Global Affairs Graduate Society Social Networking Workshop
Monday, February 1
6.30pm - 8.30pm, WW 430

RSVP to gags.nyu@gmail.com

Learn strategies to connect with people and market yourself using LinkedIn and Facebook fanpage with a brief introduction to Global Affairs Graduate Society's Twitter account.

CGA Brown Bag Conflict, Security, and Development Series Prosecuting Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity: The weaknesses and strengths of international justice
Thursday, February 4
12.30pm - 1.30pm

Hosted by CGA clinical assistant professor Jennifer Trahan

Location: NYU Wagner at the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor

RSVP at wagner.nyu.edu/events/conflictseries.php or by calling (212) 992-8380

A collaboration with the Office for International Programs at the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the Master’s Program in Global Public Health. This brown-bag lunch series examines new research, creative policy approaches, and recent innovations in addressing security and development challenges in conflict and post-conflict contexts.

There are now a variety of international, hybrid, and domestic tribunals prosecuting genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. How well does each work? Are they prosecuting crimes correctly? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current system? This talk gives an overview of the work of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as well as the Iraqi High Tribunal (a domestic Iraqi tribunal).

Global Affairs Graduate Society Law Issues in Global Affairs Workshop Series
Thursday, February 4
6.30pm - 8.30pm, WW 217

Hosted by the Law Student Association (ILSA) Chapter NYU Center for Global Affairs

RSVP to gags.nyu@gmail.com

Possible Topics include: Legal issues regarding aid to Haiti - Respecting the Rights of a sovereign country, Security Issues and Legal Ramifications in Haiti, Did International Law Building Fail in Copenhagen, Climate Change Summit?

First Friday Luncheon Series Evolution, Not Revolution: Islamic Feminism and Women’s Rights in the UAE and Gulf States
Friday, February 5
12.30pm - 2.00pm, WW 430

Hosted by Professor Sylvia Maier

Please note that the discussion topic for this event has changed from the previous annoucement, due to a last minute change in the guest speaker's calendar.

Based on her field research in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in summer 2009, Dr. Sylvia Maier will highlight the dramatic advancements Emirati women have made in education, business, government and civil society over the past decade, sketch their successful strategies for mobilization and empowerment, outline the political opportunities that made progress possible, and speculate about the replicability of these success stories in other Gulf countries and beyond. We will conclude with a discussion about the challenges that still lie ahead.

The First Friday Luncheon series is presented as a collaboration between the graduate program faculty and GAGS. Every first Friday of the month from Oct-Dec and Feb -April, MSGA faculty host conversations with global leaders for an audience of current students, faculty and alumni. The talks and Q&A are followed by an opportunity to continue the conversation over lunch.

SYLVIA MAIER, Ph.D., M.A.
Sylvia Maier joined the Center for Global Affairs as an Adjunct Instructor and the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies as an Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow in September 2007. She earned her B.A. in Political Science at the University of Vienna, Austria, and her M.A. (1999) and Ph.D. (2001) in Political Science from the University of Southern California. Previously, she was an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Dr. Maier's research focuses on gender and multiculturalism, honor-based violence against women, the legal accommodation of Muslim minority rights in Western Europe, and the role of ICTs in women's empowerment in the Global South. She has authored and co-authored numerous articles and book chapters, including "Honor Killings and the Cultural Defense in Germany," "Shared Values: Democracy and Human Rights in the European Neighborhood Policy" (with Frank Schimmelfennig), "Women and Internet Use in Five South Indian Villa ges: Obstacles and Opportunities" (with Michael Best), and "Empowering Women Through ICT-Based Business Initiatives: An Overview of Best Practices in E-Commerce/E-Retail Projects" (with Usha Nair). She has also authored several shorter pieces and reviews. Dr. Maier is currently completing a book manuscript on Mainstreaming Muslims: Islam, Culture and the Law in France and Germany.

Global Affairs Graduate Society Crisis Case Studies Event
Saturday, February 6
WW 230

RSVP to gags.nyu@gmail.com

Details coming soon via the GAGS listserv.

Special Event with Tererai Trent and Jo Luck of Heifer International
Thursday, January 21
10.00am
Woolworth Campus, 15 Barclay Street, 4th Floor

Please reply to Jennifer Chowdhury (212 99 8721) or jennifer.chowdhury@nyu.edu to confirm your attendance no later than Friday, January 15.

Join CGA faculty, members of the Women’s Initiative and graduate students for a special discussion on the impact of education and economic opportunity on one woman’s life, as well as her story’s implications for many others in the same situation.

