Join Professor Ralkowski SATURDAY, 2/27 for indoor rock climbing! The trip is free and open to all UHP freshmen, but spots are (very) limited, so reserve your spot now! The group will be meeting at the Marvin Center at 11 AM before metroing over to Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria. You’ll get to flex your climbing muscles at a huge indoor gym with tons of different climbing routes. Compared to the wall in Hel Well, this place will blow you away! You can find out more and reserve your spot here.
Category: Events
Working on Your Thesis? Get Some Support!
Professors Ralkowski and Trullinger are continuing the Thesis Working Group, and the first spring meeting will be Monday, February 1st at 4:00pm in the UHP Club Room. All seniors are welcome! Maybe you’re in the middle of writing your thesis and you want to share some tips with people who are just getting started. Maybe you haven’t started and you can’t stop procrastinating. Or maybe you just want to hear about the projects that your classmates are working on. Whatever your situation is, come by, have a snack, have some coffee, and join the conversation! Think of this as a stress-reducing support group, an opportunity to share the thesis writing experience with classmates and professors. We are all in it together.
We will be meeting about twice a month for the rest of the academic year. The idea is to stop by for as long as you want, and to come when you can—if you can’t make it the first meeting, maybe we’ll see you next time!
Harvest of Empire: Faculty Fellows Film Screening
Harvest of Empire
The Untold Story of Latinos in America
A documentary film screening
Followed by a discussion with the director, Eduardo Lopez
Hosted by Kimberly Morgan,
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GWU
Based on the groundbreaking book by award-winning journalist Juan González, Harvest of Empire takes an unflinching look at the role that U.S. economic and military interests played in triggering an unprecedented wave of migration that is transforming our nation’s cultural and economic landscape. From the wars for territorial expansion that gave the U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Cuba and more than half of Mexico, to the covert operations that imposed oppressive military regimes in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, Harvest of Empire unveils a moving human story that is largely unknown to the great majority of citizens in the U.S. Harvest of Empire has won several national honors, including the prestigious 2013 Imagen Award as Best Documentary for Film or Television, and the ABC News Award from the International Documentary Association.
The film will be shown from 4:30-6 followed by a discussion with the director, Eduardo
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Elliott School of International Affairs, Rm. 212
4:30-7:00 p.m.
1957 E Street, N.W.
Please RSVP at
https://harvestempire.youcanbook.me/
Prof. Christov Discusses His Book!
Before Anarchy: Hobbes and his Critics in Modern International Thought
A Book Event with
Theodore Christov, Professor, GWU
Loubna El Amine, Professor, Georgetown University (discussant)
Thursday, January 28, 2016
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Voesar Conference Room
1957 E St. NW, Suite 412
Please RSVP at http://go.gwu.edu/hobbes.
How did the ‘Hobbesian state of nature’ and the ‘discourse of anarchy’ – separated by three centuries – come to be seen as virtually synonymous? Before Anarchy offers a novel account of Hobbes’s interpersonal and international state of nature and rejects two dominant views. In one, international relations are seen as a warlike Hobbesian anarchy, and in the other, state sovereignty eradicates the state of nature. In combining the contextualist method in the history of political thought and the historiographical method in international relations theory, Before Anarchy traces Hobbes’s analogy between natural men and sovereign states and its reception by Pufendorf, Rousseau and Vattel in showing their intellectual convergence with Hobbes. Far from defending a ‘realist’ international theory, the leading political thinkers of early modernity were precursors of the most enlightened liberal theory of international society today. By demolishing twentieth-century anachronisms, Before Anarchy bridges the divide between political theory, international relations and intellectual history.
Make policy change this semester: Join the Roosevelt Institute @ GW!
Until economic and social rules work for all, they’re not working. Join the Roosevelt Institute @ GW, the only student think-and-act tank on campus, to learn how to effectively channel your enthusiasm to create policy change. Get involved this semester as we launch six advocacy campaigns, fireside chats on engaging topics, and workshops on how to become effective policy organizers.
Our introductory meetings are as follows:
– January 19 | 8:00pm | Phillips 110
– January 20th | 8:00pm | Rome 201
We will continue to meet afterwards weekly on Mondays at 8pm in Funger 223.
RI@GW is a part of a national network of over 10,000 emerging leaders actively engaging on college campuses and in communities to re-imagine and re-write the rules. As a member, you’ll learn about different policy issues, find out how to write a policy, help lobby for it, and grow your skills and network.
Your voice matters — and we want to help you use it for change. Find out more about us at www.gwrooseveltinstitute.org!
UHP Spelunking in Pendleton, West Virginia
Who knew that mud, darkness and tight caverns would be so awesome? For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of spelunking, allow me to explain: spelunking is the activity of exploring caves. This past Sunday, a small group of UHP faculty and students traveled to Pendleton, West Virginia for a spelunking adventure we would not soon forget.
We left campus around 9:45 in the morning and drove three long hours to our destination, a drive full of mountainous switchbacks, Fall Out Boy and David Guetta (thank you, Michael), and lots of livestock. The weather was beautiful and resembled a spring day in Washington. We, however, would be spending the entire day underground in total darkness. We met our guide, Lester, at a gas station which advertised “state price minimum beer” and their delicious pepperoni rolls. After a brief round of introductions, we drove down the road and off the highway where we put on our gear: helmets and headlights. Soon, we descended into Key Cave.
