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Iowa City Foreign Relations Council

381 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★ - 5 ratings

Audio podcast of the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council meetings from the City of Iowa City's City Channel 4.

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Episodes

ICFRC: Why Women Peacebuilders Matter

March 08, 2024 10:00 - 55 minutes

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) presents the Women Building Peace Award (WBPA) annually to an extraordinary international woman peacebuilder. During this International Women's Day event, Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast, Director of Women, Peace, and Security at USIP, will discuss gender-inclusive peacebuilding and present the work of 2023's WBPA finalists. Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast is the director of the Women, Peace, and Security portfolio at USIP, where she oversees the Institute's work on the gende...

ICFRC: Russia and Ukraine - Entangled Histories, Diverging States

February 21, 2024 10:00 - 1 hour - 94.9 MB

The root of the Russo-Ukrainian War is not geopolitical competition, but the multifaceted divergence between Ukraine and Russia over the past 30 years. In February 2022, Russian missiles rained on Ukrainian cities, and tanks rolled towards Kyiv to end Ukrainian independent statehood. What are the roots of this war, which has upended the international legal order and brought back the specter of nuclear escalation? How did these supposedly "brotherly peoples" become each other's worst nightmar...

ICFRC: In Pursuit of Food Justice, Globally and Locally

February 07, 2024 10:00 - 58 minutes

Food Justice, a social movement ensuring universal access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food for all, is a growing imperative today. Only by examining the structural disparities of food systems and by becoming prepared to accept a meaningful change can we address the urgency of food insecurity, particularly for communities of color and low-income communities. The Global Food Project in Johnson County is one example of how people in Iowa have come together for an inclu...

ICFRC: Working with Refugees and Displaced Persons: The International Rescue Committee in Iowa

January 23, 2024 10:00 - 1 hour - 89.5 MB

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a humanitarian nonprofit organization supporting individuals impacted by conflict and displacement. The IRC operates in 52 countries internationally and 30 offices in the United States. Sarah Terlouw, IRC's Executive Director in Iowa, will speak about her 15-year career supporting refugees and other conflict-affected populations. She will share her experiences overseas and the transition to working domestically, focusing on the opening of the IRC i...

ICFRC: Digital Democracy and Youth Empowerment

November 30, 2023 10:00 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MB

Digital democracy uses digital technologies to promote and strengthen democracy, including accessing information, participating in political discussions, and holding elected officials accountable. Young people increasingly use digital technologies to participate in democracy, using social media to organize protests, raise awareness, and contact their elected officials. Jean-Desire Kouassi is a digital communications professional passionate about using technology to promote positive change....

ICFRC: Latinos in Iowa: Planting Seeds of Prosperity, Power and Progress

November 15, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 34.8 MB

In honor of this year's Hispanic Heritage Month theme, Elizabeth Bernal, Marcela Hurtado, and Paola Jaramillo will speak to the progress Latinos and Hispanics have made over the last fifteen years in the Iowa City Area their personal experience as Latinas in lowa, organizing wins, and recent work empowering Latinos through entrepreneurship and the power of social capital. For more information about the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, visit icfrc.org.

ICFRC: Climate Security as National Security - Climate Change and the Hawkeye State

November 14, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 34.8 MB

Climate change is at the forefront of both foreign and domestic policy. While often discussed as an environmental issue, there are profound consequences for our national security, the military, and international relations. From an increase in severe weather events to food security and migration -- the complexities of climate have far-reaching implications for both Iowans and the nation. Panelists: Mike Franken, retired Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy Rob Hogg, former Iowa State Senator, District 33...

ICFRC: Surviving a Dictator, A Dictator Surviving

November 08, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 90.2 MB

During the 2016 elections, refugees coming from Syria to the States were a topic that brought Syria back to the front page. But after that, it slowly faded into the background. That does not mean that all is quiet on that front. Living conditions have deteriorated poorly while the regime behind all the tragedies is still in power. We learn how Assad survived this, including becoming one of the world's top manufacturers and distributors of the drug Captagon. Eyad came to Louisiana from Syria...

