Category: International Affairs
Neurobiologist becomes advisor to Hillary ClintonMay 8, 2012Frances Colón ’04, who studied developmental neurobiology in the Birren Lab, was recently named deputy science and technology advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her primary role is promotion of science, technology and innovation dialogues.
Brandeis interns witness the trial of Charles TaylorMay 4, 2012Some of the Brandeis students currently working at international legal studies and human rights internships were on hand for the trial and conviction of warlord and former Liberian President Charles Taylor. In the aftermath, they reflect on what the experience meant to them.
Hebrew professor: Focus on person, not languageMay 4, 2012Vardit Ringvald, director of the Hebrew Language Program and co-author of the bestselling textbook 'Brandeis Modern Hebrew,' explains that for most students, language acquisition is about getting to know themselves.
Feldman gives Fulbrights view of Iran nuclear issue April 30, 2012Neither the American president nor the Israeli prime minister has given the other what he wants with regard to dealing with Iran's nuclear aspirations, the Crown Center director says, but the two leaders have shown flexibility that has helped ease tensions surrounding this difficult subject.
Sorensen Fellows urge students to change world April 30, 2012Fellowships honoring the late Ted Sorensen present a unique opportunity for sophomores and juniors to integrate coursework with summer internships in the US overseas. Open to students in any major, the fellowships cover travel and living expenses.
Stories of identity, survival, comedy featured in 15th Jewish film festivalApril 18, 2012From the U.S. premieres of recently restored comedies, to a spotlight on Polish films and a focus on identity, the 15th annual National Center for Jewish Film film festival – JewishFilm.2012 – offers viewers a wide variety of options. Comprised of 15 films in all, is being held at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art and the West Newton Cinema from April 18 to 29.
- Amid upheaval in China, expert will focus on futureApril 12, 2012
Dr. Cheng Li, a leading analyst of Chinese politics, will speak on 'what's next' as the ruling elite moves toward naming a new leader in the wake of the fall of Bo Xilai, a popular left-wing revivalist who aspired to the highest level of government. His fall may set the stage for a showdown between leftists and advocates of capitalism. The program begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.
- Patrick cites strength of higher ed as Mass. assetApril 5, 2012
Gov. Deval Patrick, other state officials and business entrepreneurs attending the second annual Global Trade Summit said the concentration of higher education institutions in the state is an important asset in the global competition for economic development opportunities. The summit was sponsored by the Brandeis International Business School.
Schuster Fellow exposes international adoption flawsApril 5, 2012Erin Siegal has published two books based on three years of extensive reporting in which she examines fraudulent, criminal and corrupt practices in international adoption between Guatemala and the United States. Siegal tells the true story of one woman’s kidnapped daughter and another woman's attempt to adopt her.
- Middle East experts to look at viability of the two-state solutionMarch 30, 2012
In celebration of publication of Prof. Asher Susser's book on the 'two-state-solution' to the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, the Crown Center is sponsoring a discussion of relations between the two peoples and possibilities for the future, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Hassenfeld Conference Center.
Global Trade Summit focus: Brazil, India, Israel, TurkeyMarch 26, 2012More than 30 experts from business, government and academia will take part in a series of in-depth business sessions at the second annual Global Trade Summit organized by Brandeis International Business School. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will deliver the keynote speech April 3 in Levin Ballroom.
Ruderman Fellows coming from Israel to learn about American JewryMarch 22, 2012Five members of the Israeli Knesset arrive Sunday for five days of intensive study and discussion sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation in partnership with Brandeis. Major Boston-area public event is Monday night in Newton; university to provide free transportation.
Undergraduate from China pursues his interest in IndiaMarch 19, 2012Terry Li, who grew up in China, began to act on his longtime fascination with India by taking 'Introduction to South Asia.' He went to India to live and work as one of the first Fellows named by the Brandeis-India Initiative. Now he tells his story, with videos and in words.