C
limbing, contorting, wiggling and army-crawling through the damp and muddy caverns, Lester taught us how Key Cave was formed (limestone + water=carbonic acid=cave), how to identify igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock, and how to properly navigate a cave (pro tip: orient your compass and your map). Despite our crash course in caving, we slipped around a bit, stepped in a lot of puddles (cough, cough Riley), and even crafted clay sculptures in the “Art Room” of Key Cave. We emerged covered in mud three hours later after having traveled hundreds of feet underground, escaping with only minor cuts and bruises! On the way home, sleep, card games, Skrillex—try falling asleep to that—and a beautiful sunset followed our lovely afternoon underground.
Honestly, I can’t think of a more therapeutic way to spend an afternoon. With finals quickly approaching and stress permeating every academic building, library, and dorm on campus, it’s easy to see that GW students feel a bit “cramped” and overwhelmed. After spending three hours in the underbelly of a mountain, however, I can say that these feelings are simply figments of our imaginations. Getting out of our heads and into the outdoors can change our perspective on all the stress we endure. Whether it’s a walk around campus or a spelunking trip to Pendleton, West Virginia, try to take a deep breath and allow yourself some space to think. If that’s not a lesson in Stoicism, I don’t know what is.
A huge thanks to Professor Mark Ralkowski and GW Trails for their organization and planning, and to our drivers, Renee and Michael. We couldn’t have done it without you all!
Make sure to check to UHP blog and your emails for information about next semester’s adventure!
Final review: 10/10, let’s do it again.
Finals Study Hours in the Townhouse!
FINALS ARE COMING.
Need a place to study? Come by the Townhouse for extended study hours in the Club Room! We’ll have snacks and coffee (aka “the essentials”) and an overall studying environment that can’t be beat!
Check out the full schedule below:
Thursday, 12/10: 5-10 PM
Friday, 12/11: 9 AM-12 PM, 5-10 PM
Saturday, 12/12: 12-10 PM
Sunday, 12/13: 12-8 PM
Monday, 12/14: 9 AM-10 PM
Tuesday, 12/15: 9 AM-10 PM
Wednesday, 12/16: 9 AM-10 PM
Thursday, 12/17: 9 AM-10 PM
Gingerbread House Decorating Party
‘Tis the season to throw a bunch of icing and candy on some architectural cookies! That’s right, the UHP is hosting a Gingerbread House Decorating Party! Or just come and eat a lot of candy and hang out with your friends. Stop by between 1 and 3 on Friday, 12/11.
Gingerbread House Decorating Party in the Townhouse
Friday, December 11 from 1-3 PM
Click Here to RSVP!
The UHP's First Ever Yule Ball!
The Programming Board will be hosting the UHP’s first ever Yule Ball this Saturday, December 5 from 8-10 PM in Post Hall! See more details are below!
Tickets will be available in the Townhouse on the following days:
M 11/30 – 2-4 PM
T 12/1 – 12:30-2:15 PM
W 12/2 – 9-12 PM and 3-4 PM
R 12/3 – 11-12 PM
F 12/4 – 1-5 PM
Professor on the Town Event to The Phillips Collection
On November 14, 2015, Professor Helen McManus and 10 members of her Origins & Evolution of Modern Thought class participated in a “Professor on the Town” event at The Phillips Collection.
As our class focuses on Work & Rest within the origins of modern thought, it was fitting for Professor McManus to take us there to a place she describes as her favorite gallery in DC because it is a restful place for her.
According to Professor McManus, “most restful (though intellectually most like hard work) is the Rothko Room, a tiny gallery for four enormous paintings. Before we left for coffee, I made sure every student was able to find that space.”
We each had our own favorites as well. Personally, I thought it was very interesting to see and hear about the history of the artwork and how it ended up at the Phillips Collection. In particular, I enjoyed Jacob Lawrence’s “Migration Series” because it was moving to consider the history behind the content of the pieces, but also fascinating to hear about the methods Lawrence used to create it and how the piece evolved to be divided into separate galleries.
Other classmates of mine enjoyed the gallery’s most famous piece: Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boarding Party”. Sara and Stephanie both found enjoyed hearing about why and how Renoir depicted each character the way he did and all the various stories behind Renoir’s artistic decisions as well as how it got to the Phillips Collection.
Still, some of my other classmates preferred to focus on some of the small intricacies of the gallery. Kelsie, while enjoying the Van Gogh and Chagall pieces, also appreciated the story of the tiny Paul Klee painting that was stolen from the collection but was eventually returned after a responsible person purchased it on the black market!
However, not all of the amusing parts of the trip even came from the artwork itself! Ethan really enjoyed hearing about the development of the Phillips Collection which made the experience of the gallery an active one rather than a passive one that you might expect to get at a gallery.
In the end, we learned most about how the collection is the product of a family’s vision and love for art, which made the whole experience so much more meaningful. This, along with the community building opportunity for our class truly made this trip worthwhile! I’d like to thank the Honors program for its support and Professor McManus for exposing us to such a fascinating DC exhibition!
