The cover photo “Zhinan Temple Lanterns” was captured by East Asian studies M.A. student Sarah Leibson in Taipei, Taiwan, where she was conducting research on the country’s renewable energy projects.
This page: Tom Gorman captured “Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club” in Bondi Beach, Australia. This photo was the grand prize winner of the 13th annual Stanford Global Studies student photo contest.
The student photos included in this annual report were submissions from the annual SGS student photo contest.
Stanford Global Studies
The Stanford Global Studies Division is the university’s hub for education, research, and community engagement centered on exploring issues, societies, and cultures from a regional and global perspective.
Director’s Message
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
We are delighted to share our 2023-24 annual report, which showcases our division-wide efforts to advance teaching, research, and community engagement on topics of regional and global importance.
It has been a challenging and unpredictable year, punctuated by armed conflicts that have reverberated around the globe. The turmoil that surrounds us reminds us of the importance of preparing our students to look at the world through multiple perspectives, think critically about our shared challenges, and come up with solutions to make a difference.
Grant Parker
Interim Sakurako and William Fisher
Family Director of the Stanford Global Studies Division; Associate Professor of Classics and of African and African American Studies
In the pages that follow, you will read about the ways that students, faculty, and staff from across our 14 centers and programs strive to make the world a better place, in spite of the difficult climate we find ourselves in. We hope these stories leave you feeling inspired, energized, and optimistic about the future of Stanford Global Studies.
Over the last year, we hosted more than 400 events that brought scholars, performers, and other luminaries to campus, fostering a vibrant and diverse campus community. Our Global Dialogues Series convened a dynamic group of speakers to reflect on contemporary issues, such as Indigenous data sovereignty and the history of enslavement. Additionally, our centers and programs hosted conferences, lectures, and performances that offered audiences an opportunity to engage with global issues. For example, the Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies organized an event with Iranian chess grandmaster Mitra Hejazipour as well as a talk with Iranian-American astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, who spoke with Stanford students live from the International Space Station.
Additionally, we welcomed more than 50 visiting scholars from countries around the globe, several of whom came to us through the Scholar Rescue Fund, which offers residencies to international scholars facing threats, persecution, or severe hardship in their countries. In recognition of this
Lucia Brunel, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, captured this scene “Fairytale Living” while in Würzburg, Germany during her internship at the University of Würzburg.
important work, we received the Century Medal from the Institute of International Education, which honors institutions who have made unique and powerful contributions to international education.
Our Global Studies Internship Program offered 73 internships to students on five continents. In addition, we sent more than 150 students abroad for research and language study. Lola Amaya, a master’s student in Latin American studies, received funding from SGS to travel to El Salvador to conduct research for her capstone thesis. “My research activities included visiting museums and educational centers in El Salvador and examining the ways in which collective memory of Salvadoran history is publicly preserved, or otherwise erased,” she shared.
Collectively, we supported 141 language and globally-focused courses. Two of these courses received Course Innovation Awards from SGS, which support the development of globally-focused courses, including Jessica Riskin and Caroline Winterer’s new class The Ape Museum: Exploring the Idea of the Ape in Global History, Science, Art and Film. In the introductory seminar, students studied with original source material to understand how people have viewed and exploited apes in science and across society through the ages.
Outreach to our community continued to be a major priority for SGS. Our four National Resource Centers offered new and innovative programs for K-14 educators through funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI grant. This past year, our NRCs organized dozens of workshops that covered a diverse range of topics, from “American Famine Relief in Soviet Russia” to “Global Human Rights & Minority Movements in Japan.” We also partnered with the Stanford Teacher Education Program for the first time to
offer a series of workshops designed to provide K-12 teachers with resources to globalize their courses. I was honored to participate in several of these outreach programs myself, including Scholars Corner, a video series produced in collaboration with the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education, to discuss the concept of heritage and the stakes related to defining heritage around the world.
Of course, none of these activities would be possible without the dedication of the faculty and staff at SGS, several of whom were recognized by the university for their outstanding achievements. Molly Aufdermauer, public engagement coordinator in the Center for Latin American Studies, received the School of Humanities & Sciences Dean’s Award of Merit in honor of her dedication to public service and international education. And Penelope Van Tuyl, associate director of the Center for Human Rights & International Justice, received the 2024 Amy. J Blue Award, which recognizes Stanford staff for their exceptional contributions to the university, passion for their work, and support for their colleagues.
