Dr.Matthew Tubin for International Cafe

Debts, Vultures and Default
November 14th 2007- Wednesday

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In November 2007, Matthew R. Tubin, a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, lead a discussion on uncertainty and how it is related to understanding when international institutions emerge and evolve to manage sovereign debt crises.

Dr. Tubin focused on the political process surrounding the IMF’s proposed Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism in the aftermath of the Argentine Financial Crisis in late 2001 and early 2002, as well as the US Treasury’s successful alternative proposal and the role of the private sector in the debate. He also discussed the current financial market crisis in the US and Europe and subsequent trends that are emerging with regard to a major growth in capital flows to emerging market countries.

 

 

Special guest Amal Fadlalla

Embodying Honor
November 9th, 2007 - Friday

To watch the video, send an email to Ms.Melissa Field at maf83@drexel.edu

In November 2007, Amal Fadlalla from the University of Michigan came to Drexel to talk about her new book, Embodying Honor: Fertility, Foreignness and Regeneration in Eastern Sudan.  Her historically grounded ethnography delves into women’s reproductive histories, personal narratives, and ritual logics to reveal the ways in which women challenge cultural understandings of gender, honor, and reproduction.

 

Dr.Eric Zillmer for International Cafe

Destination Guantanamo bay, Cuba - The Legitimacy of GTMO: An eyewitness report

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In November of 2006, Dr. Zillmer was invited by the Pentagon to visit the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to take a first-hand look at the facilities, meet medical staff and behavioral science consultants to interrogators, and review policies and practices pertinent to detainee care and management.

Dr. Zillmer discussed GTMO policies and showed pictures from his trip.  He also explained how the U.S. government deals with terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, described how interrogations take place, explained what daily life at GTMO is like, and factored in the role of psychologists at the detention center.

Destination Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - The Legitimacy of GTMO: An Eyewitness Report

 

 

Megan Tracy for International Cafe

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In 2007, a number of news stories appeared heralding safety problems with products coming out of the People’s Republic of China. 

Megan Tracy will discuss food safety and standardization, presenting the case of “Green Food”— chemical free or reduced — but not certifiably organic food products.  The discussion will focus on the actors and institutions involved in regulating and developing trademarked “Green Food” to sprovide an example of China’s struggles to deal with its food safety and security problems.

Megan Tracy is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

 

Rebecca Clothey for International Cafe

In February 2008, Rebecca Clothey discussed From Everest to Rushmore: An English language Program for Tibetans in China.  Dr. Clothey addressed the reasons why Tibetans struggle to secure adequate language instruction and the measures being taken to teach Tibetans English.  

Dr. Rebecca Clothey is an assistant professor of education and director of the Higher Education Program at Drexel. Prior to coming to Drexel, Dr. Clothey worked for such international organizations as UNESCO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the RAND Corporation. Dr. Clothey's extensive international experience spans five countries, including the United States, India, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, and China, where she lived for five years.  She has studied Chinese higher education policy for minorities since 1999.  Her research on this topic has been funded by several federal grants, including two Fulbright Fellowships and a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship.