School News AGS

On December 15th, AGS held an informal Certificate Award Ceremony to mark the end of the fall semester for the Arcadia study abroad program at AGS. This was a way to recognize and celebrate all that the students enrolled in this program have learned and accomplished during their 15 weeks in Paris. As part of the curriculum in French language and French/European culture, history and politics, they had the opportunity to travel to Brussels where they visited the European Parliament, and take field trips around Paris, including a tour of the UNESCO headquarters. During their stay, some of the students also did side trips to Barcelona as well as to Normandy to see D-Day beaches.

"You can’t beat learning about European politics in Europe with its invaluable advantage of local perspective. If one is serious about such studies, the diverse and highly knowledgeable staff at AGS is the perfect mean through which your horizons will be broadened" says Cameron Saunders, from Sarah Lawrence College (USA), who attended both the Arcadia semester and summer programs at AGS.

Certificate Award Ceremony

Pictures of the Brussels trip (October 6-7, 2011)

AGS recently launched a series of monthly talks and discussions about current issues of international affairs, entitled "Issue Roundups". They are one-hour sessions consisting of a review of the chosen topic by an AGS professor with specific expertise, followed by a Q&A and informal debate. Issue Roundups are open to all AGS students, alumni and faculty. 

The inaugural session in November focused on the regime change in Tunisia following the fall of Ben Ali and the October legislative elections. Also related to the Arab Spring revolution, the December session addressed the regime change and legislative elections in Egypt. These first two sessions were conducted by Professor Mariam Habibi, who heads the Middle East graduate concentration at AGS.

"The AGS Issue Roundups take the debate beyond reports and articles. They give an intriguing personal insight to an IR topic and pose next steps and challenges about the subject." says Ryan Godfrey, AGS Class of 2012, a student in the dual degree program in International Peace and Conflict Resolution/International Relations and Diplomacy with Arcadia University.

The next issue roundup will take place in January.

On November 25th, AGS hosted a presentation and debate on the theme: “Are Hedge Funds Evil: A View from the Inside”. This was part of AGS’s “Wine and Cheese Evenings”, which gather AGS students, alumni and faculty as well as outside guests and specialists in an informal setting around a chosen issue of international affairs.

Presenting the evening’s topic and animating the discussion was James Vernon, one of the founders of a hedge fund that ranks among the world’s largest. He gave an insider’s view and explained how, contrary to the common perception, hedge funds may actually contribute to the world’s global economic development. “It was interesting to get more insight into a subject that does not directly fall within the discipline of international relations but is definitely relevant in order to better understand the global economic landscape”, says AGS alumna and study abroad coordinator Jennifer Wright, class of 2009.

More photos:

On November 17th, AGS students, alumni and staff were invited by UNESCO to the screening of HBO documentary "Sergio", about UN's mediation and conflict resolution specialist Sergio Vieira de Mello, who worked for the United Nations for 34 years until he died in the bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq in 2003 ("Canal Hotel Bombing"). This event was hosted at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris by the Permanent Delegates of the United States and Brazil to UNESCO on the occasion of the World Philosophy Day 2011.

The screening was preceded by a roundtable discussion on "Sergio Vieira de Mello: A Philosopher's Fight to Change the World", with the film director Greg Barker, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Opera Singer Barbara Hendricks, philosopher and writer Robert Misrahi, Special Representative to the Secretary General of the UN in Afghansitan Staffan de Mistura, Time Magazine's Vivienne Walt, and moderated by US Ambassador to UNESCO David Killion.

"The film provided a strong focus on the last years of Sergio Vieira de Mello's life and action, and the roundtable discussion allowed us to get more insights into his story through the eyes of other great United Nations actors", says AGS Administration Coordinator Matthew Delabre. "During the reception held right after the screening, we were able to meet some of these actors, including US Ambassador to UNESCO David Killion and Brazil Ambassador to UNESCO Maria Laura da Rocha. It was a great priviledge for AGS that we were happy to pass on to our students both in the graduate degree programs and in the undergraduate study abroad programs".

More information about the film screening and roundtable on the website of the US Mission to UNESCO

On November 23rd, Professor Habibi, who heads the Middle Eastern Studies Concentration at AGS, will give a special talk about the political situation in Tunisia, focusing on the recent revolution and the elections that took place on October 23rd. She will talk about the significance of the fall of Ben Ali, the context and procedure of the elections, the implications of the results and the reactions in the international media. Her presentation will be followed by a Q and A session. This will take place at AGS in Paris and is open for all to attend. If you are interested please contact us at info@ags.edu.

On October 27th, Phyllis Kotite, International Consultant and former United Nations staff member, was a guest speaker in the International Organizations class taught by Ambassador Samira Hanna-El-Daher. Her presentation focused on the role of Dag Hammarskjold, former Secretary General of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961, when he died in a plane accident. Kotite talked about her experience working under Hammarskjold's administration and the importance of what he did for the United Nations and the world. She described how he put in place preventive diplomacy, through the creation of international tribunals and peacekeeping forces and instances, as well as through the promotion of social justice and economic welfare. Kotite also expressed her views on what could be accomplished by utilizing toward conflict prevention and education for peace some of the money that is currently spent on armament.

