UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Starting Jan. 30, the Center for Global Studies (CGS) at Penn State will be hosting the Brown Bag Lecture Series from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. Wednesdays throughout the semester, in 430 Burrowes. This lecture series focuses on interdisciplinary graduate research, and all students, faculty, colleagues and friends are welcome to attend. Attendees are invited to bring lunch; coffee, tea and cookies will be provided.
-- Matthew Ceccato, a master’s candidate in the School of International Affairs, will begin the lecture series Jan. 30 with his presentation “A Globalized Criminal World: The Blurred Lines Between Terrorist Organizations and Transnational Criminal Organizations.” Ceccato will analyze the creation of hybrid groups that blur the lines of terrorism and transnational criminal organizations that have emerged in the post 9/11 world.
-- On Feb.13, José Álvarez, a doctoral student in Spanish, will present “The Birth of Spanish American Fantastic Fiction.” His work focuses on the definition of the fantastic proposed by Argentinian writers in 1940 and the circumstances under which this new genre was created.
-- On March 13, Hiram Smith, a graduate student of linguistics in the department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese, will present “Linguistic Detective Work: Using Circumstantial and ‘Fingerprint’ Evidence to Solve the Mystery of Palenquero’s Grammar.” Smith’s work assesses the internal language changes that take place within creole languages despite their “mixed grammars.”
-- On March 27, Nabih Haddad, a master’s candidate in the School of International Affairs, will present “Extraterritoriality and the Construction of International Governance Frameworks for Business and Human Rights.” Haddad’s presentation will focus on the assertion of controversial extraterritorial power by the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
-- On April 10, Pierette Kulpa, an advanced doctoral student in the Department of Art History, will present “The Pietà di Palestrina: A Sculpture’s Story from Michelangelo to Mussolini.” Her lecture will discuss the unfinished marble sculpture, the Pietà di Palestrina, that was originally believed to be one of Michelangelo’s late masterpieces but was “de-attributed,” on the 400th anniversary of the artist’s the death. The presentation will focus on the history of the sculpture and its ability to shed light on major moments in Italian history.
For more information regarding the Center for Global Studies’ Brown Bag Lecture Series, visit the CGS website at http://cgs.psu.edu/events.shtml.