Communiqu

Peace Studies Program

Autumn 2013

Michael Ugarte on Immigration and Global Cultures

Interviewed by Anastacia Schulhoff, edited and narrated by Clarence Lo

Lo: The literature that Ugate translates and analyzes dramatizes the hardships ne initiative in the Peace Studof the diverse groups of migrants from ies Program is the study of imAfrica to Spain, their longings and their migration and human rights. senses of self though the hardships. Do Michael Ugarte, professor of Spanish the migrants from different regions and and former director of the program, has different cultures within Africa imagwritten on Spanish urban intellectuals, ine themselves as being from a common the Spanish Civil War, and immigrants continent? How do they imagine the from Africa to Spain and their culture continent of their origins? and literature. Ugarte: My impression when Igo More excerpts from Ugartes into conferences and hear Africans terview will be posted on the peace talking, when they use the word studies Web site. Other peace studAfrica they use it in a particular ies faculty in the immigration/husense. They have in mind the mothman rights area include Professors er. They have in mind the center Miller (history), Badiane (Spanish), of what we all are. You know, here Amit Prasad (sociology), and Tola I am, and there is South Africa or Pearce (sociology). Zimbabwe; all have different senUgarte began the interview sibilities and languages, however, speaking of a current controversy the entire African continent was about immigrants to many lands: screwed over by Europe in major are they exiles whose human rights ways, and we have that in common. have been violated and must be I see this thinking a little bit in Latin protected, or are they merely seekAmerica, but when Africans use the ing a better economic life, and thus word Africa they use it as the mothcan be treated more at the conveer, the whole, the center, going back nience of the host nation? to the mother. There is a novel, Ekomo, written Ugarte: There is conventional wisby an Equitorial Guinean woman dom that immigration has an ecowhere the mother is really the cennomic dimension, and that is the Professor Michael Ugarte introduces a lecture ter. All the mothers are weeping point of departure. Immigrants by Justo Bolekia, April 2013. and crying for what is going on in arent usually thought of as havour land, so maybe that is more of a ing lives; they are just thought of as hand. So, I ask Who are these people? feminine voice. When I hear of Africa, numbers. The immigrant is seen as just and it is what I think people in the reI really do hear the African Mother trying to get a decent job, so theyre ceiving country should askwho are being the center, and this is the origin faceless. In fact, immigrants have many they, not just how are they messing evand this is the womb from which we reasons for leaving, not only economic. erything up here? Continues on Page 2 Some are exiled from their home na-

tion, and through the media we learn something of their livesthe terrible things that happened to their families. Some faced persecution and torture. Exile is usually political. In my book Africans in Europe: The Culture of Exile and Emigration from Equatorial Guinea to Spain (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2010), I saw that for many newcomers, exile and immigration usually go hand in

University of Missouri

Communiqu

Mizzou Advantage Grant for Peace Studies

By Anastacia Schulhoff
digenous knowledge systems and which will demonstrate to students The Peace Studies Program was digital technologies like geographic how artists, scholars, and activists awarded a Mizzou Advantage grant information systems, or GIS, in hopes master the specific technical details of for the development of the Digital of determining how the elements of media production to provide publishing Indigenous Heritages (DIH) project. culturestorytelling, language, educaand distribution opportunities for faculProfessors Joanna Hearne (English tion, and activity influence the underty, students, and local communities. and peace studies) and Mark Palmer standing of and the use of GIS. The grant boosts the new peace (geography), and Anastastudies minor, indigecia Schulhoff (graduate nous peoples and human research assistant and rights, which will introRidgel fellow) are building duce students to indiga Web portal for multimeenous cultures and apdia indigenous resources, proaches that can assist in such as films, language teaching and learning the programs, and indigenous principles of peace. OthGPS/iPhone app mapping. er MU faculty teaching The DIH project procourses in the minor are vides a location for MU Professor Maureen Konkle students, scholars, and (Introduction to Native indigenous community Studies: Indigenous Popumembers to collaboralar Culture, ENGL 2490) tively examine the central and Professor Dennis KelAssistant Professor Mark Palmer and Associate Professor Joanna role of indigenous imagely (Indigenous Religions Hearne. making in the history of and American Indian ReliAmerican cinema, states Hearne. With support from this Mizzou Adgions, REL ST 2100 and 3380). LearnWe will include Native American vantage grant, Hearne and Palmer are ing about Native American and other speakers via Skype and podcasts, and developing a course they will co-teach indigenous perspectives can help stuwill create interactive forms of media in fall 2014Digital Indigenous Studdents respect rather than misreprein the portal. ies (ENGL, GEOG, PEA_ST 3496). sent other groups and peoples. Palmer adds, I have been reThis class will showcase several types searching an interface between inof collaborative new media projects,

