Center for Global Humanities

Historian Jerold Auerbach argued in 1983 that "where community ends, law begins" and critiqued "misguided enthusiasm for alternative dispute resolution" while remaining skeptical about whether law produces justice. In this seminar, we affirm and challenge parts of Auerbach's analysis in the light of contemporary challenges of legal systems and courts, changing notions of community, and innovative forms and uses of conflict resolution. We look at ways that "dispute resolution" techniques have been used to build relationships on individual and communal levels in the aftermath of systemic violence. We review research about what people understand justice to be. In examining these and other examples and issues, we reflect on the complex relationships between solving problems, resolving disputes and finding justice.

With Ars Americana, Ars Politica as our guidebook, this seminar tries to peel American democracy out of the candy wrapper to see if it tastes as good as advertised. After puncturing a few myths surrounding the birth of democracy, we highlight some of the anomalies of the current electoral system, tour the alternatives to the "one man, one vote" clunker we have in place, and travel abroad for a short lesson in history and in people's power.

This seminar discusses how, facing the greatest problem humans have ever come across, we need to be able to work effectively both in our local communities to find new ways to power our lives, and in the largest national and global arenas to make sure that unchecked global warming doesn't defeat our best efforts. He will bring examples from his and his colleagues' work at 350.org in 189 countries, and from the mass civil disobedience he helped organize this summer in Washington, as well as from his own experiences on the ground in northern New England.

This seminar reflects on the irony that while the peoples of the Middle East are demanding the right to good education, health, and employment, Americans, battered by an economic systems that eludes most people's grasp, seem to be resigned to a future without such rights.

This seminar discusses that polarization and vitriolic debate are nothing new in American political discourse. In recent elections, however, they have become so extreme that it is no longer merely alarmist to worry about the viability of democracy. We argue against one another without arguing with one another. What makes this so dangerous now is that the technology that permits the wondrous instantaneous dissemination of information also permits the instantaneous dissemination of misinformation, and the absence of the checks and balances that genuine dialogue provides, the rhetoric continues to spiral out of control. A large part of the problem is that we don't know what an argument can be. We don't know how to argue. We speak of arguments using images of warfare and fighting. We want our arguments to be strong and on target and to carry a lot of punch. We want to have knockdown arguments, or even killer arguments. We need to have our defenses up and be ready with counterattacks, hoping to shoot down a weak argument, or at least looking for an opening to force a retreat. What makes this so toxic is that the way we speak about argument reflects the way we think about arguments and, worse, it affects how we argue. It turns interlocutors into enemies, and ruins the chances for constructive dialogue. It puts us in the awkward situation that the only way we can learn something is by losing – and no one wants to do that!

This seminar discusses that while the American West has its own distinctive history, that history connects to world-wide issues in many ways. Flummoxed by the seeming scarcity of water in the interior West, the first Anglo-American visitors created a characterization of the West as the Great American Desert. In later eras, especially in times of more abundant rainfall, that characterization came to seem short-sighted and inaccurate, an under-estimation of both the actual water supply and of the ingenuity of engineers. Circumstances in the early twenty-first century—the prospects for reallocating water from farms to cities, the rise of demands for water based on recreation and environmental preservation, and the uncertainties of climate change—ask for a reconsideration of the characterization of the American West as shaped by aridity and semi-aridity and of the place of the region in the broad planetary arrangements of fresh water and human population. The case study of the Denver Water Department will bring these vast questions, in the most literal sense, down to earth.

This seminar focuses on the impact of the "Arab Spring" political protests that started in Yemen, located at the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, in February. These led to unrest that brought the country to the brink of civil war and economic collapse. Yemen has been ruled by a military leader, Ali Abdullah Salih, who came to power in 1978. In 1990, North and South Yemen were united, followed by a brief civil war in 1993. Before the recent protests there was a secessionist movement in Yemen's south and an open tribal rebellion near the border with Saudi Arabia. In the past decade the United States has given millions of dollars in aid to President Salih to theoretically combat al-Qaida in Yemen. Questions addressed include the influence of conservative Saudi-backed salafism, the nature of Yemeni tribalism, the role of youth and students in protesting for their own future in a democratic Yemen, and the exaggerated fears about Yemen as a terrorist haven. President Salih once remarked that ruling Yemen was like dancing on the heads of snakes. Now that the snakes have bitten, what is next?

This seminar focuses on the history of Libya and its future beyond Qaddafi.

This seminar focuses on the subject of Pauline Maier's book, Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788, which was published by Simon and Schuster in October 2010 and is the first narrative history of the process by which the Constitution's fate was decided, state by state, in specially elected conventions. Why, despite the existence of a full shelf of books on the federal Convention in Philadelphia, was this book not written long before? What's new? And--- last but not least--- why were the delegates from Maine (still, of course, a part of Massachusetts) so important at the Massachusetts ratifying convention?

A crisis of intellectual property looms in several key areas of today’s information economy. In pharmaceuticals and agriculture conflicts over patenting rage, while in the realm of digital media intellectual property rights and their policing provoke ferocious debates. This seminar puts this crisis into historical context, examining how intellectual property came into being in the first place, why it is now so controversial, and what may happen to it in the future.

The author shares letters and stories from his book A Secret Gift (Penguin Press, 2010), which is an inspiring account of America at its worst-and Americans at their best-woven from the stories of Depression-era families who were helped by gifts from the author's generous and secretive grandfather.

