Getting Majors "Just Right"

Being an economist, I am biased in favor of this essay, which points out how economics is the "just right major". On the other hand, I think it also demonstrates how the IR degree has moved in the "right" direction. Agree with the article or not, it is an iteresting take on what a major should be teaching its students.

http://www.viet-studies.info/kinhte/Economic_Major_CHE.pdf

Advanced Studies Program in International Economic Policy Research at the Kiel Institute

The Kiel Institute will continue its successful Advanced Studies Program in International Economic Policy Research with a new round starting in August 2009:

Courses - Lecturers
Economic Growth - Philippe Aghion (Harvard)
Macroeconomics in Open Economies - Charles Engel (Wisconsin)
Monetary Policy: Theory and Practice - Lawrence Christiano (Northwestern)
Monetary and Fiscal Policy in the EU - Jakob de Haan (Groningen)
International Banking and Finance - Steven Ongena (Tilburg)
Labour-Market Economics - Dennis Snower (Kiel)
International Trade - Thierry Mayer (Paris)
Economic Development - Pierre-Richard Agenor (Manchester)
International Migration - Hillel Rapoport (Bar-Ilan)

First outlines for these courses are now available! Participation is possiblein the full ten-month program as well as in selected courses.

I would be grateful if you could pass this information on to interested candidates. Detailed information on the program is provided on the Kiel Institute´s website http://www.ifw-kiel.de/ in the Advanced Studies Section.

Thank you very much for your cooperation and best regards

Harmen Lehment

Professor Harmen Lehment
Director, Advanced Studies Program
Kiel Institute for the World Economy
D- 24100 Kiel

Asian Cinema

We would like to announce that the Asian Cinema Club will be showing the Japanese film Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. It is in Japanese with English subtitles. More information about the film can be found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087544/.

Maybe you should consider a PhD...

from Darren Hawkins (Chair of Political Science & former IR Coordinator):

Dear Political Science and International Relations Students:

As the Department Chair of the Political Science Department, I would like to extend an invitation to you to join us for an informational session we are holding Friday, March 13 that might affect your future! There are many paths that PL SC and IR students can take after graduation. The large majority will get a master’s degree or a law degree. Some of you will go on to get a Ph.D.

We would like to encourage more to consider a Ph.D., but also provide information about masters’ options. So, we are sponsoring the following event along with Pi Sigma Alpha. EVEN if you are just a freshman or sophomore, I strongly encourage you to attend if you have a possibility of thinking about a Ph.D.

NOTE: The first hour will be about Ph.D.s; the second hour (from 2-3 pm) will be on masters’ programs.

Maybe you should consider a PhD...
Come learn from experienced faculty about acquiring a PhD or a professional graduate degree!
Friday, March 13, 2009
1:00pm in 238 HRCB
Refreshments will be served!

Whether this is a choice you have considered or haven’t even thought of yet, this meeting should be a great opportunity for all who attend.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks,
Prof. Hawkins

MESA/IR lectures

from Chad Emmett (A member of the IR Committe of the Whole, and director of the MESA degree):

IR majors:

Coming up next week are two great lectures from specialists in Middle East terrorism and intelligence.

The first is Monday March 2 at 2:00 in 238 HRCB (Kennedy Center). Dr. Gabriel Weimann, a Communications Professor in the Department of Communications at Haifa University, Israel will speak on “Terrorism and the Internet”. Much of his research has focused on how Islamic terrorist groups have used the internet to further their cause.

The second lecture is on Wednesday March 4 at 2:00 in JFSB B092. Avi Jorisch will speak on: “Tainted Money: Winning the War on Money Laundering and Terrorism Finance”. Avi’s in-country research on Hizballah’s funding of terrorism was instrumental in severely restricting the broadcast funding and abilities of Hizballah’s al-Manar TV.

These two speakers will be accompanied by and introduced by Ahmed Qureshi--a BYU graduate in Middle Eastern Studies who is now president of Harbinger Technologies Group. This group as described on its web site is “comprised of former intelligence operators, military officers, law enforcement personnel, as well as Islamic/Arab culture experts, scientists, software designers and linguists. This diverse team works together to create intelligent solutions – training, consulting and tools that better equip you to understand and know either your clients, allies or your enemies.”