Olga Golovanova '10 fights for democracy in RussiaMarch 8, 2012Speaking on campus two days after Vladimir Putin’s presidential election win, she described how Putin and his supporters prevent the opposition from having a voice. She also described what Russians, herself included, are doing to combat the illegal practices of their corrupt government.
Students get inside view of Cuban economic evolutionMarch 5, 2012The International Business School recently sent 30 MA and MBA candidates on a one-week academic trip to Cuba to learn more about the country’s economy in transition. The visit was made possible by the new Hassenfeld Fellow Overseas Immersion Program, which is funded by retired Hasbro Chairman and CEO Alan Hassenfeld.
Virtuosos of raga to mingle Indian, Afghan traditionsMarch 5, 2012Three virtuosos – Homayun Sakhi, Ken Zuckerman and Salar Nader – are participating in this semester’s MusicUnitesUs residency, 'Improvisations: Raga in Afghanistan and North India.' Their visit will culminate with a concert in Slosberg on Saturday, at 8 p.m., with a pre-concert lecture by Dartmouth College music professor Theodore Levin at 7 p.m.
Week of events highlights Russian cultureMarch 4, 2012A local Jewish and Israeli performance ensemble that brings to life the music of their grandparents’ Russian villages, a cinematic journey into how the Holocaust impacted one Russian boy’s childhood and a visit from an activist alum just returned from political demonstrations in Moscow: these are just a few of the events to be featured as part of Brandeis’ fifth annual celebration of Russian Culture Week.
Fr. Cuenin guides students, staff to Rome and vicinityMarch 2, 2012When I came to Brandeis, never did it cross my mind that my college years would include a tour of Rome and the Vatican. As a young Jew from Rochester, Minnesota, I was most grateful to be invited and join Catholic peers in exploring the “Eternal City” on the annual trip led by Father Walter Cuenin.
- Is the seafood you eat the product of slave labor?Feb. 21, 2012
A six-month investigation by E. Benjamin Skinner, a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, has uncovered disturbing links between the use of forced labor in New Zealand fisheries and the food that may wind up on plates of American consumers.
- Justice in Diverse SocietiesFeb. 17, 2012
President: India mission far exceeded expectationsFeb. 17, 2012Exchanges of scholars, significant donations and possibilities for broadening Study Abroad opportunities are among results of the trip, which also included meetings with alumni, friends of the university and potential future Brandeisians.
- Gov. Deval Patrick to deliver keynote speech at Global Trade SummitFeb. 14, 2012
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will be the keynote speaker at the Brandeis International Business School’s second annual Global Trade Summit. This one-day conference will be held on Tuesday, April 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom and is an opportunity for professionals seeking to understand and succeed in global markets. It is designed to help companies identify and take advantage of international business opportunities.
Gates Foundation awards grant to tackle malariaFeb. 13, 2012Can an innovative wallpaper-like liner help reduce the number of cases of malaria, and if so, will it be cost effective? Professor Donald S. Shepard wants to know, and he has gotten the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help. A grant, totaling nearly $500,000 over the next three years, will allow Shepard and collaborators to pursue their research.
Messinger urges students to act against injusticeFeb. 10, 2012American Jewish World Service CEO and one-time New York City mayoral candidate Ruth Messinger urged Brandeis students to be humble yet unrelenting in their pursuit of social justice around the world during her keynote address at the inaugural DEIS Impact festival Wednesday evening.
- Paths to compassionate action and serviceFeb. 8, 2012
For anyone determined to make the world a better place, there was no shortage of inspiration during Tuesday’s symposium honoring Professor Laurence R. Simon, founder of the graduate program in Sustainable International Development and other organizations.
Lawrence's India trip advances partnership Feb. 8, 2012Faculty and administrators of Brandeis University and India’s National Center for Biological Sciences have agreed to work toward creating a formal institutional partnership that could involve graduate students, undergraduates and post-docs.
