Welcome to The Scholars’ Circle
Producers: Maria Armoudian (host), Doug Becker (host), Ankine Aghassian & Melissa Chiprin
contact us : host (at) scholarscircle.org
The Scholars’ Circle is a weekly production. Our library contains interviews from 2011 to present.
Below are our 10 most recent recordings.
With wars still raging in Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine, we return to an earlier interview on the origins of war. When and how did war begin?
While some have argued it evolved in early human behavior within forging bands societies, our guests say, that’s not true. Forger bands did not wage war. [ dur: 30 mins. ]
We continue this conversation by exploring how war and violent conflict might be resolved. [ dur: 28 mins. ]
Websites mentioned : University of North Calorina Greensboro studies of Peaceful Societies and an example of building a Peaceful society organization.
This recording was produced Nov. 2013.
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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April is Genocide Awareness month. Two of the worst genocides in history, the Hutu killing of Tutsis in Rwanda and the Ottoman genocide against Armenians, began in April. We explore genocide with two specific questions: Who internationally makes a determination that violence and atrocities are in fact genocide? And what if anything changes when there is a finding that atrocities are genocide?
We explore whether a legal approach is the best way to determine whether political violence and atrocities are genocide or is a political or social approach more effective. And does discourse on genocide crowd out discussions of other crimes, such as war crimes? We draw insights from history and contemporary issues. [ dur: 42mins. ]
When does democracy have a dark side? Our guest says that majorities can and do oppress minorities in the name of majoritarian democracy. [ dur: 16mins. ]
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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The expansion of the vote to women throughout the 20th Century has had an impact on the discourses and politics of war and peace. What is the relationship between women voting, electing women leaders, and women-lead groups in civil society on the issue of war and peace?
Does the expansion of the vote to women lead to the election of women as leaders? And are these leaders more committed to peace than their male counterparts? We explore a new book, The Suffragist Peace: How Women Shape the Politics of War..[ dur: 58mins. ]
Together they have authored The Suffragist Peace: How Women Shape the Politics of War
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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We look at how to sustainably mitigate urban flooding in the mist of climate crisis.
Altering how we think of hardscape in urban design to manage water drainage. [ dur: 30mins. ]
Then we look at Land Back movement to repossess land by local farmers taken by corporations and state. Book author David E. Gilbert interview of his book Countering Dispossession, Reclaiming Land – A Social Movement Ethnography. Specifically, looking at Land Back effort in Casiavera village on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. This is one of many Land Back movements in the world. [ dur:28mins. ]
You can find other land back movements at La Via Campesina website, which supports Food Sovereignty among Pheasant Farmers.
- David Gilbert is postdoctoral research fellow in the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelonais. He is an environmental anthropologist with a special interest in social movements, ecological change, and post-development theory.
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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Title IX, the landmark legislation on women’s equality in higher education, was passed to equalize funding between men’s and women’s athletics. What has it achieved? Where does it fall short?
When some schools failed to implement Title IX for athletics, activists sued. We look at the landmark cases and what they have achieved. [ dur: 58mins. ]
Link to report on Title IX compliance by Champion Women Advocacy: https://titleixschools.com/
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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Donald Trump’s political rhetoric is becoming more apocalyptic, more dehumanizing, and more violent. What does this mean for the future of American politics and its institutions? Will Trump-ism die with Donald Trump or will it survive after he passes on? [ dur: 58mins. ]
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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What is reputational security for states? And what exactly do officials do to protect states’ reputations? How has social media and other communication technologies affected states and efforts to protect their reputations? This discussion is centered around Nickolas J. Cull’s book Reputational Security: Refocusing Public Diplomacy for a Dangerous World. [ dur: 58mins. ]
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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The US Supreme Court overturned Colorado’s State Supreme Court decision to remove Donald Trump from its ballot based on the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on insurrectionists holding office. What might this signal about the court and its role in the 2024 election and in electoral politics more generally?
Polls suggest that voters want to know if Donald Trump is a criminal before voting in November. But the Supreme Court’s decisions make it less likely that this occurs before the election. What does this mean for the future of the US and for democracy and the constitution? [ dur: 58mins. ]
- John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action, Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2015, and ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.
- Sanford Levinson is W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. He is the author of many publications including Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance and, with Cynthia Levinson, Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today.
- Andrew Koppelman is John Paul Stevens Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. He is the author of The Increasingly Dangerous Variants of the “Most-Favored-Nation” Theory of Religious Liberty and The Supreme Court and the new religious aristocracy in the Hill.
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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What does the death of Russia’s high profile dissident, Alexi Navalny, mean for the future of the country? Who was Alexi Navalny and what exactly did he stand for? Navalny was not the only political dissident in Russia. Who else is resisting the government and what are their causes?
And what does Alexei Navalny’s death portend for Russian leader, Vladimir Putin? Does it suggest he’s a strongman or that he is, instead, weaker than he appears? [ dur:58mins ]
- Steve Swerdlow, esq. is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners and Uzbekistan’s Ethnic Minorities: Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind. He writes extensively as a human rights monitor for Human Right Watch.
- Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations and Co-Director of the Central European Studies Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West.
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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With the massive population growths, cities are facing enormous challenges especially with housing, building climate resilience, transportation networks, and addressing the needs of working people. How are cities facing these challenges? We discuss the 21st Century city. [ dur: 32mins. ]
Across the US, many cities are grappling with an enormous housing crisis, as homelessness reaches unprecedented levels. What are the causes and what can be done to be sure people have adequate housing? [ dur: 26mins. ]
This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.
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