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The Impacts and Influence of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom Live on in China

Posted on by Steven Yin

In December 2022, a group of Ostrom scholars from various leading Chinese universities hosted a virtual event to honor the lives and works of Distinguished Indiana University Professor Elinor Ostrom, 2009 winner of Noble Prize in Economic Sciences, and her husband Vincent Ostrom who was also a world-renowned scholar in political science. This event was organized to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of their passing and was attended by over 400 participants including activists, community leaders, and practitioners who implemented the concept of self-governance at a local level.

The esteemed couple, and the workshop named after them, are all highly respected and very well known in the country. Over the past two decades, a large number of Chinese scholars have studied and visited the Ostrom Workshop. They brought back to China not only the knowledge they gained from the two academic masters, but also their inspiring life attitude and spirit of continuously pursuing academic excellence. For many, Elinor and Vincent are not only their dear teachers but also their role models.  

Scholars and graduate students from Tsinghua University (Tsinghua), Peking University (PKU), Renmin University of China (RUC), and Chinese University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) gave presentations and passionately reflected upon their personal experiences in learning with the Ostroms. The event was attended by hundreds of scholars across China, emphasizing the depth and breadth of the impact that Indiana University has across the country, both academically and in practical applications of their work.

The event started with a short preview of the film Actual World, Possible Future.This WTIU documentary film from 2020 about the Ostroms was only recently translated into Chinese by Professor Shoulong MAO and Professor Youhong CHEN from RUC, and Professor Jianxun WANG from CUPL, who also helped to coordinate part of the film’s production in China. They shared stories about filming in China and the translation process, then kicked off a series of presentations and personal remembrances that exemplified the real-world impacts of the Ostrom Workshop in China.  

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Intercultural competency for all IU in this free certificate program

Posted on by Lexi Baker

Cultural awareness can start as simply as writing an email. In fact, that is where this year’s Intercultural Competency Certificate program begins.

In the first of nine interactive 1.5 hour sessions, professionally trained IU staff members walk participants through a familiar scenario: you sent out what you thought was a clearly written, concise email and receive an abrupt, unintelligible response. Through this near-universal experience, trainers begin to unpack the complex and nuanced subject of “intercultural competency,” with the hope that participants will leave this session not only writing better emails, but approaching every interaction with better understanding of the many experiences and values that influence how a person interacts with the world. 

The Intercultural Competence Certificate (ICC) is an opportunity for IU employees to expand their understanding of communication and connection across cultural boundaries. The program is designed to be an individualized, interactive experience that addresses intercultural differences and their impact on personal and professional experiences for any IU employee.

“In a university as large and involved as IU, it’s easy for departments to become siloed, but making meaningful connections isn’t the duty of just a single group,” shares Rachel Salinas, director of international admissions and one of the first trainers for the certificate. “The Intercultural Competence Certificate makes cultural competency a campus-wide responsibility.”

But how did this initiative come about? 

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Experimental German theater comes to life in Bloomington, crossing borders and boundaries

Posted on by Marielle Petranoff

In mid-November of last year, Professor Teresa Kovacs was able to bring a piece of German experimental theater to Bloomington’s campus with the conference Diffractive World-Making: Theatre & Science Beyond the Capitalocene. 

You are most likely to see the term “diffraction” in a scientific context: it is the way that particles bend, interact with, and are shaped by moving around obstacles. When applied to light, diffraction can be thought of as the way that the particles and waves warp and pass through lenses. However, theoretical physicist and feminist theorist  Karen Barad does not take such a straightforward approach: in their writing, diffraction makes everything both old and new, here and there, individual in isolation and constantly in conversation with everything else. These types of seemingly contradictory notions appear all over quantum physics, but what happens when you take these concepts out of science and bring them into art? 

For Teresa Kovacs this question is at the core of her academic research as assistant professor of Germanic Studies and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance. Her focus is on how theatre makers  push this artform beyond the “traditional notion of drama” and into our technoscientific age. With experimental German theatre as the backdrop, Kovacs explores how by turning convention on its head and questioning what the fabric of theatre—performance—really is, playwrights actively converse with the most pressing political, social, and scientific concepts of our time. 

