Welcome to Fall 2016!

The Mershon Center for International Security Studies has a busy schedule of activities this semester. Below is a listing of our events for September. To read more and register for each event, simply click on the links. If you have any questions, please contact Mershon Center event coordinator Steven Blalock or public relations coordinator Cathy Becker. We hope to see you soon!

In June 2013, Gezi Park became the staging ground for the most serious challenge to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's decade-long rule in Turkey. When police brutally cleared the Istanbul park, five young men lost their lives, becoming official "martyrs" of the Gezi movement. Christiane Gruber, associate professor of Islamic art at University of Michigan, will examine the symbolic framings and functions of martyrs in a pluralistic society shaped by the desire to preserve a secular representative democracy in the face of increasing authoritarianism. Gruber will explore the rhetorical strategies and visual output of the Gezi Movement in slogans, chants, graffiti, digital art, Twitter posts, posters, banners, stickers, processions, sit-ins, and performances. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/gruberc

COMPAS is a series of year-long conversations on morality, politics, and society organized by the Center for Ethics and Human Values. The theme for the 2016-17 COMPAS program is inequality. It kicks off with a major interdisciplinary conference that aims to engage a general audience by focusing on four intersecting policy issues: mass incarceration, neighborhoods and social inequality, health disparities, and economic inequality and democracy. These issues raise important questions about poverty and opportunity, individual well-being and institutional justice, and the rights and responsibilities of democratic citizenship. They also cause us to reflect on the social and political effects of class, race, gender, and other factors. Richard Wilkinson, author of The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger (Bloomsbury, 2011, with Kate Pickett), will give the keynote address. Read more at go.osu.edu/compasfall

A world-renowned philosopher, cultural theorist and author, Kwame Anthony Appiah has published widely on moral philosophy, political theory, ethics, and African American literature and culture. A leading thinker on race and society, Appiah's current research centers on the roles of idealization and ideals in psychology, ethics and politics, and his talk will focus on ethics in higher education. Appiah holds an appointment at New York University's Department of Philosophy and its School of Law, where he teaches in New York and at the university's global centers. In 2009, Forbes Magazine named Appiah as one of the world's seven most powerful thinkers, and in 2012, he was one of eight scholars presented with the National Humanities Medal by President Obama. Read more

 

Ohio State University and Battelle have teamed to hire national security expert Zachary Mears for a joint position.

 

Mears began as assistant vice president for national security and research programs at Ohio State's Office of Research and as senior advisor at Battelle on August 1, 2016. The position allows him to help the university and Battelle develop and implement a strategic relationship management plan related to national security research.

 

Mears will lead the expansion of collaborative research projects, scientific and educational programs and business development opportunities at Ohio State to further the collaborative relationship between the university and Ohio-based federal national security programs.

 

His primary focus will be on the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He will also work to develop teams of internal and external partners to identify major state and federal funding opportunities.

 

Mears received his Ph.D. in political science from Ohio State in 2009 with a dissertation on "Presidents, the Public, and American Foreign Policy Behavior," working with Mershon Center director Richard Herrmann. He was Mershon associate in Washington from 2010-12.

 

Prior to joining Ohio State, Mears served as the deputy chief of staff to the secretary of defense and chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defense. He advised the secretary and deputy secretary of defense on national priorities and managed their implementation.

 

The Mershon Center for International Security Studies seeks artwork to display in our newly remodeled breakroom space on the first floor of our building, 1501 Neil Ave., at the corner of Neil and Eighth.

 

We invite artists to submit artwork that would be appropriate for an academic space; any style and/or medium is welcome, with the exception of large sculptures as to not impede the functionality of the space. Artists will also have the opportunity to sell their art, and the center would not take a commission. While we will accept submissions from any artist, preferential consideration will go to artwork with themes centered on peace, security, international conflict, identity, and citizenship.

 

Submissions for art to be displayed in the Mershon Center breakroom will be accepted on a rolling basis, as the artwork is changed periodically and pieces are sold. To submit artwork for consideration, please send a photo or photos of the piece along with a statement about it that includes the title, size, and medium to Kyle McCray at mccray.44@osu.edu. If you have any questions, please contact Kyle McCray at mccray.44@osu.edu or 614-806-1122.

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, a longtime supporter of global environmental and sustainability issues, will present a lecture focusing on climate change, biodiversity and access to clean water. A supporter of the Venturi Buckeye Bullet and electric concept cars, Prince Albert II is coming to Ohio State to learn more about our research and educational programming on sustainability matters. In 2006, Prince Albert II established the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, supporting sustainable and ethical projects that focus on climate change and developing renewable energies, combating the loss of biodiversity, improving universal access to clean water, and fighting desertification. Over the past 10 years, the foundation has initiated or supported 370 international projects in locations as diverse as the Mediterranean Basin, the Least Developed Countries (as defined by the United Nations official list) and the Polar Regions.  Read more

Umut Korkut is a reader at Glasgow School for Business and Society at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is also a trustee for the executive committee of the Political Studies Association. His research interests include Eastern European and Turkish politics, migration, and religion, gender and politics. He is currently writing a monograph, "Politics and Gender Identity in Turkey: Centralised Islam for Socio-Economic Control" for Routledge. In this lecture, Korkut will explore the development and consolidation of illiberal politics amidst the global crisis of neoliberalism and democracy since 2008. He will concentrate on Hungary but will also discuss Poland, Slovakia, France, Turkey, and the United States, tracing anti-modern, Christian, and anti-humanitarian tendencies of illiberal democracy in the region.  Read more

Lt. Col. John F. "Joe" Guilmartin Jr., U.S. Air Force (Ret.), was a prominent member of the History Department at The Ohio State University for nearly three decades. He served two tours in the Vietnam War, logging more than 120 missions over Laos and North Vietnam in 1965-66 as a HH-3E "Jolly Green" helicopter pilot. Guilmartin, simply "Dr. G" to his students, was an authority on military and maritime history, airpower history, military technology, and the Vietnam War. At Ohio State he supervised 26 graduate students to completion of their Ph.D. degrees. He also sat on more than 270 student examination committees, the most of any other faculty member on record. On Friday the conference will include presentations from Guilmartin's fellow scholars and colleagues. The Saturday event is his celebratory Festschrift and will feature papers by his former doctoral students. Read more at go.osu.edu/guilmartin

In March the Middle East Studies Center sponsored a symposium on Jihadi groups with Amr Al-Azm, associate professor of Middle East history and anthropology at Shawnee State University; Alam Payind, director of the Middle East Studies Center; and Richard Herrmann, interim director of the Mershon Center. The symposium ( video here) addressed complex issues related to extremist jihadi groups in the Middle East, as panelists introduced the topic, provided background information on these groups and the area they operate in, and discussed the implications for U.S. foreign policy. In this event, Alam Payind will provide an update on the situation based on his recent fieldwork in Afghanistan.  Read more and register

 

Origins has published its new article: "The Hajj and Europe," by Eileen Kane.

 

The hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca required of all Muslims, is one of the largest and most meaningful movements of people in the world. Last year, more than 2 million of the devout from all over the world traveled to Saudi Arabia to fulfill an Islamic duty.

 

Yet as historian Eileen Kane details, the hajj has been shaped by interactions with Europe for several centuries. Though we don't think of it this way, the hajj is very much a European affair. Read the entire article at http://origins.osu.edu.

 

About Origins: Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective is a monthly ad-free magazine that features top scholars on today's most pressing topics. Published by The Ohio State History Department, its authors include National Book Award winners and world-renowned scholars. You can also explore reviews of popular history books on the Origins website as well as the new monthly feature Milestones.