Category Archives: Program on Culture, Capitalism, and Global Change

Culture and Catastrophe Workshop

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Earlier this month the Institute hosted a workshop for the Culture and Catastrophe working group. The problems of man-made and natural disaster are endemic to human existence and constantly threaten to intrude upon and disrupt the security of our lives. Surprisingly, however, the ways humans have accounted for failure, disaster, and catastrophe have not received sustained, scholarly attention. This working group is creating an interdisciplinary volume to initiate sustained analysis at the intersection of the social sciences and humanities on this topic as part of the Institute’s Program on Culture, Capitalism, and Global Change.

Neslihan Cevik in Spain

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Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Neslihan Cevik recently traveled to Pamplona, Spain to speak at the Social Trends Institute‘s Expert’s Meeting on “Fashion and Identity in a Cultural Key.” The seminar explored the ways that fashion as a sign of cultural modernity highlights “the different ways in which Chinese, Muslim and Indian cultures articulate meaningful responses—coherent with their own cultural traditions—to the challenges posed by modernity.”

Read more about the work of the Institute’s fellows here.

João Carlos Espada at the Institute

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On Wednesday, March 13 the Institute hosted a seminar on the state of the eurozone led by João Carlos Espada. Professor Espada is the founding director of the Institute for Political Studies at the Catholic University of Portugal, where he is University professor of Political Studies. He holds the European Parliament / Bronislaw Geremek European Civilization Chair at the College of Europe, Natolin. Since March 2006, he has been political adviser to the President of the Portuguese Republic, Professor Aníbal Cavaco Silva. Professor Espada has written widely on the history of liberalism, the European Union, and contemporary political thought.

Expanding on “European Disintegration? The Sources of Extremism” (previously published in the Journal of Democracy, October 2012), Professor Espada argued that the best hope for curbing political extremism in Europe is to “trivialize” the euro. There is currently no exit clause from adoption of the common European currency, but, he contended, the euro itself must become a subject of discussion in national Parliamentary politics if the European project is to flourish. Espada’s presentation sparked lively debate about hopes for the future of the eurozone, the risks of currency instability, and the “rationality” of extremism, among other topics. Find event details here.

Michael Barnett on globalization

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This Thursday, February 21 the Institute will host Michael Barnett, University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs in the South Meeting Room of U.Va.’s Newcomb Hall at 4:00 p.m. Professor Barnett will present “Can Humanitarianism Survive Globalization?” Barnett has published extensively on international relations theory, global governance, humanitarian action, and the Middle East, and is the author of Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism. This lecture is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception. Barnett’s visit is co-sponsored by U.Va.’s Jewish Studies Program. Visit the event page here.

Theory Dessert: Sustainability

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This Friday, October 19, at 1:00 p.m. the Institute of the Humanities & Global Cultures is hosting a “Theory Dessert” to discuss Managing Director Josh Yates‘s “Abundance on Trial: The Cultural Significance of “Sustainability” from the Summer 2012 issue of The Hedgehog Review. Josh will present alongside Deborah Lawrence, with discussion to follow. More information is available here.

Read more about the The Hedgehog Review here.

An Evening with Matthew Crawford

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The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, in partnership with Warren Wilson College, presents an evening with Institute Senior Fellow Matthew Crawford to discuss his New York Times bestseller Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work. Crawford’s book is part of the Institute’s Program on Culture, Capitalism, and Global Change. Crawford spoke to the Citizen-Times about his lecture.

Thrift and Thriving in the Journal of American History

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Thrift and Thriving in America: Capitalism and Moral Order from the Puritans to the Present, edited by Institute faculty Joshua J. Yates and James Davison Hunter is reviewed in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of American History. David Blanke says the volume “poses exciting and productive new lines of inquiry into the study of modern mass consumerism, capitalism, and moral order.” Read the review here (subscription required).

Globalization and the Common Good Interview

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Listen as U.Va. Professor Christine Mahoney discusses the Institute’s Globalization and the Common Good event on WJTU‘s Soundboard. The event was jointly coordinated with the Social Trends Institute, a Barcelona-based research center concerned with emerging social trends and their effects on human communities. Details including participating scholars and Michael Ignatieff’s opening public lecture are available here.

This event was organized by Joshua J. Yates as part of the Institute’s research focus on Global Culture.