This seminar explores how individuals in hard times asked for help in public venues. Particular attention is paid to how tales of desperation found a home in print culture and the inevitable scams and schemes that followed. From sensational 19th century stories of those captured by pirates, wounded in the war, or kidnapped by the Shakers to 21st century stories of homelessness printed on cardboard signs, this seminar explores the intersection of desperation, print media, and the limits of public credulity.

In recent years, physicians have been receiving gifts, food, honoraria, consulting fees, free continuing medical education and research funds from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. In many instances, including clinical practice guideline panels, FDA advisory groups, and research programs, this largesse has been a corrupting influence on medical decision-making and has damaged the trust between patients and the medical profession. Efforts to reverse this trend and restore trust are underway.

The quest for equity in global health remains a major challenge as new diseases threaten to erase gains in lives saved over the last few decades. Culture is a critical aspect of how we address global health. Understanding the relationship between health and culture in countries around the world can mean the difference between success and failure in promoting health and preventing diseases globally. Global health requires a multidisciplinary approach to understanding behaviors and contexts related to health. Learn about an exciting cultural model (PEN-3) that is being applied globally to health promotion, health behavior, and public health programs.

Disease has many stories, some told by individual sufferers, others by health care practitioners and researchers, and yet others by historians of medicine. This seminar examines disease stories found in ancient Greek literature and discusses how specific cultural expectations and attitudes influenced the ways these stories were told.

In the years since the publication of On Drugs, there has been a renaissance of studies on the subject in both the humanities and social sciences. This has coincided with the ongoing collapse of the marijuana prohibition, and increasing competition between pharmaceutical companies and underground manufacturers in the market for street drugs. If indeed psychotropic drugs are already technologies, there is speculation that the future of intoxication may involve not only a succession of newly minted "designer drugs," but also fusions of nanotechnology, digital electronics, and neurotransmitters. To what brave new world are we headed?

This lecture discusses the role of Boston, historically, in the culture and economy of New England, with particular reference to the development of New England from 1630 to 1815, with some discussion of why Boston continues to be the leading metropolis of New England.

This lecture examines connections between the turbulent history of American labor and the present-day circumstances of American workers.

This seminar focuses on how post-Reagan US Presidentialism promulgates war as a structure of democratic feeling.

This seminar discusses why America has wanted to spread democracy everywhere.

This seminar will examine current efforts to reassert "Russianness" in Russia. Topics include the Eurasian, Nationalist, and Cosmist movements, and the nostalgia for Stalinism.

The seminar will explore how Americans have thought of themselves as a people and nation in terms of their role in the world both past and present.

Biologists and social scientists generally differ substantially in their perception of what it means to be human: the former typically emphasize the role of biology (not surprisingly), whereas the latter concentrate on culture; sometimes the disparity is so great that each side almost literally denies the significance of the other. Nearly everyone, however, agrees that the species Homo sapiens is unusual – if not unique - among animals, and also that we are in real trouble, in many respects.

This lecture uses the Irish example to illustrate what is involved in creating a tourist product that benefits the host culture, in sharp contrast with places such as Cancún where tourism resulted in "socioeconomic apartheid" and the creation of what some call "Cancún’s Soweto."

Dr. Sims will discuss some of the underlying trends that will be driving the economy for the next few years. Given the vital role of education in the economies of nations as well as regional and community economies, there will be a special focus on how the economy is affecting the funding for education and how education, in turn, affects the growth of the economy.

War has existed since the beginnings of civilization, and probably long before. What is it about human nature that explains this tendency? Why is it that we both pursue war and abhor it? This seminar will integrate strands from philosophy, psychology and evolutionary biology to explore the human propensity for, and horror of, collective violence and consider how this understanding might be used to restrain our tendency to harm one another.

A culture that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion dies. And we are dying now. We will either wake from our state of induced childishness, one where trivia and gossip pass for news and information, one where our goal is not justice but an elusive and unattainable happiness, to confront the stark limitations before us, or we will continue our headlong retreat into fantasy.

As societies face unprecedented demographic shifts, the fields of geriatrics and gerontology will assist in creating the highest quality of life across the lifespan. Despite the growing elderly population, our society fails to grasp the concepts and constructs associated with age and aging. Based on inherent and continued shortages of health practitioners and associated social systems in the US who will bear the responsibility for caring for the majority of the elderly? And yet, other societies look to us for leadership in this field. Specialized and integrated gerontology and geriatric approaches to aging will be presented that address the way we age now and the way we hope to age in the future. Everyone can benefit from a greater awareness of essential aging “truths.”

Chronic diseases now comprise 75% of medical care contacts and costs. They spread faster than communicable diseases and are less responsive to intervention. Disciplines outside medicine can contribute to a viable response.

Water shapes our culture, grows our food, frames our religions, sickens us, heals us and causes our conflicts. We understand that water is a necessity, but is it a human right? This seminar will examine the role of water in both developed and less-developed nations, and pose some critical questions about our stewardship of this essential resource.

The seminar will draw from resources in linguistics, neuroscience, sociology, and literature to consider future trends in human communication. Written language and reading over 4,000 years have helped form the human mind. Recent changes in information technology may have a profound effect on this acquired state, for better or for worse.

The discoveries of bacterial insertions in the human genome, escapes of modified plant genes into corn's wild relatives, and mutations of Avian Flu into potential pandemics raise concerns about how bioethics remains largely (and inaccurately) premised on the control of discrete bodies like 'selfish' genes.