LS NEWS | November 26, 2019
GLS at 10 Years was a terrific success and a meaningful celebration of Liberal Studies’ dynamic, interdisciplinary global degree. Reflecting on how GLS has grown and developed since its inception and on the successes of our alumni, students, and faculty, we are extremely confident about the future. Indeed, if the energy and enthusiasm that our students, faculty, alumni, and other esteemed guests brought to each and every event is any indication, we’re charging full speed ahead into another fabulous ten years. We invite you to join us as we recap our week-long celebration.
Global Populisms, Refugees, and Immigration
Tuesday, October 22
As the kick-off event for GLS at 10, the Global Populisms, Refugees, and Immigration panel drew in a full house with an overflow audience in the lobby of Gallatin, watching a live feed. Addressing political upheaval around the world and the resulting displacement of human life, as well as the rhetoric used to describe immigration here in the United States, the subject matter felt more timely and relevant than ever.
“Identities are not only not primordial, they are also dependent on bureaucratic maneuvers.” —Professor Dina Siddiqi on nationality, citizenship, and statelessness
Repurposing Sustainable Fashion: Clothing & Textile Waste & Reuse
Wednesday, October 23
The second event of GLS at 10 was also the launch of the Sustainability, Health, and the Environment (SHE) GLS concentration. Repurposing Sustainable Fashion brought GLS’s brand new concentration into the limelight with a bang. The powerhouse panel included Idania del Río and Leire Fernandez flying in from Cuba to offer their unique perspective as co-founders of Clandestina, a Cuban clothing brand that designs pieces “sourced from whatever we can find, made wherever we need to make them, and brought to you however we can.” The feeling in the room reflected the real stakes at hand in the face of environmental degradation and loss of natural resources. The audience was all-ears, and GLS students in particular came ready to ask the important questions during the Q&A.
“In Cuba, you never throw anything away. We are always reusing things for any purpose, so it’s in our genetics. But it’s not a choice, it’s how we survive.” —Idania del Río of Clandestina
Pedagogies of the Global: Liberal Studies and Counter-Hegemonic Knowledge Production
Thursday, October 24
Pedagogies of the Global went straight to the core of what it means to craft a global and interdisciplinary curriculum. Describing what a counter-hegemonic pedagogy might look like, faculty noted both the challenges and creative opportunities that emerge in rethinking the canon and decentering the position of western texts in the curriculum. Each of the participants challenged the audience to bring a critical global perspective to their pedagogy, calling upon GLS to be at the frontier of expanding the boundaries of academia by pushing for “access to non-hegemonic forms of knowledge” (Professor Mitra Rastegar) and “breaking through the perspective of the nation-state” (Dean Julie Mostov).
“I think a counter-hegemonic pedagogy can mean different things, but for a historian, by historicizing the canon, we globalize. There’s no way we can globalize without historicizing.” —Professor Mahnaz Yousefzadeh
Let There Be Light: Phosphorus and the Chemical Humanities
Friday, October 25
Let There Be Light highlighted student participation and poster presentations. Professors Alex Wragge-Morley and Farzad Mahootian led the way with a TEDx type introduction while our student speakers impressed everyone with a high level of professionalism and enthusiasm as they presented their posters. Exploring the impact of phosphorus on human life, the various posters exemplified how one element and its chemical properties can greatly influence the development of civilizations and international relations.
“We want to show that integrating science with the humanities allows us to envisage new research agendas, new agendas for teaching and scholarship.” —Professor Alex Wragge-Morley
GLS Voices
Friday, October 25
Featuring twenty of our esteemed faculty members reading small jewels from their work, GLS Voices offered a feast of riches and an opportunity to get to know the brilliant minds behind the Global Liberal Studies curriculum.
GLS Visions
Friday, October 25
GLS Visions offered us a chance to put on an Oculus headset and have a 360° experience, virtually following our professors to New York City locations essential to their teaching. Almost as fun as donning the headset was watching guests turn their heads and move about the room as they inspected every degree of the immersive space inside the headset.
GLS at 10 Years Festive Celebration
Friday, October 25
The reviews are in: Hemmerdinger Hall has never looked so good! From the purple uplighting to the gorgeous flower arrangements, the stage was set for a party, and from the moment the doors opened, the room was buzzing with energy. A constant flow of students, faculty, staff, and guests (including President Andy Hamilton) enjoyed delicious food, posed with props in the photo booth, and danced to the sound of live Afro-Colombian music. Let it be known--Liberal Studies knows how to celebrate.
The Global Coffee Industry & The Environment: From Farm to Cup
Saturday, October 26
Linking GLS at 10 and Alumni Weekend & Parents Day, our very own Professor Leo Douglas presented The Global Coffee Industry & The Environment. Professor Douglas showed a special video made just for this event where he takes viewers to coffee farms in Jamaica, interviewed a former student whose family works in the coffee industry, and gave out an interactive quiz (with prizes for the top students!). The lecture was such a hit that J. Horowitz, an alum from the Class of ‘68, stood up during the Q&A to say, “Thank you for such a magnificent presentation. I will never, ever see a cup of coffee the same way again.”
GLS Alumni Discussions and Mixer
Saturday, October 26
The Global Roots alumni panel set out to answer the recurrent question: “So what exactly do you do with a liberal arts degree?” Rest assured, our alumni had the answers, as their discussion delved into their experiences abroad during their undergraduate journeys and how they not only influenced their career choices, but also their outlooks on life. As our alumni recounted stories from their time in Paris, Buenos Aires, and other cities around the globe, and even looked back fondly on the senior-year thesis-writing process, current students in the audience (and their parents) heard how Global Liberal Studies would prepare them well to go boldly into the world.
Take it from one of our students, Yujing Zhang:
The highlight of the entire week for me was the Alumni Mixer, when I encountered former students and saw the fruits of the program. From working in the recruitment field to hosting a radio program, to leading the culinary industry in Paris, our alumni are transforming the knowledge they had acquired in GLS into solid skills to rock the city, the nation, and the world. If I still had some doubts and concerns before coming to the event, I felt entirely relieved at the end. I could imagine my potential future while learning about what our alums have achieved. I saw an image of where I could end up working and living one day, which could in fact be anywhere in the world, as the invaluable experience of spending up to two years abroad, being fluent in another language, and completing an internship in another country will truly equip me for my future endeavors wherever I am. I was happy to know that with the interdisciplinary, well-rounded education that GLS provides, I could potentially carry out conversations with different groups of people about a variety of subjects and be prepared for a wide range of careers. I am excited to be a part of this growing and thriving program, and I look forward to seeing what GLS will achieve with another 10 years!
Representing a wide range of disciplines and diverse global perspectives over the course of the past decade, Global Liberal Studies is imagining new forms of knowledge production.. With such ambitious goals, it’s no surprise that a celebration of GLS accomplishments would be a marathon of provocative and engaging events. We’re thrilled to recognize the achievements of our incredible faculty and students, and we thank you for joining us in celebrating GLS at 10 Years.