20 minute read
Happenings
Jaffer Center staff and faculty join community leaders at the Coalition of South Florida Muslim Organizations (COSMOS) Annual Dinner Gala in March 2022.
Jaffer Center continues to expand its reach
The Jaffer Center for Muslim World Studies has continued to expand its reach and increase its educational activities over the past year, providing robust programming and lectures for FIU students and the surrounding Muslim and non-Muslim community and continuing to educate others on the global Muslim experience.
The center has also maintained its engagement with community partners, including the Coalition of South Florida Muslim Organizations (COSMOS), Emgage USA, UHI Clinic, the Islamic Center of Greater Miami, the Islamic School of Miami, MCCJ, and Masjid Al-Ansar, just to name a few. Additionally, the Jaffer Center established a new twoyear postdoctoral position. T.J. Liguori, the Khalid and Diana Mirza Postdoctoral fellow, began his tenure in Fall 2021 and has been actively involved in expanding the center’s research activities, including the launch of a Pakistan Studies Initiative.
The Jaffer Center, under the leadership of Iqbal Akhtar, also assisted in the sponsorship of six visiting Fulbright scholars for the academic year 20212022, four of which were Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) and two were Scholars in Residence. The FLTA’s included Ana Ramsha from Pakistan, Svetlana Kurbanova from Uzbekistan, Elif Cirak from Turkey and Chintan Sonawane from India. The Scholars in Residence were Amit Ranjan from India and Bacha Hussainmiya from Sri Lanka. Their assistance and participation has been instrumental to the research activities of the Jaffer Center’s affiliated faculty.
Former LACC Interim Director Luis Solís and FIU faculty members Augusta Vono, Simone Athayde and Clinton Jenkins met with Consul General of Brazil in Miami, Ambassador André Odenbreit Carvalho, in May 2022.
It was another banner year for the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center.
In May 2022, LACC Interim Director Luis Solís and faculty members Augusta Vono, Simone Athayde and Clinton Jenkins met with Consul General of Brazil in Miami, Ambassador André Odenbreit Carvalho. The LACC delegation discussed potential collaborations between the center’s Program of Excellence in Brazilian Studies and the Consulate, including an invitation to the Consul General to participate in a series of Fall 2022 events, which will mark the official launch of the Brazilian Studies Program.
In collaboration with the Center for the Administration of Justice (CAJ), LACC was awarded a three-year grant by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to co-lead (with Notre Dame researchers) an evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) Program in El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. The $600,539 award will allow FIU researchers to conduct the first systematic evaluation of GREAT programs implemented in Central America. Leading the effort will be Jose Miguel Cruz, director of research at LACC, Ana Carazo, deputy director of CAJ, and Ryan Meldrum, professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
In the fall of 2021, LACC became home to the prestigious Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies (LACES) Journal, edited by FIU anthropology professor Jean Rahier, a leading scholar in the field. LACES is a multi- and inter-disciplinary journal for quality peer-reviewed scholarly research on ethnicity, race relations, and indigenous peoples in any country or countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim of the journal is to play a constructive role in the consolidation of this still growing field of studies. Manuscript submissions come from authors around the world.
Also in Fall 2021, Solís, was appointed as Chief of the Organization of American States Electoral Observation Mission for the November 2021 elections in Honduras by OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro. Solís, the former president of Costa Rica, oversaw the mission, comprised of over 80 people, with the goal of strengthening democracy in Honduras. He previously served as Chief of the OAS Observation Mission for general elections in Guatemala in 2019.
LACC hosted a two-day virtual conference focused on Migration in the Americas, that featured academics and policymakers to analyze the current state of migration throughout the hemisphere, including challenges faced by migrants and refugees. The event was organized by Jose Miguel Cruz, LACC’s director of research.
In May 2022, LACC received the prestigious Paul Hanson Award from the Miami Dade Council for the Social Studies, a professional organization connected to the Miami Dade County School District. The award recognized LACC for its outstanding contributions to South Florida’s academic institutions through its Title VI program.
From homelessness to Stanford Law
first Ferré Fellow joins law school pipeline program
When Luis Moros arrived in the United States from Venezuela with his mother, he was 14 and spoke almost no English. For more than a year, they moved from one homeless shelter to another.
