The Foreign Affairs Symposium released its speaker lineup for the 2007 Spring semester, with a series of events to showcase both well-known speakers and expert panels on specific issues.
Among those slated to speak during the upcoming symposiums include economist Jeffrey Sachs, author and editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran, and activist Mukhtar Mai.
With this year's theme entitled "Shifts in the Global Tides," FAS will address the "various movements and power shifts, both political and economic, that are changing the face of the world today," Natasha Kulkarni, senior and co-chair of FAS said. Kulkani cited the rise of China as a global economic power, the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea and Iran, and the "resurfacing" of Marxist ideologies in South American nations such as Venezuela and Bolivia as some current examples of the theme.
The Symposium has broadened its scope this year, choosing to cover topics that it normally has not covered in the past, such as human trafficking.
"We tried to expand the breadth and depth of the symposium this year by including some topics that have never before been discussed in depth on campus through FAS," fellow senior co-chair Matt Longley explained.
The co-chairs consider Jeffrey Sachs and Rajiv Chandrasekaran as two highlights of this year's symposium. Sachs, professor and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, recently published the book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, which "discusses possibilities for a poverty-free future," Kulkarni said.
Chandrasekaran is the assistant managing editor of The Washington Post and the author of the new book, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, which critically chronicles the reconstruction efforts that have been headed by the American political presence in Iraq.
Other speakers include the aforementioned Mukhtar Mai, an activist for women's rights in Pakistan, and Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran.
The Symposium's topic will also be discussed in a panel format, inviting several experts in the same field to speak on a specific issue. This format allows for more discussion-based dialogue not only among the speakers but also between the students and the speakers themselves.
"FAS has a strong academic reputation," co-chair Leona Say said. "We pride ourselves in organizing panels of scholars, researchers, and experts in various fields to discuss relevant topics in foreign affairs and international relations."
The process of arranging and securing speakers was described as a long and difficult task by members of the relatively small 12-person staff of FAS, an organization reputably known for its selectivity.
"Securing speakers is the hardest thing about planning for FAS," freshman Katie Collins explained. "Some of the people we pursued only took a few e-mails and phone calls, whereas others were chased extensively for months with no success."
"We begin the process over the summer, calling assistants and speaking agencies as well as trying to identify speakers that have a connection with the Hopkins community. After we get in contact with an interested speaker, we then have to arrange a date that is most convenient for [him or her]" said Elizabeth Caudle, a sophomore.
Caudle also noted that the limited budget of FAS was an obstacle to securing some of the more prominent speakers.
"It would be easier to secure speakers if we did have a larger budget," she said. "Because we finance most of our events through sponsorship and donations it is often difficult to pay the honorariums requested by big-name speakers as some of them command upwards of $100,000 for one speaking engagement."
According to sophomore Charlie Sido, finance chair of FAS, "[FAS] reached out to various university departments as well as local businesses [for their financial support]."
Some of the sponsors include the JHU Alumni Association, the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, the Student Council and the undergraduate International Studies Program.
This year's symposium arrives on the heels of what is considered to be one of the most successful symposiums held to date by last year's FAS and is led by programming chairs Kulkarni, Longley, and Say, and finance chair Sido.
"The quality of the FAS has improved markedly over the past few years," Steven David, director of the undergraduate International Studies Program, remaked. "FAS has been a wonderful success story and I hope that future groups can keep up the momentum."
