Author Archives: Lee Smithey

Enforced Disappearance and Ayotzinapa Testimonials

From our friends at Haverford College:

Talk: “Enforced Disappearance and Ayotzinapa Testimonials” By Paula Mónaco Felipe and John Gibler

Tuesday, October 4

Multicultural Center (Stokes Hall 106)
4:15-6:00PM

From dozens of books already published about Ayotzinapa’s disappeared students, John Gibler’s An Oral History of Infamy. The attacks against Ayotzinapa student’s (Spanish) and Paula Mónaco’s Ayotzinapa: Eternal Hours (Spanish) are by far the more accurate, mindful and committed to human rights. Writers will be addressing issues of violations of human rights, ethics and journalism in Latin America and Mexico. Live streaming 4:30PM (EST).

Paula Mónaco Felipe, journalist and writer, joined at a very young age the organization HIJOS (Sons and Daughters for Identity, Justice and Against Oblivion and Silence). As a daughter of disappeared people in Argentina under the dictatorship, Mónaco has been an activist for human rights in Argentina and Mexico. Her recent book Las horas eternas (2015) recovers the identity of 43 disappeared students, their families and their lives before they were taken away by the state. She has collaborated with different journals in Argentina, Ecuador and Mexico, as well as she has been correspondent for TeleSur. She also has participated in audiovisual productions for Al Jazeera, TeleSur and Encuentro Channel in Argentina.

John Gibler, journalist and writer, has been reporting last decades about social movements and politics in Mexico. His major non fiction works are: Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt (2009), To Die in Mexico: Dispatches From Inside the Drug War (2011), Tzompantle La fuga de un guerrillero (2014), and his last book Una historia oral de la infamia (2016). Gibler has been working in human rights and social justice organizations in California, Peru and Mexico, he has taught in Hampshire College and University of California at San Diego (La Jolla), as well as he has delivered talks in various universities in US, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico.

For info on both events, contact Assistant Professor of Spanish at Haverford College, Aurelia Gómez Unamuno

Sponsored by Department of Spanish, Distinguished Visitors Program, and the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship.

Visit our blog: http://blogs.haverford.edu/disappeared-students/

On Anti-Semitism – Rabbi Alex Weissman

The Peace and Conflict Studies program will host Rabbi Alex Weissman to speak on Anti-Semitism here at Swarthmore next week.

“On Anti-Semitism”

Rabbi Alex Weissman
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Tuesday, September 27
2:40-3:55pm
Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema

Sponsored by Peace and Conflict Studies, History, the Intercultural Center, the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, Philosophy, Religion, and Sociology/Anthropology

Swarthmore to ring bells on International Day of Peace

In celebration of Peace Day 2016, International Day of Peace, at noon on Wednesday, September 21st, Swarthmore College bells will ring in solidarity with the ringing of bells for peace worldwide.

The United Nations Association of Australia Peace Program initiated the ringing of the peace bells worldwide last year on Peace Day. Bells around the world will sound alongside of bells of Sydney University, St Jones Cathedral located in Brisbane Australia and St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney CBD.

There is strength in unity and the sound of peace bells ringing throughout the world will focus on the importance of peace in our lives.

Peace Day, also known as International Day of Peace, was brought into being by the United Nations Resolutions in 1981 and 2001. Millions of people worldwide and thousands of organizations across the globe now actively observe Peace Day on and around September 21. For more local events see http://www.peacedayphilly.org/

Choose Peace Concert

Listen to and Sing Songs of Peace

Also, on Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 7:30-9:00 p.m., a “Choose Peace Concert” will be held at the Swarthmore Friends Meetinghouse on the Swarthmore College campus.
This event is free and open to the public.

What is visionary peace and what are the choices we can make to live our lives into such a possibility? We are invited to explore linking the cultivation of personal peace to identifying innovative steps toward global peace through song with Rev. Rhetta Morgan, singer, songwriter, interfaith minister, and activist. These events are sponsored by the Swarthmore College Peace and Conflict Studies Program. Please contact Ellen Ross, Coordinator, Peace and Conflict Studies, eross1, if you have any questions.