All three of these men are excellent examples of how to turn an IR related degree into a job.

Hope to see you there

Professor Emmett

Washington DC apartment available

From the Internship Office. If any of you are doing internships in Washington DC this summer and are looking for a place to stay, here is a lead.

Hi my name is McKenna Taylor. My husband and I are LDS and we currently live in Washington DC. We were interested in subleting our apartment for the summer and know that many BYU students/couples come to DC for summer internships. I wanted to know if there would be a way to advertise our sublet because we want an LDS student or couple to rent from us from the middle of May to August. Thanks and I hope to hear from you soon. You can e-mail me at mckennataylor@yahoo.com.

Marketing BYU Inquiry Conference

from Eric Darsow, Inquiry Conference Planning Committee

Dear International Relations Majors:

The Kennedy Center for International Studies is hosting the 11th Annual Inquiry Conference featuring students’ cross-cultural field research on March 3-6th, 2009 in 238 HRCB. The following presentations by students in your discipline might be of interest to you (as part of a larger panel session, see schedule for details):

Models of Socialization for Youth (2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.):
Cortney Evans (International Relations) “Agents of Political Socialization of Youth in Mukono, Uganda”

Understanding the Misunderstood (10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon):
Matthew Adamson (International Relations) “My Life Is Not Upside-down: Parental Loss and Hope among Vulnerable Children in South Africa”

Perceptions of Identity (1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.):
Adam Harris (Political Science) “Facing Reality: An Experimental Approach to Ethnic Identity”

The above students and others will be presenting on their field research experiences from around the world, addressing diverse topics such as conceptions of beauty in India to transportation infrastructure in Beijing. To make the entire experience more academically enriching, after presenting individually, groups of 3-4 presenters will sit on a panel together to critique, debate, scrutinize, and dispute each others’ research.

So browse the attached conference schedule and locate the conference sessions that interest you makes you wonder—the most intriguing one or most controversial. Find the one that you know you can’t miss. Then come and join us and bring your friends, spouses, teachers, pets, and roommates. All are welcome. And it’s free!

Email inquiry.byu@gmail.com or call 801-422-1541 if you have further inquiries about the conference.

More details available at http://www.kennedy.byu.edu/events/inquiry/

Faculty Panel Discussion Today!

Winter 2009 Book of the Semester
Faculty Panel Discussion
Four faculty perspectives on the ideas presented by William Easterly in White Man’s Burden
Wednesday, 25 February
3:00–5:00 p.m.
238 HRCB

Randy S. Lewis, professor of chemical engineering
Daniel L. Nielson, associate professor of political science
Frank L. McIntyre, assistant professor of economics
Joseph Price, assistant professor of economics

You can watch a podcast of this panel by visiting http://kennedy.byu.edu/archive/.

5 March CFR Call

from Irina Faskianos via Cory Leonard:

On behalf of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), I invite you and your students to participate in the next session of the Winter/Spring 2009 CFR Academic Conference Call series on Thursday, March 5, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. (ET). Roger M. Kubarych, CFR's Henry Kaufman adjunct senior fellow for international economics and finance, will lead the discussion on "The Global Economic Crisis." For the complete schedule of upcoming Academic Conference Calls, please visit http://www.cfr.org/educators/newsletter_detail.html?id=1275.

In addition to his position at CFR, Mr. Kubarych is chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Global Research, which is part of UniCredit Markets and Investment Banking, and is a senior economic adviser for HVB Americas Inc. He was senior vice president and chief economist of the New York Stock Exchange and served for thirteen years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in a variety of positions. In addition, Mr. Kubarych was special assistant to the U.S. Department of the Treasury undersecretary for monetary affairs, and served on the economic intelligence advisory panel to the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He has written numerous papers, books, and articles on economic and financial topics and writes a regular column for Japan's Nikkei newspaper.