“It really started with this idea of bringing just one playwright together with one theorist… what happens if the two of them meet?” Kovacs muses. This simple premise led her to move the theoretical into the practical, working with Berlin-based playwright Kevin Rittberger to create an in-person conference to answer just that. As one of Barad’s texts spoke of meeting the universe halfway, Kovacs cultivated a joining of minds: “Let’s do this meeting halfway between theatre and quantum physics.”  

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Indiana University’s Mexico Gateway welcomes a new academic director

Posted on by Molly Fisher

Indiana University’s Mexico Gateway, located in Mexico City, is pleased to welcome Professor J. César Félix-Brasdefer as the new academic director. Based in Bloomington, he joins the IU Mexico Gateway team to further our gateway’s mission to support IU faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners to advance their academic and professional interests in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central, and South America. 

Indiana University, across its campuses, has a broad range of faculty, students, and alumni engaged in interdisciplinary research and creative activity in the sciences, medicine, arts and humanities, education, business, public health, and environmental affairs, among other disciplines. I am excited to help connect IU faculty and students with fellow experts in their fields and promote collaboration in institutions of higher education in Mexico, the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America. With Spanish and Portuguese as global languages, I look forward to expanding IU’s internationalization mission with other gateways, fostering awareness of linguistic diversity among indigenous languages, strengthening the visibility of IU faculty, and promoting student mobility throughout Latin America. I am thrilled to work with the professional and knowledgeable staff at the IU Mexico gateway.

J. César Félix-Brasdefer

Professor J. César Félix-Brasdefer brings ample experience and expertise to his role as academic director where he will work with the Mexico Gateway staff and colleagues at IU Global to promote research and academic activities between IU faculty and students in Latin America. He aims to engage IU’s faculty in academic discussions, to further promote the internationalization of IU study abroad programs, and to foster IU intellectual exchange through collaborative conferences.

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IU’s Europe Gateway welcomes new director

Posted on by Annabell Türk

With the New Year, Indiana University’s Europe Gateway in Berlin welcomes its new director Dr. Katrin Völkner. She joins the team of Academic Director Professor Timothy Hellwig, based in Bloomington, and Program & Communications Manager Annabell Türk, based in Berlin.

Headshot of Katrin Völkner, a middle-aged white woman with a honey-blonde, long-bob haircut, smiling into the camera

An experienced educator and higher education administrator, Dr. Völkner has dedicated her career to advancing and nurturing cross-cultural learning opportunities and exchanges across academic disciplines and national borders. As a graduate of both German and American institutions, and as a dual citizen, she is deeply committed to supporting transatlantic educational and research cooperation, and IU’s international engagement.

“I am thrilled to be working for a U.S. university again. It feels like a homecoming,” said Völkner. “It’s wonderful to support IU’s ambitious global engagement agenda and to be able to interact with students, faculty, and alumni alike.”

Originally from Berlin, Völkner moved to the United States to pursue her graduate studies after finishing her undergraduate work at Freie Universität Berlin. She first traveled across the Atlantic on a family trip to Seattle where she had a chance to visit the University of Washington. After this experience, she was determined to return to the United States as a student and was excited to spend a year at in St. Louis where she completed her master’s degree at Washington University. She later obtained her PhD in interdisciplinary German Studies from Duke University.

In her role as faculty member and director of the Multimedia Learning Center at Northwestern University, she co-led the Global Languages Initiative, a multi-year effort that supported foreign language learning and global engagement throughout the university community.

After more than 20 years in the United States, Katrin returned to her hometown in 2015 and worked for the Council on International Educational Exchange. In her most recent position at the University of Potsdam, Katrin managed a transdisciplinary and multi-professional team focused on improving educational practices.

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Partnerships and the Parthenon: the long history between Greece and IU

Posted on by Lexi Baker

It’s evening in Athens when the music starts. It’s a welcome call to IU study abroad students; after days of travel, meetings, and too many handshakes to count, the 24 business students finally have a chance to pull back from conference room discussions and take to the bustling crowds of the city. Though they’re far from home—well over five thousand miles from the Bloomington campus—they find themselves falling into place alongside Greek students, eagerly joining them in a pastime that both groups know well: dance.  