It was a memorable and exciting year for me as interim director of SGS, a chance to build on the work of Professor Jisha Menon, for whom I substituted during her sabbatical. As we reflect on the last year, I would especially like to thank our vibrant community of staff and faculty, who work tirelessly to support our mission and prepare Stanford students to lead in the world. Partnership with Executive Director Kate Kuhns and the SGS central team has been a pleasure. As a newcomer to this leadership role, I found the work both exacting and rewarding: all the while I acutely sensed the need for SGS’ multifarious work to succeed in our troubled times. Thank you for your dedication and continued support.
Sincerely,
Grant Parker
About SGS
The Stanford Global Studies (SGS) Division is the university’s hub for education, research, and community engagement centered on exploring issues, societies, and cultures from a regional and global perspective.
Drawing on its network of more than 350 affiliated faculty, SGS equips Stanford students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills essential to leading in a global context and fosters innovative research that deepens society’s understanding of critical regions and global issues.
East Asian studies major Emily Schwab hiked in Bukhansan National Park during her time interning at the CJ Cultural Foundation in Seoul, South Korea, while participating in the Global Studies Internship Program.
Stanford students share a laugh as they await the start of their exhibition games with Chess Grandmaster Mitra Hejazipour, who came to campus to speak about her chess career and women’s rights advocacy at an event hosted by the Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies. Photo credit: LiPo Ching.
Preparing Stanford Students to Lead in the World
301
72 Enrolled undergraduates M.A. students
88
Deepening Understanding of Global Issues
SGS enables the next generation of scholars to creatively address regional and global issues and advance our understanding of the world.
$4.6M
For courses, research, language study, and internships for students, faculty, and visitors
39 Internships cities around the world
374
and in in
14 Affiliated faculty centers and programs
431 Events
141
Language and globallyfocused courses
Academic Programs
International relations and Earth systems major Kate Bradley was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, which will support her graduate studies in energy systems and economics at Oxford University.
Undergraduate Programs
SGS supports interdisciplinary majors, minors, certificates, and honors programs for undergraduate students. In 2023-24, 301 students were enrolled in the division’s undergraduate programs. Most SGS students study overseas and acquire fluency in a second language as part of their degree requirements.
Global Studies Minor
Open to undergraduates from any major, the global studies minor allows students to pursue interdisciplinary study in one of six specializations, including African studies, European studies, Iranian studies, Islamic studies, Latin American studies, and South Asian studies, while integrating this knowledge into a larger vision of global affairs.
Graduate Programs
SGS offers several M.A. programs, which provide students with training and exposure to regional affairs, collaborative student cohorts, supportive faculty, small class sizes, personalized advising, and competitive internship, fellowship, research, and travel opportunities. In 2023-24, a total of 72 students pursued master’s programs in SGS.
Degrees Granted
Bachelor of Arts
63 International Relations Honors
12 International Relations
Undergraduate Minor
12 Global Studies
11 Human Rights
11 International Relations
Degrees Granted
Master of Arts
20 East Asian Studies
6 Latin American Studies
6 Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
M.A. student Isa Calero Forero accepts her diploma at the 2024 commencement ceremony for the Center for Latin American Studies.
Photo credit: Rod Searcey.
Stanford Global Studies makes learning about and engaging with the world an integral part of a Stanford education.
$1.1M for courses
119
Globally-focused courses
22
Language courses
Course Innovation Awards
In 2023-24, SGS awarded two Stanford faculty members with Course Innovation Awards, which support courses that creatively offer ways for students to learn about topics of regional and global importance:
• GLOBAL 41Q: The Ape Museum: Exploring the Idea of the Ape in Global History, Science, Art and Film
Jessica Riskin and Caroline Winterer
• GLOBAL 170: Where the Wild Things Are: The Ecology and Ethics of Conserving Megafauna
Rodolfo Dirzo, Deborah Gordon, and Haiyan Lee
Since 2016, Stanford Global Studies has funded more than 20 internationally-focused courses across a wide range of disciplines, from political science and psychology to comparative literature and film studies.
Francesca Pinney (left) and Megan Liu (right) hold ancient artifacts on a class visit to the Stanford University Archaeology Collections while enrolled in the course Global 41Q: The Ape Museum: Exploring the Idea of the Ape in Global History, Science, Art and Film. Photo credit: Danielle Raad.
Faculty
Faculty are integral to the division’s efforts to grow international awareness and understanding at Stanford and beyond. The 374 faculty affiliated with SGS centers and programs represent every school at Stanford—business, sustainability, education, engineering, law, medicine, and humanities and sciences—as well as many of Stanford’s centers and institutes.
