Curanderismo: The Revival of Traditional Medicine Using Herbs and Rituals
Cheo Torres, UNM
June 10, 2018
“Curanderismo” is an ancient healing tradition that dates back to the arrival of the Spaniards to the New World in 1519. Curanderos, or faith healers, blended Old World and Native American medicinal plants and belief systems to secure their place in the new world including what is now Texas and the Southwest. In this talk, he will trace the history of curanderismo, from Mayan to Aztec to modern-day healers and discuss the revival of traditional medicine in the Southwest and Mexico.
US: Dealing with International Organized Crime. Italy, Asia, Colombia and Mexico
Mike Gallagher, Investigative Reporter at Albuquerque Journal
June 3, 2018
From the olive groves of Sicily to the jungles of Columbia to the teeming streets of Bangkok, United States diplomats and law enforcement have worked successfully with their counterparts in foreign countries to fight organized crime groups trafficking in large quantities of illegal drugs. Now the United States, including New Mexico, is faced with the largest opioid epidemic in the nation’s history. As it confronts multiple organized crime groups supplying heroin and other illegal drugs from Mexico, will the United States be able to use lessons from the past to fight the increasing threat of Mexican drug cartels?
Russian Leaders: From Gorbachev to Putin
Dr. Marina Oborotova, CFIS-AIA
May 22, 2018
Russia is in the news again and will stay there for as long as we can see. We need to look at the country again trying to understand its political trajectory from 1985 to 2018. Dr. Oborotova will tell the story of Russia’s evolution focusing on three recent Russian leaders – Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Putin.
The Great Mother Goddess Around the World
Maya Magee Sutton, Ph.D
May 13, 2018
For at least 5,000 years, most cultures around the world worshipped a female deity as the creative power behind all animal and plant fertility. She was known as the Great Mother. Since women, like the land, were seen as the primary source of life, an Earth Mother Goddess was seen as the natural giver of life and fertility. In this presentation, Dr. Sutton will show images and discuss the many representations of the Great Mother Goddess from Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and Europe as well as the Americas.
National Security Threats and Opportunities – Why Friends and Allies Matter
David Shedd, National Defense Intelligence Agency
May 4, 2018
The complexity of our national security challenges continues to grow in a world that is multilateral. The threats we face are evolving at a rapid pace and America’s ability to get ahead of the rapidly changing international environment and how the U.S. responds matters not only in how we protect the homeland, but it matters to our friends and allies around the globe. In this talk, Mr. Shedd will discuss the importance of intelligence in addressing both the threats and opportunities for US national security.
Pictures from the Exhibition: Brilliant Collection of Russian Art in Moscow
Dr. Marina Oborotova, CFIS-AIA
May 1, 2018
Dr. Marina Oborotova will 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.
Art, Culture and Conflict Resolution?!
Rebecca Black, USAID senior foreign service officer (retired)
April 20, 2018
What do art and culture have to do with conflict resolution? As violence continues in the world, new solutions besides force are needed. Rebecca Black, a recently retired Senior Foreign Service Officer with USAID, the US government’s international development agency, will use her 25 years’ experience in development to highlight why and how art is emerging as an important mechanism in peacemaking.
The Great Red Island: Unusual Facts about Madagascar
Jean-Marie De La Beaujardiere, CFIS-AIA
April 8, 2018
Tucked away in the Indian Ocean near Africa, Madagascar is rarely mentioned in the news. In this talk, Mr. De La Beaujardiere will explore the conditions for the island’s unique fauna, the arrival of humans from an unexpected area of the world, the emergence of the early Malagasy kingdoms, the influence of British missionaries on the evolution of the society, the reasons for the two Franco-Malagasy wars and the colonization, the capture of the French colony by the British during WWII, and the current situation after four constitutions and fifteen governments since 1960.
Moscow: Building a New Third Rome?
