Upcoming Event

Register Now

The January 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti struck a country already suffering from widespread poverty and underdevelopment. Did this natural disaster inadvertently provide an opportunity for reassessment and planning a new Haiti? Will the results of the 2010 presidential elections provide the leadership needed to restore stability to the country? Join us as we explore the answer to this and other questions with Dr. Millery Polyné.

Millery Polyné, PhD is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of American Studies at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. A graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Michigan, Dr. Polyné’s teaching and research interests highlight the history of African American and Afro-Caribbean cultural, political, and economic initiatives in the 19th and 20th centuries; dance, jazz, sports and urban memory. He has published in journals such as Caribbean Studies, Journal of Haitian Studies, Wadabagei and The Black Scholar. He is the author of From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti and Pan Americanism 1870-1964. Currently, he is working on two books, one a study of the interconnections between Caribbean exiles, the politics of human rights activism and organization, and democratic systems within inter-American affairs during the 1960s and 1970s. Dr. Polyné’s interests also focus on film and poetry. He directed “The Hip-Hop Paradigm” and was a cameraman on the film Rhythms from Africa: An Ocean of Melodies, which won the Golden Dhow Best Documentary Video Award at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. His next documentary, Papa Doc, which examines the life, origins and impact of François Duvalier’s dictatorship on Haitian society, is currently in preproduction. A 2003 recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, Dr. Polyné authored Release: Race Love Jazz, his first book of poetry. For more on Dr. Polyné’s accomplishments, VISIT HIS WEBSITE

This forum corresponds to topic #1 in the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions program. Local Great Decisions discussion groups are welcome to attend as a complement to their discussions. Information on how to join local discussion groups will also be available at the forum.

Promotional partner: Center for Latin American Studies, The Ohio State University

Upcoming Event

Register Now

Join us once more for the Council’s premier yearly event in which we recognize the outstanding global contributions of local leaders.

This year, we will be honoring Greif, Inc. as the 2012 International Company of the Year. Michael J. Gasser, Executive Chairman of the Board, will accept the award and deliver keynote remarks.

An outstanding International Education Project of the Year will also be honored. Nominations are currently being accepted for projects which meet the following nominee guidelines. Please contact Stephanie Calondis Geiger for more details via email or at 614 229 4599 X 403.

Upcoming Event

Register Now

Dr. Ali A. Mazrui was born in Mombasa, Kenya in 1933. After various university tenures worldwide, he is now Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, Professor-at-Large at the University of Jos in Nigeria, and Chancellor of the Jomo Kenyatta University in Kenya – an appointment made by Kenya’s Head of State.

Dr. Mazrui obtained his B.A. with Distinction from Manchester University, his M.A. from Columbia University, and his doctorate from Oxford University. He once served as Vice-President of the International Political Science Association and has lectured in five continents. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Muslim Council and is on the Board of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

In 2005, the American journal Foreign Policy and the British Journal Prospect nominated Dr. Mazrui among the top 100 public intellectuals alive in the world. The President of Kenya has awarded him the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Burning Spear, First Class; and the President of South Africa has made him Grand Companion of Oliver Tambo.

He has written more than thirty books, as well as articles for publications such as the New York Times, The Economist and the International Herald Tribune. Dr. Mazrui’s television work includes the widely discussed 1986 series The Africans: A Triple Heritage.

Dr. Mazrui is widely consulted on many issues including constitutional change and educational reform. He has been involved in a number of United Nations projects on matters ranging from human rights to nuclear proliferation. He is also internationally consulted on Islamic culture and Muslim history.

Presenting sponsor: The Ohio State University Middle East Studies Center
Additional support provided by: The Ohio State University Center of African Studies

Past Program/Event