As background for the discussion, you may wish to review the following materials:

1) "The U.S. Economic Stimulus Plan," Backgrounder, CFR.org, February 18, 2009 (Updated); http://www.cfr.org/publication/18348

2) Roger M. Kubarych, "Testing Time for a Young Administration," Nikkei Financial Daily, February 12, 2009;http://www.cfr.org/publication/18584/testing_time_for_a_young_administration.html (The full text of this article will be included with the dial-in instructions.)

3) "Fact Sheet: Financial Stability Plan," FinancialStability.gov, February 10, 2009; http://financialstability.gov/docs/fact-sheet.pdf

4) "A New Information Infrastructure for Financial Markets," Working Paper, Squam Lake Working Group on Financial Regulation, February 2009;http://www.cfr.org/publication/18568/new_information_infrastructure_for_financial_markets.html

5) "Timeline: Global Economy in Crisis," Interactive, CFR.org, January 26, 2009 (Updated); http://www.cfr.org/publication/18372

6) Simon Johnson, "The Economic Crisis and the Crisis in Economics," Revised Version of Speech Prepared for Presidental Address to the Association for Comparative Economics (San Francisco, January 4, 2009), Peterson Institute for International Economics, January 7, 2009. http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/paper.cfm?ResearchID=1090

South African Ambassador's Visit - Change of Location

from Erlend D. Peterson, Associate International Vice President:

May I invite you and your students to attend the lectures that will be given by the Ambassador of South Africa to the United States. Will you also forward this email to those whom you feel would be interested in attending Ambassador Nhlapo’s lecture.

South Africa – His Excellency Welile Nhlapo
Topic: ASouth Africa Today: Challenges and Opportunities@
Lecture: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 - 12:00 noon in the HBLL Library Auditorium.
Web bio: http://www.saembassy.org/

Ambassador Welile Nhlapo’s CV

During the difficult period of struggle against apartheid, Ambassador Nhlapo made a significant contribution to the liberation movement. He began his activities as a student in the Black Consciousness Movement and together with the late Steve Biko and Tebogo Mafole, he co-authored the publication, “Black review,” in 1972 that reviewed the activities of black organizations at the time.In 1973 a banning order was issued against him and he went into exile in Botswana in 1974. During his years in exile, he became the Deputy Editor of the ANC publication, Sechaba, Head of the ANC Youth Section, and other structures of the ANC.

He later became the ANC Chief Representative in Botswana and finally before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs, became the Head of the Political Section in the ANC Secretary-General’s office and later the organization’s International Affairs department.
He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and was part of the South African Government delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1994 when South Africa was re-admitted to the world body.

In 1995, he was appointed South African Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. In 1997, he was appointed Special Envoy to Burundi. He also served as non-resident Ambassador to Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan.

In 1998, he was appointed Deputy Director-General responsible for Africa in the Department of Foreign Affairs. During this period, he participated in South Africa’s conflict resolution efforts in Lesotho, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Comoros, Zimbabwe and Great Lakes region.
In 2001, he was appointed Head of the Presidential Support Unit which advised the Presidency on conflict situations in Africa and the Middle East.

Contributing to the peace process in Burundi, as South Africa’s Special Envoy, Ambassador Nhlapo formed part of the South African negotiating team assisting to find a solution to the conflict in Burundi. He was appointed deputy Head of Mission responsible for political affairs in the African Union Mission in Burundi. He later became the Head of the Political Section of the United Nations Mission in Burundi.

Shortly before assuming the post as South African Ambassador to the United States on 14 August 2007, Ambassador Nhlapo was Director in the Department of Political Affairs (Africa Division 1) at the United Nation’s Headquarters in New York.
Ambassador Nhlapo currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Nelson Mandela’s Children Fund in the United States of America.

Ambassador Nhlapo was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is married to Mrs Sissy Nhlapo; they have three children.

Asian Cinema Club's Screening of Beijing Bicycle

We would like to announce that the Asian Cinema Club will be showing the Chinese film Beijing Bicycle on Wednesday, February 25, 2009. It is in Mandarin with English subtitles. More information about the film can be found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276501/ .

From Andy Spackman in the Library

Global Trade and Economics
During this open-door workshop we will explore sources for economic indicators, demographics, and trade data provided by the World Bank, IMF, OECD, and UN.

