Thank you to BCTV for providing equipment so that we were able to video and share our events! Thank you to WWAC member Roland Vollbehr for his excellent work in filming many talks in the past. And thank you to Alfred New for filming talks in 2019. Recent Zoom webinars were programmed to be recorded and are also posted here.
Sunday, March 21, Zoom Webinar
“Ten Years and Counting: Our Fukushima Journey”
A Conversation with Chiho Kaneko and Norma Field
Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, Zoom Webinar
“A New Pattern for Democracy”: Lessons from South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winner Albert Luthuli
Rev. Dr. Scott Couper, minister and teacher of Centre Congregational Church and member of the WWAC Board
Sunday, January 17, 2021, Zoom, Webinar
“The Intersectionality of Gender-Based Violence”
Discussion by 5 Panelists
Sunday, Dec 13, 2020, Zoom webinar
Arthur Magida, graduate of Marlboro College, award-winning journalist
Code Name Madeleine: A Sufi Spy in Nazi-Occupied Paris
Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020 , Zoom Webinar
Dr. Tamara Stenn presented a talk entitled,
“Indigenous sustainability, regeneration, and hope:
Harvesting Bolivia’s Royal quinoa”
Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, Zoom Webinar
Peter Galbraith Spoke on US National Security and the Election: What is at Stake?
Sunday, September 27, 2020, Zoom Webinar
Discussion with Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams
Friday, February 21, 2019 @ 118 Elliot
Ambassador Adrian Basora and Dr. Andrew Wilking debate the topic
Can Democracy Be Saved? (and Why Bother?)
Friday, January 24, 2019″
Degrowth: How our blessings have become a curse”
A Talk by Dr. Julie L. Snorek, Research Associate, Environmental Studies Department, Dartmouth College
Friday, Dec. 6, 2019
Talks by Two Marlboro College Students on their Senior Research Projects
Part I: Leni Charbonneau spoke on “Japan and the Ainu: A Spectacle of Sustainability.”
Part II: Adam Weinberg spoke on “Compassion for the Inconsiderate: Local Politics, Global Values.”
Friday, Nov. 22, 2019
“Movement of People – Trafficking and Migrating in Southeast Asia Today”
A Talk by Braema Mathi, Global Fellow, Keene State College’s Holocaust and Genocide Program and Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation
The presentation was an overview of how people in Southeast Asia are moving from one country to another or within their own country, a discussion of the factors and causes of these trends, and an examination of measures that ought to be available so that those who move and are forced into work in deplorable situations are protected.
Friday, Nov. 8, 2019
“The Betrayal of the Kurds”
A Talk by Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith
Ambassador Galbraith gave a firsthand report from Northeast Syria including an analysis of the consequences of President Trump’s “green light” for the Turkish invasion, the Rojava revolution, Russia’s triumph and the loss of American dominance in the Middle East and what it means for ISIS. He will also cover his efforts to get children out of the ISIS camps in NE Syria.
Friday, October 25, 2019:
“Beheading in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility”
A Talk by WWAC Board Member Clare Morgana Gillis, PhD
Dr.Gillis, examined Isis propaganda and its afterlife in news and in the popular imagination, and considered the effect of those images on human rights issues surrounding thousands of captured Isis foreign fighters held in Kurdish jails in eastern Syria. Aa the USA abandoned its Kurdish allies and a Turkish military operation inside Syria raised the possibility of mass prison breaks and a resurgence of Isis, Clare highlighted the continued unwillingness of the international community to address the situation of those fighters, ensuring that the problem will continue.
Friday, Oct. 11, 2019
“An Economy Under Siege: Building Socialism in Cuba Today”
Dr. Jourdy James Heredia, Subdirector and Lead Researcher of the Global Economy Research Center in Havana, Cuba
As part of her national tour, Dr. Heredia, sponsored by Witness for Peace and The Christopher Reynolds Foundation, spoke about the current economic situation in Cuba; historical and contemporary impacts of the blockade imposed by the government of the United States on Cuba; advances Cuba has made in food security and ongoing challenges in the construction of Cuban socialism given perennially hostile external circumstances.
