Past Events 2014-2016

 Public screening of a documentary entitled " First Language - The Race to Save Cherokee " (2014; 57 minutes). The documentary is part of our Invited Speakers’ Colloquium series. It will be shown on  Thursday, March 26, at 7pm in PA101 .  "First Language": The Cherokee language has been used in North America for approximately 3 thousand years, and is still used by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the mountains of North Carolina. However, the language is now in jeopardy, with the last generation to learn the language in the home now reaching middle age and the number of speakers dwindling to less than 300. "First Language" is a documentary about the history of the Cherokee language and the current efforts to revitalize it. 
 

FAU Peace Studies Program and the FAU  Peace, Justice, and Human Rights Initiative present the international conference: Colonizing and De/Re-Colonizing Nations: A Research Inquiry into Communist Practices 25 Years Later on the Boca Raton campus.   Lectures open to the public include: 

"Post-Colonialism as a Discursive  and Political Issue: The Case of Poland,"  12-1 pm, Thurs, March 12, Live Oak Pavilion, Student Union Complex. Lecture by  Cezar Ornatowski, Ph.D., Professor, San Diego State University 

"Belated Modernity: The Colonization  of the Future in Post-Communist Culture,"  12-1 pm, Fri, March 13, Senate Chambers, Student Union Building. Lecture by Bogdan Stefanescu, Ph.D., Professor, University of Bucharest, Romania

These Lectures are free an open to the public. Generously sponsored by the Chastain-Johnston Fund and Lynn, Wold, Schmidt Peace Studies Endowment.  For additional information, email nmarin@fau.edu or rshaykhu@fau.edu .

 PEACE STUDIES LECTURE SERIES: " The North Caucasus and the Changing Nature of the Chechen Republic, 1980s-1990s,"  Thurs, February 26, 11 am-12:20 pm,  Engineering East (EE 106).  Lecture by Mark Kramer, Ph.D.,  Professor at Harvard University  and Program Director of Harvard’s Cold War Studies.

"The Dissolution of  Yugoslavia and its International Response:  A 20-Year Retrospective on the Violent Breakup of a Country,"  Thurs, February 26, 12:30-1:50 pm,  Sanson Life Sciences Bldg. (SC 180) . Lecture by Nadia Boyadjieva, Ph.D.,  Professor of International Law & International  Relations at the University of Plovdiv and Visiting Senior Scholar for Policy, Strategy,  and International Relations, Harvard University. Both lectures g enerously funded by the Lynn, Wold, Schmidt Peace Studies Endowment.  These events are free and open to the public.   More information at rshaykhu@fau.edu  or   561-297-3775.

Claude AnShin Thomas,Vietnam War veteran, Buddhist Monk, International Speaker, Teacher, Writer, and Non-Violent Advocate presents:

 Awakening - A Dialogue with a Zen Monk  
Wed | Feb 25 | 7-9 pm,  FAU Boca Raton, PA 101

Tuesday, May 13, 7 pm
"The Practice" Lecture, Q&A and Book Signing with Barb Schmidt
Auditorium, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, FAU Boca RatonLecture, Q&A, and book signing with featured author Barb Schmidt, founder of Peaceful Mind, Peaceful Life, discussing her new book. More info at 561-297-2337. Free event. Registration required at fauf.fau.edu/ThePractice

Constitution Day Events 

Wednesday, Sept.16 - Thursday, Sept. 17.

In observance of Constitution Day and to celebrate the principles enshrined in America’s founding document, the Jack Miller Forum at FAU hosts an annual series of events during the week of September 17th.  Participants include FAU faculty and students, as well as members of the general public.  Events include guest lectures, teach-ins, an undergraduate essay contest and discussion sessions. Free and open to the public. More info here. 

  The Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at FAU announces their schedule of events for 2014-15.  View schedule here…

U.N. International Day of Peace

 The Tragedy of Syrian Refugees: The Case of Lebanon

 Thursday, October 15, 7pm, Kaye Hall 102, FAU Boca Raton

The Political Science Department, in conjunction with The Peace, Justice, and Human Rights Program, and Hillel, would like to invite to a special talk on Syrian Refugees. Based on primary sources, interviews and field research trip to Lebanon’s Syrian refugee camps especially along the Lebanon-Syria border, this talk attempts to shed light on the overall conditions and excruciating challenges faced by Syrian refugees.  View flyer here. 

