The theme for this year’s symposium, Justice & Migration, highlights critical questions about rights, responsibilities, and fair treatment of migrants at the global, national, and local levels.

Tuesday, September 23

Eastern Mennonite University Campus Center, Room 105, 5:00pm

Gianluca De Fazio & Mark Metzler Sawin

Justice Delayed: Racial Violence in Virginia From Lynching to the Death Penalty

Wednesday, September 24

Breakfast                                                                                          8:00-9:00 AM | Taylor Union 206

Session 1: Justice for Refugees and Asylees                                9:00-10:15 AM | Taylor Union 305

Laila Ayub, Project ANAR

Laila Ayub is Co-Founder and Co-Director of Project ANAR, a community-based Afghan immigration justice organization that offers direct legal services, community education and advocacy for displaced Afghans in the United States.

Olivia Wargowsky, Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC)

Olivia Wargowsky serves as Associate Director of Reception and Placement for ECDC, a national refugee resettlement and advocacy organization founded in 1983 by leaders of the local Ethiopian community in Arlington, VA.

Session 2: Justice in the Borderlands                                    10:30 AM-11:30 PM | Taylor Union 305

Perla Torres, Hostile Terrain 94

Perla Torres is co-curator of the Hostile Terrain 94 exhibition and Project Manager with the Undocumented Migration Project, a research-arts-education collective that works in solidarity with families of migrants who have disappeared crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Session 3: Hostile Terrain 94 Exhibition                                 11:30-12:30 PM | Grace Street Gallery

HT94 is a participatory art installation composed of over 4,200 hand-written toe tags representing the recovered bodies of migrants who have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert. The tags are filled out by volunteers and geolocated on a 16-foot wall map in the exact locations where the remains were found. Join us in the Grace Street Gallery (Duke Hall 1031) to view the exhibit and contribute to the ongoing assembly process.

Lunch                                                                                               12:00-1:30 PM | Taylor Union 206

Session 4: Justice and Migration in the Local Context                    1:45-3:00 PM | Taylor Union 305

Discussion with community leaders about local efforts to support refugees and immigrants in our area.

Justice in Action                                                   

Throughout the symposium, attendees will encounter opportunities to learn about and participate in advocacy and service-related activities relevant to the theme of the conference.

For example, participants can:

• Install a toe tag on the Hostile Terrain 94 map
• Write a letter of care to your immigrant neighbors
• Write a letter to your national or local representative
• Learn about volunteer opportunities with immigrant-serving organizations 

Visitor parking for the symposium available in the Mason St. Parking Deck attached to Hotel Madison.

Online participants may join the Zoom stream.

Wednesday, Sept. 25

8:30 - 9:30 a.m.: Breakfast/Networking Taylor 405

9:30 - 11:00 a.m.: Keynote Speaker

"Interconnections between Colonialism, Extreme Climate Events and Neoliberalism: The Case of Puerto Rico"

José Javier Hernández Ayala, PhD

Associate Professor of Physical and Spatial Analysis in the Graduate School of Planning at University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras. 

Former Director of the Climate Research Center in the Dept. of Geography, Environment & Planning at Sonoma State University.

11:15 - 12:15 p.m.: Speaker

"Diasporic Flights and Ecologies of Belonging"

Gbenga Adesina, PhD

Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow in Black Global and Diasporic Poetry

Furious Flower Poetry Center, JMU

12:15 - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch

Lunch presentation on BioEarth, home of the One Billion for Peace Pledge

Frances Flannery, PhD and Rodrigue Makelele, MA, Co-Founders of BioEarth

1:00 - 2:30 p.m.: Roundtable on the Jubilee Climate Farm 

Tom Benevento, Elfri Diaz, Mari Lopez, Caroline Achuro, and members of Harrisonburg’s Congolese community.

Moderated by Case Watkins, PhD – Associate Professor of Justice Studies, JMU

2:30 - 3:00 p.m.: Coffee/tea networking

3:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Speaker

"Colonial Relationality and Catastrophic Climate Change"

Reslie Cortés, PhD

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, JMU

6:00 - 8:00p.m.: Film Screening (Miller Hall 1101)

Inhabitants: Indigenous Perspectives on Restoring our World

Wellness Passport event

Thursday, Sept. 26

8:30 - 9:30 a.m.: Breakfast and networking 

9:30 - 11:30 a.m.: Site Visit

Jubilee Climate Farm (Transportation provided from JMU to 1520 Muddy Creek Rd.)

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch back at JMU (Taylor 405)

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.: Site Visit

Guided visit to the Grace Street Gallery for the Americans Who Tell The Truth Exhibit

4:30 - 6:30 p.m.: Symposium Reception for presenters, faculty, staff, and guests (Taylor 405)

Wednesday, Sept. 27

8:30 - 9:00 a.m.: Breakfast/Networking

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.: Keynote Speaker on AI (Online)

"Harnessing the Era of AI in Higher Education"

Arianna Valentini, Analyst for Research and Foresight, The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America, and the Caribbean (IESALC)

Arianna Valentini is a Political Scientist by degree and holds a Masters in Development Studies as well as a double degree in Public Policies for Education Development from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and University of Bremen. Currently she is a Policy Analyst for Research and Foresight for UNESCO IESALC. She is the co author of "ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education, a quick start guide" and the co-author of the Primer "Harnessing Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education" to be published by UNESCO IESALC in early September. 