Missing Video Found
The video footage taken by Roland Vollbehr of this wonderful talk last year about Armenia was misplaced. It has finally been found and edited and we are delighted to be able to offer it to our community. We are placing it here out of sequence at the top of our list to bring it to your attention, revive memories of it and make it available to those who missed it:
Friday, September 14, 2018
“The Importance of Feminist Knowledge in Political Change: The Case of ‘Velvet Revolution’ in Armenia”
Nelli Sargsyan, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Marboro College
In this talk Professor Sargsyan discussed the practices that women in Armenia have used in the past decade as they raised issues of social injustice. She described the key role they played in the mass movement of the 2018 “revolution of love and solidarity” through their creative approaches as a way of imagining a better future for Armenia, the larger South Caucasus region and beyond.
Friday, Sept. 6, 2019
The Cultural Links Between Judaism and China
A Talk by Tiberiu Weisz, Independent Scholar
The speaker proved that Jews were present in China since antiquity by his translation of two 2 “stella” or tablets found in Kaifang. He concluded that the purpose of these tablets was to document the long history and religious beliefs of the Chinese Jewish community, and that their language use in their era showed them to be both well-educated and acculturated in Chinese and familiar with the Biblical customs of Judaism.
Friday, May 24, 2019
“Kyrgyzstan: Heart of Central Asia”
A talk by NYU faculty member Christopher Edling
In this talk, Edling talked about his time as a Fulbright researcher in Kyrgyzstan, a small post-Soviet republic at complex crossroads of tradition and modernity, including his study of bride kidnapping in the region.
Friday, May 10, 2019
“The Uyghurs of Xinjiang: Perfecting the Surveillance State in China’s Muslim Borderland,“
A talk by Professor Eric Schluessel, University of Montana
Dr. Schluessel illustrated how, since 2017, China has built a police state of unprecedented sophistication in Xinjiang, a vast region home to the Uyghur people, and how an estimated 1 million people have been disappeared, incarcerated, and forced into reeducation camps, while millions more are watched closely for thoughts and actions that might threaten the Communist Party’s rule.
Friday, April 12, 2019
“Scientizing Chinese Medicine”
A talk by Stefan Grace, Licensed Acupuncturist and Master of Science in Oriental Medicine
Grace surveyed the development of Chinese medicine and showed how its contemporary global practice is bound up with a modern national project, the People’s Republic of China.
“Ethics for a Connected World, part of the WWAC/Marlboro ”Engaging the World Series”
A talk by Joel Rosenthal, Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs on Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Dr. Rosenthal showed how we are all connected in the natural world, the cyber world and the political world and need to find ways to behave ethically toward one another.
SPECIAL EDITION OF THE VIDEO MADE FROM THE MARCH 15, 2019 TALK BY ROBERT KATZ, PROFESSOR OF ART, UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, AUGUSTA.
Robert Katz presented a talk on family remembrance and the Holocaust and how it gave him the inspiration for creating his innovative project, Were The House Still Standing: Maine Survivors and Liberators Remember the Holocaust,” which is on permanent display at the Michael Klahr Center, the permanent home of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine in Augusta, Maine. This enhanced edition of the video of his talk was created by Alfred New.
Kirk Talbott, Expert Advisor, The World Bank spoke on “Transparency and Corruption” as part of the WWAC/Marlboro series “Engaging the World.
He focused on promoting transparency as a way to resolve environmental conflicts. He highlighted his experience in counteracting environmental degradation in Indonesia.
Michael Gilligan, President of Henry Luce Foundation spoke on “Understanding Religion(s) in International Affairs: One Foundation’s Experience” as part of the WWAC/Marlboro series “Engaging the World.
