Inaugural Annual Atlanta Global Studies Symposium
2019 Theme: The UN Sustainable Development Goals in
Education, Research, and Community Engagement
The Inaugural Annual Atlanta Global Studies Symposium fosters collaboration among institutions of higher education, the public and the community, and the k-12 sector in the Atlanta region and beyond through education, research, and outreach about global, regional, and international studies and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. All events are free and open to the public, with pre-registration, and will take place at the Bill Moore Student Success Center (225 N Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30332).
Symposium working papers, modules, and reports:
- "Inter-Disciplinary International Studies Program as Elite Programs: Thoughts on Curriculum", by Alexandru Balas, International Studies Program, SUNY Cortland
- “The Global Media Festival Course Modules Template -- Title of the Course Module: Neukölln Unlimited - A Case Study of Migration”; Module Developed by: Britta Kallin, Annika Orich, Jan Uelzmann, Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Languages
- "The UN Sustainable Development Goals and Human Trafficking: Opportunities and Challenges”, by David Okech, University of Georgia School of Social Work
- Report: RCE Greater Atlanta Track "Transforming Education and Society through University-Community Partnerships”
Schedule
Thursday, April 25
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. : Keynote Lecture and Reception
Clary Theater, Bill Moore Student Success Center, Georgia Tech campus
4 - 5 p.m. Keynote Lecture, hosted in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
Reception to follow from 5 - 6 p.m.
Welcome and Introductory Remarks: Dr. John Lawrence Tone, Associate Dean, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Professor of History, Georgia Institute of Technology
Speaker: Pardis Mahdavi, Acting Dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.
Friday, April 26 - Parallel Sessions
8:30 - 9 a.m. : Registration & Breakfast
9 - 10:30 a.m. : Session One Topics
Advancing Education for Sustainable Development through RCEs |
Location: Press Room A Through multi-sector collaboration and innovative problem-solving, United Nations University has invited regions around the world to form collaborations called Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development – “RCEs.” RCEs harness the power of education to advance the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Guest speaker Kim Smith, co-founder of RCE Greater Portland, will present foundations in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), illustrate priorities to achieve UNESCO’s Global Action Programme on ESD, and highlight ways that RCEs around the world are advancing ESD in their regions. This session will open with a brief introduction to RCE Greater Atlanta, one of seven RCEs in the U.S. and 171 in the world. PANELISTS:
Track I. Transforming Education and Society through University-Community Partnerships |
New Trends in Foreign Language Pedagogy |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite B This panel of to-the-point six-minute presentations focuses on innovative approaches to foreign language learning, including content-based instruction and emphases on intercultural communication and global competence. MODERATOR: Jan Uelzmann, Assistant Professor of German, School of Modern Languages, Georgia Institute of Technology. PRESENTATIONS:
Track II. Teaching and Learning in Global Studies |
Round Table on Virtual Classroom Exchange |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite D A virtual exchange involves connecting students from different parts of the world online over a shared project. Faculty from all disciplines use tools like Webex Teams, Google Hangouts and Zoom, and students collaborate and connect with students from other communities. Panelist will share their experiences with this exciting teaching approach. MODERATOR:
PANELISTS:
Track III. Global Connections: Inequality and Interchange |
Translating Sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite A MODERATOR:
PANELISTS:
Track IV. Translating Sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa |
Immigration, Diversity, and Inequality in the United States |
Location: President's Suite C This session will address some of the major issues related to immigrants and racial/ethnic diversity in the United States, especially in the Atlanta metropolitan region. Presenters will discuss topics such as DACA and undocumented status immigrants, refugee resettlement, policies and practices that promote welcoming communities for immigrants and refugees, and how attitudes about immigrants and people of other races/ethnicities can affect the implementation of social policy like healthcare. Panelists include scholars, authors, and community directors from the Atlanta area. CHAIR:
WELCOME:
SPEAKERS:
Track V. Challenges in Development: A Global-Local Perspective |
10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. : Refreshments
11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. : Session Two Topics
Successes and Challenges in Promoting a Sustainable Future: Regional and Global Perspectives from RCEs around the World |
Location: Press Room A This session brings perspectives on sustainable development from RCE colleagues across the globe. From the U.S. Atlantic Coastline to Mexico to Hamburg, the participants will share their experiences promoting sustainable development through university-community partnerships focused on education, research, community development, economic revitalization and environmental restoration. FACILITATOR:
PANELISTS:
Track I: Transforming Education and Society through University-Community Partnerships |
Roundtable on New Directions in Global Education and Discussion of the Global Research Opportunities Workshop (GROW) |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite B MODERATOR:
PANELISTS:
Track II: Teaching and Learning in Global Studies |
Inequality & Human Trafficking |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite D This panel examines causes, consequences, and solutions to address global human trafficking, including labor and sex trafficking. The presentations will trace the global human trafficking networks that connect Metro Atlanta to the rest of the world. The panelists include scholars, lawyers, and activists engaged in understanding or combatting human trafficking in the United States, West Africa, and Asia. MODERATOR:
PRESENTATIONS:
Track III. Global Connections: Inequality and Interchange |
Film Screening with Conversation |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite A Ziad Kalthoum’s Taste of Cement (Germany, 2017). This essay film documents Syrian construction workers building new skyscrapers in Beirut on the ruins caused by the Lebanese civil war. At the same time, their own houses are being bombed in Syria. A curfew prohibits them from leaving the construction site after work. Every night in their pit below the skyscraper, the news from their homeland and the memories of the war chase them. Mute and imprisoned in the cement underground, they must endure until the new day arrives where the hammering and welding drown out their nightmares. Track IV: Translating Sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa |
Comparative Development and the Role of the State |
Location: Student Success Center President's Suite C This interdisciplinary session will bring together scholars in economics, international affairs and political science who will discuss development challenges in a global perspective. Presenters will discuss topics such as the role of state, type of government, and the impact of conflict in the development process. Provision of public good and importance of survey methods and qualitative data, investment in human capital and labor market outcomes will be discussed using case studies from countries in Asia, Africa, Central Europe and Latin America. MODERATOR:
WELCOME:
SPEAKERS:
Track V: Challenges in Development: A Global-Local Perspective |
12:30 - 2 p.m. : Boxed Lunches, Poster Session, Resource Tables
1 p.m. : Remarks by President G.P. Peterson, Georgia Institute of Technology, Vanessa Ibarra, Director, Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, City of Atlanta.
