Fall 2013 Global Issues Colloquium

Thursday Sept. 19, 2013  MG 2001  7 p.m.
The Commons Abundance Network: Towards a Global Network of Local Initiatives for Abundant Life.
Wolfgang Hoeschele, Professor of Geography, Truman State University

Creating a better world is difficult, but it is necessary, and so it is vital that we learn how to do it and get to work. When faced with a task that seems overwhelming, it is important to divide it into manageable bits, but at the same time to facilitate information exchange and an awareness of what other people and groups are doing so that actions can be integrated with a view to the larger whole. The Commons Abundance Network, co-founded by the speaker, aims to promote such information exchange and awareness of the larger whole. The talk will focus on work done so far, including contributions by Truman students, and plans for the future.

Monday Oct. 28, 2013  VH 1000  7 p.m.
The U.S., Drugs, and Guns in Mexico:  Lessons from a Mexican Human Rights Organization
Francisco Cerezo, Witness for Peace,  Comite’ Cerezo

Militarization, fueled by over 1.1 billion in military aid from the US and justified by the War on Drugs, has led to increased violence, political repression, and human rights violations in Mexico.  The 2001 arrest of three Cerezo brothers for student activism provides one powerful example; they were incarcerated in federal prison for over seven years where they were physically and psychologically tortured. Family members and allies, including brother Francisco, formed Comite’ Cerezo to fight for their liberation. Since the Cerezo brothers’ 2008 release, the Comite’ has continued to promote and defend human rights of victims of political repression and is active in a national campaign to protect human rights defenders.  Francisco Cerezo is currently touring the Midwest as part of the Witness for Peace program.

Thursday Nov. 21, 2013  MG 2001 7 p.m.
Women’s Voices from the Zimbabwean Diaspora: Migration and Change
Elaine McDuff, Prof. of Sociology;  Chair, Dept. of  Society & Environment, Truman State University

The increasing feminization of Zimbabwean migration is part of an overall increase in international migration from Zimbabwe since 1990 – primarily to destinations in South Africa and the UK, though Zimbabweans are now present in many countries throughout the world.  There are currently 3-4 million Zimbabwean migrants, or between 25% and 30% of the country’s total population of 12 million. Most Zimbabweans leaving the country in the last two decades have been forced to do so because of economic and political problems, and it is women who have experienced the most dramatic change in level of migration. Based on interviews with 23 Zimbabwean women migrants, this study seeks to explain the dramatic increase in the number and diversity of women who have migrated to work outside of Zimbabwe over the last two decades, as well as the shift to a transnational family structure with redefined gender roles.