January 12 | Spring 2022
Accolades
Global Studies BPhil student wins 2022 Marshall Scholarship

Maja Lynn, a senior majoring in anthropology and museum studies, has been awarded the 2022 Marshall Scholarship. She will be studying Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queens University Belfast, continuing the research she started with her BPhil. Learn more about Maja and the Marshall Scholarship here.
New publication by Global Studies alumna

Dr. María Lis Baiocchi, department of Anthropology at Pitt, has published an article on the Essential Labor Forum in Exertions, the short-form web publication of the Society for the Anthropology of Work. The article is entitled "The Essential Activism of Migrant Women Household Workers’ Rights Advocates." In it Biaocchi documents migrant women's labor activism during the pandemic in Argentina, regionally in Latin America and globally. She does so through the experiences of AMUMRA and IMA, the organizations whose leaders were the speakers at the event on Global Migration and Labor Activism sponsored by Global Studies in 2019.
Congratulations to our fall graduates!

The Global Studies Center is honored to announce our December 2021 graduates.

Global Health Certificate
  • Ramatu Abdul Hamid, Africana Studies, Sociology
  • Lilly Carson, Natural Science
  • Alana Castle, Psychology
  • Alyssa Chomitzky, Psychology
  • Sarah Jahangeer, History and Philosophy of Science
  • Minali Tare, Biological Sciences
  • Sophie Tayade, Health and Rehabilitation Science
  • Yuchen Zhang, Nursing

Global Studies Certificate
  • Hannah Bailey, Psychology, Urban Studies
  • Lilith Hoover, Political Science
  • Keely Lombardi, Psychology
  • Sarah Molnar, Communications and Rhetoric
  • Karenna Oner, English Writing, Political Science
  • Emma Scupp, Administration of Justice
Veronica Dristas received the Bringing the World to Pennsylvania: K-12 Collaboration Award

Congratulations to Veronica Dristas, the Global Studies Center's Associate Director, for receiving the Bringing the World to Pennsylvania: Collaboration Award from the Pennsylvania Council for International Education (PACIE)! The award is given to individuals who give support and visibility to international and multicultural collaborative projects between K-12 and higher education institutions in Pennsylvania. Veronica has long spearheaded programs to connect K-12 teachers and students during her time in GSC. This includes the 3-day "Interdisciplinary Global Educators Working Group" summer workshops, the Global Issues through Literature series, the International Marketing Competition, along with her commitment to the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Global and International Studies. Because of her incredible work, teachers from various disciplines are infusing global perspectives into their teaching with a very hands-on and real-life approach. Congratulations, Veronica!
Support Global Studies: Pitt Day of Giving
The Global Studies Center is committed to working with our community partners to provide resources, sponsor activities, and develop innovative programming that enriches intellectual and cultural life both on and off campus. We provide:

  • Professional development for educators in the form of free workshops for Act 48 credit, sponsored workshops, and funding support
  • K-12 student opportunity such as Model UN, the PA Governor’s School for Global and International Studies, and CCA Internal Marketing Competition
  • Community wide events such as the Pittsburgh Art & Lecture Series and micro courses

Thank you for being a part of the Global Studies Center Community!
We hope you consider joining us on Pitt Day of Giving, February 22nd, 2022, to make a donation. Support from our community members like you help us make opportunities like events and professional development workshops possible!
Pittsburgh Network for Threatened Scholars (PiNTS)
Global Studies Center (GSC) with support from the Provost's Office, administers the PiNTS network with diverse local and national partner organizations to bring threatened scholars, artists, and practitioners to Pitt and to Pittsburgh. Our program aims to provide scholars with safe and stable working and living environments as a way of helping them to regain their footing, rebuild their professional networks, and reset their careers.