He explained the activities of the Henry Luce Foundation in promoting understanding of different religions.. He highlighted U.S. errors in foreign policy due to a lack of such understanding.
“An Interfaith Dialogue on Resistance”
This was a panel discussion based on the format of a Florida podcast called The Three Wise Guys, Friends Talking Faith. A founder of the podcast, Rev. Bryan Fulwider, was our guest representing a Christian point of view. Professor Amer Latif of Marlboro College represented an Islamic perspective and Dr. Jim Levinson, former spiritual leader of the Brattleboro Area Jewish Center, represented a Jewish perspective. Rev. Scott Couper of Centre Congregational Church acted as moderator. With Martin Luther King Day as inspiration, “Resistance,” was chosen as the theme for the dialogue.
Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith spoke on “The US vs. Iran.” He analyzed the situation in each of three countries and found the American positions there confused and not entirely incompatible with those of Iran. Is there a risk of war with Iran just because some in the Trump Administration want war? Or is there a risk of war due to the unintended consequence of muddled policy, broken agreements, harsh rhetoric and diplomatic isolation?
Patricia Perez Valdes, KSC-AIPR Global Fellow, Keene State College, in her talk on “Chile After Pinochet”drew from her years of experience in the Education and Audience Department of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, located in Santiago, Chile to focus on the legacy of Chile’s military dictatorship from 1973-1990, the importance of memorialization in the construction of memory as a society, and the challenges faced by the museum since it was inaugurated in January of 2010.
Two Speakers spoke about “El Salvador Beyond the Headlines”: Wendy Wallas spoke about community media in El Salvador and Radio Victoria´s role in the struggle against transnational gold mining companies. Jaime Armando Sánchez spoke about the challenges Salvadoran youth face getting access to university careers and how education can be a dynamic driver for development.
Seyed Hossein Mousavian, former nuclear negotiator for Iran and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University, in his talk “Revisiting the Nuclear Agreement” presented a history of Iran-U.S. relations, focusing of the lack of trust on both sides and the repercussions of the U.S. decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal, the only conflict with a Middle Eastern nation which had been partially resolved through diplomacy.
Edward Cameron, a specialist in public policy, climate change, and European Union affairs, and one of the architects of the Paris climate accord, spoke to us on “Brexit and the European Union.” Dr. Cameron analyzed the causes of the BREXIT vote, assessed the current negotiations, and explored the potential consequences for both the UK and EU.
We learned about Dr. Cameron from another important talk he gave in October on “Climate Risk and Resilience” at the Brooks Memorial Library. We then invited him to speak to WWAC on another area of his expertise, “Brexit and the European Union.” Although this climate talk was not an event that we sponsored, we thought that after attending his talk on Brexit our community might like to have access to it.
Jim Freedman, a global leadership consultant, with extensive business experience in Korea, China, and the Philippines, spoke on “One Belt, One Road: Why Is China Rebuilding The Silk Road and Reclaiming the ‘Mandate of Heaven’?”
Peter Woodard Galbraith, American author, academic, commentator, politician, policy advisor, former United States diplomat, and State Senator for Windham County spoke on “The Axis of Evil Revisited: North Korea, Iran, Iraq (and Syria) Fifteen Years Later”
Amer Latif, Professor of Religion, Marlboro College spoke on “An Islamic Christmas Tree? What Developments in Cognitive Science Teach Us About Making Peace”
”W. Patrick Murphy, Deputy Asst Secretary, US Dept of State for Southeast Asia, 04/2016 to present (and BUHS Alumnus!) spoke on “Promoting U.S. Interests in Asia During a Time of Change.” Since joining the Department of State in 1992, he has also completed diplomatic assignments in Burma, China, Iraq, Guinea, and Mali.
Nancy Birdsall, Senior Fellow and President Emeritus, Center for Global Development, spoke on “Globalization: The Fight Against Global Poverty and Inequity. Nancy Birdsall has served as founding president for the first 15 years of the Center For Global Development from 2001-2016.
