The Elliott School launched the first edition of Experts Weigh In early last year in the research section of the school’s website. The first installment drew on faculty expertise to discuss the various socio-political and economic aspects of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Northern Syria.
In the latest installment of Experts Weigh In, COVID-19 is the focus. You can read faculty opinions on topics ranging from regional responses to the global crisis to how the coronavirus is exposing the limits of Pan-European solidarity to how trade restrictions may lead to a permanent lack of trust with our trading partners as a result of the virus. Read more here.
William Taylor, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009 and as the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev from June 2019 to January 2020, was awarded the Elliott School Leadership and Ethics Award for his commitment to ethical leadership in the field of international affairs at an event held at the Elliott School in February.
During his remarks, Taylor reminisced about his decision to accept the position of chargé d’affaires after the abrupt departure of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. He recalled discussing the position with his mentor, who advised him that, “if your country calls upon you, and you think you can be effective, then you have a duty to go.” Taylor emphasized that the key words to him were if you think you can be effective. Following a phone call to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who assured him that he had the full backing of the U.S. government behind him, he agreed to accept the position.
Taylor’s message to the audience in regards to Ukraine policy was that the United States has an obligation to “support Ukraine because it is on the front line of our freedom.” In other words, he went on to explain, support for the independence of Ukraine provides a bulwark against the manipulation of Russia into areas of mutual interest including election interference and energy policy. In these areas, he explained, Ukraine and the US are natural allies and can provide mutual benefit to each other.
Taylor also recorded an interview for the Elliott School’s student run podcast, Foreign Affairs Inbox, which dropped on March 30. Visit the podcast website to listen to the interview as well as other episodes.
My family is doing well in China. When COVID-19 broke out there in January and February, my city was locked down because it is near Wuhan, which is the most disastrous place. Like other people, my family had stayed at home for two months, and the only chance to go out was grocery shopping. However, there was a shortage of masks in China at one time, so I ordered some masks and shipped them from the US to China. It took around one month to get there! All in all, fortunately, as the regulation of locking down is removed currently, everything is normal back there, and my family did well throughout the entire outbreak.
When you were in the US, how have you been staying in touch with friends and family?
I often called my family to check if they were doing well, if there was something new, or if they needed anything that I could help with. I could stay in touch with my friends in China by chatting with them online and through social media. I knew staying at home for two months must be a hard thing for them, so I often talked with them to cheer them up. I would tell them what the situation in the US was, how’s my school life, and so on.
How have on-line classes been?
My on-line classes have been good so far. Except there are some glitches for one of my classes and the professor needs to cancel tomorrow’s class because she hasn’t found a solution to fix it yet. Other than that, on-line classes are great. I feel I can focus on the lecture more in some classes because I used to sit in the back of the classroom and the whiteboard was too small so that I couldn’t read words clearly. Now I can catch up with the professor better. And in one of my other classes, my professor invited a guest speaker. There was echo from my professor’s computer, so the guest just turned off the professor’s microphone, which was so funny because the professor could make facial expressions.
What have you been eating? Has your diet changed? Are you cooking more in the residence hall?
I went grocery shopping once a week. My diet basically stayed the same, because I used to cook in the dorm before. However, sometimes I don’t have any idea what to cook; my mind is completely blank. Sometimes the purpose of cooking is not to make it taste delicious; rather, it is to make me alive.
What is your favorite quarantine activity?
During this time, it gives me more time to watch movies and read books that I missed before. Also, I do some workout and yoga on my yoga mat. Besides my normal workout, I love to do some stretching poses. They really help me relax my body, because I hardly walk in the room.
What do you think will be better or permanently different once this over?
From my personal perspective, life will be normal and stay the same as it was before this happened. But I believe people will pay more attention to their personal health, because this thing really teaches people a lesson about that. So basically I think things will get better!
Can you provide little biographical information about yourself?
I was born in Chongqing, China. I have lived in the US for two years. I went to GW because it is a community where people connect closely and can feel a sense of belonging. Also, it is located in Washington, DC, which I believe is a comfortable place for living. I have a part-time job at the Elliott School of International Affairs in the Public Affairs department on campus. I love my work because it helps me get to know more people, improves my abilities in things like photography and video editing, and I learn more new things that I never knew before. My favorite thing about college in the US is that I can have a flexible schedule every week. In my high school back in China, I had a full study schedule every week and it always stayed the same. I used to go to class at 7:30 a.m. and end classes at 10:00 p.m. It is totally different in college in the US, because I can have spare time in the gym, club, and for other activities. Both ways work for me. What I would like to say is that living in another country and experiencing a different lifestyle is attractive to me, because I want my life to be varied and meaningful!