- Brandeis-Israel Collaborative Research Initiative proposals sought Feb. 6, 2012
Brandeis University has recently received funding from Bronfman Philanthropies for the Brandeis-Israel Collaborative Research Initiative. This initiative will enable the university to provide a number of seed grants to support the initiation of collaborative research projects between Brandeis faculty and faculty at Israeli universities.
Lawrence addresses Indian university audienceFeb. 3, 2012At a speech to a full house at Jindal Global University, Brandeis' president says India and the United States have much to learn from one another.
Lawrence kicks off presidential mission to IndiaFeb. 1, 2012After arriving in India this week — his second international mission since becoming president of the university — Fred Lawrence devotes his first blog post to examining the opportunities for Brandeis in the close and expanding relationship between India and Israel, as major scientific and research communities and as vibrant democracies.
Simon, world-class relief worker, teacher, at milestone Jan. 27, 2012By any standard, the professor of international development is at the forefront of his field. He has created new academic and service programs, pioneered technology to bring the benefits of modern science to Third World countries and done relief work across broad swaths of Latin America, Africa and Asia.
- HBI looks at Israeli women's struggle with segregationJan. 25, 2012
An overflow crowd at HBI’s fourth annual Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights listened to BU School of Law Professor Pnina Lahav detail the wide range of denigrating restrictions to Israeli women that are currently being proposed in the name of religion. Guests also watched the New England premiere of filmmaker Anat Zuria’s documentary 'Black Bus,' which explores the rise of sex segregation in Orthodox life.
- Dean Lynch announces Heller Diversity Steering CommitteeJan. 24, 2012
- Institute for Russian Jewry to hold full-day seminar on Israeli cultureJan. 18, 2012
The Brandeis-Genesis Institute for Russian Jewry will hold a full-day seminar on Sunday, Feb. 5, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Temple Israel in Boston.
Spring courses on climate, rebels, laughing matters Jan. 16, 2012Sabine von Mering wants to have a conversation about climate change; one that goes beyond whether it's happening. So the German language and literature professor is teaching a course this spring, “European Perspectives on Climate Change,” that offers a European perspective on the topic, told through literature and film.
President's trip to expand Brandeis' India presenceJan. 13, 2012Professors and administrators will explore collaborations with Indian universities, meet with alumni and prospective students and present public programs focusing on some of Brandeis' core values and priorities.
Arab Spring overshadowing Israeli-Palestinian conflictDec. 19, 2011Khalil Shikaki, the world’s foremost pollster interpreter of Palestinian public opinion and a senior fellow of Brandeis’ Crown Center for Middle East Research, says that while the world's attention is elsewhere, some major changes are afoot.
Changing the world, one children's book at a timeDec. 13, 2011The lessons Professor Jane Hale teaches her students go far beyond the subjects of French and comparative literature. Hale, who has worked at Brandeis since 1985, wants her students to learn larger life lessons. Showing them the value in their own story is a good start, she says.
- Trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld to receive Builders of Jerusalem AwardDec. 6, 2011
Trustee Sylvia Hassenfeld will be awarded the Jerusalem Foundation’s Builders of Jerusalem Award at a gala to be held at the Sotheby’s auction house on Dec. 8.
Symposium addresses role of theater in justiceDec. 2, 2011The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life held a two-day symposium, “Just Performance: Enacting Justice in the Wake of Violence,” to explore how societies address legacies of violence. It featured classes, workshops, panel discussions.
- Spy and ambassador who figured in Iraq war dramas to speak WednesdayNov. 29, 2011
Valerie Plame Wilson, a former clandestine CIA operative, and her husband, Joseph C. Wilson, a former ambassador, will be forever linked to one of the most spectacular controversies surrounding the Bush Administration's decision to invade Iraq in 2003. The Wilsons will speak and take questions at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.