From Goethe To Grass And Beyond: Responsibilities Of The Writer In The Postwar Period

Thursday, Oct. 22, 12 pm, House Chamber, FAU Student Center, FAU Boca Raton

Dr. Howard R. Wolf’s lecture will address the question of whether Gunter Grass had a moral-political responsibility to reveal his youthful service in the Waffen-SS; or would that have compromised the effectiveness of his role as a “reform” writer in Post-War Germany? In so doing he will draw upon Dr. Wolf’s personal reflections as a published author himself to address the role of the post war writer and their responsibilities to society. View flyer here.

Movie, Bites, & Discussion: Girl rising

Sunday, Oct. 25, 3:30-6:30 pm, Cosa Duci Restaurant, 141 NW 20th Street B-21, Boca Raton FL, 33431

Educating girls can break cycles of poverty in just one generation, yet millions of girls aren’t in school. Girl Rising uses storytelling to inspire action that gets girls into classrooms worldwide. Cost: $30.00. RSVP by Thursday, Oct. 22 to gvorsas@fau.edu or 561-297-2337. All proceeds benefit FAU’s Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. For more information about the FAU Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, visit www.fau.edu/wgss or call 561/297-3865. View flyer here. 

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 4 pm, University Theatre, FAU Boca Raton

Featuring Allida M. Black with “Eleanor Roosevelt and the Battle for Human Rights: 1945 to the Present.” A book signing will follow the event. Tickets $20; Groups of 20 or more: $15; Faculty, staff and alumni: $10; FAU students with current ID $5. 800-564-9539 or visit ww.fauevents.com. More information here. 

Thursday & Friday, Nov. 5-6, 4 pm, Wimberly Library

On Thursday night there will be a lecture by Ralph V. Turner, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida. On Friday night there will be a Panel discussion with FAU’s British historians Boyd Breslow, Ben Lowe and Douglas Kanter. Free event. For more information, visit www.fau.edu/history. 

“Women in Presidential Cabinets: Power Players or Abundant Tokens?”

Monday, Nov. 16, 2:30-4:00 pm, Senate Chamber, FAU Boca Raton 

Are the women appointed to presidential cabinets in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and the United States different from the men in terms of their backgrounds, work experience, and interest group links?  Taking into account those differences in background and experience are women treated equally well and as successful as men once they enter the cabinet? Dr. Maria C. Escobar-Lemmon, Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University, studies the ways democratic institutions affect how citizens are represented by and interact with government, with a regional focus on Latin America and special emphasis on the representation of women. Her work has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Electoral Studies, Journal of Policy Studies, Political Research Quarterly, and Publius: the Journal of Federalism. Her research combines statistical techniques for studying Latin America as a whole with in-depth field research in specific countries. She has done field research in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela, collecting data in government archives (including legislative records), and conducting interviews with members of congresses, officials in the executive branch, and other important actors. View flyer here. 

“The Playwright’s Forum: An Evening of Political Theatre with Israel Horovitz”

Wednesday, November 18 at 7:30pm, Parliament Hall, FAU Boca Raton

Theatre Lab is presenting a reading of three of Israel Horovitz’s short plays followed by a post-show discussion with the playwright. $35 General Admission; $10 for Students with ID. Call 561 297 4784 or email theatrelab@fau.edu.

PJHR FACULTY FELLOWS COLLOQUIUM: Islam, Women's Human Rights, And U.S. Foreign Policy

Thursday, Nov. 19, 1 pm, AH 205, FAU Boca Raton

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, a broad array of state and non-state actors have contributed to a broad American public understanding that Muslims oppress women. In the aftermath of the civil rights, human rights, and Second Wave feminist movements in the U.S., the pervasiveness of such views and lobbying efforts by women’s human rights activists pushed U.S. policymakers to treat women’s human rights as a legitimate policy concern. Dr. Kelly Shannon will argue that concern for women’s rights by the 1990s often drove U.S. policy towards the Islamic world by examining the Clinton Administration’s decision not to recognize the Taliban regime in 1996-1998. This policy decision set the precedent for post-9/11 U.S. policies that aimed to promote women’s human rights in the Islamic world. Her project provides a new lens through which to understand the history of U.S. foreign policy. View flyer. 