By leveraging the Provost's funding with GSC endowment monies and partnerships with national organizations like the Artist Protection Fund and the Scholar Rescue Fund, we provide our visitors with a salary, benefits, visa and other legal assistance, and help them acclimate to University and local life. Through our membership of the New University in Exile Consortium, we provide scholars with intellectual and professional development opportunities and a network for engagement with similarly situated colleagues around the world. Our scholars work with Pitt faculty and students – as teachers, interlocutors, and colleagues – and contribute to the rich intellectual life of the University.
Jorge Olivera Castillo is a Cuban poet, writer, television editor, journalist, and songwriter. He is a well-known dissident, and his work has been banned in Cuba. Olivera Castillo has published six books of poetry and two short story collections. His works have been translated into several languages, including Czech, English, Italian, and Polish. Jorge recently finished two books: a book of poetry and his third collection of short stories, based on his experiences as a soldier in the jungle during the Angolan Civil War. He is a writer-in-residence at City of Asylum and a Research Scholar at the Global Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh. He is joined by his spouse Nancy Alfaya Hernandez, a Cuban human rights and women’s rights activist.
Dr. Omar Sadr is a Research Fellow at the Center for Governance and Markets (CGM) in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) at the University of Pittsburgh where he leads Afghanistan Policy Project. Previously, he worked as a Senior Researcher at Afghanistan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) and as a Researcher at the Department of Peace Studies, the National Centre for Policy Research (NCPR), Kabul University. His primary research interests include political theory, governance of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and multiculturalism, democratic governance, as well as political history of Afghanistan. His most recent book, Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan, was published in 2020 by Routledge.

Aunel Arneth is a pro-democracy activist, journalist, producer and documentary filmmaker whose work explores human rights, democracy and African political history. He was trained in writing, producing and directing documentaries at the Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis in Senegal as well as in residencies with a number of renowned filmmakers in Congo and France. Aunel has also worked as a producer, editor and journalist for, Human Rights Television, Africa24 and MNTV.
 
He has directed two medium-length documentaries, Blood and Voting Machine (2020) and Keep Quiet or Die (2020), and is currently in production for another film entitled Homeland or Death. Aunel Arneth’s work has received support from the Congolese Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) and other international institutions.

Faculty News and Funding Opportunities
GSC Faculty Fellow
Dr. Shalini Puri has been selected selected as the 2021-22 GSC Faculty Fellow. Dr. Puri, Professor of English and recipient of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, works on postcolonial and cultural studies of the global south with a focus on the Caribbean. Her research spans memory studies, environmental humanities, feminism, marxism, nationalism, indentureship and slavery, fieldwork, the arts, and everyday cultural practices. Puri is also a co-founder of the Pitt Prison Education Project. Her current project, “Writing on Water: Postcards from the Caribbean Anthropocene,” explores the representations and silences of the Caribbean water crisis. It tries to shift discourses of human rights and the Anthropocene by drawing on the sensory and embodied approaches of the arts.
Global Academic Partnership (GAP) Grant Award
Dr. David Sanchez, Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Assistant Director of Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, has been awarded a GAP grant as part of a team project, “Sustainability in Micronesian Island Nations.”

Partnering with leaders across Micronesia this project will develop interdisciplinary and indigenous dialogue/scholarship around the dynamics of several global phenomena (threats to indigenous culture, climate change, environmental degradation, and of particular interest the geopolitical tussle between Chinese and US colonization) converging rapidly in Micronesia.
GAP Updates
Dr. Caitlin Bruce, Assistant Professor of Communications, has been awarded a GAP grant for her project Global Creative Cities: Exploring Transnational Youth and Graffiti Cultures. Dr. Bruce will be organizing a workshop March 24-27, 2022 to develop an international dialogue around the themes of creative cities, youth, and graffiti practice within a global frame.

Since the 1980s, graffiti has been a global phenomenon activated by transnational circuits of youth collectives. There is a wave of exciting scholarship about the relationship between youth cultures, governmental apparatus, the culture industry, and activism. The constellation of graffiti, creative cities, and youth connect in specific cities across the globe, but there has been no sustained comparative work thinking these categories together.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies Working Group (HSWG), directed by GAP grant recipient Dr. Adam Lowenstein, is the umbrella organization that works to link horror studies initiatives unfolding in four different sectors: the Global Studies Center (home of the Global Horror Studies and Archival and Research Network); the University Library System (home of the George A. Romero Collection and the Horror Studies Archive); the University Honors College (home of the “Horror Genre as Social Force” scholar community); and the George A. Romero Foundation (home of vital partnerships and collaborations related to all of these sectors).
GAP Applications

The Global Academic Partnership (GAP) grant provides $40,000 over two years to help Pitt scholars build and sustain meaningful global partnerships, to enrich the intellectual environment at Pitt through bringing innovative events and programming to campus, and to support and amplify the priorities of the Global Studies Center (applications due March 1).
Global Across the Curriculum (GXC)
Deadline January 14th

The Global Studies Center is pleased to announce the fourth iteration of Global Across the Curriculum (GXC), an interdisciplinary seminar intended to help faculty incorporate global perspectives into their undergraduate courses. The seminar, which will take place in spring 2022, is open to full-time faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh’s main and regional campuses. We aim to bring together people with varied disciplinary backgrounds and teaching experience. Faculty who are new to college teaching are particularly encouraged to apply. The seminar will meet online on Fridays at 1pm from February 4-March 25.

