America is everywhere, even in Darfur, government professor Paula Pickering says.
p. So it was no surprise when the international relations department unveiled their March speakers for the one-credit seminar course “America in the World” — activists and intellectuals Adam Shapiro and John Prendergast.
p. The two, who spoke last Friday night in the Hospitality House, have helped bring the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan to the American conscious.
p. Prendergast held a lecture entitled “Darfur: documenting and confronting genocide,” and Shapiro screened his 2006 documentary “Darfur Diaries: Message from Home.” Both talks highlighted the effects of the Janjaweed — Arab-speaking Sudanese nomads — that have wreaked havoc in the region since 2003.
p. The Sudanese government has exacerbated the conflict, financially supporting the rebels and randomly bombing the Darfur region over the past four years.
p. Prendergast is senior advisor to the International Crisis Group, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that uses field studies and international advocacy to resolve violent conflicts throughout the world. He spoke about the importance of international relief efforts, even through small-scale, student efforts.
p. “It is startling to me that in Darfur today, after four years of genocide, that we have absolutely no idea how many Darfurians have died, as the Sahara desert slowly covers up the greatest crime of the 21st century,” Prendergast said.
p. Prendergast outlined “three p’s” that can prevent future atrocities: promoting peace, protecting people, and punishing perpetrators. He noted that a “vast preponderance” of those killed in Darfur are women and children, and that the violence is spreading into countries that border Sudan, including Chad and the Central African Republic.
p. He also said that students could help ameliorate the conflict by boycotting companies that invest in Sudan, and investigating the College to see if it is involved in such investments.
p. After the lecture, Shapiro screened “Darfur Diaries,” an hour-long documentary filmed in Oct. 2004 with independent filmmakers Aisha Bain and Jen Marlowe.
p. Shapiro was previously the Country Director in Afghanistan for Global Rights, an international human rights organization.
He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at American University.
p. Shapiro’s film did not have a narrator, but instead relied on its subjects — Darfurian men, women and children — to tell the story of genocide.
p. The film also emphasized the mental impact of the violence on the Darfurian population. In addition to the countless deaths and injuries, random Janjaweed raids and government bombings have caused post-traumatic stress disorder among a large part of the population.
p. Pickering said that she was pleased with the two speakers and noted the importance of the lecture for the “America in the World” theme.
p. “Darfur is an extremely pertinent topic because the U.S. government has already been involved in Darfur in several ways — including imposing unilateral sanctions against Sudan,” Pickering said. “There is also an active and high-level debate within the U.S. foreign policy community and at the grass-roots level about what the U.S. responsibility is, and capabilities are, to get more actively involved in stopping the atrocities. This debate also involves critical debates about how the U.S. acts in the world, particularly the debate about unilateral versus multilateral action.”
p. Pickering also said that a goal of the course was to encourage students to realize their responsibility as global citizens, “part of an increasingly interconnected world.”
p. “[This idea is] particularly relevant when we are in the midst of a global human rights catastrophe,” Pickering said.
p. The course has two speakers remaining. Peter Katzenstein, the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies at Cornell University will speak about international anti-Americanism April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Hospitality House. Joschka Fischer — former German foreign minister and Vice Chancellor — will speak Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m. also in the Hospitality House.
The international relations dept. is planning a complementary seminar for the Fall 2007 semester, entitled “The World in America.”
p. Over 100 students are enrolled in the current course.
