Global Dimensions

News and notes from across NYU's Campuses and Sites

NYU Florence Live Streaming Inside American Politics Conference

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On October 19-20 NYU Florence will host its annual​ ‘Inside American Politics’ conference. The conference brings together top American political​ experts and insiders, both Republican and Democrat​,​ and media ​experts ​for a discussion of the current situation in American politics. It is always an informative and lively gathering. This year it will also be live streamed and NYU students around the world, along with the public, can participate.

This year’s speakers include: Jonathan Capehart, Journalist, Editorial Board Member The Washington Post; Ron Christie, Republican political analyst, veteran senior advisor to the White House and Congress, founder and CEO Christie Strategies LLC; Rob Collins Republican political strategist; Todd Harris, Media and Communications Strategist for Senator Marco Rubio and other top Republican elected officials; Steve McMahon, Democratic Strategist, co-founder and CEO of Purple Strategies, LLC, and Adjunct Professor at NYU Washington D.C.; John Anzalone, President at Anzalone Liszt Research; Elise Jordan, ​Writer and political commentator; Doug Thornell, Managing Director ​ at ​Public Affairs Firm ​SKDKnickerbocker; Jay Newton Small​, Journalist, Time magazine.

The conference live streaming is available here. Join!

Internship Mixes Computer Science and Economics to Help Boost Development in Ghana

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Students from around the NYU global network get a unique opportunity each year to participate in an internship in Kumawu, a small town in Ghana, where they work with the local population on technology to help improve their lives and livelihoods. The internship is organized by the Center for Technology and Economic Development (CTED) at NYU Abu Dhabi.

NYU Sydney Instructor to Judge Prestigious Australian Leadership Award

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Last week, NYU Sydney instructor Dr. Andy West was invited to be a judge of the National Finals 2017 Australian Leadership and Excellence Awards (ALEAs), Australia’s peak awards ceremony recognizing and celebrating Australia’s most outstanding leaders. This is organized by the Institute of Managers and Leaders, which was previously the Australian Institute of Management. In addition to teaching at NYU Sydney, Andy is the Executive Dean at UBSS, an MBA Business School. He also lectures in the Department of Marketing at the University of Technology Sydney. He provides consulting services to the finance, professional services, ICT, higher education, and health industries. His research has focused on e-business adaption, marketing high technology, and marketing strategy. His recent research is into the early career success of marketing graduates, with a focus on the success factors of workplace integrated learning from simulation to industry collaboration projects with internships.

NYU Berlin Hosts a Discussion on Europe’s Centrist Backlash

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On Tuesday October 10, NYU Berlin will host a discussion program, A Centrist Backlash?, with Fabrizio Tassinari, PhD, Executive Coordinator, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute, Florence and moderated by Site Director Gabriella Etmektsoglou.
Last year, the Brexit referendum, the election of Donald Trump in the United States and the aftermath of the eurozone and refugee crises in Europe shook the political systems of the West to their very core. By contrast, this year’s election results in the Netherlands and France, and the results of the recent elections in Germany, point to something of a centrist backlash, with moderate movements gaining back some of the voters’ trust. In this seminar, moderated by NYU Berlin Director, Dr. Gabriella Etmektsoglou, Dr. Fabrizio Tassinari will look at the reasons and prospects of populism’s enduring appeal in Europe and beyond. Subsequently we will examine the responses that the European establishment has provided to the populist challenge. Finally, we will focus in on the refugee crisis and its aftermath as a case study of both populist and centrist discourses and policy making.

