University Seminars

The George Washington University, an urban institution with a profound commitment to benefiting society by connecting academic research and discussion to the worlds of culture, business, science and politics in the nation's capital, presents a University Seminars series that addresses issues of public interest. This series represents the commitment of the University to the importance of the engaged citizen.

The George Washington University Seminars program was established in 1985 to foster sustained discussion of issues that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries among members of the GW faculty and their distinguished counterparts in universities, research centers, federal agencies, international organizations, and private industries throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Only topics that warrant intensive continuing inquiry are approved as organizing themes for the Seminars.

The goal of the Seminars is to connect the research and inquiry activities of the academy with the major institutions of society, thereby ensuring a sharing of information. University Seminars meet periodically during the academic year on the GW campus. The initial nucleus of each Seminar is a group of highly qualified faculty from a range of appropriate departments and schools and select participants from outside the University.

The chair of each Seminar serves as Convener. Distinguished guests are invited to give presentations. The presentations are designed to facilitate discussion that results in a product or process, such as publication, a shift of focus in a graduate program, or a contribution to public policy. Although some seminars are open to students, some, because of the nature of the topics and the desire to engage the participants in a full and frank discussion, are closed to those who are not members of the Seminar. A graduate student is appointed as logistical coordinator and rapporteur for each Seminar.

Persons interested in joining a particular Seminar should contact the Convener or the Office of the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs. Call (202) 994-0514 for further details

2009-10 Seminars

The American Immigrant Experience  
Convener: Tyler Anbinder, Professor of History

Immigration has always been one of the defining features of American life.  This seminar will explore the immigrant experience, both past and present, from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, considering issues ranging from politics and the law to culture and religion.  Particular attention will be paid to the urban immigrant experience.

Diasporas, Policy, and Development
Conveners: Jennifer Brinkerhoff, Associate Professor, Public Administration, International Business, and International Affairs; Liesl Riddle, Associate Professor, International Business and International Affairs; Marie Price, Associate Professor of Geography and International Affairs; Elizabeth Chacko, Director of Global Living and Learning Communities and Associate Professor of Geography and International Affairs
   
This seminar focuses on international migrants who maintain attachment to and active involvement in the social, political, and economic life of both their country of origin and their new country.  It supports and promotes research on migration and development and its dissemination to the policy community, featuring research initiatives underway at GW and bringing GW faculty into dialogue with researchers and policymakers in the Washington-area practitioner community.

Forecasting
Conveners: Fred Joutz, Professor of Economics and Tara M. Sinclair, Assistant Professor of Economics and International Affairs

The current recession has again drawn attention to the importance of forecasting and its role in policymaking. Decisions about monetary and fiscal policy are based on the expected state of the economy several years ahead and, thus, require forecasts about the economic conditions that are likely to prevail then. Similarly, forecasts are involved in estimating government budget deficits and surpluses, in analyzing the economic impact of environmental and energy policies, etc.  Most forecasters failed to predict the severity of the current downturn and are issuing conflicting forecasts about a foreseeable recovery.  This suggests that further research is required to improve forecasting methods and the techniques for evaluating these predictions (so that we can learn from our past mistakes). This research will involve a number of interrelated areas including improvements in the quality of the statistical data, an understanding of the role of forecasts in policymaking, the use and development of new software for forecasting, etc.  The purpose of the University Seminar on Forecasting is to bring together GW faculty and graduate students with national and international academic, government, and private-sector forecasters.  The group will explore collaborative opportunities for research on the diverse topics of forecasting.

Health Economics and Health Policy
Conveners: Avi Dor, Professor of Health Policy & Economics  and Patrick Richard, Assistant Research Professor of Health Policy

The seminar series will host several nationally recognized health economists whose research addresses key policy issues. Aspects of health economics that are relevant include a wide array of fundamental topics such as role of markets, impact of information on medical prices and consumer demand, measurement of equity and health care disparities, risk pools and health insurance.  Policy issues that intersect with these research topic include access to care, covering the uninsured, policies to implement ‘report card’ dissemination and use, broadening Medicaid eligibility, Medicare cost containment, and the like. While the content of individual seminars will emphasize use of economic concepts and research tools, speakers will be encouraged to organize their presentations in a manner suitable for interdisciplinary audiences. The seminar will aim to  foster dialogue between GW researchers and faculty with an interest in related research collaboration.  