ICFRC: Border Imperialism: Control of Land and Bodies Through Colonial Violence

November 02, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 83.6 MB

We note that the colonization of lands and Indigenous Peoples worldwide has resulted in the placement of foreign borders upon territories Indigenous peoples have inhabited since time immemorial. The results of these impositions adversely affect the nationhood and identity of Indigenous peoples everywhere. Colonial border-policy enforcement, coupled with settler-state immigration laws, are some critical factors in eroding Indigenous Peopless customs, traditions, and national identities throug...

ICFRC: Quality Education for All: UN Sustainable Development Goal #4

October 24, 2023 10:00 - 59 minutes - 82.1 MB

Foreign Relations Council 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On UN Day this year we are honoring that historic agreement by emphasizing the rights of youth, especially the right to quality education. We are joined by UNA Global Goals Ambassador Virgil Parker speaking about the importance of SDG #4, Quality Education. Virgil Parker is a U.S. Fulbright Alum, community advocate, and Howard University graduate with a degree in Journalism and a minor in...

ICFRC: Writing Across the Sinosphere: an IWP-CAPS-ICFRC Collaboration

October 19, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 117 MB

The Ul International Writing Program and the Center for Asian Pacific Studies hosts a bilingual reading featuring 2023 Fall residents Kevin Chen (Taiwan), Tammy Lai-Ming Ho and Wong Yi Eva (Hong Kong), Li Kotomi (Taiwan & Japan), Shi Yifeng, Suo Er, and Wang Zhanhei (PRC), moderated by translator and poet Jennifer Feeley. For more information about the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, visit icfrc.org.

ICFRC: Peoples Science: Community Response to Public Health Crises in Lagos, Nigeria

October 11, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 85.3 MB

Ebenezer Olamiposi Adeyemi is a PhD Candidate in the department of anthropology at the University of Iowa (UI), under the advisement of Professor Ted Powers. Ebenezer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and a Master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies -- both from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He also received a Master's degree in Anthropology from the University of Iowa in May 2021. Ebenezer's broad research interests center around medical anthropology, infrastructure,...

ICFRC: Jamaica: Holdin' a Vibe in a Textured Landscape

October 04, 2023 10:00 - 53 minutes - 74 MB

From Lorna Goodison's third world woman as mystic healer to Reggae and Dancehall pulsing through Kingston nights, Jamaica moves to its own drum beat, making a dance out of its troubles. It is a textured land with its own struggles, secrets and yet an almost inexplicable capacity for lifting the spirit. Get into the vibe with this talk as we pull up the dance and take a closer look at Jamaica's dualities. Yashika Graham [Poetry, fiction and nonfiction writer, visual artist, radio broadcaster...

ICFRC: Is Brazil at a Tipping Point? Democracy and Climate Change

September 27, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 87.9 MB

As an old saying has long held that, "Brazil is the country of the future - - and it always will be." But what future? Join Dr. Smith, an expert on both democracy and the environment in Brazil, to discuss Brazilians' hard work to control deforestation and shore up the country's democracy, before it's too late. Amy Erica Smith is an associate professor of political science, as well as a Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Professor at Iowa State University. She is also currently an Andrew Carn...

ICFRC: What Does it Mean to be a Good Citizen?

September 15, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 118 MB

Meet members of the West Liberty Citizenship program. Carolyn Colvin an Associate Professor of English Education at the University of lowa, Dan Stevenson is an 8th grade social studies teacher and Erica Jennings is a high school English teacher. Nancy Gardner is a retired elementary principal in West Liberty and Jan Koellner is a retired West Liberty elementary reading teacher. Join us and meet two naturalized citizens who participated in the program. This program is a result of a universit...

ICFRC: Cholera in Lebanon: An Old Disease with a New Comeback

September 13, 2023 10:00 - 55 minutes - 76.8 MB

Cholera has been a global public health problem that resulted in 7 pandemics since 1961. The first cholera case was reported in North Lebanon on October 4, 2022 in an informal settlement followed by spread across the country; this is the first cholera outbreak in the country since 1993. Despite the confinement of cases in North Lebanon early during the pandemic, the economic crisis in Lebanon and the weakened healthcare infrastructure exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic played a significa...