NYU Prague Co-hosts a Conference about the Roma Genocide

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NYU Prague recently co-hosted a conference that brought together scholars and survivors of the Roma genocide.  As a lead-up to the conference, NYU Prague students met with two of the participating scholars – Tara Zahra (University of Chicago) and Jan Grill (Universidad del Valle, Cali) – who talked about the challenges of doing research about a minority group whose history has been mainly documented by the majority population.  Moderated by NYU Prague professor Katerina Capkova – also a co-organizer of the conference – the students learned about the discrimination and tragedies this minority has suffered throughout so many regimes: the Hapsburg Empire, the Nazis, the Communists …. .  In the following days, students could attend the conference and hear stories first-hand from genocide survivors and their family members.    Below is an article about the conference written by NYU Prague Resident Adviser Clare Profous who is also an intern at Romea, www.romea.cz – a website dedicated to publishing articles that promote human rights by giving a voice to the Roma minority.  You can find the original article here.
Roma and Sinti Genocide Survivors, Descendants and Scholars Unite in Prague
By Clare Profous. September 20 – 21, 2017
In what way have memories of the Roma genocide affected survivors and their descendants? How have these experiences continued to influence Roma and their treatment within Europe since 1945? These were some of the questions discussed this past week at the two-day conference Tracing the Legacies of the Roma Genocide: Families as Transmitters of Experience and Memory. The conference brought together two international academic initiatives, the research network “Legacies of the Roma Genocide in Europe since 1945”, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the UK and the Prague Forum for Romani Histories.
Roma throughout Europe were subject to violence and persecution by Nazi Germany and its allies in the 12 years leading up to 1945. It is estimated that at least 200,000 Roma were murdered, although some argue that the number may have been much higher.  Among other forms of persecution, Roma and Sinti were forced to personally experience or witness friends and relatives become victims of mass killings, were forced into gas chambers and killed there, were sent on death marches or were subjected to other forms of violence during and after the war – including sexual violence and mass sterilization.
Helena Sadílková, Ph.D, the Head of the Seminar of Romani Studies at Charles University and one of the main organizers of the event, explained what this new endeavor is about: “The Prague Forum for Romani Histories was established not only to foster a debate among scholars from different fields that focus on the history of the Roma and thus to support historical scholarship in Romani studies, but also to help to integrate such research into the wider field of European history – not as a separate/parallel minority history, but as an integral part of European history and an important lens that can deepen our understanding of the historical processes that have shaped the history of European societies”.
Speakers were invited from across the globe to reach this goal of fostering transnational discourse, including Professor Tara Zahra of Chicago University and Ari Joskowicz, an Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University.  Scholars described their research in different regions of Europe including former Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, France, Belarus and Lithuania. Their work focused on the effects and coping mechanisms related to trauma, the transmission of memory within families as well as private and public forms of commemoration, and institutional practices regarding the treatment of Roma in post-war Europe.
The purpose of the conference was twofold. Not only did it allow scholars to share ideas, but it also promoted close collaboration and the co-production of knowledge between academics and members of diverse Romani communities. Researchers were joined by Roma and Sinti survivors and their descendants, who spoke of their experiences as victims of persecution and how that past continues to fuel present-day discrimination. They also spoke of the challenges they face as they work towards coming to terms with the tragedies affecting them and their families. This discussion marked the opening of the exhibition by Eve Rosenhaft and Jana Müller titled: “…don’t forget the photos, it’s very important…” The Nationalist Socialist Persecution of Central German Sinti and Roma at the Václav Havel Library in Prague.
“The research of the history of the Roma suffers from fragmentation and remains … on the margins of the field of history as an academic discipline in general. We, however, believe that the research in the history of Roma has a
great potential in contributing to the existing historic and historiographic debates on the processes and developments in Europe since the 19th century in terms of, i.e., (dis)continuities of certain social and institutional practices as well as the questions of periodization, production of knowledge, or methodological as well as ethical concerns, etc.” says Sadílková.
For the program and complete list of speakers, organizers, and sponsors go to: http://www.romanihistories.usd.cas.cz/conferences/?y=2017
Organizers:

Tisch at NYU Berlin – An Integrated Approach to Actor Training

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Stanislavski, Brecht and Beyond: An Integrated Approach to Actor Training in Berlin is a one-semester program in theatre and actor training for advanced drama students. It is offered by NYU Berlin in conjunction with the Tisch Department of Drama, in affiliation with faculty from the world-renowned Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Berlin University of the Arts, and the internationally acclaimed Berlin Schaubuhne.