American dances, like many things in the United States, are direct. Think of the Cha Cha Slide—the lyrics literally give you instructions! IU students quickly find that’s not the case in Greece. There’s certainly no enthusiastic voice telling you which direction to slide, when to clap your hands, or just how smooth to cha-cha.

In traditional Greek dances the spirit of community forms itself into a circle of dancers. Anyone can join and you don’t need a partner. Outsiders are welcomed into the circle and learn the steps in real time by following the people on either side of them, no translations necessary. The act of inviting outsiders into the circle is philoxenia, friendliness towards the stranger, a concept as ancient as the dance itself…and it works just as well today as it has throughout history! Despite the differences in their steps, the students meet each other on the dance floor and move to the music, sparking a connection that burns across any cultural divides.

Low angled view of ancient columns against a blue sky
View of the Acropolis, Athens (Megan Bankowski, 21-22 study abroad)

IU’s connection with Greece didn’t start with dance (as groovy as that might be). Over 70 years before these students connected with their Greek counterparts, one of IU’s most recognizable figures made his way to the Mediterranean. Herman B Wells was initially called to Greece on behalf of Indiana University in 1946 to observe the first election following World War II. An outspoken advocate for international partnerships, Wells encouraged connections with Greece and its culture—as well as all world cultures—long after returning from the trip. In 1950, the first summer language workshop in less commonly taught languages was conducted under the encouragement of President Wells. The next year, he established the International Center on the Bloomington campus for student use, and the connection to Greece was not forgotten. 

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From Ethiopia to Indiana: progress on business incubation initiative

Posted on by Lexi Baker

Indiana University and Ethiopian university leaders in front of the Sample Gates
Representatives from IU, Bahir Dar and Debre Markos Universities meet at the Sample Gates

This summer, Indiana University welcomed the presidents of Bahir Dar (BDU) and Debre Markos (DMU) universities who shared progress and pride in the Partnership in Business Entrepreneurship and Leadership Transformation (PiBELT) initiative. This two-year project is funded by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It focuses on developing Ethiopia’s innovation ecosystem by implementing entrepreneurial curricula in their universities, training students and young entrepreneurs in business and innovation strategies, and strengthening collaborations between local and American enterprises. The two Ethiopian universities have partnered with IU and Ivy Tech to design, develop, and explore capacity-building experiences for university administration and program participants.

Teshome Alemneh and members of the delegation on Kirkwood Avenue.

“The collaboration continues to enhance IU’s global engagement and visibility while contributing to improving business entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as higher education leadership capacity development at Ethiopian universities. This not only enables partner institutions to be more responsive to local development challenges, but provides an opportunity for Indiana to engage with emerging creative thinkers from Africa,” said Associate Vice President for International Research and Development Teshome Alemneh.

This site visit to Indiana fulfills just one of many goals outlined in the project. In developing a network of support and innovation with U.S. businesses, select cohorts of Bahir Dar and Debre Markos collaborated with IU and Ivy Tech Bloomington’s Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship to gain insights into business start-ups in Indiana, and further developed cultural and professional relations between the universities through experience-sharing and discussions. These strategic conversations with academic and administrative units across IU aim to engage university leaders from Ethiopia in fostering long-term success, sustainability, and self-reliance for entrepreneurship activities.

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IU’s Global Gateway announces two new academic directors

Posted on by Brittaney Hartzer

Indiana University’s Global Gateway Network welcomes two IU faculty members to the team this semester. Professors Purnima Bose and Faridah Pawan will serve as academic director of the India and ASEAN Gateways respectively. They join a committed team of faculty and staff experts in each of the five Gateway countries and in Indiana who connect and support IU’s interactions around the globe.

Our academic directors play a critical role in IU’s global engagement by providing expert knowledge and advice to university leadership, and by helping connect our faculty and students find research and learning opportunities in their respective gateway country or region. Both Purnima and Faridah are highly respected scholars, their research is truly international and interdisciplinary, and I am certain both will contribute enormously to deepening IU’s engagement in India and across the ASEAN region.

Ally Batten, executive director, Global Gateway Network

IU India Gateway, New Delhi

Purnima Bose headshot.

“I am delighted to work with IU colleagues and those in India on academic initiatives that will enhance our knowledge of the subcontinent and increase global cooperation. I welcome the opportunity to connect students, faculty, and alumni in Indiana and India through the IU India Gateway, which is located in New Delhi, a historic city of magnificent monuments and vibrant universities.”

