Author Archives: Lee Smithey

Considering and challenging the legacy of “diversity”

LPAC Cinema at 6:30 PM on November 10th

Join Peripeteia’s Prelude panel discussion on “Diversity“, together with Swarthmore College’s

President Val Smith, Peace & Conflict Studies
Professor Sa’ed Atshan
History Professor Allison Dorsey.

The Prelude discussion series hosts panelists from different disciplines to unpack and engage in
complex topics like “diversity.”

In an increasingly globalized world, how do we approach and reconcile the differences amidst the interaction of various backgrounds, identities, and
perspectives?

Take part in this conversation in LPAC Cinema at 6:30 PM on November 10th as we consider and challenge the legacy of “diversity”.

**there will be refreshments**

Spring 2017 course: Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle

PEAC 071B / SOCI 071B / POLS 081 Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle is a research seminar and writing course that contributes to the widely recognized Global Nonviolent Action Database, which is housed at Swarthmore College. See http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu

Great news: The course will be offered during the spring semester of 2017! Got questions? Contact Prof. Lee Smithey at lsmithe1. More information is available below. Spaces are limited.

Students will research a series of cases and write them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a 2-3 page narrative that describes the unfolding struggle. In addition to research/writing methods, students will also draw theories in the field. Strategic implications for today will be drawn from theory and from what the group learns from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people’s struggles.

1 credit. Writing course. Enrollment limited to 12 students.

Lee Smithey
Thursday 1:15-4:00
Lang Center 106

Fighting Gender-Based Violence: A Discussion With Urmi Basu

FIGHTING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: A DISCUSSION WITH URMI BASU

Learn about and meet one of the most inspiring woman in non-profit work today with a series of events!

Urmi Basu, founder of nonprofit New Light, is a fighter for social justice and the marginalized community of sex workers and women in prostitution. Based in Kolkata, India, New Light’s mission is to promote gender equality and fight violence and abuse of women and children. They have various women-empowerment programs, anti-trafficking programs and they also provide shelter and education to prevent second-generation prostitution.

She was elected as the NGO coordinator by the office of the Governor of West Bengal to present to former President of the United States Bill Clinton in 2001 and in 2012 she was part of a core team that met with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. She was also chosen as a recipient of a blessing from His Holiness The Dalai Lama under the title Unsung Heroes of Compassion 2009 in San Francisco for her work promoting compassion and peace. An impassioned speaker with a unique global perspective, Urmi Basu continues her daily fight for what she believes in.

LIST OF EVENTS:

Nov. 18 7:00pm @ LPAC
“Half the Sky” film screening, a documentary based on the book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This documentary, in which she is featured, focuses on women’s control of their own body as well as microfinance and women’s education. There will be snacks.

Nov. 22 11:30- 1:00 pm @ Bond Hall

Student lunch with Urmi Basu

Nov. 22 4:30 pm @ SCI101
Listen to Urmi Basu speak about her experiences and come talk to her about women’s rights, prostitution and sex slavery, non-profit work and more! There will be snacks.

Co-Sponsors- i20, Women’s Resource Center, Peace and Conflict Studies Department, Office of Student Engagement, Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility

Contact Information:
Name: Anna Everetts
Phone: (610) 328-7750
Email: aeveret1

The Human Library launch

The Human Library launches this *Friday November 1 from 5:30-7:30 PM in Upper Tarble*! A catered dinner will be provided for all participants. If you have a story you’d like to share, sign up at http://www.swarthmorehumanlibrary.org/become-a-book The organizers would love to hear from you!

Quaker Indian Boarding Schools and Moral Economies at Pendle Hill

It’s an exciting fall semester of programming across Crum Woods at Pendle Hill Quaker Retreat Center. Check out these events coming up in November and December!

The Quaker Indian Boarding Schools: Facing our History and Ourselves

Monday, November 7, 2016
Free
7:00pm-9:00pm in the barn, livestreaming available

In the 1800s, Quakers and other Christian denominations collaborated with the U.S. government’s policy of forced assimilation of Native peoples. Paula Palmer has been led to research these schools and take the first steps towards truth and reconciliation on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends with support from Pendle Hill (the 2016 Cadbury Scholarship), Swarthmore College (the 2015 Moore Fellowship), and the Native American Rights Fund. This is a part of Pendle Hill’s free and open to the public First Monday lecture series.