ICFRC: Living in Ukraine: My Story of an Unbreakable Nation

August 24, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour

While watching the news, you often hear about Ukraine, a country invaded by Russia on February 24, 2022. Despite being located in the eastern part of Europe, a thousand miles away from the United States, this country is fighting for the values we all share: democracy and freedom. Have you ever wondered what it is like to be Ukrainian? Have you ever been interested in learning about Ukraine's history and culture? 'Living in Ukraine: My Story of an Unbreakable Nation' is an invitation to joi...

ICFRC: How the Young Generation of African Political and Business Leaders are Carrying Nelson Mandela's Legacy

July 19, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 143 MB

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship program of the U.S. Government's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). YALI was created in 2010 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2020. Established in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship has brought nearly 5,800 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States for academic and leadership training. The Fellows, between the ages of 25 and 35, are accomplished innovators and lea...

ICFRC: Earth Day in the Pacific

April 19, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 105 MB

Join us this Earth Day to learn about a beautiful Pacific Island Nation at the intersection of the international dateline and the Equator! This big oceanic sovereign state is where time starts and encompasses the 12th largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world! However, with a land mass of less than 800 Sq. Km. and an average height of just feet above sea level, it is one of the smallest and most endangered countries in the world. Learn how a 20-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer fell in love...

ICFRC: Tik Tok, Boom

April 12, 2023 10:00 - 32 minutes - 44 MB

What does it mean to be a digital native? TikTok, Boom. dissects the platform along myriad cross-sections -- algorithmic, socio-political, economic, and cultural -- to explore the impact of the history-making app. Balancing a genuine interest in the community and its innovative mechanics with a healthy skepticism, delve into the security issues, global political challenges, and racial biases behind the platform. Featuring Gen Z influencers like Feroza Aziz, Spencer X, Deja Foxx, and Merrick ...

ICFRC: Narrative Making and the Politics of Juxtaposition

April 05, 2023 10:00 - 59 minutes - 81.8 MB

Narratives play a central role in how nations imagine themselves and the 'other.' A central part of narrative making involves comparison, comparisons with other places and other people. These comparisons can, often, enable one nation to appear or perceive itself better relative to the other. Drawing on personal experiences and the oral histories she has documented in South Asia and Canada, Anam Zakaria discusses the limits of popular and mainstream narratives and highlight what gets lost in ...

ICFRC: Peace Corps Volunteer Service as a 50-Year-Old

March 29, 2023 10:00 - 57 minutes - 79.2 MB

I turned 50-years-old at the 12-month mark of my 27 months of service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cambodia. Full of curiosity about this culture I knew little to nothing about when I was accepted to serve, I was quickly enchanted by the leftover vestiges of colonization and the omni-presence of dragons in Khmer architecture, whether is small rural villages or the King's Palace gardens. I grew to gain comfort from dragons - this symbol of power and protection that allows maintenance of trea...

ICFRC: We Were Ever Here: Chinese Exchange Students in Iowa, 1909-1937

March 22, 2023 10:00 - 58 minutes - 80.1 MB

It is rarely known that Chinese students have long had a significant presence in institutions of higher learning in Iowa. As early as 1909, at least one Chinese enrolled at the University of Iowa. Following this forerunner, a significant number of Chinese students were enrolled in higher educational institutions in Iowa. For more information about the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, visit icfrc.org.

ICFRC: Islamic Feminism and Women's Rights

March 08, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 88.4 MB

Is misogyny part of Islam? In the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad took pains to address both male Muslims and female Muslims, because both have the same religious duties. The Five Pillars of Islam apply to both of them. The Quran states explicitly that men and women are equal before God. For more information about the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, visit icfrc.org.

ICFRC: Cedar Rapids' Afghan Community, 18 Months On

March 01, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 84.6 MB

18 months after the fall of Kabul, we discuss how the Afghan community in Cedar Rapids has been doing in Eastern Iowa, sharing their challenges and their joys as well as their hopes and dreams for the future. Viewers will learn how they can support their Afghan neighbors and the agencies in Iowa serving our newest residents. For more information about the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, visit icfrc.org.

