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2021 Lecture Archive
The Metropolitan Museum; Behind the Scenes
August 12, 5:30 pm – by Diana McDonald, Ph.D., Boston College Location: Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center 7521 Carmel Ave NE Wyoming & Carmel, N of Paseo Community Event - Tickets Online - $12; at the venue - $15. Tickets Seating is limited. We encourage you...
The Tanks of August and the Present State of the Former Soviet Space: 30 Years Later
August 20, 3-5pm - by Marina Oborotova, Ph.D., President, CFIS-AIA Location: Special Collections Library Auditorium 423 Central Ave NE AIA Members - $12; Non-Members - $15; Students w ID (under 30) – free of charge. We will not be able to process any payments at the...
What Makes Dr. Anton Chekhov’s Very Russian Stories OURS As Well?
July 30, 3 pm - by Samuel Ramer, PhD, Tulane University Tickets
Seminar & Discussion: Chekhov’s Short Stories and Plays
Aug. 3, 5 pm - Moderated by Samuel Ramer, PhD, and Marina Oborotova, PhD Tickets
Borobudur & Angkor Wat: Cosmic Temples
August 26, 5:30 pm by Diana McDonald, Ph.D., Boston College & Rebecca Black, MIT Location: Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center 7521 Carmel Ave NE Wyoming & Carmel, N of Paseo Tickets The legendary temple of Borobudur, on a sacred plane on the island of...
The Louvre Museum – Art and Politics of a Civic Institution
September 16, 5:30 pm Dr. Susanne Anderson-Riedel is Associate Professor of European Art and Chair at the Department of Art at UNM. She received her M.A. from Freiburg, Germany, and her Ph.D. from UCLA. Dr. Anderson-Riedel has extensive international experience,...
Nuclear Folly
July 16, 3pm - by Serhii Plokhii, Harvard University Nearly thirty years after the end of the Cold War, today’s world leaders are abandoning disarmament treaties, building up their nuclear arsenals, and exchanging threats of nuclear strikes. To survive this new atomic...
Pride, Prejudice & Immigration
Eddie Aldrete, Senior VP at IBC Bank June 25, 3 pm Tickets Just when a path forward on immigration began to appear on the horizon, that light at the end of the tunnel is turning out to be a post-pandemic train headed this way. Our need for workers is changing...
Continuity and Change in U.S. Policy Toward Africa
May 7 - 3pm by Judd Devermont, Director, Africa Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Tickets What is the future of U.S. engagement in sub-Saharan Africa? CSIS Africa Program Director Judd Devermont will share his perspective on the...
Humanitarian Crisis in the Middle East
April 23, 3:00 pm by Marjolaine Greentree, Regional Protection Advisor, Swiss Cooperation Program, Middle East Embassy of Switzerland in Jordan Tickets Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, from Libya in North Africa to Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, have provoked...
Will Mandela Approach Work in Russia?
May 21, 3:00 pm Join us for a talk by Robert Hitchcock and Marina Oborotova about opposition leaders & protest movements in South Africa and Russia followed by discussion and Q & A. Tickets
Ukraine Calling
Marta Dyczok, PhD, University of Western Ontario, Toronto June 11, 2021, 3:00 pm Tickets
How to Get Ahead in Life: Practical Advice from Tolstoy’s War and Peace
Lecture Date: April 11, 4:00 pm by Professor Sam Ramer, PhD, Tulane University Tickets
US National Security: the Challenge of Domestic Terrorism
Lecture Date: April 9 - 4:00 pm An interview of professor E. Pope, UT Austin by Doug Wise, CIA (retd), followed by discussion. Tickets The United States faces many external threats, but the existential threats may be closer to home from domestic terrorism – the...
Architecture of Power: Albert Speer’s Plans for Nazi Berlin
March 12 - 4:00 pm by David G. Winter PhD. As "Hitler's architect," Speer was responsible for translating fantasies of Berlin as the "world capital" Germania into actual plans and buildings — that would both express and also create power. Only a couple of the...
Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism
March 7 - 4 pm by Monika Ghattas, PhD. Following the Mexican Revolution of 1917-1920, the administration of Álfaro Obregón launched a program to create Mexico’s unique identity based on its rich history, its indigenous culture, and colorful folk traditions. It hired...
US – Mexico: An Update on Cross-border Issues, Immigration, the Wall & USMCA
March 19, 2021 by Jerry Pacheko, Executive Director, International Business Accelerator Tickets
US – Iran Relations: Can There Be a Deal?
March 5, 2021 by Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute Tickets @ https://conta.cc/3aU8JzU
The Gigaton Challenge: The Urgency of Addressing Climate Change
February 19, 2021 by Melanie Kenderdine, Senior Fellow, the Atlantic Council Tickets @ https://conta.cc/3gCnjwK Melanie Kenderdine is a principal of the Energy Futures Initiative and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank....
To Be or Not to Be: Vaccinations throughout History & Now
February 5, 2021 by Terry McNearny, MD, Senior Consultant, Skipper BioMed Tickets @ https://conta.cc/3qOmxBy
2021 Lecture Series
India/Pakistan Nuclear Issues
Friday, October 1 from 3-5pm. MIT Professor Vipin Narang, a leading US expert on the subject, will discuss the evolution of India and Pakistan’s security competition since they became nuclear weapons powers in 1998 and the destabilizing nuclear developments both have pursued since then.
Sleepwalking Toward the Nuclear Precipice
October 8, 3:00pm by Dr. Ernest J. Moniz – CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative, former Secretary of Energy who negotiated the Iran agreement. He will discuss evolving nuclear threats and elaborate on his collaborative work with Senator Sam Nunn.
Is It OK to Criticize the American President?
Date TBD – by David Weiss, PhD
Chair, Department of Communications & Journalism, UNM.
European media criticisms of U.S. leaders (and vice versa) over the last fifty years – and especially in 2020
The Metropolitan Museum; Behind the Scenes
August 12, 5:30 pm – by Diana McDonald, Ph.D., Boston College
The Tanks of August and the Present State of the Former Soviet Space: 30 Years Later
August 20, 3-5pm – by Marina Oborotova, Ph.D., President, CFIS-AIA
30 years ago the attempted coup against Mikhail Gorbachev and Perestroika triggered the final disintegration of the Soviet Union. Marina Oborotova witnessed those historic days and will share her vivid memories with you.
Borobudur & Angkor Wat: Cosmic Temples
August 26, 5:30 pm – by Diana McDonald, Ph.D., Boston College & Rebecca Black, MIT. The legendary temple of Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and a marvel of narrative stone sculpture. Dr. McDonald will recount the cosmological significance of Borobudur, which was a walking pilgrimage site for centuries, attracting those seeking enlightenment.
The Louvre Museum – Art and Politics of a Civic Institution
September 16, 5:30 pm – by Susanne Anderson-Riedel, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Art, Associate Professor, Art History, University of New Mexico
The Russian Museum
October 14, 5:30 pm – Dr. Marina Oborotova will take you on a special tour of the museum and show you its masterpieces. She will share with you some of the most important and interesting chapters of the history of Russian fine arts.
Treasures of Peru: A Look at some Extraordinary Museums
October 21, by Diana McDonald, Ph.D., Boston College – Peru has some of the greatest art and archaeological sites of the Western Hemisphere. With art-making cultures that stretch back thousands of years before the Inca, there are treasures – including gold and silver artifacts, colorful pottery, sculpture, and truly amazing textiles – that were found in almost every bit of land. We will take you on a tour of some of these cultures’ greatest works – collected in some of the most overlooked museums in Lima, as well as Santiago, Chile.