Visioning and Creating a Moral Economy Conference

December 1^st (4:00pm) to 4^th (noon)
Sliding scale $300-$600 (financial aid also available)

Co-sponsored by Quaker Institute for the Future, New Economy Coalition, and the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance.

What does a moral economy look like? What are the challenges that confront us in establishing it? What opportunities do the precarious state of global capitalism and accelerating climate change provide to galvanize action? What are the incremental and intermediate steps already being taken to bring forth our common vision? How do we build on those efforts to establish them on a larger scale? The conference will include plenary sessions with speakers and panels, open forum small group discussions, workshops, and whole group visioning and action sessions. Speakers include Political Economist Gar Alperovitz, Social Movement theorist George Lakey, Esteban Kelley, Executive Director of the US Federation of Workers Cooperatives and Rahwa Ghirmatzion, Deputy Director of PUSH Buffalo.

George Lakey First Monday

Monday, December 5, 2016
Free
7:00pm-9:00pm in the barn, livestreaming available

In our First Monday forum, George will share insights from his research and writing on the Scandinavian Economies and respond to our questions about how we can use the Scandinavian models to create the kind of moral political economy that puts people’s welfare first and benefits the whole society in terms of health, security, and happiness.

Amnesty or Expulsion: What Our Religious Traditions Teach Us about Dealing with Undocumented Immigrants

The Interfaith Center invites you to its inaugural discussion in its Religion and Society series entitled:

“Amnesty or Expulsion: What Our Religious Traditions Teach Us about Dealing with Undocumented Immigrants”

Wednesday, November 2 from 4:30pm to 6:00pm in Bond Hall

The discussion will be led by:

Aurora Camacho de Schmidt, Professor Emeritus and Immigrant Rights Advocate
Umar Abdul Rahman, Muslim Student Advisor and former Immigration Attorney

Co-Sponsors: Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, Office of International Student Services, Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Intercultural Center (IC)

PEAC courses for Spring 2017!

Check out all the great Peace and Conflict Studies courses on offer this spring 2017!

Peace and Conflict Studies Courses
Spring 2017

PEAC 003. Crisis Resolution in the Middle East

Eligible for POLS and ISLM credit

This introductory course is designed for students without a background in Peace and Conflict Studies or Middle East Studies. Central questions include: How do we define crises in the contemporary Middle East/North Africa region? How does the nature of the crisis (political, economic, social, and environmental) impact communities differently? How are grassroots actors, civil society institutions, states, and international organizations responding to these challenges in their nation-states and across borders? What transnational networks of solidarity have linked the Middle East to other regions across the globe? For instance, this course will examine the consequences of environmental degradation and escalating food prices on conflict and instability across the region. We will trace the origins of autocratic regimes in the Middle East and social movements calling for rights and reforms on one hand and the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism (i.e. Al-Qaeda and ISIS). Furthermore, the course will explore crises such as contemporary Syria, and how local and international interventions aimed at reversing the marginalization of-and threats against-minority populations (ethnic, religious, gender, sexuality, ability) have come to constitute a realm of crisis management. By understanding crises through the theoretical prism of human security frameworks, we will ascertain the prospects for democratization, development, pluralism, and peace in the region.

Sa’ed Atshan; Tuesdays 1:15-4:00; Kohlberg 116

PEAC 043. Gender, Sexuality and Social Change

Eligible for GSST credit

How has gender emerged as an analytical category? How has sexuality emerged as an analytical category? What role did discourses surrounding gender and sexuality play in the context of Western colonialism in the Global South historically as well as in the context of Western imperialism in the Global South today? How are gender and sexuality-based liberation understood differently around the world? What global social movements have surfaced to codify rights for women and LGBTQ populations? How has the global human rights apparatus shaped the experiences of women and queer communities? What is the relationship between gender and masculinity? What are the promises and limits of homo-nationalism and pink-washing as theoretical frameworks in our understanding of LGBT rights discourses? When considering the relationship between faith and homosexuality, how are religious actors queering theology? How do we define social change with such attention to gender and sexuality? 1 credit.

