Download PDF Version - Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study

December 2005
5
Julia S. Phelps Annual Lecture in Art and the Humanities
“Why Dramatize”
Lee Breuer RI ’06, Mabou Mines Theatre Company
7
Radcliffe Institute Fellows’ Presentation Series
“Make Your Symptoms Work for You”
Alice Flaherty, Harvard Medical School
7
Schlesinger Library Film Series
Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, directed by Connie Field
Women in the Wings, directed by Julia Love
Followed by a discussion with Cynthia Enloe, Clark
University
8
Voices of Public Intellectuals Lecture Series
“The Forgotten ‘Refugees’: Protecting People Uprooted in
their Own Countries”
Roberta Cohen, Brookings Institution
9
Schlesinger Library Book Sale
Lectures Address War and Foreign Policy
War was a major subject of discussion at the Radcliffe Institute this
past year. Not only was it the focus of the Institute’s annual conference
on women, gender, and society (see page 16), but the Voices
of Public Intellectuals (VPI) series explored the displacement of
people during war, and the Rama S. Mehta Lecture and the annual
Maurine and Robert Rothschild Lecture addressed issues pertaining
to war and foreign policy.
The Voices of Public Intellectuals series began in December with
a lecture by Roberta Cohen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution,
who outlined the plight of an estimated 20 million to 25
million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in countries such as
Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan. Unlike refugees, whose
flight across national borders qualifies them for international aid,
IDPs are cast adrift within their home countries. While more must
be done to protect displaced populations, the real solution, Cohen
believes, lies in greater involvement by the United Nations, regional
organizations, and governments to mediate the disputes that
cause displacement.
Peter Salama, chief of immunization and child survival for UNICEF,
presented the second lecture in the VPI series, titled “Why People
Die When They Flee from Conflict.” He offered examples of preventable
deaths from causes such as communicable diseases and
childbearing and advocated a greater emphasis on rapid assessment
and response to crises; a shift to outreach strategies rather
than waiting for those in need to reach relief facilities; and greater
attention to the cultural and political factors that influence population
displacement.
In the final VPI lecture, Irene Khan, the secretary general of
Amnesty International, spoke about the violence against women
that occurs during war. The most important factor in the prevalence
of rape in war is “rampant impunity,” Khan said. With a conviction
rate of 10 percent—“even less in situations where
governments have broken down or in refugee camps”—rape is a
crime that often goes unreported and unpunished. “The ‘War on
Terror’ gets a lot of publicity,” Khan said, “but the war on women,
unfortunately, does not.”
Iraqi activist Hanaa Edwar, who delivered the Rama S. Mehta Lecture,
was similarly concerned with women’s rights. Edwar and her
colleagues have lobbied for reforms in family law that will raise the
minimum age for marriage, ensure women the right to legally separate
from their husbands, and strengthen women’s custody rights.
“Social equality for women is essential for the development of
democratic institutions,” she said. “A woman can’t have equality in
her public and political life if she doesn’t have equality in her family
life.” Edwar described the assaults that occur daily in Iraq: “Every
day there are explosions near our offices. It’s not human to consider
this a normal life. But we can’t give up.”
Samantha Power, a professor of human-rights practice at Harvard’s
John F. Kennedy School of Government, is looking for alternatives
to America’s current foreign policy. She delivered the Maurine
and Robert Rothschild Lecture, supported by Robert F. Rothschild
’39 in memory of Maurine P. Rothschild ’40. Organized by the
Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, the lecture
was titled “Can United States Foreign Policy Be Fixed”
Power said that American foreign policy is beset by long-standing
structural problems. We have tended to take an “à la carte”
approach, picking and choosing rather than considering larger
humanitarian goals about where to become involved. “We want a
menu,” Power said. “Iraq, yes; Congo, no. SARS, yes; river blindness,
no. We don’t want to invest in the system as a whole.”
She argued that we can’t afford to pull back from our engagement
with the world and that we need to recognize the extent to which
human-rights policy and national-security policy are linked.
To watch the VPI lectures about people displaced during war, visit
www.radcliffe.edu/events/lecture/2006_vpi.php.
To watch Edwar’s lecture, visit www.radcliffe.edu/events/lectures/2006_edwar.php.
To watch Power’s lecture, visit www.radcliffe.edu/events/lectures/2006_power.php.
18
www.radcliffe.edu