Off Campus Study: HECUA Democracy and Social Change in Northern Ireland

Information Session

Monday, October 3
Sharples Room 208
Noon – 1pm

Meet Resident Director Nigel Glenny, and HECUA Director of Operations, Patrick Mulvihill

This study abroad program is offered in both fall and spring semesters.

Swarthmore deadline for spring semester applicants: October 7
Deadline for fall semester applicants: February 20

Program Description: In 1969, society in Northern Ireland was torn by violent conflict that erupted from issues relating to civic, social, and political differences. Today, Northern Ireland offers an example of the vast dimensions of transition from conflict to democracy. Students in this study abroad program examine the historical, political and religious roots of the conflict in Northern Ireland, the prospects for peace, and the progress being made. Through readings, lectures, discussions, internships, group and independent study projects and field experiences this program invites interaction with people involved in social change. The program explores theoretical approaches to understanding conflict and its transformation as well as the processes underway in Northern Ireland to create a sustainable democracy.

Field seminars focus on human rights, equality, conflict transformation, and education for democracy, and help students see in action the tools used to transform conflict. A seven-week, nearly full-time internship in Londonderry/Derry allows students to participate directly in efforts toward a peaceful future. Diverse perspectives at the internship help students understand the progress of peace and analyze the cultural strengths, traditions, and resources available for building a sustainable and inclusive democracy. Internship sites ultimately provide an opportunity to do meaningful work that makes a difference. Some organizations are grassroots with a local focus, while others are international in scope. Finally, each student carries out an independent study project on a topic of her/his choice, which includes field research.

HECUA partners with the University of Ulster, which has campuses throughout the country. Classes are held at the University of Ulster at Magee with field study and internships in selected regions of Northern Ireland. The program is affiliated with INCORE, the International Conflict Research Institute on the University’s Magee campus in Londonderry/Derry.

Students spend the first five weeks taking core seminars at the University of Ulster at Magee. All students will be provided with a private room during this initial program module. During the seven-week internship at the center of the semester, students will live in a student village in Derry/Londonderry and share living/common space with other students.

Swarthmore is a member of the HECUA Consortium. HECUA

Choose Peace Concert

Celebrate the International Day of Peace

Choose Peace Concert

September 21, 2016, Wednesday, 7:30-9:00 pm
Swarthmore Friends Meetinghouse
Swarthmore College (directions)

Rev. Rhetta Morgan

There will be a time for some audience members to read a quotation about peace that has deepened the meaning of peace for you, that has changed your life, or that has opened or broadened your thinking about or experience of peace. Or you may like to share a poem about peace or a brief paragraph about peace that you have written. To help with the planning, please send your name and what you’d like to read to Ellen Ross at eross1, by September 16^th so that we can arrange the reading order. Many thanks!

Rev. Rhetta Morgan is Founder of the While We Wait Project sponsored by a Leeway Art for Change grant. The Project provides spiritual and emotional support to loved ones of incarcerated individuals. She has facilitated conversations on race and healing for the Interfaith Peace Walk and other organizations. She recently performed for the Leeway + Bread and Roses Town Hall on Incarceration and Gender, using her voice to create inclusive sacred space. Rev. Rhetta performs and works with Girls Rock Philadelphia, an organization that supports and empowers girls and young women. She has worked with Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) and Philly Thrive as both musical leader and spiritual anchor. Rev. Rhetta mentors and counsels activist leaders in our area, encouraging self-care and what she calls a spiritual tool box to aid against despair, overwhelm and depression. A leader in the Philadelphia area, Rev. Rhetta uses music she writes and sings to inspire and heal.

Sponsored by Peace & Conflict Studies

For other International Peace Day Events in the Philadelphia area, see Peace Day Philly.

Memorial to the Lost

The Memorial to the Lost will be displayed on the lower part of Parrish lawn on the Swarthmore campus from September 18 – October 2.

The Memorial is a T-shirt display that represents gun deaths right here in Delaware County from 2011-2015. There are 153 T-shirts, each bearing the name of an individual killed by gun violence, the date of death, and their age when they died.