Professor Bose’s research has focused on exploring questions of agency, subjectivity, and conflict within larger geopolitical frameworks. She is the author of Organizing Empire: Individualism, Collective Agency, and India and Intervention Narratives: Afghanistan, the United States, and the Global War on Terror Her essays on Indian nationalism, the Indian diaspora, and conflict have appeared in journals, including Genders, The Journal of South Asian History and Culture, The Global South, and Situations: Cultural Studies in the Asian Context.

Her administrative experience includes chairing the International Studies Department for five years and directing the Cultural Studies Program for eight years.

IU ASEAN Gateway, Bangkok

Faridah Pawan headshot

“This is an exciting time for the IU ASEAN Gateway in Bangkok. The office is actively engaged with alumni and higher education institutions in the 10 member countries. I look forward to working with IU and ASEAN colleagues in support of continuing efforts to build academic capacity and promote internationalization and student mobility between our respective institutions.”

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Building community resilience to climate shocks in the Indian Himalayan region

Posted on by Minu Thomas

Participants and speakers gather in Dehradun, India

It’s a known fact that climate change is impacting the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) and that imposes cascading effects on local food and water security. Addressing the human, environmental, and communal toll these changes create will take communities coming together across boundaries: exactly like what happened this September at the IU India Gateway. After 20 months of planning, a team of experts from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), including faculty from the Department of Earth Sciences and Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, visited India to deliver panel discussions and workshops on the theme of Climate Shocks in the Indian Himalayan Region.

The initiative consisted of three phases that took place over four months. Phase I was conducted virtually in August 2022 and included an introduction to speakers, workshop orientation, and a prelude to the theme to prepare for the in-person events in Phase II.

In September 2022, the IU India Gateway and TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS) planned a week of activities across disciplines focused on the UN Sustainable Goals (SDGs), specifically goals 2 (Zero hunger), 5 (Gender Equality), 13 (Climate Action), and 17 (Partnerships to achieve the Goal). This project brought scientists, activists, scholars, and civil servants together and was funded by Indiana University’s Global Impact Research Grant (GIRG) and the IU Global Gateway Grants.

Dehradun, workshop participants in action
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The red, the fat, the learned, and ME!

Posted on by dburke01

This post was originally published on August 8, 2022 as a part of IU East Professor of Spanish Dianne Moneypenny’s sabbatical blog, S*uh*battical. Emphasis on the “uh?” She participated in a 2022 Faculty Exchange Program funded by the Office of the Vice President of International Affairs (IU Global). You can read her complete story as well as insights into the process of applying and organizing the exchange on her blog. Faculty at all IU campuses can apply for an academic year 2023-24 exchange program now!

I was so fortunate to receive the IU Faculty Exchange with the University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy. UniBo, established in 1088, is the oldest university in Europe and it is nestled in the region Emilia Romana. Bologna is known as both the land of slow food and fast cars and as the red, the fat, and the learned. Red is for their red wine, fat is from their famous cured meats, and the learned is for UniBo. While I was there, I personally experienced the red wine, the fat (though as a vegetarian it was just from the overall DELICIOUS food), and the learned as I conducted scholarly research on medieval women in Iberian/Mediterranean food culture. I could not have imagined a better place to research food studies.

Ornately decorated reading room of the Palatine Library in Parma, Italy

The major focus of my research exchange was a 15th century text housed in the Palatine Library in Parma, Italy. It was a short train ride from Bologna. It was an amazing opportunity and had this been the only part of my research findings, it would have sufficed. But I got to experience and learn so much more. To the left is an image of the incredible (yet un-airconditioned) reading room. After some confusion upon check in (I had emailed the library weeks ago informing them of my upcoming visit to be sure I had all paperwork in order to be able to access the text, but had never received a response), I was allowed in with my trusty assistant, my husband Gordon.

I requested the text and the librarian brought it out from storage and handed it to me…in all the 15th century leathered glory. The Manual de mujeres was in my hands-literally see photo to the right! I requested gloves, which sent the whole library into a tizzy as they tried to locate a pair.

Glasses-wearing Moneypenny smiling while holding a leather-bound book up to the camera
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