In what is becoming an annual tradition, for the second year, a group of Schar School of Policy and Government faculty members, organized by Associate Professor Bassam Haddad, delivered presentations to students and fellow faculty members on their findings from recent visits to foreign countries.
The six professors represented the wide range of destinations and academic purposes taken on by the Schar School faculty. A recent survey indicated that in the months from May to August, 26 professors visited 22 countries—including a dozen destinations in the U.S.—to deliver papers, sit on panels, conduct research, teach classes, and lead student tours. (See a recount of the summer semester travels here.)
"These brief but chock-full of empirical and analytical observations from our faculty’s trips abroad brings part of the world back to the Schar School and the George Mason University community,” said Haddad. “We not only learn from each other’s experiences, but also recognize the substantial overlap in challenges, public preferences, and general moods across countries and regions. We can build on this among each other as faculty and in our classrooms."
During the presentations held in late October at Mason’s Fairfax Campus, Professor Mark Katz, a noted expert in Russian-Middle East relations, discussed his observations regarding Brexit and health care, not to mention striking academics, while visiting Britain.
Assistant Professor Tonya Neaves, director of the Schar School’s Extramural Projects, presented her findings on post-war Croatia, while Professor Ellen Laipson, director of the Center for Security Policy Studies and the Master’s in International Security program, recounted a late May visit to South Korea as part of a symposium with other Schar School faculty members to discuss climate change as a security challenge.
Associate Professor Mariely López-Santana, director of the political science PhD and master’s programs, delivered a detailed breakdown of Spanish politics, political parties, and voter trends over the last few decades.
Associate Professor Jo-Marie Burt, a Latin American studies specialist, talked about being an academic as well as an activist, reflecting on her long tenure as an official observer of human rights trials in South America.
Haddad finished the 90-minute session with a presentation of his own, imparting observations on relations in the Middle East, illustrating his talk with short videos from a checkpoint between the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
A video recording of the session will be posted soon.