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AIA 2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
International Lecture Series (ILS)
BUBBLE, BUBBLE, BOIL and TROUBLE?
Critical Countries, Critical Issues We Do Not Understand
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt are critical for American diplomacy, business and the general public for many different reasons. Some of these countries are already a source of concern and in others troubles may lie just over the horizon. If something goes wrong in any one of them, consequences for the United States can be very serious. New Mexicans need to be informed about the politics, economics and problems of these states, and this is the aim of the AIA’s Spring 2012 International Lecture Series. The series will not focus on a single issue, but will present a diverse panorama of crucial world problems.
January 13 (Fri) – New Member Reception at Tucker-Trelease residence
January 19 (Thu) – Book Club: Jenny White, Sultan's Seal at Ghattas residence
January 21 (Sat) – International Cuisine Club – Turkish Cuisine (cooking and sampling for season opening reception) at TBA
January 22 (Sun), 3:00 – 5:00 PM at UNM Continuing Education
THE NEW OTOMANS: TURKEY’S MUSLIM NATIONALISTS
by Dr. Jenny White, Boston University
Followed by the season opening reception for AIA Members & Guests featuring Turkish cuisine at the Franklin’s residence. To all appearances, Turkey is caught in a fierce battle between secularist and Muslim sectors of the population, with one side accusing the other of heavy-handed imposition of its own values and practices. Since the 1980s new "self-consciously" Muslim elite has mounted a powerful political and economic challenge to the traditional secular elite. In doing so, it has developed an alternative unorthodox definition of the nation based on a nostalgic revival of Turkey’s Ottoman past, pushing aside the Republican model. The outcome has been revolutionary in its transformation of Turkish society and politics, but this transformation does not map neatly onto our expectations of what “secular” and “Muslim” mean.
February 8 (Wed) 6:00 -8:00 PM at LVL, dinner talk –
"Pictures at an Exhibition: A Magical Virtual Tour of Russian Art at Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery." Dr. Marina Oborotova
Dr. Marina Oborotovawill take you on a virtual tour of the Tretyakov Gallery - the best collection of Russian art in the world. She will present history of the collection, speak about the founder – Pavel Tretyakov, introduce you to the most prominent Russian painters and show the masterpieces of the gallery.
February 19 (Sun) – Movie Night: “Earth” by Deepa Mehta at Smiths’ residence. Limited to 15 people.
February 26 (Sun), 3:00 – 5:00 PM at UNM Continuing Education
PAKISTAN – FOUR FUTURES FOR A TROUBLED RELATIONSHIP
by Dr. Timothy Hoyt, US Naval War College
Pakistan is a critical American ally in its efforts to combat global terrorism. It has a large army, a significant nuclear arsenal, and a long - if troubled - history of alliance with the United States. Nevertheless, America's relations with Pakistan are difficult - a fact brought home by the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden in a compound only thirty miles from Pakistan's capital. As the U.S. re-examines its policies in South Asia, including a possible withdrawal from Afghanistan and a growing friendship with India, the U.S. also needs to consider its relationship with Pakistan and Pakistan's future. Professor Timothy Hoyt of the U.S. Naval War College will lay out four different possible futures for Pakistan, and lead a discussion of how the U.S. can best contribute to Pakistani stability and development in the coming decades.
March 15 (Thu) – Book Club: Allen Lynch, Vladimir Putin and Russian Statecraft at AIA member’s residence
March 23 (Fri), 3:30 – 5:30 PM at UNM Continuing Education
SAUDI ARABIA: A PROBLEMATIC ALLY?
by Dr. Toby Jones, Rutgers University
Followed by dinner with the speaker. On the surface, the "Arab Spring" does not seem to have touched Saudi Arabia, but in reality the Kingdom has followed pro-democracy protests very closely and has resisted demands from its own people for genuine political reform. Saudi Arabia has sent troops to help a fellow Sunni regime in Bahrain quell anti-regime protests and suppress the Shia majority in that Island country. The presentation will focus on the nature of Saudi stability, the impact of the "Arab Spring" on the core pillars of that stability, and the critical role of Saudi oil globally. The talk will also address the special US-Saudi relationship and the impact of active Saudi resistance to genuine political reforms on this relationship and on the future of the region's largest hydrocarbon dinosaur.
April 12 (Thu) – Book Club: Pauline Eisenstadt, A Woman in Both Houses. Storytelling by Pauline and discussion at AIA member’s residence.