Members of the college community are invited to help install the Memorial on Sunday, September 18, beginning at 4 pm. All are encouraged to walk by the Memorial at any time, read the names, hold them in memory, and reflect on the toll that gun violence takes in innocent lives every day.

The Memorial is sponsored by Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence, a faith-based and grassroots movement. Headquartered in Philadelphia with chapters in Pennsylvania and neighboring states, Heeding seeks to bring faithful and public pressure to end gun violence in our homes, communities and nation.

Co-sponsored by Swarthmore Students for Sensible Gun Policy, the Interfaith Center, and the President’s Office.

Peter Singer on Effective Altruism and Ethics (at Haverford)

From our friends at Haverford College:

On Thursday, September 15, at 7:30 pm in Founders Great Hall (note this change of venue) at Haverford College, Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, will present a talk about Effective Altruism and its present development. Effective Altruism is a philosophical and social movement which applies evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to improve the world..

**Students and faculty who wish to have priority seating at the main event are encouraged to fill out this form. A limited amount of seating is available.**

On Friday, September 16, at 4:30 PM in Stokes Auditorium (Stokes 131) at Haverford College, there will be a panel on “Ethics and the Ethicist: Perspectives on Peter Singer” featuring the following guests and short talks, with time for open conversation to follow. You do *not* have to have attended Singer’s talk to enjoy this panel (and vice versa).

“The Nonhuman Life You Could Save: A Critical Engagement with Peter Singer’s Support of Humane Meat”: Vasile Stanescu, Assistant Professor of Communication and Theater Arts, Mercer University

“Lives Not Worth Saving? Singer, Disability, and the Limits of Logic”: Kristin Lindgren, Director of College Writing Center and Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing, Haverford

“Competing Ethical Claims: Singer, Global Poverty, and a Defense of Local Food”: Samantha Noll, Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace, Justice, and Human Rights, Haverford

“Effective Altruism, Ineffective Imagination? Education, Social Change, and ‘Making a Difference’”: Eric Hartman, Director of the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, Haverford

The panel is open to the public. Sponsored by the Concentration in Peace, Justice, and Human Rights.

For more information, contact Professor Adam Rosenblatt, arosenblat@haverford.edu.

Israel/Palestine Film Series – Fall 2016

The Peace and Conflict Studies program will be organizing another Israel/Palestine Film Series this semester. Screenings are open to the entire community, and we hope you will join us.

Israel/Palestine Film Series

Sponsored by Swarthmore Peace and Conflict Studies

All screenings are on Wednesdays at 4:15pm in the Lang Performing Arts Cinema

September 7: Promises

Israeli filmmaker documents a group of Israeli and Palestinian children meeting for the first time in and around Jerusalem.

September 14: Walk on Water

Israeli filmmaker produces this psychological thriller focusing on the life of one Israeli intelligence officer.

September 21: The Gatekeepers

Israeli filmmaker interviews all six living heads of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service.

September 28: The War Around Us

American filmmaker follows the only two international journalists who covered the 2009 Israel-Hamas War in Gaza.

October 5: Paradise Now

Palestinian filmmaker produces this Academy Award-nominated fiction film examining the final hours before two Palestinian friends prepare to commit acts of violence in Tel Aviv.

October 19: Eyes Wide Open

Israeli filmmaker produces this breathtaking fiction film examining a love affair between two Orthodox Jewish men in Jerusalem.

Dee Craig installs first cloth murals in Europe

Many will remember the Mellon Creative Residency that brought Northern Ireland mural artist, Dee Craig, to the Tri-Colleges in the fall of 2014. Craig installed a collage in Kohlberg Hall and a large mural on the side of the Science Center, hosted an exhibit on mural arts in McCabe Library and guest lectured in classes across the Tri-Colleges.

Craig partnered with Paul Downie of the Community Arts Center and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program to learn about the “parachute cloth” technique that is often used in Philadelphia’s mural scene.

Since he returned to Belfast, Dee has installed four murals using the parachute cloth technique, the first of their kind in Europe. Funding from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland made the projects possible, and three of the new murals focus on education.