Transforming the Addictive Habits of the Mind

Saturday, Dec. 5, 10am-12:30pm. Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6-8:30pm. Senate Chambers, FAU Boca Raton. 

Learn how to let go of what does not serve you and to create space for your best self to emerge. The workshops will offer guidance on learning how to let go of what does not serve you, and to creating space for your “best self to emerge,” according to Schmidt.Schmidt is the founder of Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life and a teacher of practical mindfulness tools called “The Practice.” She has been conducting workshops on peaceful, mindful living for 10 years. For more information about “The Practice,” click here. The Peaceful Mind/Peaceful Life Series is presented by FAU’s Peace, Justice and Human Rights Initiative, in partnership with the Schmidt Family Foundation. $30 each workshop. For more information, call 561-297-2337 or click here. 

Does Fascism Have a Future in Europe? Reflections on the New Authoritarian Wave. 

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, 6:15-7:45 pm, College of Business 120, FAU Boca Raton

Public Lectures by Vladimir Tismaneanu and Marius Stan. A new authoritarian wave has been sweeping across Europe, East and West. Walls have been erected in striking contrast to the spirit and legacies of 1989. Russian authoritarianism has made a spectacularly disturbing comeback. Hungary is engaged in full de-democratization. Poland's conservative right champions illiberal policies. In Romania, laws are proposed to punish "social defamation." For more information, contact Renat Shaykhutdinov at rshaykhu@fau.edu. 

MOVIE: WATCHERS OF THE SKY

Wednesday, Jan 20, 5pm, FAU Living Room Theaters, FAU Boca Raton

This movie is about Raphael Lemkin, the man who created the word “genocide,” and believed the law could protect the world from mass killings. The movie takes you on a journey from Nuremberg to The Hague, from Bosnia to Darfur, from criminality to justice, and from apathy to action. For tickets and more information, visit fau.livingroomtheaters.com. 

Performance by Heather Coltman and the Amernet String Quartet

Friday, January 22, 7 pm, University Theatre, FAU Boca Raton

Heather Coltman and the Amernet String Quartet: Rare performances of music by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, who was a Polish-Soviet Jewish composer and colleague of Shostakovich. This performance features his piano quintet among other works. Tickets $20 at www.fauevents.com or 800-564-9539. View flyer here. 

Voices for Human Rights: An awareness program on crimes against humanity and oppression of Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria.

Sunday, Jan. 24, 6:30pm, Temple Beth El, 2815 N. Flagler Dr., West Palm Beach, FL

Featuring Steve Maman, the founder of the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq (CYCI), whose rescue of more than 120 Christian and Yazidi girls forced into slavery by ISIS has earned him international recognition. The program will also feature David Schenker, the director of the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Dr. Robert Rabil, a Professor in the Department of Political Science at FAU. To register visit, www.jewishpalmbeach.org/humanrights by Monday, January 18. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Linda Melvin at lmedvin@fau.edu. View flyer here. 

Thursday, Jan. 28, 7:00pm, Majestic Palm Room (Student Union), FAU Boca Raton

Tom Sleigh's many books include Station Zed; Army Cats, winner of the John Updike Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (AAAL); and Space Walk, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Award. Far Side of the Earth won an Academy Award from the AAAL, The Dreamhouse was a finalist for the LA Times Book Award, and The Chain was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Prize. His work appears in The New Yorker, Poetry, as well as The Best of the Best American Poetry, The Best American Travel Writing, and The Pushcart Anthology. He's received the PSA's Shelley Prize, and awards from the American Academy in Berlin, Civitella Ranieri, the Lila Wallace Fund, the Guggenheim, two NEAs, among others. He teaches at Hunter College and works as a journalist in the Middle East and Africa. Free event. More info at www.fau.edu/english/. 

Thursday, Jan. 28 – Friday, Jan. 29, FAU Boca Raton

Conference presented by FAU’s Center for Body, Mind and Culture. This conference will examine the wide range of somatic conditions that require care and the variety of somatic methods of providing such care, while exploring how these conditions and methods are represented in cultural theory, health and wellness studies, literature, and the arts. Free event. More info at www.fau.edu/bodymindculture. 

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2:00pm, Theatre Lab, FAU Boca Raton

View flyer.

