Visiting Practitioner: Samse Sam - Talent Initiative for Development (TIDE)
I-GMAP Hosts Virtual Book Launch: Teaching Peace Amidst Conflict and Postcolonialism
Public Talk: Understanding Fragile Contexts: Lessons from Afghanistan
Fabian Krautwald and Samira Marty Join I-GMAP as 2023-2024 Charles E. Scheidt Postdoctoral Fellows
Chris Davey Joins I-GMAP Visiting Assistant Professor
I-GMAP Welcomes Second Charles E. Scheidt Resident Practitioner for Fall 2023
First Webinar of Academic Year Featuring Frank Osei, Former Charles E. Scheidt Resident Practitioner
What's Happening with I-GMAP Students and Alumni
GMAP Minors Participate in Bloom Family Summer Internships in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention
I-GMAP Welcomes First Nadia Rubaii Fellow for MS in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention
I-GMAP Expands Academic Offerings at Binghamton University
From the Co-Directors
Here at I-GMAP, the 2023-24 academic year is shaping up to be a year of immense growth. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support of the Binghamton University administration and community, I-GMAP will be vastly expanding some of our current programming, as well as kicking off some exciting new projects. The I-GMAP team has continued to grow. This year we are welcoming Dr. Chris Davey as our new Visiting Assistant Professor of Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, along with two new Charles E. Scheidt Postdoctoral Fellows, Dr. Fabian Krautwald and Dr. Samira Marty. All three will be teaching courses in GMAP and participating in all the many activities of the Institute. We’ve also welcomed Maranda Kilgore as I-GMAP’s new Office Assistant. Additionally, I-GMAP has a whole new slate of graduate students from the US and abroad working toward the one-of-a-kind Masters in GMAP. I-GMAP will continue its tradition of inviting a dynamic slate of visitors to the Binghamton University campus over the coming year. This semester alone we will be hosting two resident practitioners–Sellah King’Oro from Kenya and Waheed Ahmad from Afghanistan–who will stay with us the entirety of Fall 2023. We’ll also be joined by three visiting practitioners, who will meet with our students and faculty and give public talks. In the case of our first visiting practitioner, musician Samse Sam Sebit from South Sudan, I-GMAP will be hosting its first concert on the university’s Peace Quad, which will take place the afternoon of Tuesday, September 19. Stay tuned to upcoming newsletters for more information on all our visitors. Our Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellows in Atrocity Prevention program began five years ago with eight faculty members at Binghamton University who committed to integrating an atrocity prevention lens into their classes. By the end of the last academic year, that program grew to include 61 faculty members representing 17 different colleges and universities across the United States. This year, we will be adding an additional 44 faculty members to this program, representing 37 different American colleges and universities, and we have further plans to expand this program globally in the coming years. As this program grows, more and more students will be exposed to the role they can play in atrocity prevention, regardless of the careers they go on to have after graduation. Finally, we are busy collaborating with one of our institutional partners, the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, to plan our inaugural Safer Havens Forum. This program will bring together state and civil society leaders to discuss creative solutions for preventing identity-based violence against migrants, refugees, and other forcibly displaced populations around the world. The first meeting will be held this November in Bogotá, Colombia, and will deal specifically with the Venezuelan refugee crisis. That’s not all, of course. There will also be a slate of webinars, public talks, and other events that we’ll inform you about. For details, make sure you look out for our emails and upcoming monthly newsletters. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events, both virtual and in-person!- Kerry Whigham & Max Pensky
Upcoming Events
Visiting Practitioner: Samse Sam - Talent Initiative for Development (TIDE)
I-GMAP is happy to welcome our first Visiting Practitioner for the 2023-24 Academic Year: - Samse Sam, founding director of Talent Initiative for Development (TIDE) in South Sudan. Samse is an activist and musician who founded the organization in 2019 as a pathway toward peacebuilding with other musicians. Samse’s song "Kifaya" has reached tens of thousands of people from different ethnic groups in South Sudan at concerts and via social media. I-GMAP will host a live concert with Samse Sam on Tuesday, September 19 from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM at the Peace Quad on Binghamton University's Main Campus. As with all of I-GMAP's Visiting Practitioners, Samse will be staying with the Institute for one week (September 18-22) to interact with students, faculty/staff, and the wider Binghamton community.
