Students who have taken Prof. Atshan’s courses talk about radical humanization.
Swarthmore Hosts Aspiring Academics of Color at Mellon Mays Conference
Swarthmore Hosts Aspiring Academics of Color at Mellon Mays Conference
The Communications Office
14 November 2019
Jayanti Owens ’06 and Sa’ed Atshan ’06
Jayanti Owens ’06 (left), a professor at Brown University, will speak at the conference, organized by Assistant Professor of Peace & Conflict Studies Sa’ed Atshan ’06. Both are MMUF alums.
Jayanti Owens ’06 credits the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program with playing a “defining role” in her Swarthmore experience and in her decision to pursue graduate school.
Now the Mary Tefft and John Hazen White, Sr. Assistant Professor of Sociology and International & Public Affairs at Brown University, Owens is returning to Swarthmore to share insights from that journey when she gives the first keynote address at this year’s MMUF Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference this weekend. About 80 people are expected to attend the event from Swarthmore as well as Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Cornell, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania.
“I will be talking about pulling back the curtain on graduate school applications and navigating the ‘hidden curriculum’ for success in graduate school,” says Owens, who graduated from Swarthmore with honors in political science and educational policy. “My hope is that by sharing both my personal experiences and the evidence base of social science research around the unique challenges faced by many students and faculty of color in the academy, students will leave with some strategies and a larger sense of some of the factors they might think about as they set out on their own journeys.”
Swarthmore is one of eight founding members of the MMUF Program, which primarily aims to increase diversity in the faculty of institutions of higher learning. In the program’s more than 30-year history at Swarthmore, nearly 150 students have graduated as MMUF Fellows. Of them, 47 have earned doctorates or are in the process of doing so, in addition to those who have earned law or medical degrees.
“The conference is a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty, and staff who care about the MMUF program in our region to connect,” says conference organizer and Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies Sa’ed Atshan ’06. “The student presentations are the heart of the conference, where the fellows will be able to showcase their excellent research and to engage in dialogue and intellectual exchange with each other.”
In addition to the support that she received to conduct original research and to attend intensive writing retreats to complete her dissertation, Owens cites the program’s fostering of lifelong friendships with peers and mentors that supported her journey through graduate school and beyond. She also credits Swarthmore’s first MMUF coordinator, Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Professor Emeritus of English Literature Chuck James, with providing unfailing support and advocacy. “I will be forever grateful to him,” she says, “and to MMUF and all the colleagues and friends I have formed through its network.”
Atshan, also an MMUF alum, is now in his first year as coordinator of Swarthmore’s program. “This is a tremendous honor and such a dream come true,” he says. “I would not be here today if it was not for Swarthmore and the MMUF program, and I feel that this is my moral responsibility to give back for this rising generation.”
To learn about Swarthmore’s commitment to access and inclusion, visit lifechanging.swarthmore.edu.
Students tour Mariner East 2 pipeline
Twenty-five students from the Peace and Conflict Studies / Environmental Studies course “Climate Disruption, Conflict, and Peacemaking” toured the route of the Mariner East 2 pipeline (ME2) construction that runs near Swarthmore College.
Mariner East pipes lie along the route.
A ship is docked at Marcus Hook near the terminal where natural gas liquids are transferred.
The ME2, a Sunoco project, runs through highly populated neighborhoods in Delaware and Chester counties and beyond. It will carry compressed propane, ethane, and butane from fracking operations in the Marcellus shale fields of western Pennsylvania to the port of Marcus Hook, for shipping, mostly to Europe for the production of plastics (enough to produce 1 billion single-use bottles every day).
The ME2 pipeline carries highly flammable liquefied gases under pressure through populated suburban neighborhoods, often only feet from homes, schools, residential facilities, detention facilities, and businesses. The gases are odorless, invisible, and heavier than air, raising concerns about the possibility of evacuation in the event of a leak. The pipeline has generated significant and growing local opposition and has raised questions about risk and regulatory processes.