ICFRC: From Victimhood to Aggression: Russia's Path to War Against Ukraine

February 23, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 84.5 MB

In this presentation, Professor Gulnaz Sharafutdinova (KCL) presents the key ideas and arguments from her book The Red Mirror: Putin's Leadership and Russia's Insecure Identity (2020) about the political transformation that Russia has undergone over the past ten-fifteen years. Specifically, the focus is on the socio-psychological analysis of the central pillars of Putin's leadership including the propagation of ressentiment in the society by constructing the trauma of the 1990s and appealing...

ICFRC: Advocating for SWANA Community Members in Iowa City

February 15, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 65 MB

In conjunction with the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates (ICRU) and with the support of numerous UI faculty members, Yasmina Sahir and Asel Nasr have spent the last two years confronting racism, xenophobia, and other forms of violence against Southwest Asian, North African, and Arab (SWANA) members of the Iowa City community. This presentation highlights the main findings of their previous research and identifies ways in which both the University of Iowa campus and Iowa City reside...

ICFRC: Preventing Future Fish Wars

February 01, 2023 10:00 - 58 minutes - 80.3 MB

The nexus of oceans, geopolitical tension, conflict, crime, and societal instability is becoming increasingly important. World Wildlife Fund is entering this space of research and applied conservation because a robust ocean conservation agenda must include natural resource conflict resolution, peace building, and law enforcement capacity building. This talk discusses the growing threat of conflict over fisheries, the consequences for geopolitical relationships between the world's major power...

ICFRC: The Indian Card: America's Native Identity Problem

January 25, 2023 10:00 - 59 minutes - 81.9 MB

Over the last twenty years, there's been an explosion in the number of people who are checking the so-called "Indian box." More than 9.7 million people in the United States self-identified as Native American or Alaska Native in the 2020 census, twice as many as in 2000 when the number was just 4.1 million. And while there have been some changes in the way things are measured or defined, nothing can explain the astronomical rise. Rather, the story over the last twenty years is one of more and...

ICFRC: When Iowa Led the World in Moral Humanitarian Leadership

January 18, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 85.5 MB

In reviewing Iowa's remarkable agricultural and humanitarian heritage, 1979 stands out as a time of exceptional global moral leadership. Republican Governor Robert D. Ray was at the forefront of related efforts: to rescue the Vietnamese "Boat People" refugees who were drowning while seeking to live in freedom as well as to rush desperately needed food and medicine to starving and dying Cambodian victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Both humanitarian life-saving efforts featured significant i...

ICFRC: Nile River Dispute: An International Law Perspective

December 08, 2022 10:00 - 56 minutes - 77.5 MB

The Nile is the longest river in the world. It is shared by 11 countries. For thousands of years, the river watered Egypt, the lowest riparian state in the Nile basin and one of the oldest civilizations in the world, without much competition from the upper riparian states. However, in the twentieth century things started changing. The upper riparian states started making plans to utilize the waters of the Nile River which once flowed to Egypt in its entirety. Presently, the biggest challenge...

ICFRC:Reflections on Sicilian Insularity - What Does it Mean to Be an Island and What is Its Role as a Meeting Point for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East?

November 30, 2022 10:00 - 59 minutes - 81.7 MB

Professor Ando introduces his Sicilian home to an American audience by applying his long experience as a professor of comparative law and a student of different cultures to bear on the questions of Sicily's role in the current world. Sicily is undeniably an island and that fact entails a certain degree of insularity though modern forms of information technology may be overcoming some of the isolation due to geography. But islands can also be meeting points, and Sicily's position in the heart...

ICFRC: Participatory Storytelling and Malnutrition: Qualitative Evidence From Women's Groups in Eastern India

November 16, 2022 10:00 - 46 minutes - 64.1 MB

Sustainability is inherently interdisciplinary. The technical skills necessary for developing a more sustainable society draw from multiple disciplines including the natural and social sciences, engineering and beyond. Technical skills, however, are not sufficient and developing a more sustainable society will require additional skills including communication and cultural competency to translate training outcomes to communities and the public at large. As such, sustainability focused trainin...

