting to subvert the outcome of a democratic election has been rightly viewed as an assault on domestic political norms, use of the same tactics by parties supported by the United States has been a routine part of managing the US’s informal empire. The fact that impeachment as a mechanism for upholding accountability to the law obviously remains hostage to the partisan politics of America’s two-party system leaves the door open to future episodes involving the turn to the use of force against democracy. Michael Andrew Zmolek teaches World History, International Studies and Development Studies at the University of Iowa. His book Rethinking the Industrial Revolution (Brill 2013; Haymarket 2014) explores five centuries of English/British history and is part of a broader effort to understand the nature and origins of capitalism. Mike received a BA in Linguistics and a Certificate of African studies at the University of Iowa before going on to complete his PhD in Political Science at York University in Toronto, where he served as an executive of the Graduate Students' Association for four years. As a legislative assistant in Congress, his work focused on addressing the plight of Gulf Coast survivors of Hurricane Katrina and on drafting articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for representatives Cynthia McKinney (GA) and Dennis Kucinich (OH). As an activist he has worked on the campaign to abolish apartheid in South Africa; opposing tuition hikes for students in Canada; and opposing the bombing, sanctions against, invasion and occupation of Iraq. This talk is dedicated to the memory of Ed Zastrow. When: Thursday, April 1st @ 12pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live. We invite you to join us for a discussion with three University of Iowa Mandela Washington Fellow Graduates: Valeria Adzo Adzatia, Edgar Munatsi, and Sandra Ejang. This Iowa City Foreign Relations Council program will feature a panel discussion, moderated by Dimy Doresca, Director of the International Business Institute at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.
These three young entrepreneurs are eager to share with you how their ventures have progressed since they left Iowa City. In addition to discussing their successes, the discussion will include conversation around the current health, political, and economic contexts within their respective countries. The U.S. State Department's Mandela Washington Fellowship, started in 2014 as part of the Young African Leaders Initiative created by President Obama, empowers young people from Sub-Saharan Africa through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking. Each year the Fellowship provides 1,000 young ambassadors with the opportunity to hone their skills at U.S. higher education institutions. Over the years, the Iowa delegations of Fellows spend six weeks in Iowa taking entrepreneurial classes and touring the state. Each year ICFRC hosts a program featuring the Mandela Washington Fellows visiting the University of Iowa. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are bringing you a virtual discussion from three former fellows. You won't want to miss this new twist on our annual Mandela Washington Fellowship spotlight! When: Tuesday, March 23rd @ 12pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live. Join us online for a program with Eric Hirsch, who will speak to us on "Three Faces of Growth: Development and the Politics of Abundance in Peru's Andes". ![]() This talk presents some of the key findings from Hirsch's current book project. It is based on long term fieldwork in the Peruvian Andes during the 2010s, an era when Peru's economy saw astronomical aggregate growth due to simultaneous booms in extractive industry, gastronomy, and tourism. Hirsch explores the question of growth: in rural villages at the Andean margins of Peru's economic boom, what does it mean to experience economic growth as a daily fact of life? What does it actually look like? How does it feel? How, in other words, are people supposed to know that their country is growing? Hirsch follows three distinct development projects that are invested in recruiting rural villagers to the collective enactment of Peruvian economic growth as its newest entrepreneurs: one from the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, one from a non-governmental organization, and one from a mining corporation. Eric Hirsch is an environmental and economic anthropologist whose research focuses on climate change, development, and how marginalized communities build their livelihoods. Most of his field research has taken place in Peru, particularly the southern Andean Colca Valley, and the cities of Arequipa and Lima. Hirsch has conducted additional research in the Maldives and the US. His current book project, Acts of Growth: Development and the Politics of Abundance in Peru (under contract with Stanford University Press) investigates economic growth as a shared understanding that comes alive through face-to-face interaction in rural Peru. Hirsch's second major project delves more directly into the issue of climate change as a fact of daily life. In collaboration with the Barcelona-based project "Local Indicators of Climate Change Impacts," the project works to center how non-Western scientific observations in rural communities contribute to those communities' responses to climate change. Hirsch has published his research in journals including Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, Geoforum, and Global Environmental Change. When: Tuesday, March 16th @ 12pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live. Join us online for a program with Hassan El-Tayyab, who will speak to us on "Returning to Diplomacy With