Publications
Soledad Artiz Prillaman, assistant professor of political science, published The Patriarchal Political Order: The Making and Unraveling of the Gendered Participation Gap in India. In the book, she analyzes data from more than 9,000 women and men in India to expose how coercive power structures diminish political participation for women.
Gabrielle Hecht , professor of history, published Residual Governance: How South Africa Foretells Planetary Futures, which dives into South Africa’s mining industry to explore capitalism and its role in the Anthropocene.
Rachel Jean-Baptiste, Michelle Mercer and Bruce Golden Family Professor in Feminist and Gender Studies, received the 2024 David H. Pinkney Prize for her book Multiracial Identities in Colonial French Africa: Race, Childhood, and Citizenship. Awarded by the Society for French Historical Studies, the prize goes to the most distinguished book about French history in a given year.
Thomas Mullaney, professor of history, published The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age, which tells the story of engineers who wouldn’t abandon China’s written heritage for the ease of the keyboard and how their efforts paved the way for autocomplete and artificial intelligence.
Percent of SGS Affiliated Faculty by School
Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Hoover Institution
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Visiting Scholars
Over the past year, SGS centers and programs welcomed 56 visiting scholars, 4 postdocs, and 9 student researchers from more than 20 different countries to build global expertise on campus. These visitors strengthen the university’s intellectual and educational environment by delivering lectures, conducting research, mentoring students, and teaching courses.
Sabelo Mlangeni: Looking
South African photographer Sabelo Mlangeni came to Stanford as a Denning Visiting Artist and was hosted by the Center for African Studies. During his residency, Mlangeni participated in various events and talked to students and public audiences about his artistic practice of capturing the complex cultural identities in contemporary South African society. His photographs of members of the African Zionism movement were on display at the Cantor Arts Center in fall quarter.
Visiting scholars from across SGS socialized at quarterly Meet & Mingle events throughout the academic year.
Research
SGS facilitates research and data collection across fields and national boundaries to advance our understanding of the world. In addition to providing research fellowships, SGS programs and centers host collaborative research initiatives, publish reports, and facilitate student research.
$1.8M
Research funding 187
Students, postdocs, and visiting scholars funded 29
Faculty funded 99 Cities around the world
Spotlight: Grant Thieroff
Grant Thieroff, a master’s student in Russian, East European and Eurasian studies, received a Global Perspectives Award from SGS to conduct research in Kazakhstan. He traveled to Astana and Almaty to research how the government has wielded political and economic power to shape the ownership structure of Kazakhstan’s extractives industries.
Global Research Workshops
SGS provides grants for Global Research Workshops to foster the sharing of research across academic fields and national boundaries that advances our understanding of the world. 2023-24 Workshops:
• Global Approaches to Sacred Space (Bissera V. Pentcheva)
• Global Trends in Judicial Reform (Diego Zambrano)
• Law and Literature in the Global South (Hector Hoyos)
• Loss and the Global Human Record: Broken Books and Damaged Data (Elaine Treharne)
• Reconnecting People and Nature in the Anthropocene (Rodolfo Dirzo)
International relations major Angelina Rivas took this photo “One of Many” in San Pedro De Atacama, Chile.
Foreign language skills are critical for enabling Stanford students to conduct research and lead in a global context. SGS centers and programs expand access to less commonly taught languages and support language learning by funding language courses and instructors, and also through language study fellowships.
$2.1M for language courses and fellowships 50
Students received language fellowships 23
Language courses 22
Languages studied or taught
Language Study Supported by SGS
• Arabic
• Cantonese
• Finnish
• Haitian Creole
• Hungarian
• isiZulu
• Japanese
• Kiswahili
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS)
• Korean
• Mandarin
• Náhuatl
• Odia
In 2023-24, SGS’ National Resource Centers provided 35 students with more than $1.2 million in funding to pursue fellowships for area and language studies, including Chinese, Finnish, Haitian Creole, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Náhuatl, Polish, Portuguese, Quechua, and Russian.
• Ottoman Turkish
• Persian
• Polish
Caption: Caroline Bailey (right), a Ph.D. candidate in English, received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship from the Center for Latin American Studies to study Kichwa, a Quechuan language spoken by Ecuadorians living in the Amazon.
• Portuguese
• Quechua
• Russian
• Sesotho
• Sinhala
• Turkish
• Wolof
Internships
Each year, global internships provide Stanford students with unique opportunities to extend classroom learning to immersive, cultural, and professional experiences around the world. This year, the Global Studies Internship Program offered 73 internships to undergraduate and graduate students. The internship program continues to be the Haas Center for Public Service’s largest campus partner for overseas service opportunities.