The program encourages students to create and perform realistic and devised theater, to strengthen and deepen their presence on stage and to craft performances that are intellectually informed, viscerally exciting, and theatrically courageous.

Students are able to experience a cosmopolitan city that holds a complex and crucial place in modern European history. Youthful, artistic, and hip, Berlin has traveled a path that led from the defining cultural avant-garde of the Weimar Republic to the devastation of World War II, from a divided city symbolizing the Cold War to today’s reunified and renewed capital.

A trailer video of the final performances form Spring 2017 is available here.

NYU Shanghai Professor Profiled in Book on Americans in Shanghai

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NYU Shanghai Professor Barbara Edelstein has been proudly dubbed a “daughter-in-law” of Shanghai for her contributions to the city’s flourishing art scene. Now, the NYU Shanghai art professor’s story has been featured in a new volume of Americans in Shanghai, a series celebrating the stories of US citizens who have made their lives in the city.

The book explores Edelstein’s life and work, starting with her upbringing in Los Angeles, where Asian culture strongly influenced her development as a young artist in love with water and the medium of ink.

After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University, Edelstein moved to New York, where she met her future husband—Zhang Jian-Jun, then a visiting artist from China.

Now both professors at NYU Shanghai, Edelstein and Zhang continue to connect China and the world through the language of art. Combining East and West influences, their works encompass various forms, including sculpture, photography, video, installation, and ink painting.

“It was during the World Expo time, in 2010. A special curatorial committee, partly government and partly art critics and curators, selected the works. I designed a five-meter high sculpture in bronze and copper that rains water into a round pool. It’s again based on what I saw there. The bronze part is an abstracted willow leaf that I found when I visited the site. The copper is like a vine ball of the wisteria that was there. It’s a beautiful park.”

Some of the works were temporary, but Barbara’s was permanent. It’s still there. Whenever Barbara is in the park, the guard there will point out to visitors that she is the artist who made the sculpture.

When the work was installed and the fence and the frame around the sculpture were removed, neighbors of the park gathered round.  “This is China: there are always people out and about,” Barbara said. “They use the park for dancing and walking their dogs. When we were there to get the water working, there was a crowd of people. They were really excited and cheered. They came up to me and told me they liked my work. They were very pleased it got established in ‘their’ park. As an artist, you want to make the world more beautiful. That was so nice for me to hear that they appreciated and enjoyed it.”

Barbara is concerned with how city dwellers lose track of nature, in large metropolises especially: “By using natural imagery, such as vines, trees, leaves, water—whatever is there—and abstracting it into a sculptural form; and by using man-made materials such as copper tubing, and adding the element of water, I try to bridge the industrial world we live in with the essence of nature.”

This post comes to us from NYU Shanghai. You can read the original here.

Focus on the EU at NYU Washington, DC

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On September 28, NYU Washington DC will host the fourth event in a series focused on the European Union as part of its EU in Focus series. EU in Focus is a series designed to enhance a student’s working-knowledge of the European Union. In close partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, NYU Washington, DC’s EU in Focus lecture series considers critical issues in a professional rather than conventionally academic setting.  NYU Washington, DC students who attend all DC sessions will be eligible to apply for a student leadership retreat to Brussels, the heart of the EU government. The retreat is organized jointly with NYU Florence and will be October 26 – 31.

The European Union represents the largest trading bloc and international donor in the world. It has the largest GDP; the third largest population; and is among the highest ranking in the world for health, education and living conditions. Europe remains the most important commercial and investment partner for the United States. The EU comprises a nuclear power, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and multiple seats on the G-20. From the escalating terror in its southern and eastern neighbors to Russia’s increasingly aggressive military confrontations, Europe borders regions most strategic to U.S. foreign policy and faces some of the 21st century’s most pressing security challenges. Despite these increasingly consequential and visible tensions, the “European Miracle” remains as relevant to international affairs as it was during the Cold War.

