Please see below for 2012-2013 Crossing Borders seminars
 

Future Seminar

Seminar Title: Transnational Disasters & Global Health
Session: Fall 2013
Instructors: Margaret Carrel (Geography) and Eric Tate (Geography)

Humanity is vulnerable to disasters triggered by natural hazards, such as earthquakes, floods and disease outbreak, as well as technological hazards like oil spills and nuclear meltdowns, that transcend political and cultural frontiers.  The goals of this course are to understand the relationship between human vulnerability and population health as both a cause and consequence of disaster in international contexts.  Through a series of case studies, we will explore how interactions between people and their environments (natural, built & social) amplify and/or ameliorate disaster impacts, and what happens when the populations, environments, and disasters involved stretch across borders.  In particular, we will examine the ripple effects of disasters, how the globalization of media, transportation, economics, resource use, disease, governance, humanitarian aid and other factors has created an interconnected world where disturbances are experienced, understood and responded to across borders and over time.  The instructors are Professor Carrel and Professor Tate.
 

Current Crossing Border Seminar

Seminar Title: Slavery and Gender in Comparative Contexts
Session: Spring 2013
Instructors: Catherine Komisaruk (History) and Leslie Schwalm (History)

This seminar will explore the history of slavery and emancipation in comparative contexts, focusing on the Atlantic world. We will give particular attention to gender, not only as a significant aspect of the lived experience of slavery and emancipation, but also as part of the ideology shaping the formation, maintenance, and abolition of slave systems. Readings will be interdisciplinary but will emphasize history, and will include primary sources. Assignments will include reading and discussion of secondary literature, study of primary source material including popular representations of gender and slavery, and an independent project tied to each student’s areas of expertise and interest. This course is team taught by Professor Komisaruk and Professor Schwalm.

Pro-Seminars

First-year Fellows meet in a bi-weekly Pro-seminar (16:049:001) during both semesters where they are introduced to members of the faculty, discuss key publications and develop their research projects by sharing ideas with students from other disciplines. The pro-seminar is scheduled around Fellows' obligations.