Tuesday, April 16 at 6 p.m.
Dale Hall 218
The Center for the Americas and LASI present a screening of 500 Years. Director Pamela Yates and Producer Paco de Onís will host a post-screening discussion and Q&A.
The Young Turks and the Ottoman Occupation of Iran: What Did They Want?
Wednesday, April 17, 12-1 p.m.
Farzaneh Hall 145
The Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies brown bag lecture series presents a talk with Kayhan Nejad, Farzaneh Family Assistant Professor of Iranian Studies.
Bring your lunch; snacks will be provided.
Thursday, April 18, 2 p.m.
Farzaneh Hall 145
Join us for a discussion of Persian and English idioms led by OU Persian language students.
China’s Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing’s Alternative World Order
Thursday, April 25, 12-1:15 p.m.
Zarrow Hall 145
The Institute for US-China Issues presents a lunch and talk with Dawn Murphy, Associate Professor of National Security Strategy, National War College.
Lunch will be served. Please RSVP by April 23 at https://bit.ly/3wmvMQJ
Persian Circle
Every Thursday, 2-3 p.m.
Kaufman Hall 230
Join us every Thursday to learn Persian!
We will enjoy Baklava cake and chai, practice conversation, prepare for upcoming exams and learn about Persian culture.
Persian Tutoring
Wednesdays & Fridays 10-11 a.m.
Farzaneh 319
Improve your Persian language skills with our free tutoring! Meet with tutor Proshat Haghighi to practice conversation, seek help on your homework, or get ready for an upcoming test. Persian tutoring is available to all students, even if not enrolled in Persian classes.
OADII - Oklahoma Aerospace & Defense Innovation Institute and OU International Security Student Association Present (Ret.) Colonel Drew Allen and (Ret.) General Robin Rand. "Lessons Learned From over 65 Years of Air Force Service" Wednesday, April 10, 2024 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the OU Armory located at 440 W. Brooks St.
Two CIS faculty members are among the recipients of OU's "Big Idea Challenge 2.0," a program facilitated by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships and designed to foster cross-disciplinary research projects. The projects selected for this year's challenge are focused on solving major worldwide challenges and are expected to attract substantial external funding in the future. The project involving CIS faculty is titled “Climate Information and Actionable Timescales for Climate Security in Latin America." It is led by Kathy Pegion, an associate professor and Williams Chair in the OU School of Meteorology, with co-principal investigators Fabio de Sa e Silva, Associate Professor of International Studies and Wick Cary Professor of Brazilian Studies in CIS, and Rachel Schwartz, Assistant Professor of International & Area Studies in CIS.
CIS Board of Visitors member Steve Dolman passed away on February 16, 2024. CIS Interim Dean Jonathan Stalling has shared the below message reflecting on Dolman's legacy at the College of International Studies: Many CIS students, faculty and staff who call Farzaneh Hall their campus home enter the building each day through the double doors that open from the Marjorie Buchner Dolman Courtyard, and many of us take a moment every week to talk with colleagues, students or friends at one of several tables near the water fountain. Yet this space became all the more meaningful to us last week with the passing of Steve Dolman, a long-term advocate of OU Study Abroad and a longtime member of the CIS Board. His gift made in honor of his mother Marjorie has left a lasting legacy for our college by providing us with a lovely commons on our college grounds to meet and discuss global affairs, plan our next study abroad adventure, catch up on the news of the day, or simply sit alone to study for the next exam. A world traveler, international businessman, and Sooner through and through, I know seeing this shared space getting used daily is something that Steve would be proud of.
Hannah Chapman, who is an assistant professor of International & Area Studies as well as the Theodore Romanoff Assistant Professor of Russian Studies, has just published a new book with Cambridge University Press, Dialogue with the Dictator: Authoritarian Legitimation and Information Management in Putin's Russia. The book examines how non-democracies use quasi-democratic participation opportunities to shore up their regimes – and the potential costs of such strategies.