It was a hard existence, but Moros says his mother, facing her own challenges as a single mom, never gave up on him and his dream of pursuing an education and, eventually, a career in politics.
Anytime he heard “no” it was not a rejection of him, she would say, it was a “new opportunity” presenting itself.
Moros took those words to heart and, now as a junior and Honors College student at FIU pursuing a dual degree in political science and public affairs, he has seized upon each new opportunity in a way that continues to inspire his peers and mentors.
Not only has he interned with the U.S. House of Representatives, the Cato Institute and the Organization of American States, this summer, Moros was one of only 20 students accepted from around the nation for the inaugural class of the Stanford Law Scholars Institute (SLSI) at Stanford University.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,’’ said Moros, 20, who is interning in Washington, D.C., this summer with the Bipartisan Policy Center. “I really didn’t expect as a firstgeneration college student to be accepted into a program at the second-highest ranked law school in the country. It was life-changing.’’
Moros has already made his mark in many areas of FIU – receiving numerous awards, as well as being named a Millennium Fellow, a Hamilton Scholar through FIU in DC and a founding fellow and student ambassador for the recently launched Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership.
Agatha Caraballo, founding director of the Ferré Institute, said Moros embodies the same spirit of servant leadership that Ferré modeled as mayor of Miami.
“Luis Moros is an exceptional young man with boundless potential, passionate and committed to public service and civic engagement,’’ she said. “As a Ferré Institute fellow and chair of our engagement committee, Luis organized several workshops on civic literacy and leadership and led a multi-disciplinary student group that ranked #13 in the nationwide It’s Up to Us competition to increase civic literacy and awareness on campus.”
“Luis continues to inspire me and many others with his dedication and drive to make the world a better place for all,’’ she added.
Through his work with policymakers in D.C., Moros hopes to help other immigrants learn to navigate the U.S. educational system, become civically engaged and pursue their dreams.
Diego Zambrano, an associate professor of law at Stanford who served as Moros’ faculty mentor, said Moros is already well on his way. Like Moros, Zambrano immigrated to the United States from Venezuela when he was 14.
“I see in Luis a wonderful example of all the talented people who have been forced to leave Venezuela,’’ he said. “Luis’ story is a deeply American story, arriving to American shores in pursuit of a better life.
“He represents some of the best qualities of immigrants to this country. I’m sure he’ll make an excellent law student, attorney, and future leader.”
Celebrating Indigenous perspectives
Global Indigenous Forum co-hosts First Language: The Race to Save Cherokee
The Cherokee Indians were once the dominant power in what is now the Southeastern United States. The Emmy award-winning film, “First Language: The Race to Save Cherokee,” follows the Cherokee community as it comes to terms with a heritage that predates the United States by thousands of years.
In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day at FIU, the Global Indigenous Forum joined the Center for the Humanities in an Urban Environment (CHUE) in hosting a showing of the film,
Green School hosts Ambassador of Ireland to the U.S.
In November 2021, the Miami-Florida Jean Monnet Center of Excellence hosted a visit by His Excellency Daniel Mulhall, the Ambassador of Ireland to the United States. Sponsored by the Ruth K. and Shepard Broad Distinguished Lecture Series, the Green School hosted the event in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland, the World Affairs Council Miami and the European Union Center at the University of Miami. Mulhall tackled diverse which focuses on the extraordinary steps taken by the Eastern Band of Cherokee to preserve Cherokee language.
The screening was followed by a discussion with experts and activists about the many issues raised in the film. This included Benjamin Frey, professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, María-Luisa Veisaga, director of the Andean Studies Program at FIU, and Walt Wolfram, renowned linguist and producer of “First Language.” The conversation was moderated by the Rev. Houston Cypress, artist, poet, environmental activist and member of the Otter Clan of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
Following the panel, GIF Director Mitzi Carter interviewed rap sensation Awich about bringing Okinawan language, indigenous identity and culture to the world stage through hip hop.
contemporary Irish issues, Ireland’s significance in a postBrexit European Union, and the country’s transatlantic connections. He explained the value to Ireland of the EU and how the membership benefited the country. He also remarked on the challenges that both Ireland and the EU need to face in the following years at several levels and analyzed the new European and Irish situation after Brexit.