For more information visit our website.
AY 21-22 Funding For Faculty

New this year, we will provide small groups of faculty members with up to $4,000 to support new and early collaborations oriented to applications for internal or external funding in the future. These collaborative grants are intended to facilitate interdisciplinary global scholarship. The application will be simple and straightforward, and the award will include basic administrative and logistical support of the kind that can be crucial in the early stages of new collaborations. We will also provide small grants up to $2,000 for faculty members to support innovative projects for engaged student learning. Details and deadline forthcoming.

Finally, we will continue to award small research and travel grants this year – though with the caveat that we must follow the University’s guidance on travel. A limited number of grants will be available on a rolling basis.
2021-2022 Heinz Fellow
Born and raised in Kathmandu of Nepal, Aditi Upadhyaya is a graduate of Development Studies from Kathmandu University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Development at GSPIA. She worked in the media and communications sector as a correspondent and coordinator for a few years during her undergraduate degree and after her graduation. She represented her country in the 9th Asia Pacific Youth Exchange in the Philippines in January 2020 and has participated and received awards in other national and international programs and competitions throughout her journey. She has volunteering and internship experiences with various development organizations in Nepal and has also served as a mentor and leader in many fronts including fellowships, events, and leadership positions during her educational career. She is ambitious, energetic, and eager to grow through practice and experience. She can communicate and express effectively and is interested in learning with a humble and pragmatic approach. She has developed an interest in research and applied research; incorporating this with her passion for reading, writing, and traveling, she deeply aspires to make a difference in the world, especially among less privileged people and communities.
Student Programming
Mini Course
Technology, Humanity, and Social Justice: Governance
March 18-20, 2022
PS 1555
1 Credit
Get more information here

As humans rely more and more on electronic devices to support their everyday activities, there are ever present warnings about the impacts such reliance has on human autonomy. By engaging in technology as a lens, this sequence of weekend micro-courses encourages students to examine technology as a system disproportionately impacting humanity by enabling and constraining human rights of groups of people around the globe. With a multi-disciplinary focus, the course invites researchers and practitioners from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and relevant fields more broadly.

In Spring 2022, the focus will be on the role governments and corporations play in the control of information networks and its impacts on privacy as well as ownership and access to data. This will include discussion of the bias and possibilities in surveillance and predictive technology on local and global communities.
Spring 2022 Global Career Guidance Course

ARTSC 1000-1010
Wednesdays 12 PM - 1 PM
1 credit

A 1-credit course designed for juniors and seniors to establish a career directions and formulate a strategy for securing a full-time position in today's competitive international and global workplace. Students focus on developing specific competencies that include career selection, job search activities, resume and cover letter development, professional networking techniques, behavioral interviewing skills, and workplace ethics in preparation for government, business, and nonprofit sector careers.

Contact Angela Illig ami17@pitt.edu
International Career Toolkit Series
Be prepared for life after Pitt!

This Spring series offers students programming and support for submitting competitive applications to graduate programs, networking with professionals working in variety of fields, and presenting oneself professionally.

January 25th join Dr. Priya Sirohi as she discusses her career as professor, writer, researcher, and scholar of cultural rhetoric. Her research conducts case studies between the English East India Company and Mughal India, to illuminate the significance of Early Modern economics that continue to define contemporary globalization. She holds a doctorate from Purdue University with secondary concentrations in Public Rhetoric and Cultural Rhetoric. Register here.
Introduction to Arctic Issues Workshop
February 18, 2022 3:30pm - 7pm
1502 Posvar and Zoom

Learn from expert speakers about critical issues facing the Arctic region—such as climate change, Arctic security, and shifting cultural identities during the Anthropocene. Attendees will receive a resource book about future opportunities to explore Arctic topics. Refreshments provided. Stay tuned for more information about speakers!