Recording will be available later today on the Gandhi Center YouTube channel. 

11:30 - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch and book display

1:00 - 2:30 p.m.: Visiting Scholar Presentation + Q&A

"Mahatma Gandhi on Celluloid"

Dr. Chandrakant Langare, Associate Professor of English, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, India

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.: Author roundtable and discussion

Race, Gender, Class, and Criminal Justice, Second Edition

Dr. Danielle McDonald, Professor of Criminal Justice, Faculty Diversity Fellow, Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice & Organizational Leadership, Northern Kentucky University

6 - 8 p.m.: After Yang (2021) 

AI Film Screening and Discussion (Grafton-Stovall Theatre)

Thursday, Sept. 28

9 - 10 a.m.: Breakfast and networking 

10 - 11 a.m.: Keynote Speaker on AI

“AI in Education: Areas of Application in Higher Education, Pros & Cons, Opportunities & Risks”   

Michael Trucano, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution

Keynote sponsored by Research, Economic Development, and Innovation (REDI)

11 - 12 p.m.: Panel Discussion on AI (Online)

Dmytro Babik, Associate Professor, Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics, JMU

Yves-Martin Felker, Assistant Professor in Strategic Management at California State University (LA, US, scholar from Germany & UK) 

Maureen Metcalf, Advisory Board Member at The Franklin University Leadership Center, Fellow at International Leadership Association, Advisory Board - Vice Chair at JMU School of Strategic Leadership (Columbus, Ohio, US)  

Michael Trucano, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution

Moderator: Tatjana Titareva, Doctoral Assistant at Research, Economic Development, and Innovation (REDI), Research Fellow at Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence

12 - 1 p.m.: Lunch and video break

1 - 2 p.m.: JMU Faculty/Staff Research Presentations on AI

"Smart City, One World: Singapore's Response to AI Responsibility"

Dr. Philip Frana, Professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, and Independent Scholars

“Postsecondary Administrative Technology Leadership and Educational AI: An ethical shared approach”

Dr. Benjamin Selznick & Tatjana Titareva, School of Strategic Leadership Studies

“Leading the Way: Best Practices for Responsibly Integrating AI into Economics and Business Curricula”

Dr. Fariss Mousa & Tatjana Titareva, College of Business

2 - 3 p.m.: Panel Discussion on AI (JMU Faculty/Staff)

Dr. Philip L. Frana, Professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies and Independent Scholars

Dr. Benjamin S. Selznick, Associate Professor and Advisor of Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership   

Dr. Hala Nelson, Associate Professor of Applied Math

Dr. Michael J. Klein, Professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies and Coordinator of the Medical Humanities Minor

Michael Trucano, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution

Tatjana Titareva, PhD Candidate, School of Strategic Leadership Studies

Moderator: Dr. Peggy Plass, Academic Unit Head, Department of Justice Studies

3 - 3:30 p.m.: Closing Notes

Dr. Peggy Plass, Academic Unit Head, Department of Justice Studies & Dr. Taimi Castle, Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence, Professor

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: Reception for Faculty, Staff, and Presenters (The Union Taylor 404)

Thursday, Sept. 22 | Student Success Center

3 - 3:30 p.m.: Dr. Gaurav Pathania

"Gandhi's India at 75"

Gaurav J. Panthania teaches sociology & peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. Gaurav is an anti-caste activist, writer, poet and a community organizer.

3:30 - 4 p.m.: Dr. Mia Brett

"From 1662 to 2022: The Long History of White Supremacy and Abortion"

Mia Brett has a Ph.D. in History from Stony Brook University and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in African American History at Washington and Lee. She specializes in American legal history and the legal construction of race and gender.

4 - 4:30 p.m.: Dr. Spencer Leonard

"The Negative Dialectic of Anti-Imperialism: Reading Fanon's Wretched of the Earth After Decolonization"

Spencer A. Leonard is the founding editor of Sublation Magazine, the manager of Platypus Publishing, and a frequent commentator on the contemporary left. Having taught for the last five years at UVA, he will begin in the Spring teaching at James Madison University. Taking his joint-Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations and in History from the University of Chicago, he is the editor of three volumes of Marx and Engels's journalism on imperialist state forthcoming in 2023 from Rowman & Littlefield and the author of Marx, the India Question, and the Crisis of Cosmopolitanism forthcoming in 2024 from Palgrave USA.

4:30 - 5 p.m.: Questions

7 p.m.: Us Kids 

Film Screening (Grafton-Stovall Theatre)

Friday, Sept. 23 | Student Success Center

1 - 1:20 p.m.: Brenna Matlock, CISR

"Demining in Ukraine"

Brenna Matlock is the Senior Project Manager and Program Coordinator at the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR). In this role, Matlock plans and implements CISR's grants including the Senior Managers' Course in Conventional Weapons Destuction (SMC).

1:20 - 2 p.m.: Dr. Lexi de Coning

"The Decline of the West and Black Babies: Discourses of Race in Men's Rights Watch"

Alexis de Coning holds a doctorate in Media Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on the history and discursive tactics of the men's rights movement in the US. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

2 - 2:40 p.m.: Dr. Kevan Feshami

'"We stand as One": Evaluating White Nationalism's Networked Structure'

Kevan A Feshami holds a doctorate in Media Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. He is an independent researcher based in Northern Appalachia.

2:40 - 3 p.m.: Questions