{"id":4393,"date":"2024-08-26T12:11:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T17:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/?page_id=4393"},"modified":"2025-08-28T09:39:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T14:39:55","slug":"31st-annual-international-roundtable","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/events\/international-roundtable\/31st-annual-international-roundtable\/","title":{"rendered":"31st Annual International Roundtable"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"span-8\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Slowing Down, Seeking Roots, Making Sanctuary: Belonging Beyond the Anthropocene<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"809\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/08\/Correspondence-1-edit-v5.3-18-x-24-poster-1-809x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/08\/Correspondence-1-edit-v5.3-18-x-24-poster-1-809x1024.jpg 809w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/08\/Correspondence-1-edit-v5.3-18-x-24-poster-1-237x300.jpg 237w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/08\/Correspondence-1-edit-v5.3-18-x-24-poster-1-768x972.jpg 768w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/08\/Correspondence-1-edit-v5.3-18-x-24-poster-1-1214x1536.jpg 1214w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/08\/Correspondence-1-edit-v5.3-18-x-24-poster-1-1619x2048.jpg 1619w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/08\/Correspondence-1-edit-v5.3-18-x-24-poster-1-scaled.jpg 2023w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<section class=\"link-group block-container\" >\n        <div class=\"link-group__featured-row\">\n        <div class=\"link-group__featured-inner\">\n            <div class=\"link-group__featured-inner-inner\">\n                <ul class=\"link-group__featured-link\">\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/qhD4i6WUwESDJMD5A\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    Click Here to Register for the IRT\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/padlet.com\/hwilcox11\/2024-international-roundtable-a-digital-resource-guide-g66s3qqe8ub03e4l\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    Roundtable Resources\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/10\/IRT-Program-draft-4.pdf\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    IRT Program\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/469\/2024\/10\/For-those-spirited-away.pdf\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    For those spirited away &#8211; Slides provided by Keynote, Bayo Akomolafe\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gEnPt2MKGE8\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    For those spirited away &#8211; Youtube\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                    <\/ul>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cSlowing&nbsp;down&nbsp;is not about reducing one\u2019s speed but about lingering in the places we are not used to.&nbsp;Seeking&nbsp;out new questions. Becoming accountable to more than what rests on the surface.&nbsp;Seeking&nbsp;roots. \u2026 Making Sanctuary.\u201d<br>Bayo Akomolafe (2020)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inspired by the idea of&nbsp;slow&nbsp;curation, we ask how we may stretch our collective attention span, to create and inhabit an extended flow of compassion, creativity and curiosity, of belonging in this time of global turmoil. We hope that the theme of IRT 2025 will grow out of our conversations and learnings from IRT 2024, allowing us to further explore the spacious idea of \u201cbelonging beyond the anthropocene\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In trying to understand belonging\u2019s multivalences and messiness, we invite the community to think beyond human-centered frameworks. The prevailing sense of despair might not be new to humanity, but what looms larger is the constriction of our human imagination by the imperatives of capital, the nation-state, and the technologies harnessed by them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does belonging ask of us? What does it mean to be humbled by our fellow human beings and by other beings who have graciously shared the planet with us, and to things and forces that elude rationality?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What practices and ideas related to belonging might emerge if we challenge frameworks of modernity predicated on the idea of human rationality, constructed through binary logics: \u201chuman vs. nature\u201d, \u201cwhite vs. black\u201d, \u201cmen vs. women\u201d, etc. These ideas were supposed to bring us \u201cprogress\u201d and\/or \u201cfreedom\u201d. But where are we now? At a crossroads? At a precipice? What does it feel like to dwell in spaces of liminality? What does it mean to find spaces\u2013for&nbsp;roots and sanctuaries\u2013between categories that have so far anchored, shaped, and separated subjectivities, communities, and movements? What does it take to cultivate a politics that&nbsp;seeks&nbsp;not solidness in solidarity, but flows of imagination and belonging between and beyond humans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it ok if we begin our Roundtable with questions, and end with more questions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it ok if,&nbsp;for&nbsp;at least part of the roundtable, we do not sit at a table or even on chairs; if we relate to each other and the world around us in ways that do not solely depend on the verbal language of humans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belonging invites multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiries along a vast spectrum of scales: from digital belonging complicated by mis- and disinformation to analog belonging fostered through aesthetic practices or artistic creations, from planetary belonging (climate justice and sustainability) to belonging on campus (in relation to our sesquicentennial celebration and other efforts in community building). How do we make sanctuaries in all of the time-spaces we inhabit?