Editors Note: Willow is now safely back in China and in quarantine before she can rejoin her family. Until then, she continues to work remotely for the Public Affairs Department of the Elliott School of International Affairs.
For the third year in a row, a small group of Elliott School graduate students participated in the cross-cultural Kakehashi Project, traveling to Kyoto and Tokyo to enhance their understanding of contemporary and ancient Japanese culture.
The Kakehashi Project is a government-funded, grassroots exchange program that brings groups of Americans to Japan for engaging, focused, and customized experiences. In Japanese, the word Kakehashi means bridges — in this case, bridges between cultures constructed with the hope of building bridges to a better tomorrow.
Several themes stood out to the seven students who participated in the week-long trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, and the countryside in Shiga Prefecture, where students participated in a two-day homestay with local farming families. Notable visits included stops at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and at a reception with GW alumni living and working in Tokyo.
In Kyoto, students visited the Fushimi Inari Shrine and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kinkaku-ji Temple. Here, the blend of modernity and tradition resonated with Michael Choi (MA candidate, Asian Studies), who noted the ancient temples mixed among the skyscrapers: “Kyoto captured the essence of traditional Japanese culture while developing as a modern city.”
Judy Ly (MA candidate, International Affairs) pointed to family values as her most indelible memory: “My stay with the host family was one of the best memories of the trip. I experienced the traditional Japanese daily life. I saw the family dynamic and respected how close and loving everyone was to each other….My host family’s hospitality, openness, and generosity humbled me greatly.”
Another student, Niles Rodgers (MA candidate, Asian Studies), has been deeply influenced by Japanese culture he experienced while growing up and wanted to see how his anime-influenced conceptionsstacked up against reality: “My trip to Japan allowed me to finally see, from a first-person perspective and without a digital screen or anime characters running wild, what I had been missing out on….Not only was it a unique experience, but it reinforced my desire to learn more about the country’s history, culture, and customs.”
Food was the gateway to Japanese culture for Kayla Escobar (MA candidate, Global Communication). She says, “most of the food on this trip spoke to me and gave me a beautiful memory… there was a sense of hospitality with every restaurant, vendor, and meal, which made it all the more special. The time and effort that I felt my homestay family put into creating each meal…there was genuine interest and hope that you enjoy your food.” Her own hope is that future Kakehashi participants get to experience similar aspects of what makes Japan a special place — as well as a chance to expand their palates.
When Patricia Scangas graduated from GW’s Elliott School in 1972, she little suspected how – or when – she would have the opportunity to work in global affairs. Her family was traditional, especially her father, and expected her to settle down close by.
Fast forward to 2004, when Scangas and her husband, Matthew, set off on what became a 10-year journey – part travel, part diplomatic mission, part legal drama. Scangas takes the reader along with her in her debut novel, The Case of Emil Diesel, under the pen name, Patricia Menton. We caught up with Scangas last month, and she brought us up to date on her book, which, she says, took her full circle to the study of global affairs.
What is this book about?
It’s about actual events in East Germany – where my husband was born and spent his early childhood. His father had an amazing collection of antique art objects from around the world. In the midst of the Cold War, when the East German government badly needed cash, officials confiscated private art collections, on the pretense of collecting taxes and sold the art to the West. This is what happened to my husband’s father – Emil Diesel in the book. He died in 1975, shortly after the government seized his collection.
Then what happened?
For a long time nothing happened. Then in 2004, a family member sent us a book about victims of art theft, including my husband’s father. We set off to look for and reclaim parts of the stolen collection. We had no idea of the challenges we would encounter along the way.
Does the story have a happy ending?
Read the book – it is all there.
When you began this journey, did you plan to write a book about it?
Yes and no. Ever since the 1990s, I have felt a strong urge to write. During our many trips to East Germany, in museums and courtrooms, I took notes on everything that happened. Things finally came together when I heard about a class at our local community college called “From First Word to First Draft.” I jumped in and decided I would write the book – as fiction, based on these real-life events and characters.
How long did it take you?
Twelve weeks. I just sat down at the computer and began to write.
Wow! That’s fast.
It was all there in my notes. I did do some additional research.
How about publication?
I sent the manuscript to probably 50 agents. When I did get a reply, it was usually “make these changes and send it to us again.” I rewrote the story so many times that I started to feel as if I was losing the thread. Finally, I found Xlibris, and it turned out they were wonderful in the editing process. They’ve helped with publicity and gave me good ad coverage in the book review section of the Sunday New York Times. Still, I spend most of my time promoting my book.
