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UCI Social Sciences E-News


Welcome to the Winter issue of the International Studies eNews


Upcoming Events

From Blood Diamonds to Mountain Gorillas
2/2/2010

Transient Cultural Influences on Infant Mortality: Fire-Horse Daughters in Japan
2/2/2010

RIGS and CGPACS Meet and Greet Reception
2/3/2010

Greening Aid? Understanding the Environmental Impact of Development Assistance
2/4/2010

U.S. Israel Relations from a Political and Personal Perspective
2/8/2010

A Discussion with Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Law Specialist Daniel Taub
2/10/2010

How Transnational Families, Networks & Remittances Shape Decisions to Stay or Go
2/23/2010

Former Harvard dean and author of Bowling Alone talks religion at UCI
2/26/2010

Getting Some Closure: Guantanamo & the Law & Politics of U.S. Detention Policy
3/4/2010

What's Wrong with the One-State Agenda?
3/11/2010





Past Events

International Studies Department Dialogue
9/22/2009

Translation=Misnomer
10/1/2009

Meet the Diplomats: Senior Diplomat, Azerbaijan and Principal, Tool Shed Group
10/6/2009

Invisible Children "Schools for Schools" Documentary Viewing
10/6/2009

Rwanda During the Genocide: A First-Person Account
10/9/2009

Appreciating Narratives: Discovering Dialogue in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
10/13/2009

Reza Aslan to discuss future of US Iran relations at public UCI talk
10/15/2009

Does Cheap Talk Matter: An Experimental Approach
10/22/2009

2009 Human Security Award Ceremony
10/22/2009

Walls in Our Heads--Political Divisions and Cultural Imaginaries Conference
10/22/2009-10/24/2009

Exchanging Words: A Bilingual Reading of Contemporary Korean Fiction
10/23/2009

Iran after the June 12, 2009 Elections
10/28/2009

A Simulated Negotiation for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement
10/28/2009

California Attorney General to discuss future of the state in public talk at UCI
10/29/2009

Gil Hoffman: JPost Journalist
11/2/2009

The Ghost Riders
11/4/2009 7:00:00 PM

International conference commemorates 20 year anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall
11/5/2009 - 11/8/2009

The Institutional Change after Socialism
11/5/2009

In Search of My Homeland
11/5/2009

Rainbow Festival & Conference 2009: Leading Women of the World
11/5/2009

Muslim Integration into EU Societies: Comparative Perspectives
11/6/2009

But Do Not Identify as Gay: The Lives of 'MSM'
11/12/2009

Heart for Hunger Food Drive
11/16/2009 - 11/20/2009

Lacan in the Americas: A Roundtable Discussion
11/18/2009

Careers in International Relations
11/19/2009

Stand Together for Human Rights: The Week of the African Child
12/2/2009

Fall 2009 Film Screenings
12/3/2009

Transnational Organizations and Security in Threatening Environments
12/4/2009

The Missing Link: Citizen Dialogue in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine
12/8/2009

Killing Neighbors: Webs of Violence in Rwanda
1/7/2010

Performances of Identity and Violence
1/8/2010

Mapping Terrorist Organizations: Relationships and Evolution over Time
1/14/2010

Donor-sponsored inaugural Easton Lecture: McDermott analyzes violence against wo
1/14/2010

Women in Iran: Continuities and Discontinuities of Context
1/15/2010

Rock and Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution
1/20/2010

Gendered Welfare Support? Exploring Public Attitudes Toward State Involvement
1/26/2010

The Meaning of Israel in Contemporary Jewish Life
1/27/2010

Film: DOUBLE TAKE
1/28/2010



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International studies @ UCI

2009 was a year of consolidation and growth for RIGS and International Studies at UCI. We saw our new curriculum go into effect, welcomed additional visiting scholars, hosted a full schedule of research seminars and International Studies Public Forums, and instituted a "Meet the Diplomat Series."

We were happy to provide support for two major conferences at UCI in tandem with our affiliated centers: "Critical Approaches to Humanitarianism in Africa," organized by Cecelia Lynch and the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies and "1989: Twenty Years After" organized by Nina Bandelj and Dorothy Solinger, as well as many other smaller events.

As 2010 gets underway, we have just awarded grants for two collaborative research projects: "Altruistic Generosity: An International Study of its Origins and Political Importance" by Kristin Monroe (political science), David Easton (political science) and Mahtab Jafari (pharmacology) and "Global City Formation in China" by David Smith (sociology) and Jeffrey Wasserstrom (history).