The program on 28 September is US and the EU: The Transatlantic Fight against Terrorism. The session will be presented by Laura Kupe, a Policy Analyst at the RAND Corporation. This fourth and final seminar will examine the importance of the US-EU relationship, highlighting specifically the transatlantic dialogue on security cooperation. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent revelation of Al Qaeda cells across Europe strengthened both sides’ commitment to combating terrorism, but challenges persist in fostering a closer US-EU security partnership. How has the heightened threat posed by the Islamic State influenced the transatlantic security policy agenda? This workshop will assess the Atlantic community’s most pressing security threats and explore the progress to date and ongoing challenges of US-EU counterterrorism efforts.

The earlier sessions in this series covered a range of interesting and engaging topics.

The series opened on September 7 with the program Fundamentals of the European Union. Timothy Rivera, Programs Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, presented the introductory workshop. It provides an overview of the origins and governing structure of the European Union. To understand the development of the 28-member bloc, this lecture examined the cultural, historical and strategic background of the European integration experiment, from World War II to present day.

The next session, on September 12, focused on The Evolving EU Governmental System. H.E. Pierre Clive Agius, Ambassador of the Republic of Malta to the United States of America, explored the unique governing system of the supranational entity. By participating in this seminar, students gained a basic understanding of the EU’s institutional framework and decision-making process. The lecture focused on the governmental innovations introduced in the Lisbon Treaty and the EU’s roadmap for social, economic and foreign and security policy.

The third session, Brexit Aftershocks: Economic and Political Implications, took place on 21 September. Lead by H.E. Dirk Wouters, Ambassador of Belgium to the United States of America, this program considered various aspects of Brexit and its aftermath. In the weeks following the United Kingdom’s fateful EU referendum, Great Britain experienced a sharp fall in the British Pound, record-low interest rate cuts, and a change of government and cabinet reshuffle. The United Kingdom is once again entering unchartered territory as the nation prepares to negotiate its exit from the European Union. Theresa May, Britain’s Prime Minister, has promised to secure the best possible deal for the UK, but many questions regarding the timeline of the negotiations and how Brexit will affect immigration, trade, and global markets, remain unanswered. This seminar revisited the implications of Britain’s historic vote and walked students through the next steps in this unprecedented geopolitical divorce.

NYU Abu Dhabi’s First Airline Cargo Logistics Course Really Takes Off

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NYU Abu Dhabi, Etihad Cargo partnership a “win-win”

There’s a flurry of activity behind the large glass doors of the Madrid meeting room in Etihad Cargo’s head office in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City. The bright afternoon light streams in through large picture windows as students from New York University’s degree-granting campuses — eight from NYU Abu Dhabi, three from NYU Shanghai, and one from NYU New York— prepare to present interactive applications and product prototypes to senior Etihad Cargo officials.

A mechanical whir occasionally punctures the chatter in the room as a small, box-shaped robot with Etihad Cargo emblazoned across the top in gold letters moves across white tables in the center of the room.

Etihad’s David Kerr, senior vice president of cargo, and Robert Fordree, head of cargo handling, are ready to see the student’s protoypes for the first time:

  • Cargie: a load-carrying robot capable of machine learning;
  • Paper Trail: an app to track airway bills and cargo documents (the industry still relies heavily on paper);
  • Viz360: a virtual training app; and
  • HoloCargo, a 3D-scanning and virtual reality system that can help loadmasters build pallets of boxes in a 3D environment.

The prototypes are the end result of an intensive four-week summer course taught at NYU Abu Dhabi by Christian Grewell, adjunct assistant arts professor of interactive media arts at NYU Shanghai.

Students enrolled in the Driving Genius course are taught the ins and outs of robotics, programming, and design principles, combined with the technical know-how needed to develop products that cater specifically to the airline cargo industry, which is where Etihad Cargo stepped in as a course partner. The students get to use augmented reality, virtual reality, and sensory technology and also learn how be entrepreneurs, drawing up successful business plans for their products.

