From: Yongho Kim
To: solidarity@adelantemac.org
Cc: colhapp@macalester.edu, mio@macalester.edu
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 11:36:35 -0600
Subject: Re: Thoughts on International Symposium
Solidarity group,
I talked with Sheena Paul and Aaron Colhapp after sending out the email below, and we came to the understanding that 1) the actual content of the International Symposium is not under IC-MIO’s control, so thus the mismatch between title and presentation, and 2) the symposium is not intended to be a continuation of the conversations last year surrounding the name and purpose of the “Center for Global Citizenship”. The four speakers coming to Macalester to talk at the panel “What is a global citizen?” have not been instructed, nor are they aware of, the tensions at the campus of last fall around the center, although it is meant to provide a neutral perspective on related issues.
That said I think this email was not put in its proper context because people at the Solidarity group met many times last semester to talk about the issue and developed our own (and internally differing) understandings of what “citizen” and “global” signify. I meant to explain 1) my own understanding of where these discussions in the Solidarity group were heading to, and how 2.a) the language used in, and the 2.b) group/symbolic affiliations of the individuals being brought to, the International Symposium, were in conversation with each other (1 and 2) in my head. I meant to explain them in writing over the past weekend, and I couldn’t. So that’s later, another time.
The reason this kind of explanation would be needed is because both Aaron Colhapp and Sheena Paul said that I portrayed the International Symposium and its organizers badly, and that I was tarnishing the image of the event (this is not a direct quote). I disagree, because I think that I spoke to the sensibilities of those of us who have been following closely said conversations. The solidarity group is a tiny group of students, 5-10 at the most, who met on a weekly one-to-three hour basis during the fall of 2004 to talk about multicultulralism, internationalism, relationship between students labeled as “diverse” by the administration, institutional embodiments and contradictions of what diversity means, and so forth. Contrary to the uninformed slander of Eliot Brown’05 in his Mac Weekly article and some faculty members, the group was not affiliated with, directed by, or initiated by, Scott Morgensen, Peter Rachleff, or others members of the faculty/staff. I am not a puppet, I know how to think and reflect by myself, just like others.
I apologize for offending/criticizing the organizers of the International Symposium, for assuming that the Symposium was a response to criticisms directed by students to the ideological foundations of the Center for Global Citizenship, and for causing small disturbance right before the Symposium was initiating. I’m not wishing bad for the Symposium. I’ll try to explain the rest another time.
Yongho Kim
On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 16:55:19 -0600, Yongho Kim wrote:
Yes, I know several MIO friends are in this list.
Ups: the words “local” and “public affairs” in the title.
Down: the actual symposium content is not so “local” or “public affair”; it’s the usual stuff about the UN, elites crossing borders, corporations, etc. Plus, I don’t think whoever wrote the program understands what “transnational” means. Quote: “Though the primary focus will be on Asia, many of the issues covered will be transnational.” My response: the person probably meant “transcontinental”? There isn’t much in the way of difference between “international” and “transnational”, except maybe for a nuance, in the tones of the “bilateral-multilatera” duality. Or, did they mean domestic multiculturalism?
Interesting: they are talking about the global citizen, again. The keynote speaker has two nationalities. (Not quite what the conversations last year about “going beyond citizenship and the nation-state” were about? This is not a continuation of Latham, but these two ideas talked to each other in my reading)
yk
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HE GLOBAL AND THE LOCAL CURRENT DEBATES IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Feb 23-25, 2005
Organized by the IC Co-sponsored by the MIO
The purpose of the 2005 International Center Symposium is to engage students across campus in a shared, student-led learning experience, resulting in better understanding of the complex phenomena of selected topical world issues, based on their own research and experience in a specific world region or subject. In doing so, we have shifted the format of previous International Week symposia to focus on teams of students preparing a public debate on topics of pressing controversy which have both local and global implications.
Macalester students share a common interest in engaging constructively with world issues, and many domestic and international students have developed significant expertise, either through lived experience, through off- campus research or through their courses, with problems faced by the world’s citizens in the 21st century. The 2005 International Center Symposium will feature paired small teams of students and alumni presenting opinions from both sides of a topical debate having to do with issues of cross-national interest; following by a culminating event featuring a keynote speaker of note, discussion of the meaning of internationalism in a personal context, and presentation of the 2005 Internationalism Award.