Feldman to discuss impact of Arab Spring on IsraelNov. 28, 2011A record number of Brandeisians from around the world are expected to participate in an online, interactive lecture that will explore the impact of the Arab Spring on Israel. Nearly 400 members of the off-campus community have already preregistered. It will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 30. Following the lecture, viewers can ask questions in real time via live chat.
Polonsky to receive Kulczycki Prize for work in Polish studiesNov. 18, 2011Antony Polonsky, the Albert Abramson Professor of Holocaust Studies, will receive the 2011 inaugural Kulczycki Prize for his three-volume monograph, “The Jews in Poland and Russia (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization),” a comprehensive political, social, economic, and religious survey of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe from 1350 to the present.
Terror effects, prevention subjects of guest speakersNov. 17, 2011'When you spend a whole semester talking about al-Qaida and risk, you can get paranoid,' says Jytte Klausen, the Lawrence A. Wien Professor of International Cooperation, who originated and teaches 'The Global War on Terror.' 'The speakers will balance that.'
International Journal projects student voiceNov. 17, 2011Determined to bring global politics to the forefront of student conversation, Karia Sekumbo ’14 implemented his passion through media. His brainchild, Brandeis International Journal, will distribute its second issue Nov. 18.
Students to celebrate diverse cultures SaturdayNov. 17, 2011Brandeis students looking for a taste of culture in Haiti, Africa and South Asia won’t need to travel far on Saturday afternoon. Rather than crossing an ocean, they can walk to upper campus for three events celebrating international culture through art, music, food, fashion and education.
Patrick kicks off U.S.-Israeli summit at BrandeisNov. 15, 2011The Brandeis International Business School hosted the New England-Israel Business Council’s 2011 Data Storage & Security Summit Monday, which brought together representatives in government, business and industry from both Israel and the greater New England region.
- Palestine Awareness Week to be observed with three talksNov. 15, 2011
The organization Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine has planned three events for Palestine Awareness Week. The final talk, by activist and MIT linguist Noam Chomsky, is for Brandeis students only, and tickets are required.
'Lunch for Lenana' to raise funds for Kenyan schoolNov. 14, 2011The Brandeis Asian American Student Association is helping to launch 'Lunch for Lenana.' The campaign asks students to donate lunch money to raise building funds for a secondary school in impoverished Kenya. Students will be collecting donations in Usdan from noon to 2 p.m. on Nov. 14 to 18.
Patrick to open Data Storage Summit at Brandeis Nov. 10, 2011The New England-Israel Business Council’s 2011 Data Storage and Security Summit will take place at Brandeis on Monday, November 14. Industry offers the potential for strengthening collaboration between Israel and the United States.
Diwali festival: Fashion, dance, food and — above all — lightNov. 4, 2011The International Business School's World Court was transformed into a festive, carnivalesque space with fairy lights hung from the large windows and small, clay lamps holding candles lining the walls and contemporary Bollywood music echoing through the room.
- Dean Magid to accompany Gov. Patrick to Brazil Nov. 2, 2011
The mission will include participants from academia, the arts, business and government. It is intended to solidify the strong bonds Massachusetts has with Brazil and to provide new opportunities for collaboration on trade, investment and job growth. It also will lay a foundation for Brandeis' Second Annual Global Trade Summit.
- Soli Sorabjee lecture to address decriminalizing homosexuality in IndiaNov. 1, 2011
Jyoti Puri, an associate professor of sociology and women’s studies at Simmons College will be speaking about the possibilities of decriminalizing homosexuality in India on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.
- Tibetan monk to speak of compassion and abuseOct. 24, 2011
Palden Gyatso spent 33 years in Chinese prison and labor camps, where he was extensively tortured. Since his release in 1993, he has traveled the world speaking of his experience and philosophy. He will be in Rapaporte treasure Hall Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m.
- Two events to address crisis over global debtOct. 24, 2011
This week, Brandeis will host two events to address the global debt crisis. What’s really at stake? The International and Global Studies Program and the Center for German and European Studies will host two speakers who will examine the issues and recent developments.