Mathematical Application
Conveners: E. Arthur Robinson, Professor of Mathematics, and Yongwu Rong, Professor of Mathematics

The George Washington University Mathematical Application Seminar aims to create an environment for faculty from mathematical sciences and faculty from the fields where mathematics could be applied to communicate with each other on their research, to explore collaboration opportunities on inter-disciplinary research, to connect GW with other research institutes and funding agencies in the region, and to increase the reputation of GW as a research resource center in the greater Washington DC region. Since it started in January 2008, the emphasis has primarily been on mathematical biology, but future topics could include, for example, mathematical applications in computer science, finance, and political science. Faculty members, graduate students, as other researchers in and outside GW are all welcome to participate, especially those whose research relates to mathematics.  http://home.gwu.edu/~rong/sma.htm

Applied Mathematics Seminar: Morphology and Morphogenesis in Physical and Biological Systems
Conveners: Xiaofeng Ren, Associate Professor of Mathematics; Frank Baginski, Professor of Mathematics; Susan Gillmor, Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Pattern formation problems arise in many physical and biological systems as orderly outcomes of self-organization principles. Recent advances in singular perturbation theory and asymptotic analysis in applied mathematics has made it possible to study these problems in a mathematically rigorous way. The Applied Mathematics Seminar in the Department of Mathematics offers a thematic program on pattern formation problems during the 09-10 academic year. Topics include morphology problems in complex materials such as block copolymers and morphogenesis problems in cell development.

Museums and Antiquities
Conveners: Kym Rice, Director, Museum Studies Program and Elise A. Friedland, Assistant Professor of Classics and Art History, Department of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literature

This seminar examines the complex relationship between museums and ancient art from a variety of perspectives. Topics include the history and ethics of collecting ancient art and artifacts in American museums; the role of archaeology in the contemporary illicit antiquities trade; and the development of successful cultural heritage policy.  The seminar will convene a series of workshops at which experts of the complex inter-relationship between museums and antiquities will assist GW faculty and students in becoming current in the literature and current thinking for their area. Ultimately these discussions will help to shape program and departmental policy and curriculum to address the multiple perspectives and ethical issues raised by the sessions.

Nineteenth-Century British Histories and Cultures
Conveners: Maria H. Frawley, Professor of English and Director of the University Honors Program; Tara Ghoshal Wallace, Professor of English and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for the Columbian College of Arts and Science

Our University Seminar in Nineteenth-Century British Histories convenes an array of scholars local to Washington, DC, to reconsider basic questions of history and historiography. Taking advantage of newly accessible archives and newspapers, periodicals, and records, many now available digitally, we want to assess the claims scholars of nineteenth-century history (in fields such as literature, art history, history, religion, and print culture) make about the period and what they use as evidence. Put simply, what should be the “stuff” of history? How might interpretations of the significance and interpretive interest of printed materials differ? How do literary and visual texts reflect, challenge, and produce our understanding of historical data? The seminar provides an opportunity for scholars working not just in local universities (Georgetown, American, George Mason, University of Maryland, and Catholic University) but also in local institutions such as the Corcoran, the NEH, and the Library of Congress’s Centre for the Book to form a learning community. Seminar meetings take many forms: discussions based on shared reading; panels focused on particular themes (e.g., Kipling and imperial histories); guest speakers; curator-led talks at local museums such as the Corcoran; presentations of work-in-progress, both by faculty and graduate students.

Performance: Mediating Social Life
Conveners: Joel Kuipers, PhD, Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs and Human Sciences; Alex Dent, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs; Siobhan Rigg, PhD, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts and Art History

The growing field of performance studies has many different sources but a common analytical and philo­sophical thread. In an increasingly media-saturated, symbol-rich world, it is no longer sufficient to examine representational forms as fundamentally separate from the things they depict. From this perspective, performance includes not only music, art, theatre and other traditionally defined expressive forms, but also the enactment of knowledge across situations and disciplines. Increasingly, scholars are recognizing the ways in which the processes of conveying and constituting meanings are deeply intertwined. Exploring this theme from a multidisciplinary perspective is the central purpose of this University Seminar.

