School News AGS

After the Fall semester orientation and registration session on September 9, entering and continuing students gathered for a Paris boat tour on the Seine river, that took them past the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and Ile Saint-Louis. This outing was organized by the Graduate Student Association at AGS, as a nice way to start the semester and to allow all students to know each other better.

The following day, students went to the Cheese and Wine Festival (Foire aux Vins et aux Fromages) in the small town of Antony in the greater Paris area. They had a chance to taste various French wines and cheeses as well as typical French recipes such as snails, "tartiflette", and "aligot". This outing has been organized by AGS every year for five years, and has become a traditional part of the "orientation weekend".

Sarah Pedersen, graduate of the M.A. in International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS and now academic coordinator of the program, says: "This is a great way to introduce students to the French culture and cuisine in the informal environment."

On Monday, September 13, the American Graduate School in Paris welcomed the Class of 2012 of the Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy program for their first day of classes. The twenty-four students that compose this class are from eight different national origins: United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Georgia, Nigeria, Ghana and Malaysia. The faculty teaching in this Master’s program is also very international, coming from fifteen different countries.

The registration was held on September 9 in the presence of H.E.Samira Hanna-El Daher, Representative of Lebanon to the Executive Board of UNESCO. Ambassador El Daher is a career diplomat who was the first woman in Lebanon to be named Ambassador, and the first woman worldwide to be an Ambassador in Japan. She also served as Head of Mission in China, Australia, and Great Britain, Ambassador to the Philippines, Switzerland, and Cyprus, as well as Consul General in New York and Legal Advisor of the Lebanese Permanent Mission to the United Nations. She is now part of the American Graduate School in Paris faculty and is teaching the course on Foreign Policy Formulation and Diplomacy. (see course catalog)

Ambassador El-Daher says: “Teaching to young minds and exchanging with them is a tremendously enriching experience. Working with the very engaging, supportive, knowledgeable yet relaxed AGS faculty has made this experience irreplaceable – one that I would not want to have missed out on.”

Nine students from various regions of the United States have joined AGS this summer for a six-week-long program conducted in partnership with Arcadia University. This program combines French language courses with courses on the culture, history and politics of France and Europe.

As part of the coursework students in this program have gone to a number of field trips: US Embassy with Professor Patrick Clairzier, headquarters of the international Francophone TV network TV5 with Professor Joav Toker, and UNESCO headquarters with Professor Lorraine Koonce. The program also features many extra-curricular visits.

This summer's students have gone to the Champs-Elysées and Arc de Triomphe, to the Eiffel Tower, to the charming Marais area, to the Château de Chantilly outside of Paris, and to the Ile Saint-Louis island on the Seine river, where they enjoyed the famous Berthillon icecreams.

Here is what two of the students say about the program:

"The intensive French language/politics program finds the perfect balance between politics studies, language studies, and free time. I really felt able to get to know Paris while learning relevant and thought-provoking concepts in the classroom... In fact, the way my classes and street experiences intersected was the best part of my stay." Jacqueline Tralies, Paris, Summer 2010

"This has been an amazing six weeks studying with the Alliance Française and the American Graduate School in Paris. I have met people from all over the world, studied French history, politics, and the European Union with incredible professors, and had time to travel around Europe." Valerie Flatley, Paris, Summer 2010

On this picture, left to write: Perrine Pradel, Jessica Choi, Lindsay Tondryck, Kathleen Sylvester, Erin Cash. The picture was taken by another one of the summer program students: Leslie Reyes.

More information on the Arcadia study abroad programs in Paris

The American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) held its 2010 annual graduation ceremony on June 3^rd in Paris. The commencement took place in the Alliance Française auditorium, and was followed by graduation dinner in the French Senate.

The class of 2010 is composed of twenty-six students coming from eleven different countries: United States, France, Austria, Turkey, Greece, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Morocco and Iran.

Eighteen graduates were awarded the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy in partnership with Arcadia University (Glenside, PA, USA), one graduate was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in International Relations and Diplomacy, and seven graduates were awarded the degree of Executive Master of Science in Finance, in partnership with the Baruch College at the City University of New York (New York, NY, USA).

In addition, nine of the Master’s graduates, having followed one of the double-degree programs offered at the American Graduate School in Paris, were or will also be awarded a second Master’s degree from one of the school’s partner universities: M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from Arcadia University, European Master in Diplomacy and Strategic Negotiation from Université Paris Sud 11 (France), or LL.M. in French and European Union Law from Université de Cergy-Pontoise (France).

The commencement address was given by Dr. Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director General for Communication and Information at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. Abdul Waheed Khan is of Indian nationality and holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA), and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension from Agra University (India). His address was on the theme: “Youth Power and Power of Peace”.

Dr. Eileen Servidio, who heads the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS, and Dr. Ali Fatemi who heads the School of Business and Economics at AGS, performed the conferring of degrees, after which the class of 2010 offered a floor globe to the school as the traditional graduating class gift.

The President of the Graduate Student Association at AGS said as she presented the gift: “We students feel that you at the American Graduate School in Paris opened the world to us, so we wanted to give the world back to you in a symbolic way”.