ICFRC: Election Misinformation in Sub-Sarahan Africa

November 10, 2022 10:00 - 58 minutes - 80.7 MB

Election misinformation is a global problem that involves various actors and actions that contribute to both the spread of misinformation and responses to it. To better understand election misinformation requires examining the broader political and socio-cultural context as well as citizens' "everyday" experiences with misinformation that occur outside election contexts. Looking at the case of Kenya, this presentation will contextualize election misinformation and share insights from a varie...

ICFRC: Russia's Persistent Disinformation and Propaganda War Against the West

November 02, 2022 10:00 - 59 minutes - 81.4 MB

Since 2000, the Kremlin has been waging a relentless information war against the U.S., NATO, the European Union, democracy, and liberal values. Russian disinformation and propaganda, disseminated to one extent or another on every continent, achieved hyper status as Vladimir Putin prepared to invade Ukraine. It continues in its varied, preposterous ways as the conflict endures. The presentation examines the nature, goals, and consequences of these ongoing struggles for the hearts and minds of...

ICFRC: Using United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to Train Tomorrow's Sustainability Leaders

October 26, 2022 10:00 - 58 minutes - 80.6 MB

Sustainability is inherently interdisciplinary. The technical skills necessary for developing a more sustainable society draw from multiple disciplines including the natural and social sciences, engineering and beyond. Technical skills, however, are not sufficient and developing a more sustainable society will require additional skills including communication and cultural competency to translate training outcomes to communities and the public at large. As such, sustainability focused trainin...

ICFRC: Coups d'etat: Causes, Consequences, and Opportunities for Research and Policy

October 19, 2022 10:00 - 53 minutes

Coups d'etat are dramatic events that can have major and lasting implications for states. Negative effects include destroying democracies, spurring repression, and inviting warfare. Coups may also have more positive effects like ending civil wars and providing opportunity for democratic governance to emerge. The recent spike in coups aligns with a burgeoning scholarly interest in these events. The purpose of this talk is twofold. First, the nature of coups will be discussed along with the sc...

ICFRC: The Genealogies of Hope

October 06, 2022 10:00 - 49 minutes - 68 MB

Zaza Muchemwa, born, raised and making her artistic practice in Zimbabwe, looks at and shares the experiences of living in a country of constant transition, of being in fear and rising despite that fear, of holding onto hope amid despair and, what it means to stay alive in Zimbabwe today. Zaza is a poet, playwright, and arts administrator. She is a 2022 Fall Resident in the University of Iowa's International Writing Program. For more information on the Foreign Relations Council visit thei...

ICFRC: Putin, Petro-Aggression, and the Future of Energy Geopolitics

September 29, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 92.4 MB

The war in Ukraine has sent prices for food and energy spiraling, plunging millions into hunger and threatening energy security across Europe and Asia. But did fuel prices play a role in precipitating the conflict in the first place? In his talk, Dr. Cullen Hendrix will discuss the roles of oil and gas exports and prices in emboldening leaders of petrostates - states that derive significant export and government revenue from oil and gas exports - to behave aggressively in the international a...

ICFRC: Postrevolutionary Iran

September 20, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 86.2 MB

In an era when the Islamic Republic of Iran is vilified and poorly understood, Dr. Asaadi talks about the possibility for political change in and reformation of the Islamic Republic. He discusses the evolution of postrevolutionary Iran's formal and informal institutions from 1979 to the present and explore the possibilities for change embedded in its constitutional order. Robert Asaadi is an Instructor in the Department of Political Science at Portland Community College in Portland, OR. H...

ICFRC: Not a Place in Between, Ukraine is Real! - Several Facts About Ukrainian History and Culture

September 13, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 83 MB

Many have been surprised by Ukraine's fierce, and effective, resistance to Russia's invasion. What these observers missed was how strongly Ukrainians are attached to an independent national identity. That attachment is not new; a long cultural history sustains it. Dr. Oleg Timofeyev will examine this crucial background for understanding today's Ukraine, including its Viking and Cossack roots, the role of Ukrainian epic songs as oral history, Ukrainian Jewish life, and how contemporary Ukrain...

