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Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs

Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs RCGA

Writing in the Age of the “Ultra-Unreal”: A Talk by Chinese Novelist Ning Ken

Sponsored by:
Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, Greenberg-Starr Department of Chinese Language and Literature, and East Asian Studies
“Ultra-unreal” (chaohuan) is novelist, essayist, editor and blogger Ning Ken’s coinage to describe contemporary China, where the speed and scale of change is disorienting and the news full of stories of prosperity, progress, corruption, and inequity that defy imagination. Ning Ken is the author of five novels, including the “Heaven / Tibet,” of which Nobel Prize for Literature winner Mo Yan said, “Ning Ken combines keen political critique with penetrating analysis of human nature.” Ning Ken will talk about writing fiction about an “ultra-unreal” time and place.

Robert A. Jones '59 Conference Room

Free
Open to the Public

When and why should the United States use military force? Some lessons from American interventions since 1965

Sponsored by:
Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs and Political Science
“When and why should the United States use military force? Some lessons from American interventions since 1965” by Tom Timberman. His background and professional experience have focused on: (1) political and economic development in war zones, (2) national security , foreign policy and CIVMIL affairs (3) American private sector and local politics. He has considerable experience in conflict and post conflict environments. Educating, training and coaching/mentoring have been integral parts of Tom’s career for over 20 years.

Robert A. Jones '59 Conference Room

Open to the Public

Understanding Arab Comics: A View from Cairo

Sponsored by:
Studio Art, Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, Arabic, Film & Media Culture, Political Science, Center for Comparative Study of Race & Ethnicity, and Middle East Studies and North Africa Studies
In his lecture “Understanding Arab Comics: A View from Cairo” Jonathan Guyer will discuss the power of political cartoons in the current Arab world. Jonathan Guyer is a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs and contributing editor of the Cairo Review of Global Affairs. From 2012 to 2013, he was a Fulbright fellow researching political cartoons in Egypt. He previously served as a program associate for the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, and as assistant editor of Foreign Policy’s Middle East Channel.

Robert A. Jones '59 Conference Room

Open to the Public

Thesis in Dialogue featuring Tim Fraser '16 and Richard Samuels, Ford International Prof of Political Science, MIT

Sponsored by:
Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs
“Thesis in Dialogue” featuring Tim Fraser ’16, winner of the IGS Award for his thesis “Restarting the Sendai Reactor: Ecology of Japanese Civic Activism Post-Fukushima” and current Fulbright Scholar in Japan; and Richard Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of the Center for International Studies at MIT, who will present his research on “Disaster and Change in Japan.” Lunch is free for current Middlebury College students/faculty/staff; suggested $5 donation for others; RSVP by 2/21 to rcga@middlebury.edu.

Robert A. Jones '59 Conference Room

Free
Open to the Public

The Taming of Democracy Assistance

Sponsored by:
Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs
Few government programs that aid democracy abroad today seek to foster regime change. Technical programs that do not confront dictators are more common than the aid to dissidents and political parties that once dominated the field. What explains this ‘taming’ of democracy assistance? To understand this question, Sarah Bush has analyzed large datasets of democracy assistance projects and conducted field research in Tunisia and Jordan. She offers a new way of thinking about foreign influence and NGOs in world politics and in the Middle East.

Robert A. Jones '59 Conference Room

Open to the Public

The Myth of French Republican Universalism

Sponsored by:
Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, French and Francophone Studies, Political Science, Center for Comparative Study of Race & Ethnicity, and European Studies
Officially, France does not recognize ethnic, religious, or linguistic minorities. Yet, France is the European country with the most varied origins among its population. How can we explain the disjuncture between a political discourse that claims to be difference-blind and the reality of day-to-day life of French citizens? What is the future for minority citizens in France?

Robert A. Jones '59 Conference Room

Closed to the Public