Finally, our team has expanded. Graduate student assistants Heidi Haddad, Mark Berlin and Amy Grubb and undergraduate interns Evonne Liew, Nancy Ruiz and Sasha Sabherwal are now working with our program manager, Mike Roesler. We look forward to a productive year with our 809 undergraduate majors, 50 affiliated graduate students and more than 150 interested faculty members. Read on for more on their research and accomplishments during 2009.





News from affiliated research centers and institutes

RIGS acts as a hub for international and global issues at UCI and as such cooperates with 17 affiliated centers whose work touches on global concerns. Highlights from these centers include:

The Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies (CGPACS) established the blog Critical Investigations of Humanitarianism in Africa, which contains recent posts on helping women in Africa, toxic wastes, piracy off the coast of Somalia, and the politics of donor requirements, among others. CGPACS' annual Margolis lecture this year will feature Ambassador Jack Matlock. See more at www.cgpacs.uci.edu.

The Center for Unconventional Security gave its annual Human Security Award to Mark Johnson and Whitney Burditt, the Founders of Playing for Change. It also released Global Environmental Change and Human Security, the second edited volume in its series on Human Security.

The Center for Asian Studies hosted several lectures including Professor Chen Mingrou, (Providence University, Taiwan) and for its annual Wan-Lin Kiang Lecture, Distinguished Professor Carl Riskin (Queens College, City University of New York). It also collaborated with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in inviting Professor Shelley Rigger (Davidson College) and Mr. Alan Romberg (U.S. State Department) for a panel on Recent Taiwan Politics and Cross-Strait Relations.





Human rights best practices

Political scientist Alison Brysk examines international human rights success stories in new book, Global Good Samaritans

President Obama's signing of executive orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and limit interrogation techniques in U.S. facilities worldwide is a big step forward for what has been a lagging overall national policy on international human rights, says Alison Brysk. A UCI political science professor who specializes in human rights research, she is the author of Global Good Samaritans, a new book in which she provides a comparative look at human rights foreign policy best practices abroad.

Read On...



New book by Sandholtz examines patterns in development of international law

Case studies include international rules that have outlawed piracy, terrorism, slavery and genocide

Recent episodes in which modern pirates have seized ships on the high seas have caused the international community to reexamine options for enforcing centuries-old laws that prohibit piracy. In his new book, International Norms and Cycles of Change, UCI political scientist Wayne Sandholtz and co-author Kendall Stiles examine how such rules against piracy and other international norms from the 1500s to the present emerge and change over time.

Read On...



Fox talks democracy, Mexico

Former Mexican president discusses the political future of Latin America amid drug wars and economic crises

"Democracy is not for granted in Latin America," former Mexican President Vicente Fox told a capacity crowd Wednesday, April 8, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. "It has to be nourished, defended and promoted."

Delivering the Peltason Lecture on Democracy, he cited the global financial crisis and the rise of authoritarian leaders as the most serious threats to economic development and human rights in Latin America.

Read On...



Study argues for transparency and standards in private security industry

Findings appear in May issue of American Interest  
Amidst news of U.S. troop shifts from Iraq to Afghanistan, little has been said about the fate of the large number of private security contractors still in country. The lack of news appears to be par for the course, says Deborah Avant, UCI international studies and political science professor, who in a recent study found that for every one New York Times story that mentions private security forces, there are 47 that mention U.S. soldiers or troops.

"Just because we don't hear about them doesn't mean they aren't there," she says, adding that the number of contractors performing duties once provided by the U.S. military is greater than the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq. "Private contractors from a global security industry play a significant role in Afghanistan and Iraq carrying out U.S. policy. Most are not U.S. citizens and some carry guns."

Read On...



Solingen is named a UCI Chancellor's Professor

Distinction recognizes her scholarly contributions in the areas of international politics, economics and security

Etel Solingen, political science professor, has been named a UCI Chancellor's Professor. Granted for a five-year renewable term, the title recognizes scholars who demonstrate unusual academic merit and exceptional achievement.

Read On...



UCI INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN THE NEWS

Return of jobless strains China

Xe returns to training roots after 'implosion in the swamp'

Anti-illegal immigrant groups launch Mexico tourism boycott

We're not clean

When non- U.S. citizens vote

Keep in mind needs of older immigrants

Struggling to rise in suburbs where failing means fitting in

Debate over illegal immigration is still raging

Obama pushes rights with Chinese students

Struggles of the second generation

Most young Latinos U.S.-born, feel labeled as immigrants, study finds

Sociologist David Meyer tells CNN why protests matter

Marta Tienda, Princeton sociologist, incorporates her past in effort to aid immi


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