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Welcome
New Publications
Director's Corner
- 2023 Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Conference
Five Pieces Worth Reading
Community Change Collaborative (CCC)
Pondering Past Podcast Programs
- Penny Franklin: Making Black Voices Heard
- Wornie Reed: The Current State of Racism and Anti-Racist Activism
Legacy Tidings and Soundings
- The Social Ontology of Fear
- On Rhetoric, Posturing and the Politics of Hate
Featured Opportunities
- Binghamton University's Call for Faculty Fellows
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Dear friends of VTIPG and CCC,
We are excited to present this monthly update to share recent publications, announcements, and information concerning Institute projects and activities.
A Very Special Guest
VTIPG was honored to host Khishigjargal (Khishi) Enkhbayar as a visiting fellow from the National Committee on U.S.-China relations through the State Department's Professional Fellow's Program during the month of May. Khishi is the founder and secretary general of the United Nations Association of Mongolia, and she worked on learning more about nongovernmental organization governance and development during her visit. We thank our Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships, Dr. David Moore, for serving as her principal host for her visit and our many colleagues across campus and beyond who took time to meet with her to make her time with us as meaningful and productive as possible.
Legacy Commentaries
To showcase content from the past, we will be featuring previous podcasts, Tidings, and Soundings that address similar themes in these monthly updates.
A Note from the Editor
If you have information that you think we should include in these updates, please contact me, Billy Parvatam, VTIPG Communications Coordinator, at pbilly97@vt.edu.
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We would like to congratulate Institute Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr. and Associate Chair of the Department of Political Science Dr. Yannis Stivachtis on the publication of their new book, Policy and Politics of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Eastern Mediterranean States, which discusses the policy and politics of that situation from the vantage points of those nations and the populations affected by it.
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Congratulations to members of the Maré (Rio de Janeiro) Research Group who collaborated on an article recently published in Word Development Perspectives: Desiree Poets, Cathy Grimes, Max Stephenson, Jr., Neda Moayerian and Molly Todd. (2023). “Care-based community communication, capacity, and agency during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Complexo da Maré Favela, Brazil.” World Development Perspectives, 30, 100508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100508
We would also like to congratulate our new Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Dr. Andrea Briceno Mosquera, on acceptance of her article, "They asked for more, more, and more paperwork: Administrative Burdens When Undocumented Youth Claim In-State Resident Tuition Policy," for publication in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Her analysis arose from interviews she conducted for her doctoral dissertation.
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Recent Conference Papers
Institute Director Max Stephenson Jr. presented "Countering Persistent Alterity: Fostering Advocacy and Agency," at the 15th annual conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies," May 29-31, 2023, Toronto, Canada on behalf of himself and other members of the Maré Research Group (please see below for details). Max Stephenson, Jr., Neda Moayerian, Vanessa Guerra, Desirée Poets and Henrique Gomes. Dr. Stephenson reports that the article, which will shortly be submitted for consideration for publication, was well received. Congratulations to all!
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2023 Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Conference | |
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VTIPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson attended the 15th annual conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies at York University in Toronto, Ontario from May 29-31. He presented "Countering Persistent Alterity: Fostering Advocacy and Agency, which he co-authored with Maré Research Group members including, VTIPG non-resident research associate Dr. Neda Moayerian, University of Virginia Assistant Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, Dr. Vanessa Guerra, Virginia Tech Assistant Professor of Political Science, Dr. Desiree Poets and Redes da Maré Coordinator, Henrique Gomes.
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Five Pieces Worth Reading | |
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VTIPG Communications Coordinator Billy Parvatam shares five articles each week that address timely and meaningful concerns that address the state of democracy and civil society in the Institute’s Five Pieces Worth Reading series. Five Pieces treated the following concerns during May and June.
June 1: These articles focused on the key provisions of the bipartisan debt ceiling deal, GOP rhetoric concerning lower taxes and limited government versus that party’s actions concerning the same, President Biden's successful record of securing bipartisan legislation, the implications of Turkish President Recep Erdogan's re-election for relations with the West, and the need for Congress to enact legislation to protect the nation’s wetlands following a recent Supreme Court decision limiting governmental capacity to oversee their use under existing law.
May 25: These pieces addressed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's strategy to defeat former President Donald Trump to win the 2024 GOP nomination, the recent trend among young and religiously unaffiliated individuals to vote Democratic, how President Biden’s decision to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will help support that nation in its ongoing effort to defend itself from Russia’s effort to annex it, a potential political strategy that could prevent United States default, and how widespread poverty and social inequality in America has led to deep political divisions.
May 18: These stories focused on how House Republican demands to cut spending for federal social safety net programs could affect millions of low-income Americans, on the implications of that Party’s support of vigilantism against left-wing protestors, on how Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's immigration stance is negatively affecting his state's businesses, on an alarming trend of declining knowledge of history and civics among young Americans, and on recent pro-democracy party wins in Thailand's elections.