I-GMAP Hosts Virtual Book Launch: Teaching Peace Amidst Conflict and Postcolonialism
Please join I-GMAP on Wednesday, October 4 from 11:00 AM -12:30 PM as we host a virtual book launch for our Visiting Assistant Professor Chris Davey's newest edited volume, Teaching Peace Amidst Conflict and Postcolonialism. To join the conversation, please register HERE.
Visiting Practitioner: Eugenia Carbone - Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (AIPG)
I-GMAP will welcome Visiting Practitioner Eugenia Carbone during the week of October 9 - 13. Eugenia is currently the Director of Latin American Programs at the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (AIPG). Prior to joining AIPG in 2013, Ms. Carbone was the Coordinator of International Affairs at the Human Rights Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice in Argentina, and has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/White Helmet Commission where she collaborated on the design and implementation of international humanitarian assistance projects. She will deliver a public talk on Thursday, October 12 from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM in Admissions 189 on Binghamton University's Main Campus. Title and description forthcoming.
Public Talk: Understanding Fragile Contexts: Lessons from Afghanistan
At the end of October, I-GMAP Resident Practitioner Waheed Ahmad will deliver a public talk on "Understanding Fragile Contexts: Lessons from Afghanistan." The presentation will provide an insider’s perspective on the realities of governance and state-building within fragile, conflict-affected countries. With inequality, exclusion, violent extremism, and climate change intensifying grievances globally, armed conflict and forced displacement have reached unprecedented levels. Drawing from firsthand experience working on reform and stabilization initiatives in Afghanistan over the past two decades, Waheed will share candid lessons about the challenges faced and factors that allowed some programs to gain traction while others struggled; on how institutions can be strengthened, marginalized groups empowered, and pathways to peace paved by addressing drivers of conflict. Waheed's talk will take place on Thursday, October 26 from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM in Admissions 189 on Binghamton University's Main Campus.
Newsworthy
Fabian Krautwald and Samira Marty Join I-GMAP as 2023-2024 Charles E. Scheidt Postdoctoral Fellows
I-GMAP is thrilled to welcome its two new Charles E. Scheidt Postdoctoral Fellows, Fabian Krautwald and Samira Marty
Dr. Krautwald is a comparative scholar of eastern and southern Africa interested in memory, sovereignty, and restorative justice.His current work focuses on the ways in which African societies have recalled German colonialism in Namibia and Tanzania since the end of the First World War, and how they have sought to prevent a repeat of attendant mass atrocities and genocide. To this end, he foregrounds the use of African-language sources in Swahili and Otjiherero in media ranging from oral histories and vernacular newspapers to cultural practices and monuments.
Dr. Marty is a social and political anthropologist interested in political and state violence, conflict, and transnational solidarity. Marty’s research interests span a wide range of topics, including the historical repertoires of political protests, transnational solidarity, the mobilization of memory and forgetting, and political violence.She has conducted extensive fieldwork in and with Central American communities in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Germany to gain a comprehensive understanding of the social and political realities after instances of state violence.
I-GMAP hosts two postdoctoral fellows for a yearlong (renewable) research and teaching residency. This competitive fellowship attracts applicants from around the world with PhDs in a variety of academic fields, and a strong documented interest in and potential for significant work in atrocity prevention that bridges the divide between academic research and prevention practice. For more information, please visit HERE.
Chris Davey Joins I-GMAP Visiting Assistant Professor
Dr. Chris Davey joins us as the inaugural visiting assistant professor for the Fall 2023 semester.
