Speaker Series

The student-faculty sponsored International Relations Colloquium (IRC), held in Oldenborg Dining Hall, offers lunchtime discussions on international issues throughout the year. Past speakers have included ambassadors, State Department officials, journalists, and distinguished foreign visitors. Students with a concentration in International Relations or related fields are also encouraged to present field work in this forum. The calendar is updated frequently, so watch the campus bulletin boards and newspapers, and check your e-mail for notifications regarding IRC speakers and other special events.

Next IRC

Fall 2008

Spring 2008 Schedule

Thursday,
February 7		 “Reflections on Islam in the Philippines”
Vicente L. Rafael, Department of History, University of Washington
*Event co-sponsored by the Pacific Basin Institute
Friday,
February 15		 “Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories and Photos”
Anna Baltzer, Author
www.annainthemiddleeast.com
CANCELED
Tuesday,
February 19		 “Magic in the Landscape, Blood in the Streets–The Basque Country Today”
Paddy Woodworth, Author and Journalist
*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Romance Languages, Department of History, and the Office of the Associate Dean of Pomona College
Thursday,
February 21		 “Los Pleneros de la 21: 25 Years of Bomba and Plena for the People!”
Juan Gutierrez, Musician and Co-ounder of Los Pleneros de la 21
*Event co-sponsored by Latin American Studies and the Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies
FMI: http://www.losplenerosdela21.org/
Monday,
February 25		 “Gloabl Activism and the Islamic World”
Salman Ahmed, Musical Artist and Activist
*Event co-sponsored by Public Events Committee, PBI, Religious Studies, Dean of Students, EKTA and SOCA
FMI: http://www.junoon.com/home2.htm
Tuesday,
February 26		 “Kenya: On the Brink”
Ari Greenberg, Senior Program Assistant, Southern and East Africa
*Event co-sponsored by International Relations and the Politics Department
Thursday,
February 28		 “Reflections on Malaysia and its Inter-Asian Connections”
Kosaku Yoshino, Department of Sociology, Sophia University, Tokyo
*Event co-sponsored by the Pacific Basin Institute
Friday,
February 29		 “The Musical Life of an International Concert Artist in Iran”
Lily Afshar, Department of Music, University of Memphis
*Event co-sponsored by Department of Music, Department of Anthropology, and PBI
FMI: http://www.Lilyafshar.com
Monday,
March 3		 “A Death Foretold: Sister Dorothy and the Amazon Land Wars”
Binka Le Breton, Author and Journalist
*Event co-sponsored by Latin American Studies and the Politics Department
Monday,
March 10		 International Student Research Presentations from Spain and Latin America
Jonathan Raz, PO ‘08, Oldenborg Grant Recipient Fall 2007
Derek Young, PO ‘09, SURP Recipient Summer 2007
Peter Enzminger, PO ‘08, Iberian Grant Recipient Summer 2007
Cecilia Viggiano, PO ‘08, Iberian Grant Recipient Summer 2007
Tuesday,
March 11		 “Schwarzenegger, Immigration and Britney Spears - a German Correspondent’s View of California”
Kerstin Zilm, Correspondent for the German Public Radio network ARD
*Event co-sponsored by the German and Russian Department
Tuesday,
March 25		 “Madagascar’s Biodiversity Conservation Challenge: Multi-Level Dynamics”
Nadia Rabesahala Horning, Department of Political Science, Middlebury College
*Event co-sponsored by the Politics Department
Monday,
March 31		 “German literature TODAY! What a Difference a Year Makes” A Los Angeles Bookseller’s Viewpoint
Hans Jürgen Schacht, From New Mastodon German Bookstore
*Event co-sponsored by the German and Russian Department
Wednesday,
April 2		 “Light and Locale in Israeli Modern and Contemporary Art”
Tal Yizrael, Photographer
Thursday,
April3		 “Operation Smile”
Beth Bradley, Operation Smile Los Angeles
Friday,
April 4		 “Arab Identity and Universality in the Song of the Lebanese Superstar Fairouz”
Ken Habib, Department of Music, California Polytechnic State University
Monday,
April 7		 “Assessing the Microfinance Revolution”
Craig McIntosh, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California at San Diego
*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Economics
Tuesday,
April 8		 “The Chavez Movement in Venezuela: Successes and Failures after 9 Years in Power”
Steve Ellner, Professor of History and Political Science, Universidad de Oriente (UDO), Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
*Event co-sponsored by Latin American Studies
Thursday,
April 10		 “Reflections on Islamic Civilization in Iran”
Majid Tehranian, Department of International Relations, Soka University of America
*Event co-sponsored by the Pacific Basin Institute
Monday,
April 14		 “The Search for ‘A Decent Democracy Order’: United States Foreign Policy toward Latin America since 1954”
Chris Clement, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Politics, Pomona College
Thursday,
May 1		 “Futbolnomics”
Fernando Lozano, Department of Economics, Pomona College
Friday,
May 2		 Oldenborg Conversation Class Project Presentations
Monday,
May 5		 “Indigenous Communities and Gold Mining in Guatemala”
Fausto Valiente, Environmental Activist
*Event co-sponsored by Latin American Studies