In collaboration with centers and programs across SGS, the internship program facilitated and funded 73 internship placements in 21 locations around the world. The Europe Center provided 8 additional opportunities, and the Center for Human Rights & International Justice provided 7 additional opportunities, bringing the total to 88 internships funded across the division in 23 locations: 74 for undergraduates, 6 for M.A. students, and 8 for Ph.D. students.
73 Global Studies Internship Program Placements
Additional Center/ Program Internships
Human biology major Kenia Zepeda (left) interned this summer at Refugee Health Alliance, a free medical clinic that delivers trauma-informed healthcare to immigrants and refugees in Tijuana, Mexico. Zepeda was one of two interns supported by the Lise MacPhee Human Rights Fellowship Fund, which was established in 2024 to enable undergraduates interested in working with human rights organizations in Latin America to participate in internships in the region. The fund was created in honor of Lise MacPhee, ’19 whose profound empathy for others fueled an uncompromising commitment to human rights.
2023-24 Internship Locations
Australia
• Art Gallery of New South Wales
Belgium
• Bruegel
• Center for European Policy Studies
• Institution for European Environmental Policy
• The Lisbon Council
Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Post-Conflict Research Centre
Brazil
• Instito Igarape
• Iscicle
China
• Keru
• Youth Global Network (Creative Coding for Change)
Denmark
• Steno Diabetes Center of Copenhagen
Estonia
• Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu
• Museum of Occupations and Freedom VABAMU
• NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence
• Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Freiburg
• University Medical Center
• Humboldt University
• Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
• Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• 4th Physics Institute, University of Stuttgart
• Meloon India
• Magic Bus India Foundation
• Lex Firmus
• Thantlang Council International Indonesia
• Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative
• IndoOcean
• Indonesian Institute for Independent Judiciary
Japan
• Rogers Investment Advisors
• Mitsubishi Research Institute
• Urban Connections
• Armatus Inc
Korea
• Simone
• Circus Image Works
• Mirae Assets
• Unification Media Group
• CJ Cultural Foundation
• Seoul National University
• Amorepacific
Latvia
• Riga Stradins University
• Baltics Security Foundation
• TechHub Riga
Mexico
• Refugee Health Alliance
• Oficina de Resiliencia Urbana
• Fundacion en Via Netherlands
• Kosovo Specialist Chambers
Philippines
• Philippine General Hospital
South Africa
• Lalela
Taiwan
• Taiwan Institute of Economic Research
• Intumit Inc.
• Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital
• International Climate Development Institute
Tanzania
• LOHADA
Ukraine
• Center for Civil Liberties
• VoxUkraine
United Kingdom
• University of Cambridge
• Overseas Development Institute
United States of America
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Center for Justice and International Law
• Museum of Modern Art
• Child Aid
• Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote
CREEES M.A. student Artur Kalandarov captured this scene “Picturesque Prague” in the Czech Republic.
Funding Map
SGS programs offer research grants and fellowships, internships, language study opportunities, and other funding options to students, faculty, and visiting scholars both in the U.S. and abroad. Below is a visual representation of student research, language study, and internship locations around the world.
Locations of Internships, Language Study, and/or Research
• Albania
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Australia
• Azerbaijan
• Belgium
• Bolivia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Cuba
• Denmark
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• Estonia
• France
• Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Guatemala
• Hungary
• India
• Indonesia
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kyrgyzstan
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lithuania
• Madagascar
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Morocco
• Netherlands
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Panama
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Qatar
• Russia
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Tanzania
• Turkey • Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Zambia
Events
Events are at the heart of building the SGS community. By inviting scholars, performers, and other luminaries to speak and collaborate with our faculty and students, SGS events instill deep curiosity and knowledge about other peoples, regions, and cultures.
In 2023-24, SGS centers and programs brought together over 20,000 attendees, who enjoyed 431 events.
431
Total number of events
275
Lectures, meetings, and webinars
Global Dialogues
SGS’ Global Dialogues Series is a webinar series that aims to foster fresh thinking on critical global issues. In 2023-24, we hosted three events:
2023-24 Events
• Fall: Monuments to Nostalgia
51 Concerts, films, social, and cultural events
71
Conferences, symposia, and workshops
34 Educational outreach and professional development events
• Winter: Indigenous Data Sovereignty
• Spring: Shadows of Slavery
Prahlad Singh Tipanya and his ensemble sung the poetry of Kabir, the great iconoclastic mystic of 15th-century North India, at an event hosted by the Center for South Asia. Photo credit: Rod Searcey.