Iran". ![]() After withdrawing the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal, former President Trump waged a failed and reckless "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran. This dangerous policy brought the two countries disturbingly close to the brink of war, shortened Iran's "breakout time" to build nuclear weapons, and caused Iranian civilians to suffer needlessly. It's time for a policy reset and a swift return to diplomacy. While there's much reason for optimism regarding the prospects for peace as the Biden administration, our European allies, and Iranian leaders all appear to be eager to turn the page and restore the JCPOA, saving the deal will not be without difficulties. The JCPOA was always meant to be a starting point. While there are a myriad of issues that should be resolved diplomatically between the United States, Iran, and other governments in the region, the nuclear issue is the most pressing. A full return to the nuclear deal should serve as a foundation for future talks to address these issues. In this discussion we will learn about the history that brought us to this moment, the political dynamics shaping this conversation around the JCPOA, and show ways for citizens to engage with their members of Congress to support diplomacy with Iran. Hassan El-Tayyab is FCNL's lead lobbyist on Middle East policy. He is also responsible for representing FCNL with the various coalitions that work on these issues. Prior to joining FCNL in August 2019, he was co-director of the national advocacy group Just Foreign Policy, where he led their lobbying work to advance a more progressive foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America. He played a major role in the successful passage of the War Powers Resolution to end US military aid to the Saudi-UAE coalition's war in Yemen. Hassan's passion for foreign affairs is rooted in his desire to make life better for people in the Middle East, including his extended family in Jordan. He is convinced that advancing a more peaceful and diplomacy-based foreign policy in the Middle East is critical, not only for the family he loves, but for peace and stability worldwide. His writings and commentaries have been featured in numerous news outlets, including BBC World News, The Hill, Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post, The Intercept, and more. CANCELLED Unfortunately, we have to cancel our program this week. We hope to see you next week on Tuesday, March 16th for our program with Hassan El-Tayyab, who will be speaking on "Returning to Diplomacy with Iran." Look for the email to register, coming soon! ![]() Blake Rupe is an adjunct global health instructor at the University of Iowa who is focused on changing the ways that communities engage with environmental issues. During her MA in International Studies at the University of Iowa, she launched Re-App Inc., a company that encourages people to live more sustainable lives. This start-up's mobile application, Re-App, gave people the power to measure and track their recycling efforts over time. Intrigued by the possibility of sustainability efforts through applications, Rupe created a new application, Sift, to provide a platform for community members to share tips on sustainable living. As a professor, Rupe conducts research on human drivers behind waste proliferation and marine debris presence, while also acting as the Sustainability Program Manager through the Office of Sustainability and the Environment. When: Wednesday, March 3rd @ 12pm Where: Online via Zoom Please register to receive a link to join the online program live Join us online for a program with Sarah Tynen, who will speak to us on "Uyghurs in China: Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict" ![]() Xinjiang, China, is the home of the Uyghurs, a Turkic people who practice Islam. Although most Uyghurs are not mobilized for a violent independence movement, their homeland has seen its share of violence. This presentation will present an introduction to the Muslim Uyghur region and discuss the relationship between nationalism and ethnic conflict. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Sarah holds a BA in International Affairs from George Washington University. Sarah later received her PhD in Geography from University of Colorado Boulder. She completed three years of dissertation fieldwork in Xinjiang, China. Her PhD work specializes in territorial conflict, governance and development in China. Trained in political geography, she has expertise in state-building and geopolitics, especially in China’s governance of its minority borderlands. CANCELLED Unfortunately, we have to cancel our program this week. We are working with the speaker, Tyler Priest, to reschedule his talk for later in the semester. We hope to see you next week on Wednesday, March 3rd for our program with Sarah Tynen, who will be speaking on "Chinese Treatment of the Uighurs." Look for the email to register, coming soon! ![]() Tyler Priest is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Iowa. He is a widely published scholar of energy and environmental history, with expertise in the history of offshore oil. He is the author of The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil’s Search for Petroleum in the Postwar United States (Texas A&M, 2007) and co-author (with Joel Hewett) of the forthcoming book, Deepwater Horizons: The Epic Struggles Over Offshore Oil in the United States. He also co-edited a June 2012 special issue of the Journal of American History, “Oil in American History.” In 2010, he served as a senior policy analyst on the President’s National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. |
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