Phyllis Kotite holds a Master's degree in Middle East history. She has worked as a staff member of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (UNESCWA), where she worked on regional projects and special programs for the Palestinian people and the reconstruction of Lebanon. She also worked as a consultant to various organizations and programs of the United Nations: with UNESCO, in the post conflict and natural disaster unit where she was in charge of the Arab and African countries, with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), where she prepared projects on training in conflict prevention, youth, peace education for teachers; with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestine Refugees in the Near-East (UNRWA); with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the Arab Region, with UNICEF in New York, with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and with other institutions including Arab civil society organizations and European groups engaged in sustainable development and conflict prevention.

AGS professor Ambassador Samira Hanna-El-Daher says: "It was very inspiring to have Phyllis Kotite tell us about her exciting experience working with Dag Hammarskjold, who left an indelible mark in international diplomacy and in the minds of all those who believe in the message of peace of the United Nations."

Upon the initiative of the AGS Alumni Board, AGS is starting a series of exclusive career workshops for its students and alumni. These new workshops will feature recruitment personnel representatives from organizations and companies with offices in Paris. The objective is to provide professional advice to help AGS graduates to stand out from the competition when pursuing employment. 

The first workshop in this series will take place on November 18, 2011. Eric Vedel, Head of European Technical Operation at Cisco, will talk about the opportunities available in an international company for someone with a background in international relations. He will review the following topics: how to be selected for an interview, cover letter and CV advice, interview tips and ideas, and following up with a prospective employer.

AGS has a new working group on gender issues. This groups gathers students and faculty to discuss and conduct research on a wide array of world issues related to gender, regardless of whether they concern men or women, in relationship to such subjects as race, culture, religion, sexuality, economics, development, poverty, and violence.

The group was created upon the initiative and under the coordination of A.J. Morgen, a Ph.D. candidate at AGS whose doctoral research focuses on banishment following sexual assault in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The group also welcomes the participation of Professor Ruchi Anand, whose fields of expertise include women's studies.

The Gender Issue Working Group was inaugurated on October 17. "In our first two meetings alone we've discussed the practice of castration for the purposes of witchcraft in Uganda, the Bugis’ belief in five genders, and the potential implications of criminalizing prostitution in the Netherlands" says Morgen.

At this date, 15 students have joined the group in addition to Professors Morgen and Anand. The group is open to all, including non-AGS students and faculty. If you wish to receive more information or attend a working group meeting, please contact A.J. Morgen.

On September 29th, AGS held its first Wine and Cheese evening of the Fall semester around the theme of the volatility of oil prices. Prof. Douglas Yates, whose field of expertise focuses on African politics and the world politics of the oil industry, animated the discussion with the audience of around fifty students, faculty and Paris-based actors of international politics.

Basing his presentation on an article written by two White House advisors, Robert McNally and Michael Levi, in the July-August 2011 issue of Foreign Affairs ("A Crude Predicament: The Era of Volatile Oil Prices" p.100-111), Professor Yates engaged the audience to understand the reasons why, unlike other commodities, oil undergoes such extreme swings in prices, to examine the geopolitical consequences of these price swings, and to explore possible responses to this problem.

"The evening's discussion focused on the evolution of oil prices in a world with many actors, and no common power. The world oil industry is more than the economic interrelation of supply sources and markets or the political interrelation of companies with goverments. The system works within the framework of the larger, and even more complex system of international politics, where the stabilizing role of OPEC is no longer prominent. It was particularly interesting to discuss this question with an audience coming from such a wide variety of national and cultural backgrounds bringing multiple perspectives to the table. When I conduct this kind of discussions, I always appreciate and feel proud of how much insight, analytical and critical thinking our students at AGS have."

On October 3rd, Dr. Richard Andrews, Associate Director of the UC Berkeley Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT) in California, gave a guest lecture at AGS to students in the undergraduate study abroad in Paris program. His lecture was entitled: "Taking Hold of Human Destiny: The Evolution of Cultural Policy in France and the United States". It focused on the creation of modern cultural policies in the U.S. and France. Why and how do governments support culture and the arts? How do French and American cultural programs resemble or differ from one another? What are the future trajectories for cultural policies in the two countries? Dr Andrews's lecture examined the roots of France and the US's current arts support systems, considering the intersections of arts policy and arts practice via case studies, and proposing new ways of thinking about the role of cultural support.

The UC Berkeley Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT) is a leading research and training laboratory focused on the creative interaction between music and science. Dr. Andrews is also Executive Director of the Eco Ensemble, UC Berkeley's professional new music chamber group dedicated to contemporary works by emerging and established composers. He has developed and taught courses at the UC Paris Study Center and the American University of Paris, and has lectured at the Savannah College of Art and Design SCAD/Lacoste, the Institute for American Universities, Parsons Paris, and the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.

AGS's undergraduate study abroad in Paris program focuses on the culture, history and politics of France and Europe. It is conducted in partnership with Arcadia University's College of Global Studies and welcomes students enrolled at various universities across the US who come to Paris for a semester or a full year to gain international experience and transfer the credits back to their home institution. More information here.