Scholar Rescue Fund
This year, Stanford received the Century Medal from the Institute of International Education (IIE) in recognition of its work to support endangered scholars from countries around the globe. Each year, the medal honors institutions and individuals who have made unique and powerful contributions to international education.
“I’m proud of Stanford’s commitment to supporting international scholars facing threats, persecution, or hardship. Our longstanding partnership with the Institute of International Education has helped preserve intellectual talent that might otherwise be lost. We are honored by this recognition, and I’m grateful to Stanford Global Studies for leading this work.”
— Richard Saller, President of Stanford (2023-2024)
Oceanic Imaginaries
Oceanic Imaginaries is a multi-year initiative that adopts the world’s oceans as an analytical framework for advancing cross-regional, interdisciplinary research and activities addressing timely global topics. The 2023-24 academic year focused on the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, featuring courses, lectures, exhibits, and performances that engaged with the societies, cultures, and histories of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea:
Research Projects: With support from Oceanic Imaginaries, the France-Stanford Center funded the research project, “Under Pressure: Microbial Carbon Sequestration in the Deep North Atlantic Ocean.”
Courses: Professor Krish Seetah taught Global 112: Oceans and the Global Imaginary, which brings together various social, climatic, and ecological perspectives to seek a better understanding of the relationships between people and the sea.
Events: Oceanic Imaginaries sponsored various events throughout the year, including:
• A Divide Flood Across the Atlantic: Black American Sufis in the 20th Century. February 28, 2023
• Whose Planetary Consciousness? May 7, 2024
• Oceanic Sex: Archives of Caste and Indenture. May 22, 2024
SGS Director Grant Parker spoke at a reception hosted by SGS and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies to unveil several pieces of art created by artist Sukey Bryan that are inspired by oceans, water, and rain. The art installation is currently on display in Encina Commons.
Community Outreach
SGS is committed to outreach to foster global competencies, promote inclusive and equitable opportunities in global education, and share Stanford’s research expertise and educational resources with students and educators in our community and beyond.
The U.S. Department of Education has designated Stanford Global Studies, and three of its centers as Title VI National Resource Centers (NRC): the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. These centers collaborate on programs to internationalize K-14 curricula, provide opportunities for research and instruction on critical global issues, and strengthen access to training in modern foreign languages and area studies.
Community College Student Fair
At the fourth annual Global Perspectives, Global Careers: Stanford Fair for Community College Students, 91 students from 40 institutions across the U.S. attended interactive workshops, presentations, and panel discussions featuring Stanford scholars, students, and alumni who spoke about various global topics.
“I registered to attend Stanford’s global careers fair for community college students because it offered valuable career exploration info sessions and had interesting and unique panelists. Hearing about careers with an international scope from Stanford graduates and professors is invaluable as a student who is still early in my education and
In the spring, faculty and staff from community colleges across California and the U.S. attended the 2024 EPIC Symposium to discuss the opportunities and challenges of internationalizing curriculum.
Photo credit: Rod Searcey.
Fellowship Programs
Stanford Global Studies offers two competitive fellowship programs for community college educators and administrators that aim to foster global learning on community college campuses. This year, 10 faculty participated in Stanford’s community college faculty fellowship and worked on projects to infuse global themes into their courses. Additionally, five senior administrators participated in the community college leadership fellowship and focused on ways to institutionalize international education on their home campuses. Over the course of the academic year, the fellows worked on their projects in collaboration with staff members from Stanford Global Studies, the Center to Support Excellence in Teaching, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education, and the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis.
Professional Development Workshops
Stanford’s NRCs, in partnership with other campus partners, provide professional development seminars, workshops, and institutes for K-14 educators that explore a wide range of global topics, including:
• Aesthetics and Aspiration in Urban India
• Curating Indigenous Traditions
• Global Human Rights and Minority Social Movements in Japan
• Globalizing Your STEM Curriculum
• Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency
• Teaching Global Young Adult Literature
Fifteen educators participated in SGS’ two fellowship programs, representing a wide range of academic disciplines – from sociology and cinema to chemistry and mathematics.
K-12 educators participating in a workshop hosted by SGS and the Stanford Teacher Education Program discuss ways to globalize STEM courses.
Centers & Programs
The Stanford Global Studies Division is home to 14 centers & programs within the School of Humanities and Sciences.
