KNOXVILLE — Conversations about World Affairs, a lecture series featuring a variety of speakers talking about a specific world issue or region of the world, continues on Feb. 12 with a lecture highlighting government in Central and South America.
Charles HaleCharles Hale of the University of Texas will speak at 7 p.m. in the International House on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Hale is a professor of anthropology who studies identity politics, ethnic consciousness and racism in Latin America and the Caribbean with special emphasis on Guatemala, Nicaragua and Bolivia.
The lecture series is free and open to the public.
Upcoming speakers in the Conversations about World Affairs series, their geographic focus and their lecture titles are:
• March 4 — Europe — Milan Bufon, professor of geography at Primoska University in Slovenia,will speak about “Europe’s Convergent and Divergent Border Issues.”
• April 1 — Russia and newly independent states — Robert Legvold, a distinguished professor at Columbia University, will speak about “Russian Domestic Issues and their Impact on Foreign Policy.”
• April 15 — North Africa and Southwest Asia — Yasin Sarayrah, a Jordanian scholar, will talk about “Refugee Populations and Relocation in Jordan.”
Conversations about World Affairs is an activity that promotes the goals of “Ready for the World: The International and Intercultural Awareness Initiative,” which include transforming the campus into a culture of diversity that best prepares students for working and competing in the 21st century. Ready for the World also involves increasing the diversity among students, faculty and staff; infusing the curriculum with international and intercultural content; expanding study-abroad and work-study opportunities; and encouraging students to take advantage of all of these opportunities.
For more information about Ready for the World, see http://www.utk.edu/readyfortheworld/.