Additionally, on behalf of the class of 2010, one of the graduating students made a donation to Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) in the name of the school.

On May 25th, Professor Fatemi, president of the School of Business and Economics at AGS, held the second "AGS Political Talk". He spoke on the current crisis in Greece and its implications and possible consequences on the economic and political EU and international affairs.

The AGS political talks started in March as a series of informal lectures on an array of political subjects, for AGS students, alumni and outside guests. Each is followed by a question-and-answer session, and discussion.

On May 7th, Ambassador Samira Hanna-El-Daher took her Foreign Policy Formulation and Diplomacy class on a field trip to the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris. Parallel to her teaching at AGS, Ambassador El-Daher serves as Permanent Reresentative of Lebanon to the Executive Board of UNESCO. She was able to take the students on a behind-the-scenes tour and have them meet with UNESCO staff to get a better insight of the International Organization.

Like every year in the Spring, it is thesis defense time at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS in Paris. Candidates for graduation in June defend the Master's thesis as a culmination of the two-year M.A. program - and as part of the degree requirements.

Defenses all take place at AGS in Paris and are open to the public within the limit of space available. To attend, please contact sarah.pedersen@ags.edu.

Defenses scheduled through May 27st are the following:

Timothy McGowan: "Linking Environmental Scarcity to Violence:  A Critical Reevaluation of Environmental Scarcity Theory Using a Multi-Factor Framework in the Case of South Africa"
Friday, April 30th at 11:00 am

Jenica Jones: "Security vs. Dominance:  The Question of NATO Expansion"
Thursday, May 6th at 11:30 am

Brigid O'Grady: "George W. Bush's Iraq War Retoric"
Friday, May 7th at 11:00 am

Meredith Railey: "International Governance of African Oil: Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative"
Tuesday, May 11th at 11:00 am

Paula Prince: "The Privatized Military Industry and the Westphalian State system"
Friday, May 14th at 11:00 am

Amber French: "Do Women Benefit from South-North Migration? A Case Study of Senegalese Migration to France"
Friday, May 14th at 1:00 pm

Wren Sellers: "Does the Convention for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage conform to Oran B. Young's 'Institutional Bargaining Model' and its 'Determinants of successful international regime formation'?"
Friday, May 14th at 3:00 pm

Michael Kithcart: "Why does microfinance fail to contribute to the empowerment of women in rural Rajasthan?"
Friday, May 14th at 4.30 pm

Verena Bibaritsch: "Is the European Neighborhood Policy a Substitute or Prelude to Membership in the European Union?"
Thursday, May 20th at 4:00 pm

Amandine Muskus: "Are There Areas of Collaboration (or Synergy) Between Scientific Experts and Policy Practitioners in Motor Vehicle Safety Regulation Harmonization in the European Union?"
Thursday, May 20th at 5:30 pm

Nathan O'Neill: "Should the Aral Sea be saved?  If so, how?"
Friday, May 21st at 10:00 am

Chrysann Sutton: "Soldiers for Sale: The Implications of Military Outsourcing for International Humanitarian Law"
Friday, May 21st at 11:30 am

Anthoula Parianos: "How have changes in U.S. federal aid policy on donor aid during the Bush administration impacted reproductive health in Kenya? An Analysis of the relationship between U.S. Federal Aid Policy and Reproductive Health in Eastern Africa"
Thursday, May 27th at 11:30 am

Erica Allis, a consultant at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Paris, was a guest speaker in Dr. Anand's International Organizations class on April 23. She talked about the history and mission of UNEP, and her work in the Tourism and Environment sector, the role of which is to mainstream sustainability into tourism development by demonstrating the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural benefits of sustainable tourism.

See more information on UNEP's Tourism and Environment sector

Students at the School of International Relations at AGS attended a colloquium on Uzbekistan at the French Senate on April 6. The colloquium was organized by the Institut France-Europe-Asie and sponsored by French Senator André Dulair and Ouzbekistan Ambassador to France and Portugal, H.E. Bakhromjon Aloev. The discussions focused on Uzbekistan's development and current position in the international economic and political landscape.

"I learned a lot about the history and development of Uzbekistan, which is the most populated Central Asian country. I particularly found interesting the government's current emphasis on social and environmental issues." says one of the students who attended.

On March 25-26, students enrolled in the Arcadia-AGS Study Abroad in Paris program went on a trip to Strasbourg, which is the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as one of the seats of the European Parliament.

The students visited the Council of Europe and met with speakers who explained to them the history and functioning of this international organization, which was founded in 1949, and whose members include all European countries except Belarus, including non E.U. countries. The students were also introduced to the European Court of Human Rights (photo), which conducts one of the main missions of the Council of Europe.

The trip also featured a boat ride and visits of some of the famous landmarks of the city, such as the Strasbourg Cathedral and the Astronomical Clock. Students enjoyed typical Alsacian food; some of them tasted Alsacian sourcrout, Munster cheese and Riesling wine for the first time.

The trip therefore combined the experience of the typical local culture of this city at the heart of the Alsacian region of France, and the discovery of Strasbourg as one of the European capitals.

More about the Study Abroad in Paris programs