An article by Rachel Schwartz, Assistant Professor of International & Area Studies, was named among the top 10 most-read Hopkins Press journal articles of 2023. "How Guatemala Defied the Odds," which Schwartz co-authored with Anita Isaacs, was published in the October 2023 issue of the Journal of Democracy.
In the interest of promoting African studies and supporting student research at the University of Oklahoma, the African Studies Institute will provide a Student Research Grant of up to $1,000 to support independent student research or creative activity related to African studies. The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oklahoma.
Early in her undergraduate career, Jackie Gibson set a goal: to one day work as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. The Tulsa native earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies with three minors –Chinese, international security studies, and global energy, environment and resources – and then continued at CIS for her master’s in international studies (MAIS). Now in her final year of graduate school, Gibson is drawing closer to her goal: last fall, she began a Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) internship with the U.S. Department of State.
IAS Assistant Professor Rachel Schwartz's recently published book was included in Democracy Paradox's list of "5 Absolute Must Read Books About Democracy from 2023." The book, Undermining the State from Within: The Institutional Legacies of Civil War in Central America (Cambridge University Press), "pulls back the curtain on the counterinsurgent state to better understand how conflict dynamics affect state institutions and continue to shape political and economic development in the postwar period." Democracy Paradox writer Justin Kempf explained that the book was selected because "Schwartz dives into the weeds with her case studies...[she] has written a book that will serve as a foundational text for a wide range of future scholars."
Associate Professor of International Studies and Wick Cary Professor of Brazilian Studies Fabio de Sa e Silva has co-edited a new book published with FGV Press in Brazil, titled Rule of Law and Authoritarian Populism: Institutional Erosion and Resistance in Brazil (2018–2022). The book includes 13 chapters written by 23 authors based in three countries (Brazil, Canada and the U.S.). Contributors examine the fate of institutions, law and democracy in Brazil under former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Waleed Mahdi, Associate Professor of US-Arab Cultural Politics in the College of International Studies, has published an article in the latest issue of the Journal of American Ethnic History. The article is titled, "Contemporary Modes of Yemeni American Agency Between Urgency and Emergence."
Amelia Landry, an International and Area Studies major from Allen, Texas, was named College of International Studies Outstanding Senior for the 2023-2024 academic year. She received her award in a ceremony earlier this month, with Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students David Surratt presenting and adjunct faculty member Chris Sartorius representing the College of International Studies. Outstanding Senior is an annual award given to one student from each college who demonstrates exceptional achievements in scholarship, honors, awards, leadership and service. Congratulations to Amelia on her achievement!
The College of International Studies is hosting a spring break experience in Washington, D.C., "The U.S. and the World," for international studies majors, minors and students interested in international relations. We will visit think tanks, nonprofits, embassies, media outlets and government agencies to learn more about careers in government and international relations.
Natalie Letsa, Wick Cary Assistant Professor of Political Economy in the College of International Studies, recently published an article in the Journal of Modern African Studies, titled "Judge, Landlord, Broker, Watchman: Assessing Variation in Chiefly Duties and Authority in the Ghana–Togo Borderlands." The article was co-authored by Martha Wilfahrt.
Mark Raymond, Wick Cary Associate Professor of International Security in the College of International Studies, published an article on October 22, 2023 in the journal Contemporary Security Policy, "Authoritarian multilateralism in the global cyber regime complex: The double transformation of an international diplomatic practice." The article was coauthored with Justin Sherman.
Weining Ai is the Newman Postdoctoral Fellow in the Institute for US-China Issues, College of International Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He received his PhD in Political Science from Arizona State University in 2023. His research interests lie in foreign policy analysis, international security and political economy, and China. His research explores the processes and outcomes of economic sanctions, military coercion, international conflict and cooperation, Chinese foreign policy, and US-China relations.
For older stories, visit our blog, CIS Snapshot, which ran from 2016-2023 and featured student and faculty profiles, study abroad stories, international events and organizations and more.