Sa’ed Atshan; Mondays 1:15-4:00; Science Center 105

entrepreneur

PEAC 049. Social Entrepreneurship in Principle and Practice

Amidst market implosions, human conflict, environmental crises, and on-going demise of the welfare state, the need for new, durable organizational forms, committed to social change, is clear. Social entrepreneurship offers a unique model for creative conflict transformation and community problem solving. Using business practices, social enterprises seek to redress social and environmental concerns while generating revenue. Students will learn about the manifestation of social entrepreneurship principles and practice in non-profit, for-profit, and hybrid organizations. Then, students will draft plans for their own social enterprise, thereby garnering a deeper understanding of social enterprise as organizational forms, while also embarking on a journey to explore their own potential as social entrepreneurs. 1 credit.

Denise Crossan, Lang Professor for Social Change; Tuesday/Thursday 8:30-10:30; Lang Center 112

PEAC 071B Research Seminar: Strategy and Nonviolent Struggle

(Cross-listed as SOAN 071B)

This one-credit research seminar involves working and updating the Global Nonviolent Action Database website which can be accessed by activists and scholars worldwide at http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu The Global Nonviolent Action Database was built at Swarthmore College and includes cases of “people power” drawn from dozens of countries. The database contains crucial information on campaigns for human rights, democracy, environmental sustainability, economic justice, national/ethnic identity, and peace. Students will be expected to research a series of cases and write them up in two ways: within a template of fields (the database proper) and also as a 2-3 page narrative that describes the unfolding struggle. In addition to research/writing methods, students will also draw theories in the field. Strategic implications for today will be drawn from theory and from what the group learns from the documented cases of wins and losses experienced by people’s struggles. 1 credit. Writing course. Enrollment limited to 12 students.

Lee Smithey; Thursday 1:15-4:00; Lang Center 106

PEAC 103. Humanitarianism: Anthropological Approaches

(Cross-listed with SOAN 103)

This honors 2-credit seminar will introduce students to the most salient theoretical debates among anthropologists on humanitarian intervention around the world. We will also examine a range of case studies, from the birth of Western Christian humanitarian missions in colonial contexts to humanitarian interventions (e.g. military, food-based assistance, natural disaster relief, post-conflict reconstruction) today. The geographic scope of this seminar will encompass North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East/North Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. We will consider, for instance, how anthropologists have examined relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. What social science scholarship has been produced on mental health interventions after political and natural crises in Haiti? How are victims of torture at the hands of the Indian military supported by international organizations in Kashmir? What is the nature of global Islamic humanitarianism today? How are local national staff employed by international organizations shaping humanitarian approaches to gender-based violence in Colombia? These are among the many questions we will address over the course of the semester.

Sa’ed Atshan; Wednesdays 1:15-4:00; Kohlberg 226

Queer Israel/Palestine

“Queer Israel/Palestine”

Aeyal Gross, Professor of Law, Tel Aviv University

Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

Scheuer Room, Kohlberg Hall at Swarthmore College

Organized by Peace and Conflict Studies and sponsored by the Sager Fund, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility.

Ben Taub, foreign correspondent to speak on Syria and Isis

The Daily Gazette presents Ben Taub, a highly successful foreign correspondent with numerous articles published in The New Yorker.

A little over 2 years ago, Ben Taub was a philosophy student at Princeton, and a recent contestant on “The Voice.” He has since reported extensively about ISIS recruiting and ordinary lives in war-torn Syria.

On October 17, he will speak at Swarthmore about how he got where he is, his work, and his experiences in war reporting.

Monday, Oct 17, 2016
7:30 p.m.
Lang Performing Arts Center Room 301
Swarthmore College (directions)
Facebook event page

Watch: Theresa Williamson ’97 Offers a Glimpse into Rio’s Favelas

From Swarthmore College News and Information
August 17, 2016

Today: Santa Marta: Matt Lauer tours of one of Rio de Janeiro’s oldest favelas

The 2016 summer Olympics has turned the world’s attention to life in Rio de Janeiro. The city is surrounded by over 1,000 favela communities, which have come to be synonymous with poverty and crime. However, Theresa Williamson ’97 says that while education, health, and sanitation remain to be the top three demands of the people in favelas, the favelas provide a vibrant community for those who live there.

Williamson founded and serves as executive director for Catalytic Communities, a nonprofit organization that is working to destigmatize Rio de Janeiro’s favela communities and integrate them into the wider society. Since its founding in 2000, Catalytic Communities has provided communications, networking, and training support to leaders in the favela communities.

Williamson graduated from Swarthmore with a special major in biological anthropology and a minor in peace and conflict studies. She received her Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

Peace and Conflict Studies Courses Spring 2017