World Affairs Seminars

sponsored by MunleyLaw

All seminars are from Noon to 1:30pm
Virtual Seminar Fees: $10 per per person 


 

Wednesday, February 3

The Post-Pandemic World: Lessons from Asia

Like the 14th century Black Death, the coronavirus has caused a profound worldwide loss of life, significant restructuring of trade patterns, major reordering of geopolitical relations, and substantial disruption to our daily lives. What radical changes lie ahead in the post-pandemic world? How will geopolitical and market competition play out in this new global scenario? Will decoupling between regions be followed by new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation? In this lecture, Dr. Parag Khanna maps out the future of global capital flows, infrastructure investments, supply chains, industrial policies, accelerating growth sectors, andother major drivers of the next world order.

Parag Khanna, Ph.D., Managing Partner of FutureMap Pte. Ltd. 

Via ZOOM- link will be emailed; 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.     * Please note the later time due to location of speaker  

RSVP Here



Wednesday, February 17

Vanguard: How Black Women Overcame Barriers, Won the Vote, and
Insisted on Equality for All 

In Dr. Jones’ most recent book she offers a new history of African American women’s political lives in America. She recounts how they defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot, and how they wielded political power to secure the equality and dignity of all persons. 

 

Martha S. Jones, J.D., Ph.D., Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, Professor of History and the SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University

Via ZOOM- link will be emailed; Noon to 1:30 p.m.

RSVP Here


Tuesday, March 9

Next Steps with Russia?

The new U.S. administration faces a dangerously degraded relationship with Russia. Is there
any way to pull it back from the brink? Are there any issues on which the United States and
Russia can agree to work together? Jill Dougherty analyzes the challenge of re-defining the
relationship, without a “reset.”

Jill Dougherty, was CNN’s Moscow Bureau Chief for almost a decade. A Russia expert, she is now an adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and a CNN on-air contributor

Via ZOOM- link will be emailed; Noon to 1:30 p.m.

RSVP Here


thumbnail_carla_mccabev2-1.jpgTuesday, March 16

America: The Farther Shore

“Believe that a farther shore is reachable from here.” Those words of Nobel Laureate poet Seamus Heaney were my inspiration for coming to America. I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. But here I am in Scranton, PA, honored to lead WVIA, a PBS/NPR affiliate station. My aim is to ensure that we are embedded in the core of the communities we serve, producing programs that reflect who we are, and at the same time, open our hearts and minds to the world we live in. 

Carla McCabe, President & CEO, WVIA

Via ZOOM- link will be emailed; Noon to 1:30 p.m.

RSVP Here


Wednesday, March 24       

Borges and Me: My Travels in the Highlands of Scotland with a Literary Genius

With The Department of World Languages and Cultures and Latin American Studies,
The University of Scranton

Jay Parini, a native of Scranton, is a poet, novelist, and biographer, author of thirty books,
including The Last Station, which was made into an Academy Award-nominated film starring
Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. His New and Collected Poems appeared in 2016. His latest book is Borges and Me, a memoir.  

Jay Parini, Axinn Professor of English at Middlebury College in Vermont 

Via Zoom- link will be emailed; Noon to 1:30 p.m.

RSVP Here


Friday, April 9

The Abolitionist International

The talk re-imagines abolition as a radical international movement composed of ordinary men and women, whites and blacks. It shows how the fight to end slavery overlapped with contemporary social movements such as feminism, utopian socialism, pacifism as well as struggles for rights of labor, immigrants and Native Americans.

 

Manisha Sinha, Ph.D., Draper Chair in American History, University of Connecticut  

Via ZOOM- link will be emailed; Noon to 1:30 p.m.

RSVP Here


 

Friday, April 16

A Jesuit Education and Integrative Thinking in Biotechnology
(fighting Tuberculosis) and Economics (eradicating poverty)

The Scranton tradition of “scholarship and service” is only part of it. Taking the best ideas and tools from one academic domain and applying them to the challenges of another is how innovation occurs. 

 Michael Fairbanks, Ph.D., Fellow at Harvard and the chairman and founder of Akagera Medicines, a Biotech company based in Boston and San Francisco focussed on cures for infectious diseases 

Via ZOOM- link will be emailed; Noon to 1:30 p.m.

RSVP Here

2019 University For A Day

Saturday, September 14, University For A Day, An Environmental Immersion

Matthew Meyer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy, The University of Scranton
Listen to the Lecture Here

Timothy D. Searchinger, Ph.D., Research Scholar, Princeton University and Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute
Listen to the Lecture Here

Michael C. Cann, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, Chemistry Department, The University of Scranton, Director, Delaware Highlands Conservancy
Listen to the Lecture Here

Diane Burko, Artist
Listen to the Lecture Here


Fall 2019 World Affairs Luncheons

Tuesday, September 17, Constitution Day 2019: "Let's Act Like the Majority We Are"
Lynn Yeakel, 
Director of Drexel University College of Medicine's Institute for Woman's Health and Leadership
Listen to the Lecture Here

Wednesday, September 25, Tsars, Commissars and President Putin: Why Russian History is the Key to Understanding Russia Today
Lynne Hartnett, Ph.D., Professor of Russian History, Villanova University
Listen to the Lecture Here

Friday, October 4, Transcendentalism, Politics and the Civil War
Leonard Gougeon,
Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of American Literature, Department of English & Theatre, The University of Scranton
Listen to the Lecture Here

Thursday, October 17, Religion in the public Sphere: a contribution to the Common Good?
Ignacio Sepulveda del Rio, Humanities and Philosophy Faculty Member, Loyola Andalucia University, Seville, Spain
Listen to the Lecture Here

Tuesday, October 29, Russian Spring?
Jill Dougherty, Global Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center for Internatinal Scholars, Washington, D.C. and CNN Contributor
Listen to the Lecture Here

Thursday, November 7, Impeachment: Is It Still Available?
Morey Myers, L.L.B., Of Counsel, Myers, Brier and Kelly
Listen to the Lecture Here

Wednesday, December 4, Reckoning with Contested History as an Essential Part of Sustaining Democracy
Liz Sevcenko,
Director of the Rutgers Newark Humanities Action Lab
Listen to the Lecture Here

To register for programs, contact:    
Alicen Morrison
Schemel Forum Assistant
570-941-6206
alicen.morrison@scranton.edu
For more info on the Schemel Forum, contact:
Sondra Myers
Schemel Forum Director
570-941-4089
sondra.myers@scranton.edu