“It’s about establishing a partnership where students gain everything they would from a traditional course including the opportunity to test their models in the real-world ‘laboratory’ of the organization,” Grewell said about partnering with Etihad Cargo. “When Etihad engaged with us, they engaged across every function of their business and at various levels in the organization. We came up with ideas for people not just in executive positions, but in-line level operational roles. That’s an invaluable experience for students when combined with the work we do in the lab and classroom.”

Learning on the Fly

Students were given access to Etihad Cargo’s warehouse operations so they could understand how things work and identify processes where efficiencies could potentially be improved. They were then split into three groups and tasked with designing and developing feasible tailor-made solutions using virtual technology.

With augmented reality and virtual reality technology becoming more affordable and accessible, students in the course are also taught to manage expectations — their own and the client’s — to figure out what works best for a company’s business model.

Back in the Etihad Cargo meeting room, Grewell observes as the groups demonstrate their prototypes, occasionally chiming in with words of encouragement or offering bits of trivia.

“They’ve worked really hard on these presentations and the quality of their work is outstanding,” he said. “Generally students have all these great ideas and prototypes but they struggle when it comes to presenting.”

There’s no visible hint of a struggle or even nervousness as the students confidently field questions from Kerr and Fordree about their work prompting the senior vice president, at one point, to remark that their insights were spot on and that “the (cargo) industry is pretty underinvested in technology. I like to think that in the future, we’re not an airline business but a technology company with airplanes and warehouses et cetera.”

A final round of applause brings the presentations to a close and the students heave a sigh of relief as everyone shuffles out of the meeting room. It’s been an intense few weeks but Grewell emphasizes the need for a course like this as a bridge between classroom learning and meeting real-world corporate expectations.

“I think this is a win-win for all parties when educators, students and organizations come together,” he concluded.

By Deepthi Unnikrishnan, NYUAD Public Affairs; This piece comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Salaam blog and is available here.

NYU Prague’s New Course – History in the Headlines

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What if the titles of a course’s lectures were based on actual headlines?   This semester, the Prague site has done just that in our newly-launched course “History in the Headlines” and some examples of the lecture titles include:
Modern Life in an Old City: Is Prague Becoming a Disneyland? 
Donald Trump and  his  Czech Mini-me 
How will Brexit Change Central Europe?
The course meets once a week and is taught by 14 members of our faculty, each an expert on the topic they present.  Lecturers include the former Czech minister of foreign affairs,  leaders  of the Vevet Revolution and the dissident movement against Communism, an architect at Prague Castle, a film historian and a jazz musician.   Seminars are overseen by the NYU Prague Director Jiri Pehe and Assistant Director of Academics Vanda Thorne.
The original, highly-successful precursor of the class was developed in New York by Timothy Naftali in the Department of History (CAS).  In New York, the goal of the course was “to enable students to curate knowledgeably the flood of news spewing from their media 24/7.”
Eliot Bernstein from the Russian and Slavic Studies Department at CAS came up with the idea that the New York syllabus could be adapted by Prague.   According to Vanda Thorne, Assistant Director of NYU Prague, “We are following the NYU model, but additioanlly we are aware that our students have much less of a context to draw upon when they read articles about Czech or European news.  They didn’t grow up here, they might not know the history of the region.  We try to give them the historical and cultural context so they will can better understand whether the media is reflecting and interpreting things accurately.”
Students read and discuss academic articles in addition to the articles that the headlines come from.  Does the article reflect reality?  How do media report on hot topics – and how could they affect the opinions of the reader?
The 2-credit class is open to students of all majors and is designed to increase NYU’s affordibility as well as help students have a deeper understanding of the country and region in which they are studying.   Students who haven’t signed up for the class are welcome to audit.
This is a hot topic in the era of fake news.  Other NYU global sites are considering their own versions of this project, which would create space for interesting inter-cultural analyses and discussions – not to mention more interesting headlines.