Center for African Studies
Director: Joel Cabrita
Associate Director: Robin Chapdelaine africanstudies.stanford.edu
Center for East Asian Studies
Director: Dafna Zur
Associate Director: John Groschwitz ceas.stanford.edu
Center for Human Rights and International Justice
Co-directors: David Cohen and Kiyoteru Tsutsui
Associate Director: Penelope Van Tuyl humanrights.stanford.edu
Center for Latin American Studies
Director: Héctor Hoyos
Associate Director: Elizabeth Sáenz-Ackermann clas.stanford.edu
Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
Epidemiology major and Center for African Studies affiliate Zahra Fazal captured this photo “Zebra Crossing” in Serengeti, Tanzania.
Center for African Studies
The Center for African Studies hosted its annual lecture on April 30, 2024, featuring renowned South African activist Kumi Naidoo. The lecture, titled “Is Artivism the Missing Link in the Quest for Justice in Africa and Globally?” drew around 100 participants, both in-person and via Zoom. Naidoo, a distinguished figure in human rights and environmental activism, led an engaging discussion on the fusion of art and activism (Artivism) as a potential catalyst for justice. He reflected on the challenges African civil society faces in advocating for change and the emerging responses to these challenges. This thought-provoking event invited attendees to consider how Artivism might reshape global movements for justice. The lecture was followed by a reception at Bechtel Courtyard, fostering further dialogue on these critical issues.
Center for East Asian Studies
Legendary Korean minimalist painter and sculptor Lee Ufan gave a talk titled “Open Dimension” at Stanford on April 23, 2024. Lee emerged as one of the leading figures of the Japanese avant-garde group Mono-ha in the late 1960s. Emphasizing the relationships between space, perception, and object, his works develop from an appreciation of nature and the inherent qualities of his materials. At Stanford, Lee discussed the role of the artist in the modern world and the way in which art and artists engage in issues such as climate change and migration. East Asian studies M.A. student Beryl Zhou shared his reflections on the talk, noting, “Lee Ufan’s talk gave me a valuable chance to meet a globally acclaimed artist in person and hear him discuss his practice. Such events expand my outlook on artists creating work across cultures and help build a global art historical perspective, which is crucial in our current climate of international tensions.”
South African activist Kumi Naidoo delivering the keynote address at the Center for African Studies annual lecture.
From left: Dafna Zur, associate professor of East Asian languages and cultures; Lee Ufan, artist; Yoon-Jee Choi, Korean art curator at the Asian Art Museum.
Center for Human Rights & International Justice
The Center for Human Rights and International Justice welcomed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in February 2024, who delivered a keynote on the role of human rights frameworks in guiding tech companies, governments, and individuals through the age of generative AI. In his speech, Türk posited the importance of learning to master AI and human rights in tandem with one another. From the usage of AI to amplify hate against minorities to the role of AI-generated disinformation in sowing distrust in media and democratic institutions, Türk spoke to the current and future harms of generative AI against human rights, while also underscoring human rights’ role as an anchor in building guardrails against the exploitation of generative AI technologies. Prior to his talk, High Commissioner Türk joined students from the human rights community in a special roundtable session.
Center For Latin American Studies
The Latin American Studies Consortium of Northern California, comprised of San José State University (SJSU), the Hemispheric Institute on the Americas at UC Davis, and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at Stanford University, organized the LiterNatura: Environmental Humanities in the Americas conference, which took place at SJSU on May 10, 2024. Writers, scholars, activists, students, and artists from across the Americas highlighted the critical intersections between literature, environmental issues, and cultural expression throughout the hemisphere. The conference fostered meaningful dialogue on how environmental humanities are being leveraged to explore emerging socio-environmental realities and propose visionary approaches to the future. Through these collective efforts, CLAS continues to underscore the relevance of Latin American studies in addressing pressing global challenges within academia and beyond. The conference was funded by the U.S. Department of Education Title VI program.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk delivers his keynote address.
Professor Juan Diego Díaz, director of the Hemispheric Institute on the Americas at UC Davis, with Latin American studies M.A. students Anahi De La Cruz and Karen Hoshino, discussing the photography book Chocó by conference speaker Kike Arnal.
Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
This year, the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES) launched the annual Helena Brandt Visiting Scholar Program. In May 2024, CREEES hosted its inaugural scholar, internationally-acclaimed Estonian-Finnish writer and essayist, Sofi Oksanen, best-selling author of a number of works of historical fiction, including the novel Purge (2008), a tale of three generations of Estonian women and human trafficking, as well as Stalin’s Cows (2003) and When the Doves Disappeared (2012). During her week-long stay at Stanford, Oksanen delivered a captivating talk entitled, “The Mark on the Floor: About Russia’s Preventive Measures,” on the role historical fiction has played in shaping familial and national narratives in the Baltic states. Oksanen also met with graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines and held a seminar with Stanford authors.
