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	News@E40 February 12, 2009 Berger receives French Legion of Honor medal Suzanne Berger received a French Legion of Honor medal in recognition of both her research and her efforts to strengthen ties between MIT and French researchers. Berger, director of the Center's MISTI Program and the Raphael Dorman and Helen Starbuck Professor of Political Science, was notified by a letter from French President Nicolas Sarkozy stating that he had recommended her for this award. The award was presented on January 26 by Pierre Vimont, France's ambassador to the United States. Read More»
	News@E40 February 3, 2009 Feldstein on the global economy Economist Martin Feldstein will be the featured speaker at a Starr Forum entitled "The Challenges to the Global Economy." Feldstein has been cited as "the most influential economist of his generation." He is economics professor at Harvard University, president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan. Joining the talk as a discussant, is MIT Sloan School's Simon Johnson. Johnson is an expert on the financial sector and economic crises and served as economic counselor and director of the research department at the IMF from 2007-2008. The Starr Forum will be held on Wednesday, February 11, 5:30p, at the Wong Auditorium. Event details»
	News@E40 February 1, 2009 On the calendar The Creation of International Security Organizations and the Domestic Policies of Multilateralism in the United States, Brian Rathbun, on April 1; From CyberCrime to CyberConflict, Phillip Hallam-Baker, on April 2; Tertulia Espanol, Spanish Conversation Group, on April 9; U.S. Foreign Policy after Bush, Charles Kupchan, on April 15.
	News@E40 January 22, 2009 Kirshner on 'I Live Here' Actor-author Mia Kirshner will be speaking at MIT on her book, I Live Here. The multimedia publication presents the stories of refugees and displaced people in four corners of the world. Together, the book's four volumes explore such issues as underage sex workers, child soldiers, disappeared women, and the binding ties of common humanity. All material in the book is based on first person accounts collected over the past six years. Currently, Kirshner is teaching an IAP course at MIT on documenting hidden voices within the greater Boston community. Mirroring the multimedia approach of the book, the collected stories will be presented as a short video at the event. The event will be Thursday, January 29, at 5pm, in MIT Rm 6-120. Event details»
	News@E40 January 9, 2009 Chomsky on Gaza Noam Chomsky addresses the crisis in Gaza followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. The public event will be on Tuesday, January 13, at 4p, in the Wong Auditorium, MIT Bldg E51. For more details and a map to the location, visit Chomsky on Gaza. Co-sponsored by CIS and its Program on Human Rights and Justice. View the video of the event.
	News@E40 January 7, 2009 CIS scholars offer advice to Obama Barack Obama will be flooded with advice on the many critical matters he must face as 44th president of the United States, as will the new Congress. To that end, scholars at MIT's Center for International Studies (CIS) offer fresh ideas, succinctly stated, on issues ranging from security strategy to the financial crisis to human rights. The short essays are presented in an easy-to-read publication and draw on CIS scholars' deep knowledge and experience. Read more in our news release.
	News@E40 January 5, 2009 Kirshner teaches IAP course CIS is delighted to bring Mia Kirshner, actor and author of I Live Here, to teach an IAP course. I Live Here is a multimedia publication that presents the first-hand stories of refugees and displaced people in four corners of the world. Mirroring the multimedia approach of the book, the two-week course will ask participants to create their own short videos based on hidden stories that need to be heard within the greater Boston community. The documentaries will be featured on the CIS website and will also be shown at a CIS-sponsored event with Mia Kirshner on Thursday, January 29. All CIS-sponsored IAP courses are available here.
	News@E40 January 1, 2009 CIS sponsors East Asia working group CIS is sponsoring a new working group focused on East Asia's regional security. Using the strengths of both the Political Science Department and the Center's Security Studies Program, the goal is to create a regular forum for discussion of ongoing security developments in this dynamic region. The new group is one of several CIS-sponsored groups that tackle research issues not confined to a single department. The groups are structured to generate meaningful scholarly work on a host of academic and policy issues and are open to both faculty and students. Visit CIS Working Groups to learn more.
	News@E40 November 18, 2008 Experts' call to improve U.S. relations with Iran A group of scholars and former diplomats has issued a "Joint Experts' Statement on Iran" calling for a change of U.S. direction to emphasize diplomacy. The statement was written with the help of several scholars with Center connections, including research associate Jim Walsh, executive director John Tirman, and research affiliates Sanam Anderlini (one of the group's organizers), Ali Banuazizi, and Juan Cole. Geoffrey Forden, of MIT's Program in Science, Technology and Society, is another participant. The effort, co-chaired by Ambassadors Thomas Pickering and James Dobbins, calls on the new administration to "open the door to direct, unconditional and comprehensive negotiations at the senior diplomatic level where personal contacts can be developed, intentions tested, and possibilities explored on both sides." The experts' statement, which calls for a step-by-step approach to improve bilateral relations in the interest of U.S. security, is stirring widespread interest following a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday, November 18. Full Statement (PDF)
	News@E40 November 17, 2008 Conflict resolution in Jerusalem The Center's Jerusalem Seminar Series presents its final talk on Thursday, Nov. 20, with Susan Collin Marks as guest lecturer. Marks is the executive vice president of Search for Common Ground, an international conflict resolution and management organization. A South African, she served as a peacemaker and peace-builder under the auspices of the National Peace Accord during South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. She lived for two years in Jerusalem co-directing Search for Common Ground's Middle East Program. Her talk, Building Peace from the Ground Up: Conflict Resolution and Civil Society in Jerusalem, commences at 4:30p, in MIT Bldg. 3-133.
