Butler University

Global and Historical Studies

Spring 2010 Global and Historical Studies Events

(Be sure to check back for updates)

January 26th, 7:00pm- "Other Ways of Dying: The Marquis de Ferrières and the Early Revolution," a lecture by Dr. Alan Williams, Professor of History at Wake Forest University. PB 156.

February 16th, 6:00pm- GHS film "To Live."

Originally banned in China, this moving film is set against four decades of Chinese political turmoil, and follows the lives of a couple as they struggle to survive their own changing station within the upheaval. 6:00pm, JH203.

February 22nd, 6:00pm- GHS film "The Pianist."

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" stars Adrien Brody in the true-life story of pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, the most acclaimed young musician of his time until his promising career was interrupted by the onset of World War II. This powerful, ultimately triumphant, film follows Szpilman’s heroic and inspirational journey of survival in the Warsaw Ghetto. JH141.

Actor Adrian Brody stars as the famous musician, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who fights to survive in the Warsaw Ghetto.

February 24th, 12:15-1:00pm- "Growing Up in the Soviet Union"- a lunch time pizza chat with Butler professor, Dr. Yulia Tolstikov Mast. Come and hear her speak about her experiences growing up in the USSR. Free pizza and soft drinks will be provided. Krannert Room (basement of Clowes Hall). Please RSVP to bcate@butler.edu by February 22.

March 18th, 7:00pm- GHS & German Klub film "The Lives of Others."

This critically-acclaimed, Oscar-winning film is an erotic, emotionally-charged thriller. Before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, East Germany’s population was closely monitored by the State Secret Police (Stasi). Only a few citizens above suspicion, like renowned pro-Socialist playwright Georg Dreyman, were permitted to lead private lives. But when a corrupt government official falls for Georg’s stunning actress-girlfriend, Christa, an ambitious Stasi policeman is ordered to bug the writer’s apartment to gain incriminating evidence against the rival. Now, what the officer discovers is about to dramatically change their lives - as well as his - in this seductive political thriller Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) proclaims is "the best kind of movie: one you can’t get out of your head." (description from Amazon.com) Pharmacy Building 156.

March 26th- Visit to the Islamic Society of North America. Have you ever wanted to visit a mosque? GHS is planning a trip to the local ISNA mosque in Plainfield, Indiana. Stop by JH209 (or email bcate@butler.edu) if you are interested in attending!

April 7th, 7:00pm- Screening of the film "A Forgotten Injustice" followed by a Q&A session. This film is a documentary about the two million Mexican Americans and U.S. citizens who were forced out of the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930's. JH141. Free tickets are required for attendance, and are available from the GHS office (JH209).

April 12th, 6pm- GHS film "Paradise Now"

This film follows two Palestinian childhood friends who have been recruited for a strike on Tel Aviv and focuses on their last days together. When they are intercepted at the Israeli border and separated from their handlers, a young woman who discovers their plan causes them to reconsider their actions. JH203, 6:00pm.

Fall 2009 -The Recent Past

October 5, 2009- "Growing Up in China: Contemporary Chinese History as Personal Experience"- A lunchtime "pizza chat" with Dr. Xin Fan, who teaches GHS. Dr. Fan will talk about what it was like growing up in contemporary China, and will answer questions. Free pizza and soft drinks provided. Please RSVP to bcate@butler.edu by 10/2. 12-12:50pm, Krannert Room. (Basement of Clowes Hall).

October 29, 2009- "Que Bola? Rap, Race, and a Politics of New Black Subject-Making in Cuba”- a lecture by Dr. Marc Perry, Assistant Professor of African Studies and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 5:00pm. Pharmacy Building 156.

October 30, November 6 &13- Visits to local Nur-Allah Islamic Center. Students may sign up for one of three visits to the Nur-Allah mosque to tour the facility and observe Friday prayers. Emailbcate@butler.edu for more information. (6-7 students per trip may sign up due to limited space inside the facility. Students will also provide their own transportation).

November 3, 2009- "Global Islam in a Local Context: The Case of Darfur and the Janjaweed" - a lecture by Dr. Jeff Kaplan, Associate Professor of Religion at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. 7:00pm, Johnson Room (Robertson Hall).

November 5, 2009- “Writing & Rebellion: Iranian Woman's Struggle to Unveil” a lecture by Iranian author, Shirindokht Nourmanesh. A fiction writer, poet, and translator, Shirindokht Nourmanesh was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. Her first collection of short stories and novellas, Domal (The Abscess), was published in the US, and her translations, stories, and memoirs have appeared in print and online journals. She is a member of the Association of Iranian-American Writers (AIAW) and writes both in English and Persian. Shirindokht lives in California and is at work on two compilations of fiction and a collection of poems. 7:00pm. Pharmacy Building 156.

"Women and Islam Discussion Panel"- November 10th, 4:30-5:30pm. GH108. Students from Butler's Muslim Student Association will participate in a discussion panel to answer questions about the role of women in Islam.

November 18, 2009- "Snapshots of an Iranian Woman Activist Living in Tehran"-Esha Momeni is an Iranian-American women rights activist and a member of the One Million Signatures campaign. On October 15, 2008 she was arrested in Tehran while working on her Master’s thesis project on the Iranian women's movement and the One Million Signatures campaign. Esha was charged with “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the state” and was held in section 209 of Tehran's notorious Evin Prison,which is managed by the Intelligence Ministry. She was incarcerated for 28 days, 25 of those in solitary confinement. After Esha was eventually released on bail, the Iranian government imposed a travel ban on her, preventing her to leave the country until this August. She is still waiting for her trial.
Esha is currently working on her thesis at California State University-Northridge. Due to the confiscation of her research materials by the Ministry of Intelligence, she is now working on a project with the focus on political prisoners.
Come and hear Esha talk about her experiences- you won’t want to miss this! 7:00pm, PB156.

November 19, 2009- "Antigone's Resistance and Postcolonial Feminist Politics," a lecture by Dr. Rajeshwari Sunder Rajan, Global Distinguished Professor of English, New York University. 7:00pm, Krannert Room.

December 7, 2009- GHS film "Paradise Now." As in years past, GHS will show the film “Paradise Now.” This film follows two Palestinian childhood friends who have been recruited for a strike on Tel Aviv and focuses on their last days together. When they are intercepted at the Israeli border and separated from their handlers, a young woman who discovers their plan causes them to reconsider their actions. JH141, 6:00pm.