In This Issue

Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Past Mershon graduate affiliate (Ph.D., 2013), now at Harvard University

Gen. Raymond E. Mason Chair in Military History

October 23, 2014

Associate Professor of Political Science

October 27, 2014

October 15, 2014

Mershon Memo is a weekly e-mail newsletter distributed by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, a unit of the Office of International Affairs at The Ohio State University.

   

Stephen Haber is the A.A. and Jeanne Welch Milligan Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is among Stanford's most distinguished teachers, having been awarded every teaching prize Stanford has to offer. Haber has spent his academic life investigating why some societies are characterized by innovation, high standards of living, and democratic governance, while other societies are characterized by poverty and autocracy. He is the author or coauthor of five books, and the editor of five more. His most recent book, (coauthored with Charles Calomiris), Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit, was published by Princeton University Press in 2014. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/habers

An understanding of the historical relations between Iran, Georgia, Armenia and Russia is crucial for appreciating and navigating current political and cultural challenges in the region. The Russo-Persian Workshop will be devoted to looking closely at the relationship between imperial powers at their peak (1820s-1830s), some details of which still remain to be unearthed in archives across the region. Exploring the Russo-Persian relationship through cultural and artistic artifacts will shed light on diplomatic and cultural relations between two vital participants in the so-called "Great Game," Russia and Iran, and will contribute to an understanding of the region today. Organized by Angela Brintlinger (left), Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures; Firuza Melville, Cambridge University; and Jennifer Siegel, History. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/russopersian

Mark Lawrence is associate professor of history and distinguished scholar at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He has published two books, Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam (University of California Press, 2005) and The Vietnam War: A Concise International History (Oxford University Press, 2008). Lawrence is also co-editor of The First Indochina War: Colonial Conflict and Cold War Crisis (Harvard University Press, 2007), Nation-States and the Global Environment: New Approaches to International Environmental History (Oxford University Press, 2013), and Beyond the Cold War: Lyndon Johnson and the New Global Challenges of the 1960s (Oxford University Press, 2014).  Read more and register at go.osu.edu/lawrencem

Mara Telles is professor of political science at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, professor of political science at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and Brazilian Delegate of the World Association for Public Opinion Research. Her interests are in political behavior, electoral studies and political parties. She coordinates the research groups on "Comunicaci�n Pol�tica y Comportamiento Electoral (of Associa��o Latino Americana de Ci�ncia Pol�tica - ALACIP)" and "Opini�o P�blica, Marketing Pol�tico e Comportamento Eleitoral (UFMG)" and the e-journal "Em Debate."  In this talk, Telles will analyze the behavior of Brazilian voters comparing two elections: 2010 and 2014. This event is sponsored by the Comparative National Elections Project at the Mershon Center, the Center for Latin American Studies, and Department of Political Science. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/tellesm

 

Last month the Mershon Center for International Security Studies and Byrd Polar Research Center co-sponsored a sold-out panel discussion event on "Climate Change and National Security," led by Ann Fisher of WOSU's All Sides. Panelists included (seated above, left to right) Rear Admiral Jonathan White, oceanographer for the U.S. Navy; Mike Breen, executive director of the Truman National Security Project; Ellen Mosley-Thompson, director of the Byrd Polar Research Center; and Mershon affiliate Alex Thompson, associate professor of political science. Several speakers led up to the panel.  Their presentations can be seen on the Byrd Polar recording here.

 

The Ohio State University will host one of the largest Thanksgiving Day dinners on a college campus on Thursday, November 27, in the Ohio Union. The annual event estimates 1,600 guests will attend, including the students, faculty and staff, along with their families, who are unable to travel home for the holiday.

 

Joining them will be many volunteers throughout the university community to assist in serving the traditional turkey dinner. If you are interested in volunteering, sign up for shifts from 11 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. The deadline to register is Friday, November 7.

 

Seatings for the dinner will take place at 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m., and all guests must have a ticket to enter. Tickets are free and will be available on Monday, November 17, in 100 Oxley Hall, the Hale Black Cultural Center and the Ohio Union Information Center.