Regionalism and Foreign Direct Investment
Conveners: Michael Moore, PhD, Professor of Economics and International Affairs; Maggie Chen, Assistant Professor of Economics and International Affairs; Steve Suranovic, Director, M.A. Program in International Trade & Investment Policy and
Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs; Amy Searight, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs

This University Seminar examines the consequences of expanded reliance on regional trade and foreign direct investment by multinational corporations. The focus is on the economic and political effects of these potentially profound changes in the world’s economic organization.  Topics include both the causes of regionalism and foreign direct investment and their impacts on affected nations, the multilateral trading system, US economic leadership, and the balance of power in a multi-polar world.  Core participants consist of GW faculty members; faculty from Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, and the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); and professionals from organizations such as International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). 

Sustainability Science, Technology, Policy, and Management
Conveners: Mark Starik, Chair, Department of Strategic Management and Public Policy and Professor of Strategic Management and Public Policy

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Call for University Seminar Proposals

TO:     All Regular Active-Status Faculty
RE:     University Seminars Call for Proposals

The George Washington University Seminars program was established in 1985 to foster sustained discussion of issues that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries among members of the GW faculty and their distinguished counterparts in universities, research centers, federal agencies, international organizations, and private industry throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.  Only topics that warrant intensive continuing inquiry are approved as organizing themes for the Seminars.

All faculty, including those who are currently conducting a seminar, are invited to submit proposals by May 14, 2010 for a 2010-11 University Seminar.

The goal of the Seminars is to connect the traditional research and inquiry activities of the academy with the major institutions of society, thereby ensuring an exchange of perspectives and information.  University Seminars meet periodically during the academic year on the GW campus.  The initial nucleus of each Seminar is a group of highly qualified faculty from a range of appropriate departments and schools, along with distinguished individuals from outside the GW academic community.

The chair of each Seminar serves as convener.  Distinguished guests may be invited to give presentations to stimulate discussion.  However, the goal is to encourage dialogue on issues of importance in such a way that there are demonstrable outcomes such as publications, white papers, grant proposals, curriculum reforms, or contributions to public policy.  The University Seminar should not be perceived as a lecture series.  A graduate student is appointed as logistical coordinator and rapporteur for each Seminar.  Each seminar receives funding of up to $2,500 annually.  For current conveners of seminars, the proposal for next year should include an annual report of 2009-10 activities, including names and affiliations of core participants, events, and attendance data for events. 

Call for University Seminar Proposals
The deadline for 2010-11 University Seminar Proposals is MAY 14, 2010.   Proposals should include the following:

• A discussion of the topic to be addressed and its importance.
• Names, departmental affiliations, and expertise of faculty who are committed to being a part of the Seminar.
• Names, professional affiliations, and expertise of individuals outside the University who are committed to being a part of the Seminar.
• A plan of action for Academic Year FY 08-09, including specific events and activities.
• A discussion of how the Seminar will connect academic research and inquiry to the world outside the University and/or to larger issues in the areas of culture, business, policy, science, or other areas of similar dimension.
• A discussion of anticipated outcomes, processes and/or products.

The proposal should not exceed five pages of 12 pt., double-spaced copy.
Proposals should be directed to the office of C. Dianne Martin, Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs, Suite 603, Rice Hall, 2121 Eye Street, Washington, DC  20052.  Electronic submissions are preferred and should be sent to gbeverly@gwu.edu.

Please submit proposals to:
     Dr. C. Dianne Martin
     Office of Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs
     The George Washington University
     Suite 302, 2121 Eye  St. NW
     Washington, D.C. 20052

For more information, contact the Office of the Associate Vice President
2121 Eye Street, NW, Rice Hall 302 / Washington, DC 20052
(202) 994-0514 / gbeverly@gwu.edu