Our tour took us to Marcus Hook and its refineries, Hershey’s Mill Village, a large retirement community in the potential blast zone of the pipeline, and an elementary school near a valve station, where we met with a local resident and activist. We are immensely grateful to our guide, George Alexander, author of the Dragonpipe Diary, where you can find more investigative work on the pipeline and local campaigns to stop or regulate the pipeline.
For information from Sunoco on the pipeline, visit their website, State Impact PA reporting, and the Dragonpipe Diary.
Join us on Wednesday November 13 at 7:00 p.m. for a screening of the film, Half-Mile, Upwind, On Foot, about resistance to the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline (that we toured in 2017) and the Mariner East 2 pipelines.
FROM CIVIL RIGHTS TO CIVIL LIBERTIES: The impact of black culture and identity on 21st century diplomacy
A presentation by Justin Davis, Deputy Director, Orientation Division, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State
Friday, December 6th
4:30-6 pm
Sproul 201, Intercultural Center
Swarthmore College
This event is open to the public. You can find directions and a campus map on the College’s website.
Organized by Peace and Conflict Studies and Co-Sponsored by Black Studies, Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology, the Black Cultural Center, The Intercultural Center, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and The Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility
Feminist dilemmas: How to talk about gender-based violence in relation to the Middle East
A presentation by Nadje Al-Ali, Robert Family Professor of International Studies, Brown University
Friday, November 8th
4:30-6 pm
Scheuer Room, Kohlberg Hall
Swarthmore College
This event is open to the public. You can find directions and a campus map on the College’s website.
ORGANIZED BY PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES AND CO-SPONSORED BY ARABIC, GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES, ISLAMIC STUDIES, POLITICAL SCIENCE, SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY, THE INTERCULTURAL CENTER, THE OFFICE OF EXCELLENCE, AND THE LANG CENTER FOR CIVIC AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Quaker Indian Boarding Schools: Facing our History and Ourselves
“The Quaker Indian Boarding Schools: Facing our History and Ourselves”
A presentation by Paula Palmer, Friend in Residence at Haverford College
Thursday, November 6
4:30-6:00 p.m.
Scheuer Room, Kohlberg Hall
Swarthmore College
Paula Palmer is a sociologist, writer, and activist for human rights, social justice, and environmental protection. Since 2012 she travels in Quaker ministry, working with Native and non-Native people to build relationships based on truth, respect, and justice. Her Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples ministry recently became a program of Friends Peace Teams. Paula created and facilitates workshops titled, “Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change: Toward Right Relationship with America’s Native Peoples” (for adults) and “Re-Discovering America: Understanding Colonization” (for middle schools and high schools). As the 2016 Pendle Hill Cadbury Scholar, she conducted research and produced articles and videos about the role Quakers played during the era of the Indian Boarding Schools. She is a frequent speaker for faith communities, civic organizations, and colleges and universities, and has published widely.
Paula is a recipient of the Elise Boulding Peacemaker of the Year Award (given by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center), the Jack Gore Memorial Peace Award (given by the American Friends Service Committee), the International Human Rights Award (given by the United Nations Association of Boulder County), and the Multicultural Award in the “Partners” category (given by Boulder County Community Action Programs). She is a member of Boulder (CO) Quaker Meeting (IMYM).