Rodney Bent, Former Interim President, Millenium Challenge Corp, spoke on “How, Where, and When Can the U.S. Government Effectively Promote International Development?” Mr. Bent has been associated with a range of diplomatic and financial institutions. He was the MCC’s Acting Chief Executive Officer for 9 months at the beginning of the Obama Administration.
Kevin Quigley, President, Marlboro College, spoke on “Peace Corps and Community Service: An Idea Whose Time Has Come Again?” Before coming to Marlboro, Kevin Quigley served as Peace Corps country director in Thailand, and as president and CEO of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), a global alumni organization for the more than 225,000 former Peace Corps staff and volunteers.
Professor James Galbraith spoke on “Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know.”What does “economic inequality” mean? How is it measured? Why should we care? Why did inequality rise in the United States and around the world? What should we do about it? In his latest book, Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know, Professor Galbraith took up these questions and more in plain and clear language, bringing to life one of the great economic and political debates of our age. He has compiled the latest economic research on inequality and explains his findings in a way that everyone can understand. His talk was based on this research
Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith spoke on “The New Map of the Middle East:The Disastrous Centennial of the Disastrous Sykes-Picot Agreement” This agreement was made In May of 1916 by representatives of Great Britain and France. They secretly reached an accord, known as the Sykes-Picot agreement, dividing the Arab lands that had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. One hundred years later, looking at the area divided by this agreement, Ambassador Galbraith reviewed their current conflicts, focusing on Iraq and Syria and on the Kurdish minorities in these countries.
Dr. John Hagen presented a talk entitled “American Engagement with Niger:A Case Study on Confronting Violent Extremism in Africa” As the academic lead for a U.S. State Department initiative that is helping to develop professional military education for the army of Niger, John Hagen was in a good position to analyze the situation in that country. He showed us why Niger offers a valuable case study that the U.S. must consider when engaging with African countries to curb strategic threats on that continent due to the spread of violent extremism in Trans‐Saharan Africa.
Dr. Paul Morgan, Ph.D. presented a talk entitled “The Paris Climate Agreement: Emissions Accomplished?” Dr. Morgan reflected on the ‘Paris Agreement’ reached at the most recent UN climate change conference (COP21). After reviewing the history of climate change science and prior attempts at international agreements, he shared what he learned while attending COP21 as an official observer, and addressed whether and to what extent the agreement helps put the world on a path that avoids climate catastrophe. At the Marlboro Graduate Center on Feb. 19, 2016
Thomas M. White, the Coordinator of Educational Outreach for the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College. presented a talk entitled “The Power of Place: Encountering Auschwitz 70 Years After Liberation.” Weaving together archival images from a project by two Nazi photographers from the lab/identification service project in Auschwitz with pictures from the 2014 trip, he explored the process of genocide and the “moral universe” the perpetrators created. At the Marlboro Graduate Center on January 22, 2016.
Former U.S. Ambassador Peter Galbraith presented a talk entitled “The Iran Nuclear Agreement: Why It Is Good for America and How It May Change the Middle East,” as the first in the Windham World Affairs Council’s new “Hot Off the Press” presentations meant to inform civic dialogue on issues of the moment. Hosted on Friday, July 24, 2015 at 118 Elliot St. Here is a short excerpt.
Keene State College Professor of Environmental Studies Renate Gebauer, PhD presented this talk entitled “Sustainability in Developing Countries: A Case Study from Nepal.”
Onetime CIA analyst and current U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg presented this free talk entitled “The Dangers of Demonization of North Korea”
Members of this International Student Panel at the Marlboro Graduate Center this November shared their experiences coming to the region on 11/14/14
World Learning CEO Don Steinberg gave a talk on “World Learning’s Role in International Exchange, Education, and Development: What’s Happening on Kipling Road?” 10/07/14
Best selling author and Wesleyan University Professor of Religion Peter Gottschalk
presents his talk “Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy” on 10/03/14