Following his presentation, the ambassador engaged in a dialogue with Markus Thiel, director of the Jean Monnet Center. They discussed several topics, including the Irish border conflict, the potential for future Irish unification, and the challenges and opportunities that the larger issue of Brexit has posed to the island. This event was meaningful because it was the first in-person panel that the Monnet Center organized after the pandemic restrictions. A large audience gathered in the MARC Pavilion at FIU’s Modesto Maidique Campus, and many others were able to follow and participate online.
An image from the Disrupting Anti-Blackness exhibit, organized by the African and African Diasporas Studies Program at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum.
Artists Voicing Truths
African Studies Program organizes “Disrupting Anti-Blackness” exhibition
In the 21st century, police violence against Black communities has met strong and vocal resistance. The number of demonstrations and public conversations as well as increased media coverage—not to mention individuals recording police brutality with cell phones—is unprecedented. The democratization of technology has expanded the reach of these savage spectacles against Black bodies; the documentation and global dissemination of the images has catalyzed not only the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement but also creative production that bears witness for history and in the present time.
In response to this movement, Green School professors Andrea Queeley, associate professor of anthropology, and Valerie Patterson, director of the African and African Diaspora Studies program and clinical professor for public policy and administration, organized an exhibition to invite dialogue about systemic abuses of power and local, national, and global responses to these events. The exhibition sought to recognize the prevalence of anti-Blackness while affirming Black life and experiences. Disrupting Anti-Blackness was held at the Philip and Patricia Frost Art Museum in January 2022 as part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Exhibition Series, which addresses issues of race, diversity, social justice, civil rights, and humanity.
In honor of the exhibition, Patterson and Queeley also hosted a virtual discussion, “Anti-Blackness and State-Sanctioned Violence: Art and Activism in Global Perspective.” Special guests included photojournalist Vanessa Charlot, filmmaker Amberly Alene, human rights activist Rinu Oduala, community activist Alexey Rodriguez and sociologist Tanya Saunders. The conversation examined how artists have responded to anti-Blackness over time and within various national contexts. The panel was part of the African and African Diaspora Studies Program’s 11th Annual Humanities Afternoon.
Also in 2022, African and African Diaspora Studies hosted its 14th Annual Chris Gray Memorial Lecture, Practicing Diaspora: the Making of the “Seneglao-Hatian” Community in Postcolonial West Africa, which featured Hilary Jones of the University of Kentucky.
Havel Program continues
to examine human rights around the globe
As human rights and democracy face ongoing challenges around the world, the Green School’s Vaclav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy has continued its efforts to shine a light on these issues, enlightening students and the community through thought-provoking discussions and publications.
This year, the program continued its series on LGBTQ+ Rights as Human Rights, with public events covering the attacks against LGBTQ+ advocacy in Ghana and Europe’s promotion of LGTBI rights, as well as a special collaboration with the Florida Grand Opera that explored «Fellow Travelers,” a tragic story of a love affair between two young men at the height of the Red and Lavender Scares in the 1950s.
The Havel team also worked to strengthen the program’s Global Immigration and Migration Initiative, by hosting an event on the controversial asylum system in Australia, as well as webinars on the structural drivers of migration in Honduras and global human trafficking trends. In March, the program hosted a guest lecture by writer and activist Ma Thida, a Burmese scholar and former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. She spoke about Myanmar’s current dilemmas and the prospects for the restoration of democracy.
As part of its Cuba Initiative, the program also published three academic studies that offer various considerations for a political transition in Cuba, focusing on the legal reforms that would potentially take place under a representative democracy. In May, the authors of the studies presented their findings and analysis during an online event, “Conceptualizing a Democratic Cuba: The Legal Dimensions of Transition.”
Finally, the program published a thought-provoking collection of essays by FIU students, containing powerful and diverse answers to the question, “What does democracy mean to me?”