Davey has been involved in Utah Valley University's Peace and Justice Studies program as Associate Director. Davey’s dissertation addressed the relationship between genocide, narrative and identity formation among Banyamulenge soldiers from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. From 2021 to 2023 he have conducted research and taught at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University as the Charles E. Scheidt Visiting Assistant Professor of Genocide Studies and Prevention.
I-GMAP Welcomes Second Charles E. Scheidt Resident Practitioner for Fall 2023
Each year, I-GMAP welcomes several resident practitioners, each of whom spends at least a semester on campus with us. During this time, they have the opportunity to take a step back from their heavy workload to work on research or other projects, all the while meeting with faculty and students.
This semester, Dr. Sellah King’Oro joins us from Kenya where she serves as a national peace and reconciliation commissioner, responsible for mediating inter-community disputes. She has also worked on peace processes in Cameroon and South Sudan, leveraging her expertise in conflict analysis, dialogue and trust-building. In her approach, Sellah stresses accepting participants’ perspectives without judgment, and bringing “spoilers” into the fold who may otherwise derail the process. She works carefully within cultural norms as an insider, while maintaining impartiality.
First Webinar of Academic Year Featuring Frank Osei, Former Charles E. Scheidt Resident Practitioner
On September 11, I-GMAP hosted our first webinar of the Academic Year, "Blueprint for Sustainable Peace? Practitioners’ Perspective on Infrastructure for Peace in Africa," moderated by Frank Osei. Check out the recording on I-GMAP's YouTube Channel HERE.
What's Happening with GMAP Students and Alumni
GMAP Minors Participate in Bloom Family Summer Internships in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention
Over the course of the summer, five GMAP Undergraduate Minors participated in summer internships funded by the Bloom Family. GMAP Minors qualify for up to $7,000 to help cover the costs of travel, lodging, and basic food necessities. This summer, GMAP students traveled to New York City, Thailand, and Cambodia to participate in their internships. For more information on the GMAP Minor and the Bloom Family Summer Internship in GMAP, please visit HERE.
I-GMAP Welcomes First Nadia Rubaii Fellow for MS in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention
In honor and memory of the founding Co-Director of I-GMAP, the Nadia Rubaii Memorial Fellowships in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention enable qualified students to successfully complete I-GMAP’s unique Master of Science in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention. In Spring 2023, I-GMAP welcomed Wai Wai Nu, a human rights activist and advocate from Myanmar, as the inaugural Rubaii Fellow. In joining the program, Ms. Nu commented that, “I believe the Master of Science in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (GMAP)... is the ideal program and perfect platform to expand my knowledge and skills in atrocity prevention. The interdisciplinary approach of the GMAP program is particularly attractive to me, as it is essential to understand the complex nature of mass atrocities and genocide.” The fellowship includes a full tuition waiver, living stipend, and costs for travel and visa applications. I-GMAP hopes to welcome two new Rubaii Fellows every academic year. If you are interested in the MS in GMAP program or would like to learn more about the Nadia Rubaii Memorial Fellowships, please contact I-GMAP’s Assistant Director for Academic Programs Amanda Ward at amward@binghamton.edu
I-GMAP Expands Academic Offerings at Binghamton University
In Spring 2023, the Graduate School and Harpur College of Arts and Sciences announced the approval of a Harpur-Wide 4+1 accelerated track with I-GMAP’s MS in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention program. This program allows students to take the first year of coursework for the MS in GMAP program in their senior year of undergraduate studies, with some of those credit hours double-counting towards fulfilling their upper-level undergraduate electives. Students in this program earn an undergraduate degree and a MS in GMAP from Binghamton University in only five years, saving one year of graduate tuition. No prerequisite coursework is required to enter this 4+1 program. To learn more about this program and I-GMAP’s other academic offerings, please contact Assistant Director for Academic Programs Amanda Ward at amward@binghamton.edu
