Rethinking Violence in Area Studies in the Twenty-First Century Classroom
At the end of the twentieth century, the topic of violence had become central to academic discussions. During the first half of that century, major political, social, and cultural processes drastically altered the conceptualization of violence and its connection to the nation state. During the Cold War, the concept and language of violence were rearticulated. Words such as “genocide,” “human rights,” and “never again” entered both academic and everyday discourse.
This symposium brought together graduate students from across the disciplines, working on any methodology or perspective concerning the topic of violence, in any historical or geographical context. University of Michigan graduate students and their peers from the University of Puerto Rico shared their work, discussing the ways in which we can rethink the concept of violence, and find intersections with other categories, topics, and approaches.
Of special interest was discussing how, through innovative ways, we could integrate these discussions and current methodological approaches about violence into teaching modules. An important part of this project is to carefully think about how different perspectives, theories, and methodologies about violence can be incorporated into the classroom for both university professors and school levels.
The 2016 conference was sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, the Nam Center for Korean Studies, the Center for Japanese Studies, the Center for South Asian Studies, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and the International Institute at the University of Michigan in collaboration with the Facultad de Humanidades, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de Educación, and the Decanato de Estudios Graduados e Investigación at the University of Puerto Rico.
The participants’ biographies, the abstracts for the papers they presented, and a related resource for educators are available to the public here.
Keynote Speakers
JUAN COLE, U-M Department of History and Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies
Cosmic War and Muslim Terrorism: The Case of ISIL
CARLOS PABÓN ORTEGA, UPR Departamento de Historia
“Can the Story Be Told?” History, Memory, and Fiction in the Representation of Extreme Violence
Discussants
JUAN CARABALLO RESTO, UPR Cayey
LENNY A. UREÑA VALERIO, U-M Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Participants
RAFAEL ACEVEDO CRUZ, UPR Departamento de Historia
Detrás de “11 de Septiembre”: Violence, History, and Memory
LUIS JAVIER CINTURÓN GUTIÉRREZ, UPR Departamento de Sociología y Antropología
Que me Velen Para’o: Ritos Funerarios y Marginalidad en el Puerto Rico del Siglo XXI
MICHELLE CRUZ RIVERA, MARINETTE BELTRÁN PALLÍ, MARIELA FERNÁNDEZ NIEVES; UPR Escuela Graduada de Trabajo Social Beatriz Lassalle
Agresión Sexual Grupal en Puerto Rico: Una Mirada a la Modalidad Invisibilizada del Abuso Sexual
SALLY J. DELGADO, UPR Departamento de Inglés
Power Plays Hit Hard: Economic Imbalances Caused the Violence in our History and in our Headlines
AMELIA FRANK-VITALE, U-M Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
La(s) Violencia(s) de la Ruta Migratoria
CHELLE JONES, U-M Nam Center for Korean Studies
South Korean Sex Trade Law: Conflicting Movements and Contested Interpretation
MATAN KAMINER, U-M Center for Southeast Asian Studies
RODNEY LEBRÓN RIVERA, UPR Departamento de Historia
TAPSI MATHUR, U-M Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Understanding Colonialism through Violence: A Native’s Opinion on the British Rule of India
ZOË MCLAUGHLIN, U-M Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Language and the Witnessing of Trauma in Breaking the Tongue by Vyvyane Loh
GUILLERMO MOREJÓN FLORES, UPR Departamento de Historia
Evolución de la nueva lucha armada por la Independencia Puertorriqueña: La Década de 1970
AMÍLCAR V. ORRUSTI RAMOS, UPR Departamento de Historia
Lo de todos los días: la violencia cotidiana en la década del 30
MARILYN ORTIZ LAUREANO, UPR Escuela Graduada de Trabajo Social Beatriz Lassalle
Violencia Por Razón de Género: Más Allá de la Investigación
MELISSA REYES SEGARRA, UPR Departamento de Historia
Esclavitud y resistencia: cimarronaje y violencia en el Puerto Rico del siglo XIX
MIKAEL E. ROSA ROSA, UPR Escuela Graduada de Trabajo Social Beatriz Lassalle
ALEJANDRO TOLEDO, UPR Departamento de Filosofía
La Felicidad como Teleología de la Violencia
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