ICFRC: Welcoming and Supporting Refugees and Immigrants - Making the Case for an Intentionally Inclusive Iowa

September 07, 2022 10:00 - 59 minutes - 82.3 MB

The ICFRC has just released its report on the series we conducted earlier this year focusing on refugees and immigrants in Iowa. As we write in the executive summary, the ICFRC "recognizes that our state is at an inflection point, wherein collective prosperity requires truly open, public, and engaged conversation about the many and layered ways that our communities reorganize when new arrivals come, particularly in these challenging and fast-paced times. For everyone to thrive, we must be in...

ICFRC: Refugees and Immigrants - How Their Stories and Experiences Inform Public Policy

May 04, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 128 MB

In this final session of the 6-part Refugees and Immigrants in Iowa series, the panel discusses how perceptions and policies about diversity and inclusion at the local level have evolved, and the part refugees and immigrants have played in this evolution. Panelists also offer their views on how policymakers in Des Moines might look to Iowa's most diverse towns to help create new welcoming and inclusive policies to support the state's growing reputation as a place refugees and immigrants see...

ICFRC: The Authorization for Use of Military Force and U.S. Forever Wars

April 26, 2022 10:00 - 55 minutes - 75.7 MB

Following the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), permitting the president to use force against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks and those who harbored them. Since then, four presidents have utilized this AUMF to justify using force against an array of groups -- many of whom did not exist on 9/11 -- in over half a dozen countries around the world. These post-9/11 wars have resulted in over 929,000 people killed, in...

ICFRC: Challenges to an Equitable Net Zero Carbon Transition

April 21, 2022 10:00 - 58 minutes - 79.7 MB

This talk discusses the challenges to a zero carbon transition posed by the simultaneous crises of the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the world emerges from the pandemic, disruptions in global supply chains and pent up demand have caused inflation not seen since the oil crisis of the late 70s. This in turn has lead to increased commodity prices from oil to food staples, as well as scarcity in the materials necessary for renewable technology deployment (chip shortages and ra...

ICFRC: Writing and Reading About the Refugee and Immigrant Experience

April 13, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 129 MB

Reading, for people around the world, has been one of the primary ways to better understand the uneven global landscape of immigration. Yet immigration is not simply an abstract subject of study, not simply headlines flashing on our smartphone screens about distant events, not simply a topic for (often heated) policy debates. When it is, empathy and our ability to understand and appreciate the ways in which we are all interconnected are lost or diminished. Immigration, we cannot forget, is p...

ICFRC: The Innovator's Dilemma - Bitcoin in El Salvador

April 05, 2022 10:00 - 59 minutes

This talk examines bitcoin enthusiasts' arguments about the viability of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. It raises specific concerns about bitcoin adoption in a context of growing authoritarianism, a history of unstable monetary policy, and limited technology. Presenter Dr. Eric V& aacute;zquez is an assistant professor in American Studies and Latino Studies at University of Iowa. His scholarship emphasizes the cultural, political, military, and economic bonds that link populations ...

ICFRC: Can Social Science Solve Corruption?

April 01, 2022 10:00 - 42 minutes

Corruption lowers economic growth, increases poverty and inequality, and is one of the biggest complaints of ordinary people around the world. The international development community has tried for twenty years to fight corruption, but there is a general consensus that these efforts have not been successful. Dr. Monica Prasad aims to give a better understanding of corruption and examines a new strategy to control it. Dr. Prasad has received the Fulbright award, the National Science Foundatio...

ICFRC: Area Refugees and Immigrants in Pursuit of Higher Education

March 23, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour

Across the globe and here in Iowa, education is seen as a ticket to a better future. The knowledge one acquires and the credentials a degree confers have the power to open previously closed doors and lead to opportunities previously not possible. For refugees and immigrants, navigating the complex systems of higher education in the US are overwhelming and promising. In some ways, the realities are akin to most first-generation families. There may be a steep learning curve about school types ...

ICFRC: Food, Gender, and the Challenges Ahead

March 08, 2022 10:00 - 51 minutes - 82.6 MB

This presentation addresses global food security issues as they affect both the U.S. farming/food systems as well as those systems in other countries. As we look forward to the challenges of feeding a global population of nearly 10 billion and dealing with the extremes of climate change, it is clear that farming/food systems everywhere will face new pressures. Ms. Simmons highlights the roles that women today play in food systems -- as farmer/food producers, in agrifood businesses, in resear...