Center for South Asia
In a performance at Stanford in April 2024, award-winning Bangalore-based theater and visual artist Sri Vamsi Matta explored the relationship between caste and food, and invited audience members to share a meal with him. Sri Vamsi Matta brilliantly incorporated his Dalit identity, location, and experience to display a reimagination of theater. He evoked memories of the erasure of culture, food, language, and habits of the marginalized by taking the audience on a journey of contemplation. The caste chronicle compiled oral history, personal stories, and the wisdom of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to give the audience “food for thought.” In the end, a participative gluttony ensued as Vamsi invited attendees to share timeless dishes from his mother’s recipes. Given the current climate, Vamsi’s work is essential, as he laboriously creates a “recipe” for anti-caste art.
Sri Vamsi Matta performing, “Come Eat With Me”, a 110-minute performance piece that explores the relationship between caste and food.
Estonian-Finnish writer and essayist Sofi Oksanen, the inaugural Helena Brandt Visiting Scholar.
The Europe Center
As part of Stanford’s student-led Democracy Day programming, The Europe Center (TEC) hosted a seminar on “Democratic Erosion in Europe? The Recent Elections in Poland and Slovakia.” Piotr Zagórski, Margarita Salas Fellow at the Autonomous University of Madrid, joined TEC Director Anna Grzymala-Busse to explore the implications of recent Polish and Slovak elections, both of which featured prominent populist politicians and parties who have stoked nationalism and xenophobia and violated informal norms of democracy. TEC’s rewarding partnership with Democracy Day’s student leadership aligns with the center’s mission of encouraging robust discussions on democracy and supporting civic engagement. This year, TEC will host a talk on “Elections in Europe and the Rise of the Far Right” with Christophe Crombez, senior research scholar, on Democracy Day 2024 in November.
France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
Each year, the France-Stanford Center’s Roxane Debuisson fellowship provides funding to a Stanford graduate student to improve access and knowledge about the Roxane Dubuisson Collection on Paris History. This year’s fellow, Chloe Edmondson, conducted archival work, processing the newly acquired private collection on the history of Paris, from the mid-18th century to the 20th century. The collection includes over 3,000 books, 40,000 postcards, and 3,800 individual prints, in addition to significant photographic and cartographic materials.
Chloe’s work focused primarily on processing the photographs in the collection, including the Roland Liot photographs, the photographs by the Union Photographique Française from the early 20th century, and the Marville photographs from the 19th century. This work took place at Special Collections on the Stanford Redwood City campus, where she worked through numerous archival boxes to ensure that the materials were organized according to the library’s system, while respecting the conservation process. She also input and enriched the metadata, identifying unknown photographs’ locations and transcribing Roxane Debuisson’s handwritten notes, in order to prepare the collection to be accessible to researchers.
Anna Grzymała Busse and Piotr Zagórski: Democratic Erosion in Europe? The Recent Elections in Poland
Chloe Edmondson, who specializes in the literature and history of early modern France, processes the Marville photographs while working at Special Collections.
Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies
In collaboration with NASA, the Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies hosted a conversation live from space with Iranian American astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli on November 29, 2023. Moghbeli answered questions from Iranian studies students while aboard the International Space Station with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7. The students engaged Moghbeli on an array of topics, including the challenges of space travel, the trajectory of her career, the inspiration she draws from Iranian culture, and the strength found in diversity. “[Diversity] is important with what we do because this is work for humanity, and to be representative of our differences, whether that’s in ethnicity, religion, gender … there is power in those different perspectives,” Moghbeli said. The event was broadcast on NASA’s YouTube channel and later published by Iranian Studies, garnering over 50,000 views and international news coverage. A story about the event published in Stanford Report included a discussion with Abbas Milani, director of the Program in Iranian Studies, about the importance of highlighting Iranian women role models.
Program in International Relations
A team of Stanford students placed third out of 29 teams at the 2024 Schuman Challenge, an academic competition for undergraduates to engage in rigorous dialogue on transatlantic issues. The team—comprised of international relations (IR) majors Lila Batcheller, Ashley Meyer, and Even Sing and political science major Christina Armoni—competed against colleges and universities from across the United States. This was the first time Stanford participated in the annual competition, which aims to reinforce an understanding of global affairs and the importance of the partnership between the U.S. and the EU. During the contest, which took place April 4-5 at the offices of the EU Delegation in Washington, D.C., each team presented and defended policy recommendations on a provided topic in front of a panel of judges from embassies, think tanks, and media organizations. To get ready for the contest, the team conducted original research and prepared to present and defend their proposal under the mentorship of IR lecturer Christophe Crombez.