Wednesday, February 18th, 5:30 pm
Repeated Thursday, February 19th, 11:00 am
Room 240 TNRB

This is part of a series of clinics, others of which may also be of interest. You can view the full schedule here: http://www.lib.byu.edu/business/the-business-research-clinics/

Design Your Internship Abroad

Friday, 30 January
10:00 a.m.
257 HRCB
Name your price to travel abroad.
Intern abroad this summer.

For more information on existing internships see http://kennedy.byu.edu/isp.

CFR Academic Conference Calls

BYU is holding regular CFR Conference Calls. They are normally held in the small conference room in the HRCB (just south of the lobby). Here is some additional information forwarded by Cory Leonard.


On behalf of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), I invite you and your students to participate in the next session of the Winter/Spring 2009 CFR Academic Conference Call Series on Thursday, February 5, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. (ET). Mona Yacoubian, special adviser to the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention's Muslim World Initiative at the United States Institute of Peace, will lead the discussion on "Dealing with Damascus." For the complete schedule of upcoming Academic Conference Calls, visit http://www.cfr.org/educators/newsletter_detail.html?id=1275.

Ms. Yacoubian is the coauthor, along with Scott Lasensky, of the Council Special Report "Dealing with Damascus: Seeking a Greater Return on U.S.-Syria Relations." She has consulted for a number of organizations, including the World Bank, the U.S. Department of State, RAND Corporation, and Freedom House. From 1990 to 1997, Ms. Yacoubian served as the North Africa analyst in the State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where she focused on the crisis in Algeria. She is a frequent commentator on leading U.S. and international news outlets, and was a Fulbright scholar in Syria and an international affairs fellow at CFR, where she published a monograph titled "Algeria's Struggle for Democracy."

As background for the discussion, you may wish to have your students review the following materials:

1) "Engaging Syria? Lessons from the French Experience," Policy Briefing, International Crisis Group, January 15, 2009; http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/middle_east___north_africa/arab_israeli_conflict/syria/b27_engaging_syria___lessons_from_the_french_experience.pdf

2) Richard N. Haass and Martin Indyk, "A Time for Diplomatic Renewal: Toward a New U.S. Strategy in the Middle East," Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President, a CFR-Saban Center at Brookings Book, December 2008; (The chapter will be included with the dial-in instructions.)

3) Scott Lasensky and Mona Yacoubian, "Dealing with Damascus: Seeking a Greater Return on U.S.-Syria Relations," Council Special Report, Council on Foreign Relations, June 2008; http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/Syria_CSR33.pdf

4) Jeremy M. Sharp, "Syria: Background and U.S. Relations," CRS Report for Congress, May 1, 2008 (Updated).http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33487.pdf

Irina A. Faskianos
Vice President, National Program & Outreach
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street, New York, New York 10065
tel 212.434.9465 cell 201.463.4515 fax 212.434.9829
ifaskianos@cfr.org www.cfr.org

BYU Political Review

We want to inform you of a new opportunity for International Relations Students. The BYU Political Review is a campus newspaper written by students covering political and international analysis and opinion. We know that it takes time and effort to write an article outside of class, so from now on, if you write and submit an article that is accepted for publication, you will get $20 cash. Submit articles to byupoliticalreview@gmail.com.

Keep articles 700-1000 words on any political topic. Articles with strong arguments and good writing are more likely to be accepted for publication. If your article is published, your money will be available the following Thursday 6:00 257 HRCB. You can read and comment on current articles at byupoliticalreview.com.You can also join our Facebook group and debate politics online with other students. You can join by visiting http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=46132894957&ref=ts

We would love to have you on our staff! If you are interested, please come to weekly meetings Thursday 6:00 257 HRCB. Each week, there are stimulating discussions on political affairs. We look forward to receiving your articles.

Best Wishes,

Zach Davis (Editor)

Asian Cinema Club

The Asian Cinema Club screens a movie on campus one a month from different areas of Asia. Our goal is to enrich the education of students by providing opportunities to learn more about Asian cultures, language, history, and religion through film. As well as an opportunity to provide extra credit, these screenings can provide exposure to other Asian cultures which will facilitate an understanding of Asia as a whole. Before each screening we have a short lecture by a faculty member.