Latin Club members talk with president of HondurasOct. 19, 2011Porfirio Lobo shared with International Business School students his insights on the global economy and discussed his efforts to reconcile his country's political factions and restore constitutional order and democracy.
- Global Affairs Table to consider Palestinian UN applicationOct. 18, 2011
Peacebuilding getting a boost on campus and around the worldOct. 17, 2011After six years studying artists' experiences with healing and reconciliation, the Peacebuilding and the Arts Program and Brandeis' partnership with Theatre Without Borders are making available people, printed materials, a feature-length documentary film and other tools.
Doctor-activist takes on Nicaraguan sex traffickingOct. 14, 2011Once a tiny fishing village, Dr. Rosa Elena Bello's hometown has become a resort for rich tourists and retirees. The vast inequality between the new populations and the longtime residents has led many local families to try to use their daughters as bridges to the monied world.
Babi Yar symposium looks at facts, memories, depictionsOct. 3, 2011Following the 1941 mass execution by Nazis at Babi Yar, a ravine on the outskirts of Kiev, individuals poured out their responses in the form of historical documentation, poetry, prose, art, music, and film. A symposium on Oct. 5 will examine those responses and recollections.
- Crown Center Brief probes nature of Egyptian revoltSept. 21, 2011
Hosni Mubarak is no longer a pharaoh, but the yearning among Egyptians for strong leadership that ensures stability is unmistakable, writes senior fellow Abdel Monem Said Aly. Latest polls suggest a future Egypt that is neither fully democratic nor fully theocratic.
Brandeis and IDC radio stations to try exchangeSept. 19, 2011In a first step toward increasing contacts between the campuses, Presidents Lawrence and Reichman will be interviewed by students from both schools. Students may listen live at noon Wednesday, or sit in on the program in the Multipurpose Room of Shapiro Campus Center.
Brandeis in The Hague explores major legal issuesSept. 16, 2011In its second summer, the program brought students to the heart of the evolving international court system, and to private briefings with distinguished international jurists. A semester program is scheduled for Spring 2012.
Celebrating a grand life in Polish and Jewish studySept. 16, 2011Antony Polonsky's road to the forefront of research in study of Polish and eastern European Jewry had many twists and turns. Now, colleagues, students and campus organizations will celebrate publication of his magnum opus.
Community unites to recall victims of 9/11 terrorSept. 12, 2011Students remember what it was like to be a fourth-grader who knew something was terribly wrong but couldn't understand what. President Lawrence speaks of his generations loss of innocence and security. Imam Eid called for unity to defeat terrorism.
- Wander, a magazine of student experiences abroad, makes its debut at the Study Abroad FairSept. 11, 2011
First edition is a collection of essays, poetry, photography and paintings created by students recently returned from locales as distant and different as Cameroon, China and Copenhagen. The magazine was started with support from the Office of Study Abroad and the Office of Global Affairs.
- Time to start thinking about study and work abroadSept. 11, 2011
Representatives of the Brandeis Study Abroad Office and 45 cooperating programs will disseminate information and answer students' questions at a fair to be held Thursday, Sept.15, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Levin Ballroom. Also that day, the new student magazine Wander will make its debut.
- Excerpt: Conclusion of 'Citizenship, Faith & Feminism'Sept. 11, 2011
Author sees religious women reclaiming rightsSept. 11, 2011Political scientist and author of "Citizenship, Faith & Feminism," Jan Feldman examines how women use their rights as citizens to reclaim their religious rights. Feldman will read from her book and participate in a discussion at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at 7 p.m., Sept. 15.
Business school students immersed in TurkeySept. 9, 2011International Business School MA and MBA candidates combined classroom knowledge with in-country experience, connecting with prominent business leaders and gaining an in-depth look at Turkey’s economy through the new Hassenfeld Fellow Overseas Immersion Program.
