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IR Program Upcoming Events

Anne E. Borghesani Symposium
November 9, 7-8:30pm, Chase Faculty Dining Hall
Former Borghesani Prize winners will share their experiences from their research and travels abroad. Not only will this a great opportunity for sophomores and juniors to learn how they could benefit from the support of a Borghesani Scholarship, but also students can enjoy cultural foods from the previous winners' locales.

Global Lens 2009
November 5-8

THOSE THREE (An Seh), Iran
Thurs, 11/5, 8:00pm-10:00pm Education Screening with Discussion
Mugar 200, Cabot Intercultural Center, 160 Packard Ave, Medford

Synopsis: Just one day from completing their military training, three conscripts desert their camp and escape into the frozen wilderness of Northern Iran. Travel through this mountainous, snowbound region is dangerous, but "those three" opt for the independence it promises and must now forge their way through an uncertain landscape, with only friendship to see them through. In this austere and mesmerizing debut feature, director Naghi Nemati's attention to the minutiae of human relationships is a quiet and deliberate meditation on the value of responsibility, connection and sacrifice.

SLEEPWALKING LAND (Terra Sonâmbula), Mozambique
Fri, 11/6, 8:00pm-10:00pm
Mugar 200, Cabot Intercultural Center, 160 Packard Ave, Medford

Synopsis: In the midst of Mozambique's devastating civil war, Muidinga, an orphaned refugee, wanders the countryside in search of his mother. His only companion is an elderly storyteller, and the only guide to finding his mother is a dead man's diary. Together, the storyteller and diary lead him on a magical, and sometimes macabre, journey across war–torn landscapes to find the family he lost. Based on Mia Coutou's acclaimed Portuguese novel of the same name, Teresa Prata's transporting drama underscores the power of imagination in surviving, and ultimately overcoming, the catastrophe of war.

GETTING HOME (Luo Ye Gui Gen), China
Sat, 11/7, 8:00pm-10:00pm
Mugar 200, Cabot Intercultural Center, 160 Packard Ave, Medford

Synopsis: In this soulful and humane comedy, Zhao, a middle-aged construction worker, struggles to fulfill a dying co-worker's last wish to be buried in China's Three Gorges region. Setting out with his colleague's body in tow, Zhao travels hundreds of miles across extraordinary countryside, encountering a number of colorful adventures and characters -- and even discovering love in some unlikely quarters. Director Zhang Yang's humorous and moving tale of friendship offers a powerful, and sometimes slapstick, commentary on the value of community and human connectivity in modern China.

SONG FROM THE SOUTHERN SEAS (Pesn' Juzhnykh Morej), Kazakhstan
Sun, 11/8, 2:00pm-4:00pm Education Screening with Discussion
Olin Center Room 12, 180 Packard Ave, Medford - limited seating

Synopsis: Two couples, one Russian and one Kazakh, live side by side in relative harmony in a beautiful yet semi-desolate region of the Great Steppe. But when the fair-skinned Russians give birth to a boy of decidedly darker skin, fifteen years of suspicion and acrimony arises between them, and can only be resolved by an ironic twist of family and fate. At times darkly somber, at other times tender and wistful-and buoyed throughout by a soundtrack of folk-inspired melodies-writer-director Marat Sarulu draws on Kazakhstan's epic history to create a gritty and deeply compassionate tale of humor and cultural insight.

Majors Fair
Wednesday, November 4, 12:00-1:30 pm, 51 Winthrop Street
The Department of Undergraduate Education will be hosting a Majors Fair and IR will be there! The Majors Fair will be an opportunity for students who have yet to declare a major to explore all options available to them. An International Relations student will be present to explain course requirements for the major, describe some of the classes available, and offer a glimpse into possible opportunities after graduation.

The Majors Fair will particularly be aimed at sophomores, so that they can learn more about each department in advance of registration for spring classes, and several months before they are required to declare a major. However, it will also be beneficial to first-year students, as well as upperclassmen, as representatives will be present from Career Services, the Academic Resource Center, and Programs Abroad.

International Affairs Virtual Networking Event
October 27-November 17
The Tufts Program in International Relations (IR) is excited to announce the second annual International Affairs Virtual Networking Event, an innovative approach to connecting IR majors in Medford with alumni working in the broad field of international affairs around the world. The event will take place via an online forum, which will be available beginning October 27th.

For more information and the link to the forum, please click here.