Tererai Trent, an illiterate Zimbabwean villager married at 11, was inspired to try for four audacious goals, including study abroad and the attainment of a Ph.D. Against all odds, and with the help of several organizations including Heifer International, she accomplished these goals and now works to help other women in her community. Her story, a testament to courage and indomitable will in the face of poverty and abuse, will be contextualized by Jo Luck, president and CEO of Heifer International, who aided Tererai in her struggle. This conversation will feature an examination of the vital role of women in agriculture worldwide and what aid organizations can do to give these women a livelihood and voice within their communities.

MSGA/GAGS Student Life Fair
Friday, January 22
4.00-6.30pm
Woolworth Campus, 15 Barclay Street, 4th Floor

Open to all MSGA students. Representatives from all GAGS committees including PACT, ILSA, Social and Fundraising, Alumni and Careers, and Community Service and Marketing will be on hand, along with MSGA journal PGI, the CGA public events office, MSGA Careers and Internships, Foreign Affairs Magazine, and Student Life.

Check-in for new students begins at 4.00. New students meet with Divisional Dean Jelinek at 5.00pm and with their academic advisors from 5.45-6.30pm.

MSGA Thesis/Capstone "Boot Camp" Workshop
Hosted by Professor Sylvia Maier
Note: Students must be registered for Y45.3900 (Thesis/Capstone) for the Spring 2010 semester in order to take part in this free workshop.
Saturday, January 23, 10.00am - 6.00pm

An introduction to the nuts and bolts of the research design process. The workshop will cover (with in-class exercises) how to approach and design a major research project, including how to choose an exciting and manageable research question, formulate a thesis statement and argument, carry out a literature review, choose and apply a proper research methodology, and systematically collect reliable data. It will also address the use of databases and sources, and how to write a formal thesis proposal and a major research paper. In addition to short in-class exercises, the primary assignment, due on January 30th, will be a formal five page proposal for the master's thesis.

Recommended Texts
W.C. Booth & G.G Colomb, The Craft of Research.3rd ed. U of Chicago Press, 2008
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. U of Chicago Press, 2007.
Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard.

SYLVIA MAIER, M.A., PH.D.
Professor Sylvia Maier is an Assistant Professor in the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies at NYU. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Before joining the faculty at NYU, Dr. Maier was an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, where she taught courses on international law, gender in world politics, human rights, ethics in international affairs, and nationalism and ethnic conflict, and won numerous teaching awards. She also taught at Harvard and USC.

Professor Maier’s main areas of research and teaching focus on Islam-state relations in Western Europe, international law and gender studies. She is particularly interested in the legal and political integration of Islam in France and Germany, the protection of cultural minority rights, the emergence of an Islamic feminism in Saudi Arabia, and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for women’s empowerment in the Global South.

Professor Maier has lectured and published articles, book chapters, reviews and op-eds on Muslim minority rights in France and Germany, sex-trafficking, honor killings, women’s rights in the Middle East, and the effective use of ICTs for women’s empowerment in India.

CGA Brown Bag Conflict, Security, and Development Series - Taking humanity in war beyond international laws
Thursday, January 28
12.30pm - 1.30pm

Hosted by Sarah Holewinski, executive director, CIVIC (Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict)

Location: NYU Wagner at the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor

RSVP at wagner.nyu.edu/events/conflictseries.php or by calling (212) 992-8380

A collaboration with the Office for International Programs at the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the Master’s Program in Global Public Health. This brown-bag lunch series examines new research, creative policy approaches, and recent innovations in addressing security and development challenges in conflict and post-conflict contexts.

The vast majority of war’s civilian survivors receive no help, as the Laws of War are silent on what should happen after the bombs have dropped. There is no expectation that warring parties will record or officially recognize casualties, or provide assistance to survivors. CIVIC is arguing for a new standard of conduct that expects warring parties to “make amends” to civilians they harm. Holewinski highlights examples of this principle and discusses how these practices show an emerging normative behavior in warfare.

MSGA Professional Skills Workshop - Economics for Global Affairs
Friday, January 29
5.30pm - 7.30pm
Hosted by Professor Christine Shaw
WW430

A toolbox/review of the principles of economics for all global affairs students; essential for those who have limited background in the study economics. Led by Professor Christine Shaw.

CHRISTINE SHAW, M.A., PH.D.
Christine Shaw worked for the United Nations from 1969 until recently. There she was engaged in analytical work geared toward both the diplomatic and academic communities. She served as Senior Economic Affairs Officer in the Development Policy and Planning Office of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs. She was the Department's trade specialist, writing regularly for the UN's World Economic and Social Survey, as well preparing policy-oriented papers and background material for the Committee for Development Policy and serving as a Report Writer for a number of United Nations World Conferences and Summits. For several years, she has been teaching courses in micro- and macro-economics and international economics at FIT/SUNY. A specialist in trade, development and globalization, she holds a B.A in Economics and Sociology from Harvard, an M.A. in Economics, Statistics and Demography from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University. She is a member of the American Economic Association.