FIU’s 7th Annual Holocaust & Genocide Awareness Week was presented by the Holocaust & Genocide Studies Program in collaboration with Hillel at FIU and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU in January 2022. The week-long event featured a stimulating series of inperson, hybrid and online events, including exhibitions and panels at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami and the Glenn Hubert Library on the Biscayne Bay Campus, virtual film screenings in conjunction with the Miami Jewish Film Festival, campus and zoom panel discussions and interviews with survivors and their children. Topics ranged from the rescued Czech Torah scrolls to the legacy of slavery, the massacre at Babi Yar and the “new” antisemitism.
The annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, cosponsored with the Dorothea Green Lecture Series, featured Holocaust survivor Karmela Waldman of Miami Beach and her son Joel Waldman, a former national correspondent for Fox News who cohost a podcast together called Surviving the Survivor.
Holocaust & Genocide Studies co-hosts
annual Holocaust & Genocide Awareness Week
Conversations on Global Issues
The Green School hosts numerous events, lectures and presentations bringing leading thinkers, scholars and politicians from around the world to FIU. Particularly through our Ruth K. and Shepard Broad Distinguished Lecture Series and our Dorothea Green Lecture Series, we engage our students and community members in conversations about some of the most pressing topics of our day.
Sponsored and co-sponsored events of 2021-22 included:
The Role of the Media in Contemporary Society, a conversation with journalist Simon Marks on the role the media play in democratic societies in a digital age.
Return of the Taliban: Afghanistan 20 Years Later, a discussion of the ascendancy of the Taliban within the wider cultural, historical and geopolitical landscape.
Russia’s Parliamentary “Elections”: Neither Free Nor Fair,
a discussion of Russia’s elections, riddled with fraud and manipulation in the past. Organized by the European and Eurasian Studies Program and the Institute on Russia at USF’s College of Arts and Sciences.
Conversation with George F. Knox, legendary attorney, business and community leader. Mr. Knox served as the City Attorney for the City of Miami from 1976-1982 with Mayor Maurice A. Ferré during some of Miami’s most formative years
Ganesha, Understanding and Celebrating Indianness, an online event celebrating one of the key festivals of India, with a discussion by Chintan Kishor on the significance of the festival and its celebration as an important supplement to the Independence of India.
Asylees and Offshore Processing: Australia’s
Attempts to Deter Immigration through Isolation, a discussion among experts who addressed the causes, consequences, and future of the asylum system in Australia, widely condemned by human rights organizations and the United Nations.
Reflections on Haiti: Layering the Conversation through
Advocacy, a panel of experts on the ground, including earthquake impacted areas and the U.S. Mexico Border, that explored the common roots of these seemingly separate events, including the international community’s role in the problems.
Hotel Rwanda Hero Behind Bars: Paul Rusesabagina after
the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, a conversation that shed light on Rusesabagina’s story, the details of his trial, and the genocidal context in which his actions unfolded.
Destination Retrograde: A Reflection on “Fellow
Travelers”, hosted by the Green School, Florida Grand Opera and Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ to explore the themes of Gregory Spears’ highly praised opera, Fellow Travelers (based on the best-selling 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon).
Relevance of Gandhi with Reference to Hind Swaraj, with guest speaker Imran Surti, who discussed a seminal text of Gandhi, Hind Swaraj, which is a revolt against the dominant but perverse and violence-prone philosophy which has become a worldwide phenomenon.
Europe’s International Promotion of LGBTI Rights:
Promises & Pitfalls, a conversation with Jessy Abouarab and Markus Thiel about Thiel’s new book, which examines how Europe attempts to jointly formulate and implement guidelines for the external promotion of LGBTI rights.
Fred Korematsu and His Quest for Justice — A
Conversation with Lorraine K. Bannai, attorney, author and professor on the very personal story of Fred Korematsu; a simple man courageous enough to challenge criminal conviction and the removal and incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry during WWII.
Ireland, the Pursuit of Peace in Northern Ireland, and the Challenges of Brexit, a conversation with Ireland’s
Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Daniel Mulhall, on contemporary Irish issues, Ireland’s significance in a post-Brexit European Union and the country’s transatlantic connections.