Co-sponsored by Ford Institute, European Studies Center, Global Experiences Office, and Pitt Climate and Global Change Center.
Global Career Week
March 28 - April 1, 2022

Mark your calendar! This series features over 25 sessions covering the breadth of careers and competencies currently sought in the international economy. Network with and learn
from Pitt alumni and other experts on how to gear up and navigate the competitive job market. Themes for the week include technology and data analytics, global health, human rights and security, diplomacy, entrepreneurism, development, and education.
Student Funding Opportunities
Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs
Scholarships for Global Learning Experiences
DUE January 15, 2022

The Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Programs (NRIEP) Scholarships support summer global learning experiences in locations around the world for students in many academic fields of study.

Applications must be submitted by January 15, 2022 via PittFund$Me for both undergraduate and graduate scholarships!

Read the application instructions here and direct any questions to nriep@pitt.edu.
Student Organization Funding

The Global Studies Center welcomes opportunities to support student driven campus events that align with our mission and our certificate concentrations (world ecologies, cultural dynamics, politics and economy, health and wellbeing, global health, peace conflict and security). Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Our limited budget permits us to match funds (typically up to $200) for events that complement and amplify our existing programming. Requests for support should briefly explain the event’s connection to GSC’s mission and global concentrations, its anticipated audience and impact, and the proposed schedule. We will respond to all requests within one week of receipt. Recipients will be required to submit a small report including participation audience and numbers. Apply here.
Alumni Survey
We rely on you to keep us up-to-date with information about your career, accomplishments, and further education. This information constitutes critical feedback for the ongoing development of GSC.  As an alumnus, you can also provide valuable perspectives and help current Global Studies students through mentorship and connecting them to volunteer opportunities, internships and jobs in your network. By providing this information, you will help to ensure the quality and growth of the GSC for years to come. Take the survey here.
Community, K-12 Educator and Student Programming
2022 CCA International Marketing Competition

The 2022 CCA International Marketing Competition is open to all high school students who are currently studying a world language. Teams of 5 will work on their project throughout the year before the competition: a 12-minute presentation of marketing strategy scheduled to take place in May 2022 via Zoom. This year’s target market is Mexico and the product to market is GNC Beyond Raw Precision BCAA. To register and for more information visit the website.
CERIS Book Discussion for Educators

February 22nd, online.

What does it take to become an American? In this timely book Abdi informs the reader of his journey from the context of growing up in the midst of a civil war, surviving life in one of the world's largest refugee settlements and moving to the US, confronting racism, and economic hardships. He provides great insight into the plight of refugees, the black, Muslim immigrant experience. In the end his story gives us hope.

Co-sponsored by The Center for African Studies. Facilitated by Dr. John Spurlock, Professor of History, Emeritus, at Seton Hill University. 20 copies of book are available to participants.

Get more information here and register here.
Global Issues Through Literature Series (GILS)
Imagining Other Worlds: Globalizing Science Fiction and Fantasy
 
This reading group for K-12 educators explores literary texts from a global perspective. Content specialists present the work and its context and with participants brainstorm innovative pedagogical practices for incorporating the text and its themes into the curriculum. Sessions will continue to take place on Thursday evenings from 5:00-8:00 PM. Act 48 credit hours are provided free of charge. 

Please Note: We have reached our limit of books we are able to fund and distribute for these sessions. Registration for the last 3 sessions are still open, but we are unable to provide copies of the book. 

Register here for these sessions:
 
February 24, 2022
April 28, 2022
May 26, 2022
Governor's School
Summer 2022 Employment Opportunities

The Global Studies Center is currently seeking instructors and counselors for the Summer 2022 Governor's School.

To apply, please send Resume, Cover Letter and 1 Letter of Recommendation to: Veronica Dristas, Associate Director, Global Studies Center, dristas@pitt.edu.

Argumentation Instructors
Calling all educators! We are hiring instructors to teach Governor's School argumentation classes. Graduate students, faculty, and high school educators are encouraged to apply.

Residence Life Counselors
Residence Life Counselors (RLCs) work with the Associate Director of the Global Studies Center. They serve as the day-to-day contacts for the students' dormitory life. They act as a liaison between students, faculty, and administrative staff. RLCs are expected to create recreational programming for the weekends and during the week. There will be a weekly meeting between the RLCs and the Associate Director to address issues and concerns.

Remuneration includes $2,500 for four weeks and free room and board.

All undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply.

Applications must be submitted by January 18th, 2022.