A passionate call for civility in Mideast and on campusSept. 8, 2011Two leading analysts of the Middle East peace process told a standing room only crowd in Sherman Function Hall Wednesday night that people who are concerned about upcoming UN talks on Palestinian statehood should also be worrying about "the day after."
Analysts to assess potential impact of UN Palestine voteSept. 5, 2011With Palestinian representatives calling for international recognition of a Palestinian state, Brandeis will host two leading Middle East policy analysts in the program, “UN Recognition of Palestinian Statehood: A New Dawn or Another Debacle?” on Sept. 7 at 5 p.m.
- Discussion, memorial, meal will mark 9/11 anniversarySept. 5, 2011
This defining moment in US history has made us all more anxious and frightened than we were, says Professor Kanan Makiya, one of the panelists. It is a time to focus on building a better world, says Father Walter Cuenin, coordinator of the Interfaith Chaplaincy.
Forum to help students connect classroom, careersSept. 2, 2011From the United Nations and the Anti-Defamation League, to World Vision Ghana and Planned Parenthood, more than 30 alumni and representatives from organizations dedicated to social justice will convene at Brandeis for the inaugural SoJust Leadership Forum: Journeys in Social Justice, Beyond Brandeis on Sept. 6.
Sorensen Fellows grapple with reality in the fieldSept. 1, 2011From helping victims of sexual abuse in Thailand to bringing art projects to children in Ghana to promoting nonviolent conflict resolution in Costa Rica to helping people with special needs enjoy summer camp in Texas – it was a typical summer for the Sorensen Fellows.
'Four Seasons' sort of guy goes bicycling in the bush in MaliAug. 24, 2011Catholic Chaplain Walter Cuenin has been to the bush north of Bamako and the countryside above Port au Prince, Haiti, keeping in touch with Brandeis students and alumni and the projects they pursue in the spirit of giving back and promoting social justice.
South Sudan native enjoys revolutionary internshipAug. 23, 2011Chiengkuach Majok MA '12 returned home just in time to see his native land become a nation -- and to participate in the figuration of the new country's financial information systems. He's done everything from investigating currency fluctuations to encouraging personal banking.
Indian officials get Brandeis take on development policyJuly 14, 2011Scholars from TERI University of New Delhi studied for four weeks with professors in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and deepened the Indian school's involvement in the Brandeis-India Initiative being developed by the Office of Global Affairs.
Israel Studies Fellows learn, create, disseminateJuly 1, 2011The Summer Institute for Israel Studies, now in its eighth year, draws scholars from around the globe who come to learn and create Israel Studies programs to bring back to their own universities. Fellows spend two weeks on campus and one week in Israel where they will meet with both Israeli officials and the Palestinian National Authority. Opportunities to learn opposing viewpoints is a priority.
Lawrence, Justice Barak discuss free speech issuesJune 21, 2011In a stop on President Fred Lawrence's two-week trip to Israel, he and former Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak traded viewpoints on free speech in a public forum at Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Jerusalem.
Amb. Kurtzer calls US Mideast diplomacy weakJune 14, 2011Daniel Kurtzer, long a senior figure in implementing American policy in the Middle East, tells AIS conferees 'if you are a big power, you've got to act like a big power, and we don't.' Moshe Halbertal, in keynote on 'Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State,' says government must not use its coercive powers to enforce religious law or custom.
President and faculty traveling to Israel seeking to enhance historic tiesJune 12, 2011Lawrence and a small group of senior faculty and administrators will visit leading universities and research centers in an effort to stimulate collaborations and to raise the profile of Brandeis with Israelis interested in studying in the US.
Four recent graduates receive Fulbright grantsJune 7, 2011You get a plane ticket and living expenses for a year. Your side of the deal is to continue researching what you’re passionate about. Sound like you’ve hit the jackpot? For four Brandeis Fulbright Grant winners, the answer is “yes.”
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