Michael Ugarte
Continued from Page 1

were coming. There is this consciousness of the woman behind them, the mother behind them. Immigrants from the old continent in their new land settle together, drawing on their common cultures. Scholars have studied these ethnic communities in the context of a globalizing, yet crisis-prone, economy. Lo: In the U.S. there is the social phenomenon of the ethnic enclave, and some scholars ask whether ethnic enclaves are a good thing? For example, because of social networks in these areas, supposedly immigrants assimilate into the U.S. Do you see this in Spain? Ugarte: There is a difference between the U.S. and Spain with their immi-

grant populations. The U.S. has been, and is, a country of immigrants. So the pattern is, even though there is xenophobia here, there is that pattern you just describedthrough hard work you can then become an American.Europe does not have that sensibility. They are more deeply rooted in their identities that go back to the Middle Ages, and France is a perfect example of this. Algerians and Northern Africans living there for generationsthey are still not French. There are these deep narratives, like the immigrant will not look you in the eye. And they are not treated as French, because in order to do that these French people have to respect who they are

and what their traditions are. A perfect example is prohibition of the hijab in the French schoolsthe French are very adamant about that. You are part of a secular republic now, we dont do religious practices in school, so leave that stuff or anything that smacks of religion. This would never happen in the U.S. You know the high school that has a huge Arab population they will say, She is a Muslim... he is a Jew... and this is who they are. In Europe it is a lot harder to keep that old identity and then consider yourself a real citizen of the new country.

Autumn 2013

Through the Columns and Out to the World

of my Mizzou Advantage postdoc was excellent preparation for my current work at the University of Denver. In addition to teaching and continuing work on my book manuscript both of which bring sociological perspectives to the study of mediaI have been getting oriented to all that my new surroundings have to offer, including opportunities for networking, collaboration, service, and even a bit of outdoor adventuring. Ryan Beech, BA 06 psychology, served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador, earned a masters degree in international studies at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and interned in Geneva working on a land-mine treaty. He has worked at the Zaatri camp in Jordan, which houses 100,000 refugees from the Syrian civil war. Beech writes, The majority of my time these days is spent on preparations for Azraq camp, which will be another gigantic camp in the desert. We visited the

Lindy Hern on her first adventure with the University of Hawaii at Hilo Sociology Club to Waipio Valley, on the island of Hawaii. Lindy Hern, PhD 12 sociology, who taught Peace Studies 1050 and other MU peace courses from 2010 to 2012, writes: After graduating in May 2012, I taught at Manchester University (which had one of the first peace studies programs in the country) for one year as a visiting assistant professor before finding my tenure-track professional home at the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH). I am enjoying working with a diverse and engaged student body at this public liberal arts university. Everyone at UHH operates with the aloha spirit of kindness, humbleness, peacefulness, and openness that I found were also core values of the MU Peace Studies Program. I am so blessed to be where I am, as I was blessed to be part of the MU Peace Studies Program. Stephen Barnard, PhD 12 sociology, Mizzou Advantage postdoctoral fellow in journalism and peace studies, 2012 13, taught Peace Studies 1050 and an innovative course on the new media. He writes: My recent move to Denver has been an exciting new journey, and also a welcome reminder of why Im so thankful for the time I spent at MU. The interdisciplinarity

Ryan Beech, bottom row, fourth from the left, at the opening of the Emirate Jordanian Camp. site again last week and found an open desert expanse and herds of camels.It seems unreal that hundreds of thousands of people might be living there very soon.I am working on reviewing proposals and selecting our implementing partner for the camp, which boils down to World Vision, ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) and Human Relief Fund.

Stephen Barnard on Moon Rock, Flagstaff Mountain, Colorado.

Communiqu

Charles L. Atkins
May 26, 1928July 16, 2013
Charles Atkins, BS 50 bus admin, MS 64 AF&NR, was one of the founders of the Peace Studies Program over three decades ago. He was president of the Veterans For Peace Mid-Missouri Chapter and worked with the Columbia Public School Conflict Resolution Program. Atkins was a longtime Columbia businessman who owned and operated Roths Department Store. The program will miss his warmth and his energy.