Symposium Schedule:
February 23,2005 Olin Rice 350 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Should the United Nations Abolish the Security Council Veto System
This debate centers on the reform of the United Nations Security Council. While experts agree that the need to reinvigorate this forum is essential to the UN’s efficient functioning, the question of how this reform should be carried out is still pending: should the status quo in which the U.S., Great Britain, China, Germany, France, and Russia hold veto power be maintained or should the veto be extended to new permanent members in an expanded Council?
Paul Bisca ’08, Romania (Political Science/International Studies) Brendan Duke ’08, USA (Political Science/International Studies) Momchil Jelev ’08, Bulgaria (International Studies/Economics) Joshua Jorgensen ’08, USA (Undecided)
February 24,2005 Olin Rice 35012:00-1:00 p.m. Outsourcing in Asia
The purpose of this debate is to facilitate awareness on the pros and cons of outsourcing. Though the primary focus will be on Asia, many of the issues covered will be transnational. As more and more jobs in the developed world move abroad, some companies find bottom-line success, but some maintain that this policy promotes unemployment in those companies’ home countries. Though Asian countries welcome increased employment, opponents to outsourcing in Asia are worried that risks of labor, safety and environmental problems can outweigh the benefits.
Heng (Dina) Zhou ’06, China (Economics/Math) Talha Khan ’08, Pakistan (Political Science) Mingjie Zhou ’06, China (Math/Economics) Linh To ’07, Vietnam (Math/Economics)
February 24.2005 Carnegie 06 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. What is a Global Citizen?
Facilitating strong global citizens is an important tenet ofMacalester College’s mission. However, our individual definitions of global citizenship are as diverse as our alumni. At this session, four intellectual alumni aim to spark dialogue by presenting their definitions of what a global citizen is and how to maintain global citizenship whether one is in academia, the public sector, the private sector or somewhere else.
Tonderai Chikuhwa ’96, Sweden and Zimbabwe, United Nations* Karl Dahlquist ’04, Sweden , Centre Latinoamericano de Economia Humana* Andrea Purdekova ’03, Slovakia, Johns Hopkins SAIS Tanzeen Syed ’04, Bangladesh, J.P. Morgan Chase
- Internationalism Award recipient
February 25,2005 Alexander G. Hill Ballroom 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. International Dinner (Keynote Address and Internationalism Award Presentation)
Keynote Address by Tonderai Chikuhwa ’96
About Mr. Chikuhwa: A national of Sweden and Zimbabwe, Mr. Tonderai Chikuhwa holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science and International Studies from Macalester College, and a Masters degree in Political Studies from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He lectured on political science at the University of Cape Town prior to joining the United Nations.
Mr. Chikuhwa is presently Special Assistant to the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Children and Armed Conflict. He also served as Child Protection Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone. In these capacities Mr. Chikuhwa has engaged in advocacy for children affected by armed conflict, as well as design and implementation of programmatic interventions for children in conflict and post-conflict situations.
In his scholarship and research, Mr. Chikuhwa has concentrated on issues of political and economic development in Africa, particularly in the context of globalization. Additionally, as a Research Fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, he focused specifically on questions of international migration policy and protection of internally displaced populations.
Dinner: A selection of cuisine from around the world.
Internationalism Award: Presentation of the Internationalism Award to a Macalester student who exemplifies a commitment to academic achievement, internationalism, and service to the community.
Reservations for the International Dinner on Friday, February 25 are available by advance purchase only from the International Center and Macalester International Organization (MIO). Please call the International Center at (651) 696-6310 for further information and reservations for the dinner. Reservations can also be made at the Campus Center during the lunch period. Meal prices are $8 (non-students) and $4 (students). The deadline for dinner reservations is February 21, 2005.
Internatrional Week: Previous Years
2004: Human Migration, Immigration & Refugees: Liberal Arts and
Professional Perspectives
2003: The Ancient Mediterranean
2002: The Arts, Identity, and Internationalism
2001: Media through an International Lens
2000: World Thinkers: An Intellectual Odyssey
1999: Race and Racism in World Perspective
1998: Cosmopolitanism and the Convergence of Cultures
1997: Understanding Cultures through Film
1996: Ethnically Diverse Societies
1995: Reflections Across Cultures
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