PICS & CMENAS
Below is a sample of my writing clips from my work as a Research Assistant with the Program in International & Comparative Studies (PICS) and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan. These clips range from interviews with students, faculty, alumni and donors, to coverage of department events and guest lectures.
This article was written for and published by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
01
Ecologies of Empires: Ottoman Arabia, the Indian Ocean Hajj and the Global Crisis on Cholera
There is irony, Professor Michael Lowe acknowledged, in presenting his fifteen years of research at the height of a global pandemic. On October 6th, CMENAS kicked off the start of the 2021 Virtual Fall Colloquium series, Public Health and Pandemics Across the Middle East and North Africa: A Multidisciplinary Exhibition, with a guest lecture by Professor Michael Lowe from Iowa State University. At his colloquium presentation, Lowe discussed his work in Imperial Mecca: Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj (Columbia University Press, 2020) which explores themes of global public health, migration, and international cooperation in the Ottoman Empire and beyond during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
02
Celebrating Ten Years at PICS: In Conversation with Dr. Greta Uehling
A lot has changed since Dr. Greta Uehling first joined the Program in International and Comparative Studies (PICS). The University of Michigan’s football team finally ended a decade-long losing streak against their rival, Ohio State University, for one. The PICS program, too, has grown dramatically since the program’s foundation in 2005. In celebration of her tenth anniversary with the PICS program, we sat down for a conversation with Dr. Greta Uehling to discuss the PICS program and her career.
This article was written for and published by the Program in International & Comparative Studies.
This article was written for and published by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
03
Public Health and Pandemics Across the MENA:
Excerpts from the Fall 2021 Colloquium Series
CMENAS Spring 2022 Newsletter
The Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies hosted its annual colloquium series in Fall 2021. As the world continues to learn and adapt to a new “pandemic-normal,” the colloquium turned a critical eye to the discussion of public health across the Middle East and North Africa. Featuring a variety of speakers from across the globe, the series’ presentations offered a fresh and valuable examination of the interdisciplinary nature of public health and pandemic response across topics, nations, and even empires.
Read more on page 3 of newsletter.
04
In Conversation: Scholarship Winner Rachael Merrit on the Road to Rhodes and Beyond
Rachael Merritt is one of 32-American students awarded the esteemed 2022 Rhodes Scholarship. Through the scholarship, Merritt will spend the next two to three years at Oxford studying Social Science of the Internet.
A senior at the University of Michigan, where she’s currently double majoring in Russian Language & Culture and International Studies, with a concentration in International Security, Norms & Cooperation. For Merritt, achieving dreams is an old-hat trick: “The University of Michigan is the school I always wanted to go to growing up –– all of my siblings went here as well!” . . .
This article was written for and published by the Program in International & Comparative Studies.
05
Forging the 'Leaders and Best' with Klementina X. Sula
Hidden in the depths of the University of Michigan course guide is a one-of-a-kind class that aims to achieve the impossible: define “networking” –– and help students to find themselves, too.
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Klementina X. Sula is a lecturer with the Program in International and Comparative Studies (PICS) at the University of Michigan. Sula’s course, Network Your Way to an International Internship and Career, is a seven-week minicourse offered by PICS. The minicourse focuses on helping students identify their passions, strengths and goals to develop a personalized strategy to tackle internship and job applications. From resume workshops, to finding opportunities and even developing a personal brand, Sula’s class prepares students for every step of the process.
This article was written for and published by the Program in International & Comparative Studies.
06
Celebrating Ten Years at PICS: In Conversation with Melanie Tanielian
“I love my 301 course,” Professor Melanie Tanielian admitted with a laugh when asked what her ‘dream course’ would be to teach. “It’s my favorite! It’s a class that’s historically grounded but one that also allows students to also think about a particular topic as it affects us today.”
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Professor Melanie S. Tanielian is an associate professor in the History Department at the University of Michigan and is the Director of the Center for Armenian Studies. Her research focus is on humanitarianism, war, human rights & genocide, with a special focus on World War I and the Middle East. Professor Tanielian’s most recent publication, The Charity of War: Famine, Humanitarian Aid, and World War I in the Middle East (2017) explores the impact of World War I on the Ottoman Empire, and how the government responded to subsequent famine during this period.
This article was written for and published by the Program in International & Comparative Studies.