	News@E40 November 13, 2008 Starr Forum: Obama and science policy The Center's Starr Forum is hosting an advice session to the Obama administration on science and the future of America. Leading the discussion will be Marc Kastner, Donner Professor of Physics and Dean of Science at MIT. Eugene Skolnikoff, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at MIT and a former director of CIS, will chair the discussion. The event will be at the Broad Institute auditorium on Wednesday, November 19, at 6p. More information »
	News@E40 November 7, 2008 Graduate funding opportunities Graduate funding opportunities with application deadlines approaching include the CIS Summer Study Grant and the National Security Education Program's Boren Fellowships. The Center's Summer Study Grant provides funds for doctoral students in international affairs on a broad range of issues. NSEP's Boren fellowships enable U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency. Information about a variety of fellowships and other funding opportunities are available here.
	News@E40 November 7, 2008 Fellowship for undergraduates Monday, January 5, 2009, is the application deadline for the CIS-administered research fellows program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Applicants must be graduating seniors or have graduated within the past year, and must not have started graduate school. Successful applicants are matched with a senior associate—academics, former government officials, lawyers and journalists from around the world—to work on a variety of international affairs issues. Fellowships begin August 1, 2009. More information »
	News@E40 October 28, 2008 Bustani Seminar: 'Who Speaks for Islam?' On Tuesday, November 4, the Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar brings to MIT, Dalia Mogahed, senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. Her talk, "Who Speaks for Islam," is based on her new book, Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. The talk commences at 4:30p in MIT Bldg E51-095.
	News@E40 October 28, 2008 Jerusalem talks conclude with built & civil society The Center's fall 2008 Jerusalem Seminar Series concludes with the following talks: "Architecture and the Built Environment," by Nili Portugali, The Technion, on Thursday, October 30, 4p, MIT Blg 4, Rm 237; and "Civil Society and Conflict Resolution," by Susan Collin Marks, Search for Common Ground, on Thursday, November 20, 4:30p, MIT Bldg 3, Rm 133. The series explores the history, economy, physical structure, and civil society of Jerusalem. The talks are free and open to the public.
	News@E40 October 23, 2008 A conversation with Admiral Fallon The Center is honored to host a Starr Forum with Admiral William Fallon, former head of CENTCOM, on Tuesday, October 28. He will address global issues of national importance for the next U.S. administration just one week before the national election. Admiral Fallon joined CIS as a 2008-09 Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow. The talk will commence at 4:30p at the Wong auditorium (MIT Tang Center, 70 Memorial Drive). EVENT DETAILS »
	News@E40 October 21, 2008 US Nuclear Policy: Critical Choices A provocative discussion of America's nuclear policy and the critical choices facing a new administration in Washington will be held on Wednesday, October 22. The speakers for the talk, "U.S. Nuclear Policy-Critical Choices: A Conservative and Progressive View," are Joseph Cirincione, author of Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons and president, Ploughshares Fund; and Mark Esper, executive vice president, Global Intellectual Property Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The event commences at 4p at MIT Blg 32-141 (Stata Center). Co-sponsors are The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT, MIT Nuclear Weapons Abolition Initiative, and the MIT Center for International Studies.
	News@E40 October 17, 2008 Starr Forum on health care policy The World Health Organization ranks America's health care a dismal 37, with France and Italy among the top two. And the U.S. comes in dead last on most measures of performance when compared to other advanced nations, cites a 2007 study by the Commonwealth Fund. The U.S. health care system is a critical issue in the current presidential campaign, with Barack Obama and John McCain each offering a remedy. Join noted health care expert and MIT professor of economics Jonathan Gruber as he diagnoses our ailing health care, explains why other countries' systems are in better shape, and offers a recovery plan to our next president. The Starr Forum, "Health Care Policy and the Next U.S. Administration," will be on Wednesday, October 22, 2008, at 6p, in MIT Bldg E25-111.
	News@E40 October 17, 2008 Nilüfer Göle to speak at Bustani Seminar Nilüfer Göle, a professor of sociology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris and a leading authority on the political movement of today's educated, urbanized, religious Muslim women, will speak at the Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar on Tuesday, October 21, 2008. A prominent Turkish scholar, she is the author of The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling. The talk, "Islam and Europe: The Changing Face of Public Culture," is at 4:30p in MIT Bldg E51-095.
	News@E40 October 15, 2008 Avishai on peace and Israel's economy The Center's Jerusalem Seminar Series continues with "Does the Israeli Economy Really Need Peace?" Bernard Avishai, a resident of Jerusalem and contributing editor of the Harvard Business Review, is the guest speaker. Avishai is associated with the Monitor Group, a privately owned global management consulting firm and is the author, most recently of The Hebrew Republic. Joining the lecture as a discussant is Kate Rouhana, a researcher, writer, and fundraising consultant who has worked extensively on Israel and Palestine, both regionally and in the U.S. She has reported for Al-Fajr English newspaper in Jerusalem, co-directed the Council of Palestinian Public Affairs Research Unit in Jersualem, and served as the coordinator for a Israeli-Palestinian Working Group at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard. The public talk will be held on Thurs, Oct 16, in MIT Bldg 3, Rm 133, from 4p - 6p.