Global Lens 2009
October 22-25

I Am From Titov Veles (Jas Sum Od Titov Veles), Macedonia, 2007
Thurs, 10/22, 9:00pm-11:00pm
Olin Center Room 12, 180 Packard Ave, Medford - limited seating

Synopsis: Set in the quaint but scarred town of Veles, three sisters long to escape the suffocating environment of their dying community. Burdened by memories of their late father, each chooses a different path: Sapho struggles to secure a visa to Greece, Slavica desperately searches for a rich husband, and Afrodita harbors hopes for love and children. In this contemporary story of urban decay, director Teona Strugar Mitevska blends stark realism with memorable performances to create a vivid landscape of life and longing in post-communist Macedonia.

My Time Will Come, (Cuando Me Toque A Mi), Ecuador, 2008
Fri, 10/23, 8:00pm-10:00pm
Asean Auditorium, Cabot Intercultural Center, 160 Packard Ave, Medford

Synopsis: A predawn murder sets in motion a series of interlocking tragedies that eventually find their way to the city morgue's brooding Dr. Arturo Fernandez. Physically and emotionally isolated from the world around him, Arturo develops an oddly intimate relationship with the personal lives of his cases, gradually forcing him to confront his connection to the living, and the dead. Adapted from the novel De Que Nada Se Sabe, director Víctor Arregui's serpentine tale is a dark but sympathetic portrait of one man's solitude set against a richly textured rendering of Quito, Ecuador's capital city.

Possible Lives (Las Vidas Posibles), Argentina, 2007
Sat, 10/24, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Asean Auditorium, Cabot Intercultural Center, 160 Packard Ave, Medford

Synopsis: After her husband mysteriously disappears during a business trip to Patagonia, Clara embarks on a desperate mission to find him. During her search, she makes a startling discovery: a man with an uncanny resemblance to her spouse, but with another name and a wife. Convinced the stranger may be her husband, she ignores entreaties to quit her search just as police discover a body that may be the real man she seeks. Shot amid majestic vistas and suffused with vibrant color and sexuality, director Sandra Gugliotta's feature is a haunting and suspenseful study of grief and letting go.

Mutum, Brazil, 2007
Sun, 10/25, 2:00pm-4:00pm Education Showing with Discussion
Asean Auditorium, Cabot Intercultural Center, 160 Packard Ave, Medford

Synopsis: Thiago is a sensitive and imaginative boy living on a small, hardscrabble farm in a remote region of Brazil. His life is filled not only with curiosity and youthful discovery, but also the reality of his parent's unhappy marriage and his father's abuse--all of which are one day changed by a chance encounter and unexpected gift. Director Sandra Kogut, in her poetic adaptation of the Brazilian short story Campo Geral, focuses on minute details of rural life to tell a bittersweet story of one boy's coming-of-age amidst events both great and small.

This event is free and open to the public. For information about additional films and showings, click here.

This event is supported by the Global Film Initiative. The Global Film Initiative is a U.S.-based not-for-profit organization specializing in the support of independent film from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Founded in 2002 to promote cross-cultural understanding through the language of cinema, the Initiative awards  numerous grants to deserving filmmakers from around the world each year, and supports a touring film series entitled Global Lens. For more information about the Global Lens film series and Global Film Initiative programs, visit: http://www.globalfilm.org.

Global Women Dinner
October 20, 7:30pm-8:30pm, Cabot 1st Floor
Fletcher students from the Global Women's group met with Tufts IR majors at this fun kick-off event. The Global Women mentoring program helps undergraduate students explore educational opportunities and define career goals.

Afghan Women and War
October 19, 12-1pm, Cabot 702
"After eight years of war in Afghanistan, 2009 is the bloodiest year yet, and our generals are requesting still more troops. But can the U.S. military involvement bring peace to Afghanistan, liberate Afghan women and bring democracy and development? The Afghan women's organization RAWA works for freedom, democracy and women's rights. RAWA's representative, Zoya, shared her inspiring story and spoke out against the U.S. occupation, the warlords, and the Taliban." -Zoya.  Co-sponsored by the Tufts IR Program, Peace and Justice Studies Program, and Women's Studies Program. No still or video photography.

Global Lens 2009
October 17-18

Song from the Southern Seas, Kazakhstan
October 17, 2009, 9:00pm
Braker Hall 001, 8 Upper Campus Road, Tufts University, Medford, MA

Synopsis: Two couples, one Russian and one Kazakh, live side by side in relative harmony in a beautiful yet semi-desolate region of the Great Steppe. But when the fair-skinned Russians give birth to a boy of decidedly darker skin, fifteen years of suspicion and acrimony arises between them, and can only be resolved by an ironic twist of family and fate. At times darkly somber, at other times tender and wistful-and buoyed throughout by a soundtrack of folk-inspired melodies-writer-director Marat Sarulu draws on Kazakhstan's epic history to create a gritty and deeply compassionate tale of humor and cultural insight.

