February 1–2, 2024
Agenda
The conference takes place in CGIS Knafel Building, Room K262 (Bowie-Vernon Room). Please note that most of the presenters’ theses are due in early March and are works in progress. This agenda is still in flux and may change.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1
9:00–9:45 a.m. Coffee and light breakfast
9:45–10:00 a.m. Opening remarks
- Christoph Mikulaschek, Director, Undergraduate Student Programs; Faculty Associate. Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University.
10:00–12:00 p.m. Panel One: Politics and Development in the Global South
- Chair: Pia Raffler, Faculty Associate. Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University.
- Garrett O'Brien (Social Studies). “How Government Officials and Civilians Understand Chinese Investment in Rwanda and Whether the Rwanda-China Relationship Represents a South-South Partnership.”
- Jolly Rop (Government, Economics). “The Politics of Tea & Robots: The Legacy of British Colonialism and Responses to Automation in Kenya’s Tea Industry.”
- Amen Hasset Gashaw (Government; Molecular & Cellular Biology). “Impact of Organizational Religiosity on Efficacy of Development Service Delivery in Ethiopia.”
12:00–1:00 p.m. Lunch break
1:00–3:00 p.m. Panel Two: Inequality in Zones of Conflict
- Chair: Mohammad R. Isaqzadeh, Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Scholars Program. PhD, Department of Politics, Princeton University.
- Sameer Majid Khan (History of Science; Anthropology). "The Everyday, Embodied Experience and Corporeality of Military Occupation in the Region of Indian-Administered Kashmir.”
- Jamal Nimer (Social Studies). “The Position of Arab Israelis in the Israeli Labor Market.”
- Dina M. Kobeissi (Government; Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations). “The ‘Side Effects’ of Sanctions: Exploring the Impact of Sanctions on Inequality in Syria.”
3:00–3:15 p.m. Coffee break
3:15–5:15 p.m. Panel Three: International Relations in the Global South
- Chair: Robert Paarlberg, Associate. Associate, Sustainability Science Program, Harvard Kennedy School; Betty F. Johnson ‘44 Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Department of Political Science, Wellesley College.
- Arjun Adotei Akwei (Government; Astrophysics). “From Nehruvian Non-Alignment to Bharat’s ‘Best Partner’: How a Change in Indian Nationalism Explains the Revitalization of Indo-American Relations.”
- Alexandra Purcell (Environmental Science & Public Policy; Global Health & Health Policy). “Water Pollution in the Pilcomayo River Basin in Bolivia.”
- Lauren Sara Morganbesser (Government). “Allies at Odds: Tracking the Rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2
9:00–9:30 a.m. Coffee and light breakfast
9:30–11:30 a.m. Panel Four: Colonialism, Independence, and Nationalism
- Chair: Silvia Escanilla Huerta, Academy Scholar, The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. PhD, Department of History, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
- Justin Hu (Romance Languages & Literatures; History). “Interwar Colonial Martinique Production of a Cohort of Political Luminaries.”
- Henry N. Haimo (History). “Rewriting History: Education, Publishing, and Media in Ghana, 1945–1966.”
- Hamaad Waqar Mehal (Social Studies). “Muhammad Iqbal's Archived Writings and Genealogy of the Emergence of Muslim Nationalism in South Asia.”
11:30–12:30 p.m. Lunch break
12:30–2:30 p.m. Panel Five: Colonialist Ideology and International Development
- Chair: Rachel Steely, Raphael Morrison Dorman Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Scholars Program. PhD, Department of History, Harvard University.
- Eleanor Villafranca Wikstrom (Social Studies; Mind, Brain, Behavior). “Making Subjects of Subjects: US Education, English, and Epistemic Colonialism in the Philippines.”
- Laura Voss Connor (Social Studies). “From Dependency to Rejection: How the Erosion of Bilateral Trust Undermined USAID’s Mission in Bolivia.”
- Claire Koeun Yoo (History & Literature; Film & Visual Studies). “Happy Campers: The Performative Citizenship of Girl Scouts in World War II Japanese American Incarceration Camps.”
2:30–3:00 p.m. Coffee break
3:00–5:00 p.m. Panel Six: Misinformation and Decriminalization in Contemporary Europe and Russia
- Chair: George Soroka, Executive Officer, The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. Lecturer, Department of Government, Harvard University.
- Tessa Isabelle Conrardy (Government). “From ‘Independent’ to ‘Opposition’: Russia’s War in Ukraine and Role Discourse among Russian Journalists in Exile.”
- Aidan Walker Wrenn-Walz (Government). “Misinformation, Democratic Engagement, and the 2022 Italian General Election.”
- Logan Christopher Kelly (Social Studies). “Progress and Punishment: A Comparative Study of Drug Decriminalization in Portugal and Spain.”
5:00 p.m. Closing remarks
Christoph Mikulaschek, Director, Undergraduate Student Programs; Faculty Associate. Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Harvard University.