How do you feel about this?
It’s okay! The important thing is that I had a chance to tell this story. I realize, too, that I ended up using my Elliott School education after all.
What’s next for you?
Pitching the book to Hollywood producers, working on a romance novel I’ve begun, and possibly writing a sequel to Emil Diesel to bring the story up to the present. It was an incredible journey, and it’s not over yet.
In January, 2015, two gunmen carried out a terrorist attack on the French satire weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing 12 people and injuring 11 others. Among the injured was journalist Philippe Lançon, who, three years later, released a memoir about his experiences with recovery. The English translation, Disturbance: Surviving Charlie Hebdo, was released late 2019.
On January 24, 2020, Lançon discussed his memoir with professor of French Abdourahman Waberi in the Marvin Center Amphitheater. The discussion mirrored the content of his book, as Lançon chose not to linger on the two minutes of terror, but on the year of recovery, reckoning, and rediscovery that followed. He explained the philosophies and literature he appealed to for guidance, and effortlessly wove quotes from Proust, Shakespeare, and Kafka into his narrative.
The discussion occurred entirely in French, with an English translation transmitted through earpieces to the audience, like we were privy to a casual conversation between two authors. Lançon and Waberi held nothing back, freely flowing between any topic they found interesting, from Lançon’s personal experiences to his philosophy on journalism and the struggles of translation (which was ironically relevant to the event). Ultimately, the discussions were a view into Lançon’s mind, and paired well with the philosophy of his memoir.
The event was part of Lançon’s book tour on the East Coast of the United States. The program was sponsored by the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, the GW Department of Romance, German, and Slavic Languages and Literatures, the GW Department of History, the Elliott School of International Affairs, and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies.
Enjoy this video reviewing some highlights of the past year! And from all of us here at the Elliott School of International Affairs, we wish everyone a happy, healthy 2020!
An Elliott School education has led a recent graduate from Foggy Bottom to Mali for an immersive, global experience. Kelsey Oliver, BA ’19, studied international affairs with concentrations in global public health and security policy. Now, she’s living with a host family just outside Mali’s capital city, Bamako, and working as a communications fellow with an organization called Muso. Muso brings preventative care to Malians by deploying hundreds of community health workers, mostly women, to go door-to-door in search of patients. Among the most important services these health workers provide are family planning, newborn screening and treatment for children with malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition.
Kelsey says the best part of her time in Mali has been the sense of community. Her host mother, Tata, and her many host brothers and sisters have become Kelsey’s second family. In this immersive environment, Kelsey also continues to learn the language and cross-cultural communication skills she needs to be successful in her work with Muso. “Whether you’re interested in public health, medicine, engineering, or international affairs, it’s really important to be able to understand where other people are coming from,” Kelsey said.
Kelsey is using video to document her life in Mali and share a visual story about the impact of Muso’s work. You can watch an episode from her video diary here. To get in touch with Kelsey and hear more about her work, please reach out to her on LinkedIn.
There’s a new arrival to the Elliott School website! Here at the Elliott School we’re fortunate to have access to a wealth of knowledge among our faculty, alumni, and scholars. Now, we have a dedicated page for our experts to share analysis of topical events with readers. “Experts Weigh In” is a page that is produced by the ESIA Research Team. In each new installment, a topic is presented and followed by reflections from multiple Elliott voices.
For the first installment of “Experts Weigh In,” Bayar Dosky, Lisel Hintz, Shana Marshall, and Tashi Rabgey discuss the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Northern Syria. You can read the full featurehere.
“On the night of Thursday, Nov. 13, 1969, the “March Against Death” began. By the time that weekend was over, Washington, D.C., had seen more protesters than any single event in its history had drawn. Attendance was higher, by tens of thousands, than at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington. And despite a name that, 45 years later, may seem overblown or vague, the march was actually about something very specific. The deaths they were protesting were those of soldiers and civilians in Vietnam.” Time Magazine, Lily Rothman November 13, 2014
Beginning November 11-15th, Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia and the Elliott School of International Affairs present an exhibit, book launch and conference, along with cultural events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Mobilization for Peace. A full schedule of events and link to registration is available here.
The Elliott School launched the first edition of Experts Weigh In early last year in the research section of the school’s website. The first installment drew on faculty expertise to discuss the various socio-political and economic aspects of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Northern Syria. 