Conversation with David Lawrence Jr., retired publisher of The Miami Herald, founder of The Children’s Movement and board member emeritus of The Children’s Trust.
Ethics in Research and Methods: Notes from a Native
Anthropologist, a talk exploring the disciplining of anthropology from an Indigenous perspective.
To Make the Wounded Whole — Book Presentation and Conversation with Dan Royles, about his recent book To Make the Wounded Whole, a compelling work that offers
the first history of African American AIDS activism in all its depth and breadth. Royles was joined by Requel Lopes of the World AIDS Museum.
Conversation with James R. Haj, president and CEO of the The Children’s Trust.
From Warsaw with Love: Polish Spies, the CIA, and the Forging of an Unlikely Alliance – need description
Transatlantic Identities, Music and Verse in the Latin
American Décima, a journey through the main décima of Latin America, a ten-verse poetic form that came to the New World from the Iberian Peninsula and expanded widely as a genre throughout Latin America.
Transatlantic Relations in a Global Environment: A
Conversation with André Haspels, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United States, on the value of the Transatlantic Alliance.
— A Conversation with Anitere Flores, former Florida State Senator, on the areas of civic engagement and leadership, community infrastructure, and social justice.
Cervantine Blackness, a discussion of Nicholas Jones’s new book project titled Cervantine Blackness, where he examines the presence and representation of sub-Saharan African Blackness in the writings of Miguel de Cervantes.
The Golden Mean between Secular and Religious
Fundamentalisms, an examination of two fundamentalist tendencies of Muslim attitude by tracing their roots in the works of Abu Bakr al-Razi and Muhammad al-Ghazali.
Sacred Sound and Movement: A Spiritual Healing
Journey with Rich Gausman and Erik Lieux, a dynamic, interactive, and experiential event exploring the healing and spiritual qualities of sacred sound and movement.
Myanmar: Between the Past and the Future — A
Conversation with Dr. Ma Thida, former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, writer, activist and visiting scholar-in-residence at Yale University on the current dilemmas of Myanmar and its future, in both regional and global contexts
Inside the Collapse of Venezuela: Book Presentation
and Conversation with William Neuman, author of Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse, a fluid combination of journalism, memoir, and history that chronicles Venezuela’s tragic journey from petroriches to poverty.
author of acclaimed work of fiction, Cuba’s Nuclear Piñata, which centers around an economically desperate Fidel Castro who threatens the United States with the specter of nuclear warheads.
The United Nations After February 24, 2022 — A
Conversation with Ambassador Jakub Kulhánek, on the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the United Nations’ response and consequences of this renewed conflict between East and West.
New Government, Same Challenges: Structural Problems,
Migration, and Political Change in Honduras, a discussion of how the Honduran government plans to solve deeply rooted problems of corruption, violence, and poverty forcing many Hondurans to migrate to the United States.
A Hero’s Legacy: A Conversation with Ambassador Michael Žantovský on Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky, whose determined resolve mirrors that of Václav Havel, the principal architect of the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia.
Black Spain: Past, Present and Future - A Conversation with Jeffrey Coleman on the history of Black Spain,
highlighting key figures and events that have led to the recent boom in Afro-Spanish cultural production today.
Ukraine: Between the Past and the Future — A
Conversation With Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev, former Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations, on the current crisis in Ukraine and the situation on the ground.
The Geopolitics of the War in Ukraine: What Does the
Future Hold for the Global Order?, a panel discussion of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what it means for the global order.
Contemporary Human Trafficking: An Escalating Global
Scourge, a conversation with a panel of experts that shed light on contemporary global human trafficking and the efforts to combat it.
Members of the Jain Education and Research Foundation (JERF) got a sneak peek at the inside of SIPA II this summer during a tour led by SIPA leadership and members of the construction team. SIPA II is scheduled to open in Spring 2023. JERF members were on campus to celebrate the launch of a $3 million dollar campaign to fund the Institute for Advanced Jain Studies at FIU.
International relations major Amelia Raudales was recognized as a Real Triumphs Graduate at Spring Commencement. She was recognized for her work to help victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, among other activities.
305-348-7266 | sipa.fiu.edu | sipa@fiu.edu