Prof. Lee Smithey had the opportunity to catch up with Dee Craig this summer in Belfast and visited each of the new murals.

Youth from nearby Ballymac Friendship Centre designed the first at the bottom of the Newtownards Road in East Belfast. Girls feature prominently along with themes of racial and ethnic diversity, education, and dance. Robyn Buseman and Willis “Nomo” Humphrey from the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Project flew to Northern Ireland to assist in the installation.

A new mural in the Donegal Pass area of South Belfast encourages reading and the emphasizes the importance of education for local youth.

Another mural celebrating education adorns a wall of the newly renovated Ballymac Friendship Centre.

Northern Irish and Polish youth cooperated to create a mural in Foxglove Street in East Belfast. Major-General Stanislaw F. Sosabowski led Polish Airborne Forces, who fought at the Battle of Arnhem in WWII. Sosabowski and his forces came to the rescue of the British 1st Airborne Division that had become surrounded by German troops.

Congratulations to Dee and all of his partners as they build on the Tri-Colleges Creative Residency.

Catalytic Diplomacy for Peace

Catalytic Diplomacy for Peace: Lessons Learned from the Half Century of Experience of Two Swarthmore Graduates

Jeremy J. Stone ‘57 Swarthmore College, Honorary Doctor of Laws for peace activities ’85 and B.J. Stone, ’57

On April 19, 2016, Dr. Jeremy Stone spoke to approximately 150 students in Science Center Room 101 at Swarthmore College*

Creative ideas, pursued with personal diplomacy through political structures, can make a real difference to peace and conflict. Stone will reference successes and failures. These include inventing five tabled Washington-Moscow Summit arms control proposals. They also include: catalytic undertakings in initiating scientific exchange with China, Vietnam and Iran; efforts to end the Cambodian civil war; stabilizing the conflict between Mainland China and Taiwan; defending human rights in Russia and Constitutional rights in America; and a series of failures to reverse current American doctrine on first use of nuclear weapons.

Jeremy Stone in Science Center 101

Dr. Jeremy J. Stone graduated from Swarthmore College in 1957 before going on to complete a Ph.D. in mathematics from Stanford University. After holding positions at the Hudson Institute, the Harvard Center for International Affairs (CFIA), and Pomona College, he became the CEO of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS)–founded in 1945 as the Federation of Atomic Scientists (FAS)– which focused on policy related to the nuclear arms race, human rights, ethnic violence and civil conflict, small arms, controlling biological and chemical weapons, energy conservation, global warming, and other related subjects.

Jeremy Stone

Through what Stone calls “catalytic diplomacy” and with the assistance of his wife, B.J. Stone ’57, they shaped a range of negotiations over nuclear weapons during the Cold War, played a key role in renewing scientific exchange with U.S. and China (1972) and U.S. and Iran (1999), and worked to contain super-Maoist movements in North Korea, Cambodia and Peru, among other topics.

Swarthmore College awarded Dr. Stone an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1985 for his career pursuing peace as a public interest activist. He is the author of two books on arms control: Containing the Arms Race: Some Specific Proposals (MIT Press, 1966) and Strategic Persuasion: Arms Limitations Through Dialogue (Columbia University Press, 1967) as well as two memoirs: Every Man Should Try: Adventures of a Public Interest Activist (Public Affairs Press, 1999) and Catalytic Diplomacy: Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

Dr. Jeremy Stone ’57 lecturing, in June, 1979, to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the arms limitation treaty called SALT II. The Senators from left to right are: Charles Percy, Jacob Javits, Frank Church, George McGovern, and Joseph Biden.

Dr. Jeremy Stone ’57 and his wife, B.J. Stone ’57, in 1972, negotiating, after dinner, with Prime Minister Zhou En-lai of the People’s Republic of China in 1972–a month after relations with Communist China were opened by President Nixon.

Sponsored by the Program in Peace and Conflict Studies and Catalytic Diplomacy

Download a flyer.

(*The video above is a re-recording of the lecture Dr. Stone delivered at Swarthmore College.)