Dr. Marina Oborotova, CFIS-AIA
April 3, 2018
Holy Moscow, New Rome, Center of Russia – these names reflect some of the different facets of the City’s ever changing identity throughout centuries. Over the past 16 years, the city’s face has been transformed by massive restoration, renovation and a vast program of new construction. But for all the changes, much of old Moscow remains and she can still take pride in her splendid traditional architecture, fascinating museums like the Tretiakov Gallery, and cultural wonders like the Bolshoi Theater ballet. In this talk, Dr. Oborotova will highlight the city’s changes and its history.
Donald Trump and the Jacksonian Tradition in American Foreign Relations
Dr. Daniel Feller, University of Tennessee
March 18, 2018
Donald Trump claims Andrew Jackson as his presidential model, and many of his critics agree. In this talk Daniel Feller, the editor of the Andrew Jackson Papers and one of the nation’s leading experts on our seventh president, will explore the realities of Jackson’s diplomacy, the origins and meaning of the “Jacksonian” label in current public affairs, and the uses and abuses of historical precedent.
Russian Literature: The Best Novel of the 20th Century? Mikhail Bulgakov: The Master and Margarita
Dr. Marina Oborotova, CFIS-AIA
March 11, 2018
Have you ever heard about Mikhail Bulgakov and his Master and Margarita? Many critics consider it to be one of the best novels of the 20th century, as well as the foremost of Soviet satires. But why don’t we know much about it? And if it is one of the best, why did the Nobel Prize for literature go to Pasternak and Zhivago, and not to Bulgakov and The Master and Margarita, as many of the Russians believe it should have? Who was Mikhail Bulgakov and what was his place in the pantheon of Russian writers of the 20th century?
Ethics and Espionage: A Marriage Made in Heaven or Mutually Exclusive?
Dr. Stephen Slick, UTexas, Austin and Douglas Wise, retired senior CIA operations officer
February 25, 2018
Can a profession where lying, cheating, stealing, manipulating, exploiting and deceiving have boundaries beyond which a moral intelligence officer cannot cross? Should our intelligence agencies be uninhibited in their actions to defend the Nation or should there be standards reflective of our core values as a Nation which the officers of our intelligence agencies must uphold? Get some answers to these and other questions on the profession and business of espionage when two former senior CIA operations officers discuss these and other issues.
Goddesses of Love in the Ancient World: From Ishtar to Aphrodite
Dr. Diana McDonald, Boston College
February 11, 2018
Female divinities had an outsized role in the development of early societies and their art, going back all the way to the Neolithic period. Where did the goddesses we know best, such as the beautiful Aphrodite (later known as Venus) originally come from? These divinities of sex and love, such as Aphrodite, Inana and Ishtar, were the earliest ones worshipped by ancient societies, and often had fascinating connections with animals such as the lion. In this lecture, we’ll look at these connections and see some of the most stunning art from the ancient Mediterranean world.
Great Museums of the World: The Hermitage
Dr. Marina Oborotova, CFIS-AIA
February 6, 2018
Founded by the Russian empress Catherine the Great in 1764 as “hermit’s retreat”, the Hermitage became one of the largest museums in the world. It comprises over three million items including the largest collection of paintings in the world. Dr. Oborotova will take you on a virtual tour of the Hermitage, talk about the museum’s history and show you some of its treasures – Leonardo’s and da Vinci’s Madonnas, Rembrandts’ portraits and Impressionists’ landscapes.
Dealing with a Nuclear North Korea
Ambassador Joseph DeTrani
January 23, 2018
The problem of North Korea festering since the 1953 armistice, has become a major threat to the security of the United States. Join us for a unique opportunity to listen a person uniquely qualified to answer our questions and to point a way forward. Ambassador Joseph DeTrani was the U.S. Special Envoy for talks with North Korea. In his presentation he will first provide a brief historical overview of issues affecting the Korean peninsula since 1945, then he will present options for dealing with a North Korea determined to be a nuclear weapons state.
