Academic Year 2020–2021
Jump to: Spring 2021
The Weatherhead Forum showcases the research and debates of the various units and affiliates of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
This year the forum will be a bit different. As we have in the past, we will include presentations by research groups, but will also host some special sessions on big topics. With this mix, we hope to explore the work of our research groups while also doing justice to the large upheavals in our current time.
All WCFIA affiliates are invited to attend! The forum will run 12:00–1:30 p.m. EDT/EST for the research group sessions and 12:00–2:00 p.m. EDT/EST for the special sessions, via Zoom. The forum is chaired by the Center’s director. Registration is required for all forum events and links will be distributed via email.
Fall 2020
Wednesday, September 9
Special Session from 12:00–2:00 p.m.
“THINKING THE FUTURE: New Perspectives on Globalization and Health under COVID-19”
This session is open to the public and will be recorded. Registration is required; see the event listing for details.
- Ann Mische, Associate Professor of Sociology and Peace Studies; Faculty Fellow, Kellogg Institute for International Affairs, University of Notre Dame.
- Vikram Patel, The Pershing Square Professor of Global Health and Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Professor, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
- Allan Brandt, Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the History of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University.
- Paul Farmer, Kolokotrones University Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine; Professor of Medicine; Chair, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
- Arthur Kleinman, Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor, Department of Anthropology; Victor and William Fung Director, Asia Center, Harvard University; Professor of Medical Anthropology in Global Health and Social Medicine; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
- Chair: Michèle Lamont, Center Director. Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies; Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies, Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Harvard University.
Wednesday, September 23
Featuring the Weatherhead Scholars Program from 12:00–1:30 p.m.
“Pandemics Past and Present: Assessing the Economic, Political, and Social Implications”
- Ronald Rogowski, Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead Scholars Program. Distinguished Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California at Los Angeles.
- Mario Jimenez, Fellow, Weatherhead Scholars Program. Program Manager, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.
- Benjamin Bradlow, Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Scholars Program. PhD, Department of Sociology, Brown University.
- Ryan Garlow, Fellow, Weatherhead Scholars Program. Colonel, United States Air Force.
- Chair: Kathleen Molony, Director, Weatherhead Scholars Program; Executive Committee.
Wednesday, October 7
Special Session from 12:00–2:00 p.m.
“Rethinking Resistance Politics in Troubling Times: Transnational Queer Solidarity during COVID-19”
This session is open to the public, and is part of Worldwide Week. Registration is required; see the event listing for details.
- Sa’ed Atshan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Visiting Scholar in Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley; Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Swarthmore College.
- Nicole Doerr, Associate Professor of Sociology; Director, Copenhagen Centre on Political Mobilisation and Social Movement Studies, University of Copenhagen.
- George Paul Meiu, Faculty Associate. John and Ruth Hazel Associate Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of Anthropology and Department of African and African American Studies, Harvard University.
- Jason Ferguson, Acting Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Tunay Altay, PhD Candidate, Department of Diversity and Social Conflict, Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin.
- Chair: Michèle Lamont, Center Director. Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies; Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies, Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Harvard University.
- Chair: Gökçe Yurdakul, Professor of Sociology; Head, Department of Diversity and Social Conflict; Director, Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin. Alum and Associate, Weatherhead Research Cluster on Comparative Inequality and Inclusion.
Cosponsors:
- Weatherhead Research Cluster on Comparative Inequality and Inclusion, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin/Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Wednesday, October 21
Featuring the Graduate Student Associates Program from 12:00–1:30 p.m.
“The United States and China: Past, Present, Future”
- Ruodi Duan, Graduate Student Associate. PhD Candidate, Department of History, Harvard University.
- Jenna Cook, Graduate Student Associate. PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, Harvard University.
- Naima Green-Riley, Executive Committee; Graduate Student Associate. PhD Candidate, Department of Government, Harvard University.
- Chair: Erez Manela, Director, Graduate Student Programs; Executive Committee; Faculty Associate. Professor of History, Department of History, Harvard University.
Wednesday, November 4
Special Session from 12:00–2:00 p.m.
“US Election Results: Domestic and International Implications”
This session is open to the public and will be recorded. Registration is required; see the event listing for details.
- Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Departments of Government and Sociology, Harvard University.
- Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.
- Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor; Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University.
- Chair: Michèle Lamont, Center Director. Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies; Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies, Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Harvard University.
Spring 2021
Wednesday, January 27
Special Session from 12:00–2:00 p.m.
“The Current Crisis of American Democracy: Domestic and International Implications”
This session is open to the public and will be recorded. Registration is required; see the event listing for details.
- Steven R. Levitsky, David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies, Department of Government; Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University.
- Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Professor, School of Public Affairs and School of Education; Director of Research, Center for University Excellence (CUE); Director, Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL), American University.
- Sheri Berman, Professor, Department of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University.
- Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, Department of Government, Harvard University.
- Chair: Michèle Lamont, Center Director. Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies; Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies, Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Harvard University.
Wednesday, February 10
Special Session from 12:00–2:00 p.m.
“Beyond Merit: The Limits of Meritocracy”
This session is open to the public and will be recorded. Registration is required; see the event listing for details.
- Steffen Mau, Professor of Macrosociology, Institute of Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin.
- Jonathan Mijs, Lecturer on Sociology, Harvard University; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- Michael Sandel, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government, Department of Government, Harvard University.
- In conversation with Michèle Lamont, Center Director. Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies; Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies, Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Harvard University.
Wednesday, February 24
Special Session from 12:00–2:00 p.m.
“Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for Sustainability Research”
This session is open to the public and will be recorded. Registration is required; see the event listing for details.
- Carl Folke, Chair of the Board, Stockholm Resilience Centre; Director, Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- William C. Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development, Harvard Kennedy School.
- Alicia Harley, Giorgio Ruffolo Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Sustainability Science, Harvard Kennedy School; Lecturer on Committee on Degrees in Environmental Science and Public Policy, Harvard College.
- Robert Keohane, Professor of International Affairs, Emeritus, Princeton University.
- Dustin Tingley, Deputy Vice Provost for Advances in Learning; Professor of Government; Department of Government, Harvard University.
- Chair: Michèle Lamont, Center Director. Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies; Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies, Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Harvard University.
Wednesday, March 10
Featuring the Weatherhead Research Cluster on Global Transformations (WIGH) from 12:00–1:30 p.m.
“Globalization and the Pandemic: Reflections on Their Reciprocal Impact”
This session is open to the public and will be recorded. Registration is required; see the event listing for details.
- Suzanne Berger, John M. Deutch Institute Professor, Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Cancelled: Rafael Bivar de Marquese, Professor of History, Department of History, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
- Dani Rodrik, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
- Chair: Charles S. Maier, Chair, Weatherhead Research Cluster on Global Transformations (WIGH). Leverett Saltonstall Research Professor of History, Department of History, Harvard University.
Wednesday, April 7
Featuring the Weatherhead Research Cluster on Regions in a Multipolar World from 12:00–1:30 p.m.
“Introducing the Regions Database: A New Data Source on Regional Interaction, Cooperation, and Conflict”
- Cassandra Emmons, Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Research Cluster on Regions in a Multipolar World. PhD, Department of Politics, Princeton University.
- Timothy J. Colton, Chair, Weatherhead Research Cluster on Regions in a Multipolar World. Morris and Anna Feldberg Professor of Government and Russian Studies, Department of Government, Harvard University.
- Meg Elizabeth Rithmire, Chair, Weatherhead Research Cluster on Regions in a Multipolar World. F. Warren McFarlan Associate Professor of Business Administration, Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit, Harvard Business School.