April 15 (Sun) – Movie Night: “Bhutto” by Duane Baughman at AIA member’s residence.
April 21 (Sat), 3:00 – 5:00 PM
EGYPT in REVOLUTION
by Dr. Nathan Brown, George Washington University at UNM main campus, Woodward Hall (venue TBC).
Followed by Jordanian dinner with the speaker at Sahara. Egypt is one of the most important, if not the most important Arab country in the world, but we know very little about the new and confusing mix of forces and politics that has emerged following the removal of Mubarak. After being ruled by the same president for thirty years, Egypt has entered a period of prolonged political transition. While the various political actors in Egypt—the military, Islamist groups, revolutionary youth, labor unions, and so on– are well known, these forces are forging a new set of rules for political life in a very uncertain setting. What sort of political order will arise in Egypt? How stable will it be? How democratic will it be? And how will it affect Egypt's international position?
May 4 (Fri) 3:30-5:30 PM
INDONESIA: CHALLENGES TO THE WORLD’S LARGEST MUSLIM DEMOCRACY
by Dr. Bill Liddle, Ohio State University at
UNM Continuing Education, 3:30 – 5:30 PM
A former Dutch colony, modern Indonesia is a multi-ethnic Muslim-majority developing country comprising thousands of islands spread across nearly four thousand miles in equatorial Southeast Asia. After forty years of personal and military dictatorship under Presidents Sukarno and Suharto, Indonesia became a democracy in 1999. Three successful national elections have since been held; a fourth is scheduled for 2014. Serious challenges to democratic stability remain, however, including corruption, weak judicial institutions, threats from radical Muslims, separatism in the easternmost provinces of Papua, and the slow pace of economic growth.
(Date to be Announced)
EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED, GEOPHYSICAL CATASTROPHES and HUMAN CIVILIZATION
by Professor Richard Aster, New Mexico Tech at UNM Continuing Education
The world has recently witnessed some truly remarkable and tragic geophysical events, such as unprecedented earthquakes, and tsunamis. The geological record provides us with a much longer record of these phenomena, and offers critical lessons on the likely impacts of extreme geophysical hazards to human civilization. This talk will summarize what is currently known from the geological and historic record about earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, asteroid impacts, and other events, and will address likely impacts to civilization and our ability to anticipate and prepare for such eventualities.
May 5 (Sat) – International Cuisine Club. Central Asian Pilaf: Cooking & Eating. Turkmen Music. Turkmen Jewelry Exhibit. At AIA member’s residence
June 2 (Sat) - International Cuisine Pot Luck and Bazaar (end of season) at AIA member’s residence.
SPECIAL EVENTS: Talks on the European Crisis, Vladimir Putin and Russian Elections and other topics
ILS - Summer-Fall 2012 -
IMMIGRATION AROUND THE WORLD and WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM IT.
The world is on the move. Economic and political turmoil combined with a revolution in communications and transportation have unleashed an unprecedented and often uncontrolled movement of people across national borders with complex and disturbing results. Chiefly, people move to escape poverty and violence at home in the hope of finding a better life. But they bring with them different manners, mores and religions. For the United States, this is an old and familiar story. And a flood of new arrivals to our “nation of immigrants” has always provoked concern, hostility and the fear that cherished values and ways of life will be swamped and eroded by those of the newcomers. Today, the debate on immigration, legal and illegal, is once more front-page news. But America is not alone. The problem of immigration is currently bedeviling countries around the globe, in Europe, Australia and Russia. Many countries are witnessing floods of “aliens” that generate ethnic, religious and social conflict, cause economic dislocation, and distort national politics. How is this issue being conceived, debated and managed in other countries? How do their problems compare with ours? Can their experiences help us to put ours in a new perspective? In its fall 2012 lecture series AIA will bring to Albuquerque a diverse panel of experts to examine the question of immigration in the broadest possible international context.
August 17 (Fri) – New Members’ reception
August 23 (Thu) – Book Club: Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World, and Will Define Our Future by Ian Goldin, Geoffrey Cameron, and Meera Balarajan
August 26 (Sun) – Fall Season Opening followed by reception at AIA member’s residence.
October – Date TBD – Book Club: Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Krushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth. By Frederick Kempe.
November 16 (Fri) – Gala,
“Music, Food & Wine around the World”
5:30 – 8:30 PM at LVL, Carter Hall
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