Lila Batcheller, Christina Armoni, Even Sing, Ashley Meyer, and Christophe Crombez at the 2024 Schuman Challenge.
Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli speaks with Stanford Iranian Studies students live from space.
Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies & Mediterranean Studies Forum
The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies hosted an evening of poetry recitation and musical performance with the acclaimed translator and composer Haleh Liza Gafori on November 10, 2023. Drawing from her book, Gold, published by New York Review Books in 2022, Gafori wove translations of poems by the 13th century sage and mystic Rumi together with songs featuring the original Persian text, as well as anecdotes and explorations of Sufi mystical terms that recur throughout Rumi’s poetry. The result was an uplifting and thought-provoking poetic and musical composition sung in Persian and English that enchanted the audience with the drama of poems filled with visionary wisdom and, at times, whimsical humor. The event, titled “Gold Rumi: Poems, Stories, and Songs” was co-sponsored by the Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies Program and drew 100 participants from Stanford’s academic community as well as the general public.
Persian translator, vocalist, poet, and composer Haleh Liza Gafori performing at Stanford.
Taube Center for Jewish Studies
Stanford’s Taube Center for Jewish Studies hosted a two-day conference on storytelling and the contemporary novel, featuring a keynote with renowned literary scholar Robert Alter, professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at UC Berkeley. Following opening remarks by Taube Center Director Vered Karti Shemtov, Alter dedicated his lecture on “the Bible and Storytelling” to the final work of Israeli novelist Meir Shalev.
The second day, titled “Storytelling in Context,” featured a panel with Israeli writer Noa Yedlin, alongside the Taube Center’s writer-in-residence and bestselling Hebrew author Maya Arad and comparative literature graduate student and Hebrew novelist Ariel Horowitz. The three panelists reflected on aspects of the work of storytelling and shared their thoughts on the writing process.
The conference ended with a celebration of The Hebrew Teacher, the newly translated novel by Maya Arad (New Vessel Press), with remarks by the translator Jessica Cohen.
Noa Yedlin, Jessica Cohen, Maya Arad, and Ariel Horowitz.
The international area centers and programs that make up SGS have influenced the career decisions of thousands of students. Our alumni are truly global. They have built careers around a diverse range of interests and value many aspects of their global education since leaving Stanford. SGS provided many of them with the skills needed to be policymakers, diplomats, entrepreneurs, journalists, politicians, researchers, teachers, scholars, and global leaders.
Career Development Series
SGS organized a series of career development workshops featuring Stanford scholars and alumni from various SGS programs this year.
Human rights lawyers Mayuri Anupini, E. Tendayi Achiume, and Penelope Van Tuyl shared tips on how to pursue a career in international law with Stanford students.
Stanford alumni, students, and faculty mingled at a reception during Reunion Homecoming weekend in October 2023.
Summary
Gifts & Support
The Stanford Global Studies Division extends sincere appreciation to our contributing alumni, parents, students, and friends for their generous support. Financial support provides core funding to strengthen our existing programs and help create new ones where needed, enhance interaction among faculty and students, and facilitate collaboration with other university programs. Funds are focused on activities that impact the broadest range of faculty and students and offer high leverage by encouraging communication and collaboration. Such activities include curriculum development; seminars, symposia, and conferences; visiting scholar programs; development of research networks linking internal and external faculty and students; research initiatives on key topics; and direct financial support for our students—the next generation of outstanding leaders, scholars, and policymakers.
For more information about working with us to enhance global studies initiatives at Stanford, please contact Scott Sugiura, Senior Associate Director of Development at: ssugiura@stanford.edu or (650) 723-1208.
Grant Parker
Interim Sakurako and William Fisher
Family Director of the Stanford Global Studies Division; Associate Professor of Classics and of African and African American Studies
Katherine Kuhns
Executive Director
Sylvia Arechiga
Administrative Associate
Donna Even-Kesef
Division Manager
Kristyn Hara
Outreach and Academic Manager
Grace Munene
Global Studies Internship Program Manager
Luba Petrovchich
Financial Analyst
Stefanie Pietkiewicz
Communications Manager
Leanne Rodriguez
Student Services and Faculty Affairs
Administrative Associate
Julie Won Tatsukawa
Graphic Designer
This page: Lucia Brunel took this photo “Making Footprints in the Snow” in Allalinhorn, Switzerland. Back page: CREEES M.A. student Nazrin Garibova captured this scene “Sunrise on the Red Nail” in Yergi Kek, Gusar, Azerbaijan.