Fall 2007 Schedule

Monday,September 10 “From Rock and Roll to Rescue and Relief: One Man’s Humanitarian Journey Makes a Difference”Todd Shea, Founder and Executive Director of Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services
Monday,September 24 “Freeman Grant Student Presentations”Sterling Johnston PO ‘08, Jacob Cohen PO ‘09, Ashwin Balakrishnan PO ‘10*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies
Tuesday,September 25 “Traffickers, Mobsters, and Terrorists: The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering as a Model for Foreign Policy”Mark Nance, PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison*Event co-sponsored by the EU Center of California
Friday,September 28 “‘Just Now’–The Spanish ‘Tilt’ to Realism and Modernity” Harriet Turner, Harold E. Spencer Professor of Modern Languages, Director of International Affairs, University of Nebraska-Lincoln*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Romance Languages and the Department of Modern Languages at CMC
Tuesday,October 2 “Military Assistance to Civilian State Building in Afghanistan”Wolfgang Jockusch, Th.M.; Captain (Res), German Air Force, Pastor, United Methodist Church
Thursday,October 4 “Freeman Grant Student Presentations”James Kato PO ‘09, Christopher Creech PO ‘10, Nathan Gardner PO ‘10, Matthew Tranquada PO ‘08*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies
Friday,October 12 “Displaced Realities: French Women and the Media”Christelle Rolland, Visiting Instructor, Department of Romance Languages, Pomona College
Monday,October 15 “Feasting and Fasting Traditions Among the Abrahamic Religions: A Comparative Perspective”Juan Campo, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies
Wednesday,October 17 “Literature and Politics in Putin’s Russia: The Pornography Case against the Writer Vladimir Sorokin”Evgenii Bershtein, Associate Professor of Russian, Reed College*Event co-sponsored by the Department of German and Russian
Thursday,October 18 “Occidentalism and Islam: A Brief Commentary”Shamsul A.B., Institute of Occidental Studies (IKON), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia*Event co-sponsored by the Pacific Basin Institute
Monday,October 29 Oldenborg Grant PresentationsBlake Phillips, Pomona ‘08 and Rebecca Troeger, Pomona ‘08
Thursday,November 1 “A Consecrated Democracy: Religion, Politics and Oil in Venezuela, 1958-1998″Tomas Straka, La Universidad Catolica Andres Bello*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Latin American Studies
Monday,November 5 “Growing Apart: The Politics of Development in Indonesia and Nigeria”Peter Lewis, Director African Studies Program, Johns Hopkins University*Event co-sponsored by the Politics Department CANCELED
Tuesday,November 6 “Chilean Artist Violeta Parra: Her Life and Legacy”Ericka Verba, Assistant Professor, History Department, California State University Dominguez Hills*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Latin American Studies
Friday,November 9 “Low-income Housing in Cape Town”Trish Zweig, Independent Social Development Researcher, Cape Town, South Africa
Thursday,November 15 “The Music of John Bilezikjian Performed on the Oud”John Bilezikjian, Oudist and Composer*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Music, Department of Anthropology, Unity Dorm
Friday,November 16 A Follow-Up Lunch and Conversation with Professor Husain Haqqani, Avery Lecturer“Muslim Politics in South Asia: Challenges, Threats, and Changes”Hussain Haqqani, Director of the Center for International Relations, Professor, Boston University*Event co-sponsored by the Pacific Basin Institute
Tuesday,November 20 “Doing More with Less: the Cuban Health Care Model”Carmen Landau, MD, Graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine (Havana,Cuba)*Event co-sponsored by the Department of Latin American Studies
Thursday,November 29 “Sleepless in the New Economy: Money, Consumption and Unemployment in Current German Literature”Sabine von Dirke, Associate Professor of German, University of Pittsburgh*Event co-sponsored by the Department of German and Russian and the EU Center of California
Friday,November 30 “PBI Student Summer Research Video Project Presentations”CANCELLED–Please attend the Dec. 7th presentation
Thursday,December 6

“Globalization and the Nation-State: Living in a Post 9/11 World”Ronald Suny, Charles Tilly Collegiate Professor of Social and Politial History, The University of Michigan
Friday,December 7 “PBI Student Summer Research Video Project Presentations”*Event co-sponsored by the Pacific Basin Institute
Tuesday,December 11 Oldenborg Conversation Class Project Presentations