Organized by Peace and Conflict Studies and Co-Sponsored by History, Political Science, Religion, Sociology and Anthropology, The Intercultural Center, The Office of Inclusive Excellence, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility
Other Paula Palmer events that may interest you:
Friday, November 1
7-8:15 pm
The Land Remembers:
Connecting with Native Peoples Through the Land
Interactive lecture
Co-sponsored with Family and Friends Weekend
Sharpless Auditorium
Haverford College
Saturday, November 2
1-3 pm
The Quaker Indian Boarding Schools: Facing our History and Ourselves
Slide Presentation
Delaware History Museum
505 N. Market Street, Wilmington DE 19801
Sunday, November 3
1-3 pm
Re-Discovering America
Interactive Workshop for Tribal Youth and Families
Dover, DE
Friday, November 8
1-2 pm
Where the Truth Leads: A Journey of Listening
Sharing her spiritual journey
Co-sponsored by Quaker and Special Collections
Lutnick Library Rm 232
Haverford College
Friday, November 8
4:30-6:15 pm
Two Rivers
The Film and Discussion
Co-sponsored by the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship
VCAM 001 Screening Room
Haverford College
Saturday, November 9
11 am-1 pm
Roots of Injustice, Seeds of Change:
Toward Right Relationship with America’s Native Peoples
Interactive workshop
MCC: Stokes 106
Haverford College
Monday, November 11
7-9 pm
The Land Remembers: Connecting with Native Peoples through the Land
Interactive talk
Friends Center
15th and Cherry Street, Philadelphia
More about Paula:
In collaboration with the Ojibwe attorney Jerilyn DeCoteau, Paula founded Right Relationship Boulder, a community group that works with local governments and organizations to lift up the history, presence, and contributions of Indigenous peoples in the Boulder Valley. Through workshops and presentations, they promote formation of “Right Relationship” groups in other parts of the country.
For 17 years, as executive director of the non-profit organization Global Response, Paula directed over 70 international campaigns to help Indigenous peoples and local communities defend their rights and prevent environmental destruction.
In Costa Rica, where she lived for 20 years, she published five books of oral history in collaboration with Afro-Caribbean and Bribri Indigenous peoples, through a community empowerment process known as Participatory Action Research. With Monteverde Friends, she helped establish the Friends Peace Center in San Jose and began worshiping among Friends there. She has been a member of Boulder meeting, Intermountain Yearly Meeting, since the mid-1990s.
From 1995 to 2001, Paula served as editor for health and environment of Winds of Change magazine, a publication of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). She holds an M.A. degree in sociology from Michigan State University and has taught courses in the Environmental Studies Department of Naropa University. She is profiled in American Environmental Leaders From Colonial Times to the Present (ABC-CLIO, 2000) and Biodiversity, A Reference Handbook (ABC-CLIO 1998).
“Half-Mile, Upwind, on Foot” film screening and panel
Please join us for a film screening of Half-Mile, Upwind, on Foot, with the filmmaker and anti-pipeline activists featured in the film.
This film documents the efforts of two communities challenging fossil fuel pipeline projects in Pennsylvania, including the Mariner East 2 pipeline that cuts through Delaware County, not far from Swarthmore College.
Wednesday, 13 November 2019
7:00 – 8:30 P.M.
Scheuer Room in Kohlberg Hall
Swarthmore College
This event is open to the public. You can find directions and a campus map on the College’s website. Download a flyer and bring a friend.
Brian McDermott, the filmmaker, writes:
Half-Mile, Upwind, On Foot tells the story of communities who are working to challenge two different pipeline projects in Pennsylvania that are considered by many to be disruptive, dangerous, and unnecessary. 
Through use of eminent domain, billion-dollar pipeline projects are being developed close to homes, schools and community centers—all for the delivery of natural gas and “highly volatile liquids” overseas. The film shares stories of people who are rising up to assert their basic right to a clean, sustainable environment and a safe community as they are confronted by extraction companies and an unfriendly system that often favors corporate power over the rights of people.
In the film, we meet Ellen Gerhart, a retired special education teacher and grandmother who was jailed twice for protesting the taking of three acres of her land (through eminent domain) for use by a pipeline company. Ellen catalogues the degradation of nature that has been taking place on her property, and she gives an overview of some of the ways companies take advantage of their use of eminent domain. We then follow Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, a geologist who testified in court against a pipeline company and successfully stopped construction on her land by documenting how the pipeline construction was damaging the environment.
We also hear from a group of Catholic Sisters known as the Adorers of the Blood of Christ who built a chapel in a pipeline’s path on their land as an expression of religious freedom and their belief in caring for the earth. Sister Bernice Klostermann provides us with a history of the Adorers who settled in Pennsylvania and she teaches us why it is important to preserve the land.