Lecture by Dr. Kelly Oliver, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. The first images of Earth from space taken by the Apollo missions met with contradictory responses that are telling in relation to the problems of globalism and the environmental movement today.  In Earth Ethics, Kelly Oliver shows how the “autoimmune” response to seeing the Earth from space signals the need to rethink our bond to the Earth, our status as earthlings, and our relationships with Earth’s co-inhabitants, in a new Earth Ethics. For more information, contact Lauren Guilmette at lguilmette@fau.edu. 

Feb. 9, 7:00 – 8:30pm., FAU Live Oak Pavilion, FAU Boca Raton

View flyer.

Based on the documentation taken by photojournalists, this event will raise awareness about genocide and crimes against humanity. For more information, email Linda Medvin, lmedvin@fau.edu or call 561-297-2929. 

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 4:00-5:30pm, Live Oak Pavilion, FAU Boca Raton

Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Conference featuring keynote speaker Zainab Bangura, special envoy to the UN Secretary General for Sexual Violence in Conflict. She will give a talk on “Sexual violence in conflict: The Moral Challenges of Our Time.” Free event. More info at www.fau.edu/wgss or contact Dr. Josephine Beoku-Betts at beokubet@fau.edu. 

Wednesday, Mar. 2, 4:00 pm, PA 101, FAU Boca Raton

Dr. Karera explores the treatment of women in Rwanda during that country’s genocide against Tutsis. She unpacks assumptions about African, especially Tutsi women, showing that many concepts used by academics to “make sense” of rape as a genocidal tool are inadequate for understanding the case of Tutsi women during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. She argues that too often we have fallen prey to the use of reductive tropes imposed on Africa from the outside.  In turn, she contends that the extraordinary array of genocidal practices that were directed against Tutsi women took the precise form that they did because Tutsi women had, for some time prior to this tragic event, been presented as a very specific kind of threat to Rwanda's postcolonial social space. Genocidal rape in Rwanda requires attending to the lived experience of Tutsi women, before, during, and after the genocide. For more information, contact Dr. Lauren Guilmette at lguilmette@fau.edu.

Thursday, Mar. 3, 12:30 pm, CU 301, FAU Boca Raton

Dr. Susan Noyes Platt, art historian, art critic, and activist, analyzes social and political concerns in contemporary art, with a perspective shaped by her background as an art historian. The colloquium will begin with an overview of the 450 mile long “Confluence Project” on the Columbia River, the boundary between the states of Washington and Oregon. We will briefly compare it to the historic “earthworks,” of Robert Smithson, then emphasize the ways in which it demonstrates her evolving understanding of the philosophies of the contemporary Native American cultures along the Columbia River. For more information, contact Dr. Michael Horswell at horswell@fau.edu.

Friday, Mar. 4, 11:30 am, Student Union, FAU Boca Raton

Dr. Lamonda Horton Stallings, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland at College Park, is the keynote speaker. For more information, contact Dr. Josephine Beoku-Betts at beokubet@fau.edu.

Monday, Mar. 14, 5:30 pm, Engineering East Room 106, FAU Boca Raton

Lecture by Dr. David Milne, Senior Lecturer in the School of History, University of East Anglia. Free event sponsored by PJHR, Peace Studies, the Diplomacy Program, and the Department of History. For more information, contact Dr. Kelly Shannon at shannonk@fau.edu.

Tuesday, Mar. 22, 3:00 pm, Wimberly Library, FAU Boca Raton

Lecture by Heather Ann Thompson, Professor of African American Studies and History, Temple University. Free event. For more information contact Dr. Evan P. Bennett in the Department of History at (561) 297-0008 or ebennett@fau.edu.

Wednesday, March 30, 7:00p m, SR Burrow, FAU Jupiter

Ethics bowl is an event where undergraduates break into teams and debate on a variety of ethical controversies. Students are scored on the substance and delivery of their arguments as well as on their team participation, use of ethical perspectives and principles, thoroughness of responses to questions, and the level of respect displayed towards judges and opposing teams. For more information contact Dr. Mark Tunick at tunick@fau.edu.

Thursday, Mar. 31, 6:30-8:00 pm, Location TBD, FAU Boca Raton

 In recent years issues of speech and conduct have taken center stage on America’s college and university campuses. From student activism to debate over “trigger words” to the range of acceptable speech acts colleges everywhere are considering ways to balance academic freedom with institutional well-being and the rights of all members of a campus community. In this special forum a panel of experts from wide-ranging fields discusses the state of academic free speech today and offer suggestions on how it should look tomorrow. For more information, contact Dr. Bill Trapani at wtrapan1@fau.edu.