We would also like to announce that we are screening the Indian movie Water on Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00pm in JFSB B002. Here is an informational website. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240200/

Sincerely,
Michelle Burgess
President of the Asian Cinema Club

How Government Looks at Pundits

An Op-ed piece by Eliot A. Cohen in today's Wall Street Journal. An insightful description of how foreign policy is made within the US government.

"Government resembles nothing so much as the party game of telephone, in which stories relayed at second, third or fourth hand become increasingly garbled as they crisscross other stories of a similar kind ('That may be what the Russian national security adviser said to the undersecretary for political affairs on Wednesday, but it's not how the Turkish foreign minister described the Syrian view to our ambassador to NATO on Thursday.') Add to this the effects of secrecy induced by security concerns, as well as by the natural desire to play one's cards close to one's vest, and the result is a well-nigh impenetrable murk of policy making."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123267054604308313.html

Sigma Iota Rho

This email is sent on behalf of Stephen Griffiths, Sigma Iota Rho president for winter 2009.

Please send responses to this email to byusir@gmail.com.

Who We Are
Sigma Iota Rho (SIR), the honor society for international studies, is the premier honor society for those interested in international relations, political science and geography. SIR has over 82 chapters in the United States.

Why Join SIR leadership?
· Build friendships that will last past graduation. With similar international interests, you will very likely see SIR members again in the future.
· Strengthen your resume with demonstrable leadership experience.
· Become a part of the BYU experience by being at the heart of an active honor society.
· Meet and network with internationally-focused BYU students. You never know what internship opportunities and class suggestions can come from meeting like-minded peers.

Who we are looking for
· SIR is looking to fill treasurer, activities chair and membership coordinator roles for the winter 2009 semester. These positions are open to all BYU students in international relations, political science, area studies and geography.
· We also accept applications for upperclassmen to serve as Area Emphasis Presidents for Latin America, the Near and Middle East, Europe and other areas. These positions are part of the new Area Emphasis program, a push which will allow students to organize in smaller groups according to geographic interest. If you are interested in Western Europe, for instance, then you will be able to connect with other students who enjoy Europe, speak a European language and/or have visited there.

Responsibilities of SIR leaders
Commit to 2-3 hours of work per week. Attend all SIR brief bi-weekly meetings and bi-monthly activities. If chosen as an Area Emphasis President, plan on organizing two small activities each semester for your cohort.

How to Join SIR leadership?
Again, you do not have to be a current SIR member to apply. If interested in one of the intriguing leadership opportunities listed above, please email blocked::mailto:byusir@gmail.com. Be sure to include the following four points in your email:
Your name and major
Your planned graduation date
What leadership position(s )you are applying for
Why you should be selected for that leadership position(s)

We look forward to receiving applications as we build the internationally-focused community at BYU.

Sincerely,
Sigma Iota Rho Leadership

India Study Abroad

from Charles W. Nuckolls in the anthropology department:

The brand new INDIA STUDY ABROAD program is now avaiable for applications. Please do pass the word to your students. The program will emphasize language learning and research, with opportunities across the discplines -- from anthropology, political science, and sociolgy, to international business, development, and the arts. The students will be located in Visakhapatnam, a coastal city of 2 million residents and home to four major universities. I will direct the program, in conjunction with my local colleague, Professor M. V. Krishnayya (Andhra University.)

The program will run from August 1st to December 1st, 2009. Applications are due by February 15th.

Archival Travel Footage from China

I ran across a fascinating post at a blog called "QuirkyBeijing" which links to old film footage at the Travel Film Archive on YouTube. The footage would be very interesting to anyone who has visited these places and wants to see how much things have changed since the early 1900's.

Listening to the narration is a real treat too. The English language has evolved a lot since these clips were made. Attitudes toward the rest of the world seem to have changed also, as these come across as pretty patronizing.

This is worth at least a little of your time.

Here's the link - http://www.quirkybeijing.com/?p=62