We are then introduced to Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck (a Mennonite pastor) and Mark Clatterbuck (a Professor of Religion at Montclair State University), the Co-Founders of Lancaster Against Pipelines who have been working tirelessly for the past four years to protect communities and to inspire others to take action. They reveal what they’ve learned about eminent domain law and regulations regarding pipeline construction, and they provide insight into how extraction companies are able to receive permits for projects even when those projects may be damaging to the environment or disputed by a large number of citizens. Mark and Malinda also demonstrate how communities can move forward in peaceful ways to protect what they love.
Ultimately, we hear Senator Andrew Dinniman reinforce what many citizens had suspected all along: eminent domain is being compromised in Pennsylvania, and those who oppose the demand for public safety and a clean and sustainable environment, are actually opposing the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
Co-sponsors: Peace and Conflict Studies, Environmental Studies, the Office of Sustainability, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsiblity.
“The 1.5 Insurgent Generation: Stories of El Salvador Postwar”
Please join us for a talk by Irina Carlota (Lotti) Silber, Associate Professor of Anthropology, City University of New York:
“The 1.5 Insurgent Generation: Stories of El Salvador Postwar”
Tuesday, October 22nd 2019
Sproul 201, Intercultural Center
4:30-6:00p.m.
Organized by Peace and Conflict Studies and Co-Sponsored by History, Latin American and Latino Studies, Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology, Spanish, the Intercultural Center, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility
Please see the poster below for further information.
Lou Klarevas, author of “Rampage Nation: Securing America from Mass Shootings”
Please come join us to a book event at 1 p.m. on Thursday, October 24 with Lou Klarevas, author of Rampage Nation: Securing America from Mass Shootings, a deeply researched study in which he argues that sensible gun control measures can help prevent mass shootings. Dr. Klarevas will speak in the Inn at Swarthmore’s Gathering Room A. Afterwards, he will move to the Swarthmore Campus & Community Store to sign copies of his books
Rampage Nation review excerpt:
In the past decade, no individual act of violence has killed more people in the United States than the mass shooting. This well-researched, forcefully argued book answers some of the most pressing questions facing our society: Why do people go on killing sprees? Are gun-free zones magnets for deadly rampages? What can we do to curb the carnage of this disturbing form of firearm violence?Contrary to conventional wisdom, the author shows that gun possession often prods aggrieved, mentally unstable individuals to go on shooting sprees; these attacks largely occur in places where guns are not prohibited by law; and sensible gun-control measures like the federal Assault Weapons Ban-which helped drastically reduce rampage violence when it was in effect-are instrumental to keeping Americans safe from mass shootings in the future.To stem gun massacres, the author proposes several original policy prescriptions, ranging from the enactment of sensible firearm safety reforms to an overhaul of how the justice system investigates potential active-shooter threats and prosecutes violent crimes. Calling attention to the growing problem of mass shootings,Rampage Nationdemonstrates that this unique form of gun violence is more than just a criminal justice offense or public health scourge. It is a threat to American security.
Louis Klarevas, PhD, teaches in the Department of Global Affairs at the University of Massachusetts–Boston. He also serves as a consultant to the federal government on national security matters. A frequent commentator on homeland security and foreign policy, he has appeared on numerous news programs, including on CNN, ABC, NPR, and the BBC. In the past, he has taught at American University, George Washington University, City University of New York, and New York University. In addition, he has served as the Defense Analysis Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Security Studies.
We hope to see you all there!
“Declassification Diplomacy in Latin America: The Use of Secret Archives as Diplomatic Tools to Advance US Foreign Policy in the Region,” a talk with Peter Kornbluh, Senior Analyst at the National Security Archive.
Please join us for a talk this week:
“Declassification Diplomacy in Latin America: The Use of Secret Archives as Diplomatic Tools to Advance US Foreign Policy in the Region,” a talk with Peter Kornbluh, Senior Analyst at the National Security Archive.
Thursday, October 3, 2019
4:15 PM at McCabe Library Atrium
Peace and Conflict Studies is co-sponsoring the event along with Latin American and Latino Studies, Political Science, Spanish, and History. Please see the poster below for further information.
We hope to see you all there!