Sleepwalking Land, Mozambique
October 18, 2009, 2:00pm
Olin Center Room 12, 180 Packard Ave, Tufts University, Medford, MA

Synopsis: In the midst of Mozambique's devastating civil war, Muidinga, an orphaned refugee, wanders the countryside in search of his mother. His only companion is an elderly storyteller, and the only guide to finding his mother is a dead man's diary. Together, the storyteller and diary lead him on a magical, and sometimes macabre, journey across war--torn landscapes to find the family he lost. Based on Mia Coutou's acclaimed Portuguese novel of the same name, Teresa Prata's transporting drama underscores the power of imagination in surviving, and ultimately overcoming, the catastrophe of war.

This event is free and open to the public. For information about additional films and showings, click here.

This event is supported by the Global Film Initiative. The Global Film Initiative is a U.S.-based not-for-profit organization specializing in the support of independent film from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Founded in 2002 to promote cross-cultural understanding through the language of cinema, the Initiative awards  numerous grants to deserving filmmakers from around the world each year, and supports a touring film series entitled Global Lens. For more information about the Global Lens film series and Global Film Initiative programs, visit: http://www.globalfilm.org.

Global Lens 2009 Premiere
October 15, 2009

7:30pm Reception with Asian Cuisine, 8:00pm Introduction and film
Distler Performance Hall, 20 Talbot Ave., Tufts University, Medford, MA

The first showing from the 2009 Global Lens Film Series was a great success! Audience members laughed out loud at the comedy, "Getting Home," an award winning (Ecumenical Jury Prize, Berlin International Film Festival) foreign film, that offered sweeping views of China, cultural insights, and a comedic look at ups and downs to human  interaction. For information about additional films and showings, click here.

Synopsis: In this soulful and humane comedy, Zhao, a middle-aged construction worker, struggles to fulfill a dying co-worker's last wish to be buried in China's Three Gorges region. Setting out with his colleague's body in tow, Zhao travels hundreds of miles across extraordinary countryside, encountering a number of colorful adventures and characters -- and even discovering love in some unlikely quarters. Director Zhang Yang's humorous and moving tale of friendship offers a powerful, and sometimes slapstick, commentary on the value of community and human connectivity in modern China.

Fletcher Night
October 13 

Graduate School in International Relations Panel
5:30-6:30pm, Cabot 702
The Fletcher Admissions Office held an information session for students considering attending graduate school in international relations. Students learned about the graduate school process, details on the Fletcher degree programs, insider tips on applying to graduate school for international affairs, and information on what APSIA (Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs) schools  are looking for in applicants.

Fletcher Networking Night
6:30-7:30pm, Hall of Flags, Cabot Intercultural Center
Undergraduate students interested in careers in the broad field of international affairs had the opportunity to speak with Fletcher Graduates about job searching, internships, career development strategies, and the graduate school process. It was a fun and informal evening of conversations and networking that bridges the International Relations Program and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Meet the Mentors
October 7, 12-1pm, Cabot 702
This was an informal event for prospective majors to meet students from the IR mentors program and ask a variety of questions about the program such as where can I study abroad, how do I find an advisor, what courses would you recommend, how do I get more involved in IR, etc.

Senior Thesis Exchange
Four Wednesdays, 5:00-6:30pm: September 23, 2009; October 21, 2009; November 18, 2009 and December 9, 2009, Murrow Room, Goddard Hall.
The IR Program collaborates with the Departments of History and Political Science and the Peace and Justice Studies Program to offer a structured, but informal Thesis Exchange between thesis writers in these majors. Convened by an IR faculty member, the exchange complements advising from a students' thesis committee with faculty and peer coaching relevant to research and the process of thesis writing. The Exchange typically meets over refreshments and provides students an opportunity to share their thesis experience and findings with a wider intellectual community.

International Day of Peace
Wednesday, September 21, 2009
Tufts University recognized the United Nations' International Day of Peace. Peace and Justice Studies teamed up with Communication and Media Studies, the International Relations Program and the Office of Undergraduate Education to provide an excellent schedule of events that included a film screening of The Day After Peace, activities on the quad, a human peace sign formation, and was capped by a keynote address by Prof. Anne Nelson, from Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, entitled “Media as a Non-State Actor in the Pursuit of Peace”.

Orientation 2009- IR Major Information Session
Friday, September 4, 8:30am-10am, Barnum 008
Hosted by the IR Director, Prof. Malik Mufti, this information session informed incoming freshmen on the specifics of the IR major and the many advantages of one of the most popular programs at Tufts. Incoming students were engaged and asked a multitude of excellent questions during the Q/A session.

View event summary for Academic Year 2008-2009 >
View event summary for Academic Year 2007-2008 >

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