In Memoriam

Scholars from Around the World

The Peace Studies Program is proud to welcome and recognize the many international doctoral students at MU who are experts contributing to global understanding and peace through their dissertation research. Three sociology doctoral candidates are conducting much-needed research on Islam, youth, and social change in the Middle East and Asia. Faiza Rais, MA political science 10, researches womens shelters in Pakistan. Medhi Hidiyat is a Fulbright Scholar from Trunojoyo University, Indonesia, studying the religious identities of Islamic students. Abdusabur Abdusamadov holds a fellowship from the Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundation and continues his research on immigration and protest in Central Asia that he began as director of the Tajikistan Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. Jamil Wekhian, a doctoral student from Kennesaw State with bachelors and masters degrees from Amman University, Jordan, is a visiting graduate instructor in peace studies.

From left: Faiza Rais, Medhi Hidiyat, Abdusabur Abdusamadov, Jamil Wekhian.

Autumn 2013
Hello Friends of the Peace Studies Program, Many thanks for your interest and your support of the MU Peace Studies Program. Your generous contributions over the years, combined with new sources of funding such as Mizzou Advantage and Mizzou Online, have enabled us to build a program that reaches hundreds of students each semester through our courses. Our faculty have international reputations for advanced research on such topics as nuclear weapons, the ethics of war and peace, indigenous heritages, the history of imperial states, and immigration and cross-cultural dialogs. In the past two years we have brought to MU distinguished speakers such as Glenn Greenwald, Col. Ann Wright, Professor Andrew Bacevich, and in October 2013, Professor Sophia McClennen, who delivered the Peace Perspectives Lecture co-funded by the Chancellors Distinguished Visitors Program. Your generous donations have built our endowment and developed partnerships with groups in the community and across the MU campus, making us a showpiece for the College of Arts and Science and its curriculum in the liberal arts and writing-intensive, critical thinking. Your continued support will build our endowment so that in the near future the interest alone will enable us to hire a visiting postdoctoral scholar to teach and research in the area of information technology, national security, and civil liberties. Please consider joining the Gertrude Marshall Society or reaffirming your commitment with a $500 gift. Sincerely, Clarence Lo Associate professor of sociology Director, Peace Studies Program David Mehr, MD William C. Allen Professor of Family and Community Medicine Chair of the peace studies faculty Chris Robinson, LCSW, and Jack Kultgen, professor emeritus Co-presidents, Friends of Peace Studies

I/We would like to move toward peace, justice, and global understanding in our world by supporting the University of Missouri Peace Studies Program. Sponsor - $250 Contributor - $50 Patron - $100 Other Gertrude Marshall Society Member - $500 or more I/We would like to make our gift of __________ by:

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Peace Studies Program, University of Missouri 243 Walter Williams Hall, Columbia, MO 65211 Phone: 573-882-9720 Fax: 573-884-0291

Peace Studies

Activist Legacy Project

Chris Robinson, left, and Jack Kultgen, co-presidents of the Friends of Peace Studies, inaugurating the Activist Legacy Project, dedicated to documenting the personal histories of long-term peace activists. The Activist Legacy Project seeks to both celebrate activists contributions as well as record their personal and tactical insights garnered from lifetimes of peace and justice advocacy. Gifts of documents to library units are being planned.

Communiqu is published annually by the Peace Studies Program at the University of Missouri. Editorial Office Peace Studies Program 243 Walter Williams Hall Columbia, MO 65211 Phone: 573-882-9720 E-mail: peacestudies@missouri.edu Web site: peacestudies.missouri.edu Facebook: MU Peace Studies Editorial Board Clarence Lo, program director Melody Galen Anastacia Schuloff and Faiza Rais, photographers The program appreciates hearing from alumni and friends. Send announcements or milestones to the address listed above.

University of Missouri College of Arts and Science 317 Lowry Hall Columbia, MO 65211

Special Visitor
Chancellors Distinguished Visitor Sophia McClennen of Penn State University delivered the 2013 Peace Perspectives Lecture on Oct. 17. She inspired students to become mindful of how biases limit understanding of diverse cultures. At left, McClennen signs her book Colberts America: Satire and Democracy for Professor David Mehr, MD, chair of the Peace Studies Faculty Committee.

At right, McCLennen the next day presented her latest research, Cinema and Globalization in Latin America.