GV PS

Model Arab League Course

This course will count in the comparative or IR category of the political science program, and as elective credit in the IR program. To have the course credited to your PLS or IR degree, contact Dr. Richards or Dr. Diven, respectively.

The Model Arab League provides students an in-depth understanding of the world’s oldest regional organization and deepens their knowledge of the history, culture, religion, economics, and politics of both their assigned country and the region as a whole. Through active participation in a model, students develop and sharpen skills in debate, consensus-building, critical thinking, parliamentary procedure, and public speaking. By arguing the positions and foreign policy objectives of the Arab States, model participants gain personal insights and a meaningful understanding of the issues underlying U.S.-Arab relations.

GVSU hosts the Michigan Model (Feb. 18-20, 2010). To participate, students sign up for a class which prepares them for the Michigan Model simulation. Here is the course information:

MES 380 (section 01), MW 4:30-5:45

Please contact Professor Majd Al-Mallah (almallam@gvsu.edu) for additional information and for class permit to sign up. Limited seats, so act quickly if you are interested.

Student at Voice of America is Russian voice of the Hubble

Kamil Sadyykov, one of our intrepid IR students and current intern at Voice of America, is on YouTube narrating some NASA photos as part of his internship. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25nSS2p-miI.

Kamil is completing his internship via The Washington Center. To learn more about GVSU's new affilication with The Washington Center, visit www.gvsu.edu/gvdc. Here's a pic of Kamil at a recent TWC event (flanked by Matt McLogan, GVSU University Relations, and Kevin den Dulk, Professor of Political Science). 

 

From Cold War to War on Terror Conference

GVSU will host a one-day conference, From Cold War to War on Terror, on Friday, October 16, 2009, in 2266 Kirkhof. The conference will feature keynote speaker Dr. Ido Oren. The conference is free and open to the public. The conference is co-sponsored by the political science department through the Joseph Stevens Freedom Fund.

Download Cold War to War on Terror Flyer

From Cold War to War on Terror

Date: Friday, October 16, 2009

Location: Kirkhof Center, Room 2266

 

8:00-8:30am              Coffee and welcome

 

8:40-9:30am              IRO Panel: Is there a Generation Gap in How We Perceive the Cold War and War on Terror?

 

9:40-10:30am            Haunstein Center for Presidential Studies Panel:

                                    Brian Flanagan, “National Security State: Truman, Bush and America’s Ramparts in the 21^st Century

                                    Austin Knuppe, “Empire ‘On the Cheap’: Privatization, Outsourcing and Post-Cold War US Foreign Policy”

                                    Patrick Roberts (Virginia Tech, Political Science), Commentator

 

10:40-11:50am         Roundtable discussion of Dr. Ido Oren’s book Our Enemies and US, with Gamal Gasim (GVSU Middle East Studies), Andrew Schlewitz (GVSU Latin American Studies), and GVSU students Carole McIntosh and Jennah Valk.

 

1:00:-2:30pm             Keynote by Dr. Ido Oren, “WMD: Words of Mass Distraction”

 

2:45-4:15pm              From Cold War to War on Terror Panel

                                    Patrick Roberts (Virgina Tech, Political Science), “How a New Long War and a New Terror Make a New State”

                                    William Rose (Albion College, Political Science), “Governing the War on Terror: Risk, Security, and the Preventive Paradigm”

                                    Andrew Schlewitz (GVSU, Latin American Studies), “Mobilizing Christians for Wars without End”

                                    James Goode (GVSU, History), Commentator

GVSU to Host Africa in Contemporary International Relations Conference

GVSU will be hosting a conference on September 21 and 22, 2009, Africa in Contemporary International Relations: Contexts, Stakes, Actors and Issues. The conference chair is Dr. Jacques Mangala, who is Director of GVSU's African and African American Studies program and a political science profesor. 

The conference will feature of variety of panels and host a range of experts from U.S. and international universities. The keynote speaker is Dr. Ian Shapiro, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillian Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University. The title of his lecture is "Luck, Leadership and Legitimacy in Transitions to Democracy: Lessons from South Africa and the Middle East." His speech is sponsored by the GVSU department of political science and the Joseph Stevens Freedom Fund.  Download Conference Program

Amanda Miralrio, GVSU IR 2008, interns at CRS

Amanda Miralrio has been conducting research on Latin America in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade division of the Congressional Research Service. This fall, Amanda is starting her Master's degree in Latin American Studies at George Washington University. She is interning at the CRS Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI). While at GVSU, Amanda was a McNair research fellow.

Shanna Stebbins Corner studies Human Rights in Jerusalem

Shanna Stebbins Corner, GVSU IR graduate in 2005, is working on her Masters in International Affairs at the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Together with ten other students, Shanna was chosen to participate in a program at the Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. They were in Jerusalem for ten weeks, interning at different human rights organizations and studying the history of the conflict and international human rights law.

IR Grad to Teach for America in Mississippi

Congratulations to Leslie Taylor, who has been accepted into the Teach for America program and will begin teaching in the Mississippi Delta this fall.

IR Alum Becomes Press Secretary for New Detroit Mayor Dave Bing

Mayor of Detroit Dave Bing has chosen GVSU International Relations ('95) alumnus Ed Cardenas as his press secretary, according to GVNow.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Speaks in Grand Rapids

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle recently spoke at an event sponsored by the World Affairs Council of West Michigan. Dr. Polly Diven attended the event, along with some of our International Relations students.

Pictured from left to right are: Samantha Lemmert, Ambassador Beyrle, Dr. Diven, and Kamil Saddykov.

Assessng the Impacts of a Nuclear Iran

Erik Tucker, a former PLS minor who is currently seeking his M.Ed. at GVSU, has recently published an opinion piece entitled, "Weapons of Mass Deterrence: Assessing the Impacts of Nuclear Iran" in Fogged Clarity, which is a new arts review started by West Michigan natives.