May 11: These articles argued that Republicans were putting the nation’s standard of living at risk by refusing to increase the debt ceiling, suggested that former President Trump rhetoric and activities continue to be vetted carefully in the media, outlined why former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly's contention that states with gun control legislation have more mass shootings is inaccurate and manipulative, contended that a pending Supreme Court decision could legalize assault weapons in all 50 states, and called for a 'Manhattan Project' style governmental endeavor to ensure that artificial intelligence does not threaten human existence.
May 4: These stories explored why President Biden initially refused to negotiate with Republicans to obtain an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, why the Federal Reserve should pause interest rates instead of implementing another hike, the attraction among GOP voters of former President Trump's alpha male personality, why some Republicans have opposed continuing to provide military aid to Ukraine, and what to expect during King Charles III's coronation.
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Community Change Collaborative (CCC) | |
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The first episodes of the upcoming "Social Science for Public Good" series will be released in late June or early July. Planning, Governing, and Globalization PhD students Brad Stephens (also of VTIPG) and Yugasha Bakshi, are co-hosting the new series.
A new "Trustees without Borders" program featuring Brad Stephens interviewing Khishi Enkhbayar, our recent guest fellow from Mongolia under the aegis of the National Committee on U.S.-China relations, will be released in early June. Ms. Enkhbayar reflected on her visit to Virginia Tech and the Institute in the interview.
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Pondering Past Podcast Programs | |
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Trustees Without Borders (TWB) is a podcast series produced by the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (IPG) and the Community Change Collaborative (CCC). TWB features leading practitioners, thinkers, and designers working to reframe and strengthen communities, doing so without borders or limits on their ideas and aspirations, without borders on what they think is possible, without borders concerning with whom they will work and without constraints on their dreams for a more just and inclusive community.
From this rich repository, we highlight two podcast episodes that are thematically related and present a particular concept related to community change praxis with complexity and depth. The following conversations with Penny Franklin and Wornie Reed focus on bridging class divides and how the arts can illuminate the stories of communities.
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Penny Franklin: Making Black Voices Heard | |
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In this episode, Penny Franklin relates her personal story to share how she first became engaged in her community and continues to press for change. She outlines how she became involved in her community by engaging with the school system and explains how that initial engagement led to her work with a broader movement for change that includes the Dialogue on Race. She urges everyone to "show up, speak up and step up."
Listen here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/h4iNXQlO9yb
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Wornie Reed: The Current State of Racism and Anti-Racist Activism | |
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In this episode, Sociology Professor Emeritus Wornie Reed discusses the state of racism in the country, especially in the wake of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election victory. He underscores the fact that research continues to show that race is an important dividing line in this country, even as mainstream national narratives downplay it. He also shares his thoughts about anti-racist activism and how it might be made more effective. Presented in partnership with the Race and Social Policy Research Center at Virginia Tech.
Listen here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/QAhJviJQ9yb
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Legacy Tidings and Soundings
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Here is a previous Tidings (Sept. 30, 2010) and Soundings (Aug. 3, 2020) by Dr. Max Stephenson, Jr. that discuss 'fear of the other' in America, especially within the realm of politics. | |
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The Social Ontology of Fear
My colleague, Laura Zanotti, helped to bring to campus this fall a new documentary concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine, entitled "Little Town of Bethlehem." The film thoughtfully chronicles the efforts of would-be peacebuilders on both sides of the conflict who have risked their reputations, livelihoods and in some cases, their physical safety, to champion a settlement to the multi-dimensional and long-lived conflict that has afflicted the region. The documentary did not seek to take sides and not polemicize, but neither did it sugarcoat the difficulties of daily life for those who must traverse multiple checkpoints merely to get to work and back home, who live within the shadow of the well-guarded and large-looming "Seam" wall designed to separate Jews and Arabs in the West Bank and whose homes are often in camps originally designed for a 15-day stay, but which now house many thousands more residents than every envisaged when they were first created more than 60 years ago. ...
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On Rhetoric, Posturing, and the Politics of Hate
The previous Soundings (July 10, 2020), featured some of the work afoot in the sciences and social sciences concerning individual predisposition, partisanship, and willingness to accept false and misleading rhetoric. [1] In that essay, I explored the links between genetic disposition and specific value valences that may incline individuals to support authoritarian leaders, leadership, and rhetoric. I described the relationships between such research and inquiry into specific narratives now dominant in many rural communities that rationalize and embrace the delegitmation of governance and overt discrimination against specific minority population groups. This commentary examines the character of the rhetoric that plays a catalyzing role in animating these undemocratic actions and provides recent examples of it. ...
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Binghamton University's Call for Faculty Fellows
Binghamton University is now recruiting for the 2023-24 Charles E. Schneidt Faculty Fellows in Atrocity Prevention. The Fellows Program provides scholars with the chance to learn about genocide and mass atrocity prevention and consider how to integrate that knowledge into their research and teaching. You may view additional details here.
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Institute for Policy and Governance
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