Tuesday, April 5, 12:00-1:30 pm, CU 301, FAU Boca Raton

While the use of Gandhian Nonviolence by Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Struggle is well known, the longer-term foundation upon which this adaptation rested spread back to the turn of the 20th century and linked figures from four continents.  This lecture will look at several of these figures and links, all based on an ongoing book project. This talk will be led by Dr. Doug McGetchin. Please visit www.fau.edu/pjhr for more information.

Friday & Saturday, Apr. 8 & 9

Our annual conferences reflect our program’s interdisciplinarity, with specific annual themes that help to narrow the focus. This year’s theme is no different: Crossings & Intersections touches on hybridity, “osmosis,” cross-pollination, intersectionality, and intertextuality. This year’s key note speaker will be Dr. Mike Sell, Assistant Professor of English at Indiana University of PA. He has published on Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Vsevelod Meyerhold, film violence, performance art, the relationship of the avant-garde to transformative economic systems, and the relationship of interdisciplinary method and critical perspectives on gender, race, and place in avant-garde studies. More information here. 

Wednesday, Apr. 13, 5:00 pm, Student Union, House Chambers, FAU Boca Raton

This is a documentary directed by Daniel Anker and narrated by Gene Hackman. It examines the treatment of the Holocaust in Hollywood films over a period of sixty years and the impact of the films on public perception and thinking, and vice versa. For tickets and more information, visit fau.livingroomtheaters.com.

Thursday, April 14, 3:00-5:00 pm, Student Union, FAU Boca Raton

 In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness month, the Agora Project will facilitate a dialogue on campus sexual assault including awareness and safety tips, information on current consent and conduct expectations and ways we continue to ensure a safe atmosphere on university campuses. For more information, contact Dr. Bill Trapani at wtrapan1@fau.edu.

Tuesday, April 19, 7:00-8:30 pm, Live Oak Pavilion, FAU Boca Raton

This event closes the 2015-2016 academic year programming for the Agora Project with guest speakers reflecting on the importance of civility in today’s society. The event will also include updates on our inaugural “Kindness Campaign” as well as the recognition of faculty, staff and students who have made unique and valuable contributions to our campus community. For more information, contact Dr. Bill Trapani at wtrapan1@fau.edu. 

Barb Schmidt Workshop Series: Making Your Everyday Life Your Spiritual Life

Saturday, Apr. 23, 10:00am-12:30pm, Senate Chambers, FAU Boca Raton

Barb Schmidt has studied mindfulness and meditation for over 30 years with teachers around the world including the Dalai Lama XIV, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jetsuma Tenzin Palmo. In her 2016 workshop series, she will focus on mindful approaches to everyday living, offering practical tools for living a life of meaning, happiness and power in the midst of a world which often times is fast paced and chaotic.

Barb Schmidt Workshop Series: Making Your Everyday Life Your Spiritual Life

Monday, Apr. 26, 6:00-8:30pm, Senate Chambers, FAU Boca Raton

Barb Schmidt has studied mindfulness and meditation for over 30 years with teachers around the world including the Dalai Lama XIV, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jetsuma Tenzin Palmo. In her 2016 workshop series, she will focus on mindful approaches to everyday living, offering practical tools for living a life of meaning, happiness and power in the midst of a world which often times is fast paced and chaotic.

Saturday, Apr. 23, 10:00am-12:30pm, Senate Chambers, FAU Boca Raton

Barb Schmidt has studied mindfulness and meditation for over 30 years with teachers around the world including the Dalai Lama XIV, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jetsuma Tenzin Palmo. In her 2016 workshop series, she will focus on mindful approaches to everyday living, offering practical tools for living a life of meaning, happiness and power in the midst of a world which often times is fast paced and chaotic.

Barb Schmidt Workshop Series: Making Your Everyday Life Your Spiritual Life

Monday, Apr. 26, 6:00-8:30pm, Senate Chambers, FAU Boca Raton

Barb Schmidt has studied mindfulness and meditation for over 30 years with teachers around the world including the Dalai Lama XIV, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jetsuma Tenzin Palmo. In her 2016 workshop series, she will focus on mindful approaches to everyday living, offering practical tools for living a life of meaning, happiness and power in the midst of a world which often times is fast paced and chaotic.