2 - 4 p.m. : Session Three Topics
Bringing it Home: Lessons and Next Steps for Building Partnerships in RCE Greater Atlanta |
Location: Student Success Center Press Room A This facilitated, interactive session will analyze and synthesize best practices in promoting RCE Greater Atlanta’s priority SDGs, gleaned from earlier sessions. Priority SDGs include: SDG1-No Poverty, SDG2-Zero Hunger, SDG3-Good Health and Well-Being, SDG4-Quality Education, SDG9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG11-Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG13-Climate Action. The goal here is to exchange ideas and facilitate collaborations among RCE Greater Atlanta members inside and outside higher education, as well as with our colleagues from regional and global RCEs. The session will conclude by outlining concrete next steps for advancing the SDGs through education, research and action partnerships. KEYNOTE LISTENER:
FACILITATOR:
PANELISTS:
DISCUSSION GROUP LEADERS:
Track I: Transforming Education and Society through University-Community Partnerships. |
Building Global and International Studies programs: Challenges and Opportunities |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite B Global and international studies programs are increasingly popular at colleges and universities. What are the logistical challenges and intellectual opportunities of building these interdisciplinary programs? Scholars from a range of different models will discuss these issues. MODERATOR:
PANELISTS:
Track II: Teaching and Learning in Global Studies |
Violence and the Media |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite D This panel explores the relationship between violence and the media, addressing issues of news coverage of violence, violence as entertainment, and the influence of the Internet and social media on this relationship. PANELISTS:
Track III. Global Connections: Inequality and Interchange |
Sustainability in Middle East Cities: Challenges and Opportunities |
Location: Student Success Center President’s Suite A SPEAKER:
Track IV: Translating Sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa |
Development Economics Consortium |
Location: Student Success Center President's Suite C This session will highlight frontiers of research in the area of development economics. The session will include research presentations on a wide range of topics, covering both micro and macro perspectives of development. This is the first time scholars who are actively conducting research in development economics, will come together in the hope of forming a professional network to enhance collaboration among higher educational institutes in Atlanta and nearby areas. CHAIR:
WELCOME:
PANELISTS:
Track V. Challenges in Development: A Global-Local Perspective |
Saturday, April 27
K-12 Workshop: The UN’s Sustainability Goals & Teaching World Cultures, Social Studies, and Foreign Languages
in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education World Languages and Global Workforce Initiatives and the Georgia Tech Global Media Fest
Saturday, April 27th 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Bill Moore Student Success Center, Georgia Tech Campus
9 - 9:05 a.m. Welcome and introductions
9:05 - 10:15 a.m.
Sabrina Grossman, Program Director in Science Education, and Diley (Dyla) Hernandez, Senior Research Scientist; Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC), GA Tech, “Problem Based Learning and Culturally Authentic Education to Promote Equity and Resiliency”
10:15 - 11:30 a.m. Global Media Fest Panel: Sustainability Across Languages and Culture
Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Associate Professor of Spanish, GA Tech (moderator)
Amanda Weiss, Visiting Assistant Professor of Japanese, GA Tech, “Discussion of Film: Ashes to Honey – The Search for Energy Independent in Japan and Sweden”
Jin Liu, Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Culture, GA Tech, “China events archive and teaching modules and materials”
Jan Uelzmann, Assistant Professor of German; Britta Kallin, Associate Professor of German; Annika Orich, Assistant Professor of German, GA Tech, “Discussion of Documentary: Neukölln Unlimited – immigration into Germany”
Stephanie Boulard, Associate Professor of French, GA Tech, “Discussion of Film: Swagger on immigration and social issues in France today”
11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch and Keynote:
Rhina Fernandes Williams, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education & Elementary Education, GSU, “You've Got the Power: Critical & Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Global Justice Education"
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Awad Awad, Program Director of Arabic Study Abroad and Coordinator of Arabic Summer Language Institute, UNG, “Landing the Flying Carpet: Teaching Arabic in the American South – a dialogue on linguistic sustainability”
Yunjuan He, Associate Professor of Chinese, UNG, “A content-based language course: Sustainability – examples from China”
2:00 – 2:10 p.m. Break
2:10 – 3:30 p.m.
Paula Mellon, Associate Director, Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education, College of Education, UGA, “Collaborative conversation-based instruction to integrate sustainability themes across the curricula”