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>International Roundtable 2024 Theme Selection Panel<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hui Wilcox, Dean, Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship<br>Sedric McClure, Associate Dean, Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship<br>Mozhdeh Khodarahmi, Associate Library Director &#8211; AIRS<br>Jo\u00eblle Vitiello, Professor &amp; Chair French and Francophone Studies<br>Gonzalo Guzman, Assistant Professor of Educational Studies<br>Lela Pierce, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History<br><\/span>Yinka Saba, Neuroscience, &#8217;24<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br><\/span>Elizabeth Bolsoni, Program Coordinator, Student Research and Creativity <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>International Roundtable 2024 Organizing Committee<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hui Wilcox, Dean, Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship<br>Jo\u00eblle Vitiello, Professor &amp; Chair French and Francophone Studies<br>Khant Wai Yan, International Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Critical Theory, &#8217;25<br>Lisa McCarthy, Administrative Coordinator, Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship<br>Shakthi Palraj, Economics, &#8217;27<br>Mozhdeh Khodarahmi, Associate Library Director &#8211; AIRS<br>Nadia Linoo, Program Coordinator, Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship<br>Sedric McClure, Associate Dean, <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship<\/span><br>Ruth Janisch, Associate Dean, Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br><\/span>Elizabeth Bolsoni, Program Coordinator, Student Research and Creativity<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br><\/span>Suzanne Burr, Program Coordinator, Community Engagement Center<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br><\/span>Khaldoun Samman, Professor of Sociology<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"link-group block-container\" >\n        <div class=\"link-group__featured-row\">\n        <div class=\"link-group__featured-inner\">\n            <div class=\"link-group__featured-inner-inner\">\n                <ul class=\"link-group__featured-link\">\n                                            <li class=\"link-group__link-item\">\n                            <a class=\"base-cta-featured\" href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/qhD4i6WUwESDJMD5A\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    Click Here to Register for the IRT\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"base-symbol base-cta-featured__arrow\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    <use xlink:href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/macalester-2020\/dist\/svgs\/symbol-arrow.svg#icon\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n                                    <\/ul>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<\/div><div class=\"span-4\">\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plenary Schedule<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wednesday, October 9, 2024&nbsp;<\/strong><em>(Alexander G. Hill Ballroom, Kagin Hall<\/em><em>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>4:45 p.m. &#8211; 6:30 p.m.&nbsp;Opening Keynote: <strong>Bayo Akomolafe<\/strong> &#8211;<em> For Those Spirited Away: Making Sanctuary as a Vocation of Exile in Restless Times<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thursday, October 10, 2024&nbsp;<\/strong><em>(Weyerhaeuser Boardroom)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">11:30 a.m. &#8211; 12:45 p.m.&nbsp;Keynote Two: <strong>John Kim &#8211; <\/strong><em>Solidarity Programs in the Anthropocene<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>12:45 p.m. &#8211; 1:15 p.m. Lunch provided<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1:15 p.m. &#8211; 2:30 p.m. Community Roundtable Conversations: <\/span><em>Belonging Beyond the Anthropocene<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Friday, October 11, 2024&nbsp;<\/strong><em>(Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">12:45 p.m. &#8211; 2:15 p.m. Closing Reflection<\/span> with Participatory Art Making<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Student-led Sessions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wednesday, October 9, 2024 <\/strong><em>(<em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Davis Court<\/span>, Markim Hall)<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">8:15 a.m. &#8211; 9:30 a.m.&nbsp;<\/span>Student Panel #1:<strong> Mathilda Barr \u201825 and Minori Kishi \u201825<\/strong> &#8211; <em>What\u2019s on your plate? Local food systems as pathways to ecological and cultural sanctuary<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>9:45 a.m. &#8211; 11:00 a.m. Student Panel #2: <strong>Meira Smit \u201825 and Joel Sadofsky &#8217;25<\/strong> &#8211; <em>Sitting with the Prairie: Doing Nothing in Multispecies Community<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>11:15 p.m.  &#8211; 12:30 p.m. Student Panel #3:<strong> Leo Corral &#8217;25 and Luna Johnston &#8217;25:<\/strong> <em>Showing Up to the Minga:<\/em> Cultivating Belonging Through Mutual-Aid in a Multicultural Context (Workshop with guest Daniel Bryan)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>12:45 p.m.  &#8211; 2:00 p.m. Student Panel #4:<strong> Kampe Rushoka \u201826<\/strong> &#8211; <em>Truth Talking: A Grassroots Method Used to Heal a Divided Country<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thursday, October 10, 2024&nbsp;<\/strong><em>(<em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Davis Court<\/span>, Markim Hall<\/em>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10:00 a.m. &#8211; 11:15 a.m.&nbsp;<\/span>Student Panel #5: <strong>Meira Smit \u201825, Stella Gardner<\/strong> <strong>&#8217;25<\/strong> &#8211; <em>Sow and Tell: Planting Seeds of Change in Environmental Storytelling<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2:45 p.m.  &#8211; 4:00 p.m. Student Panel #6:<strong> Marouane El Bahraoui &#8217;25 and Nancy Bostrom<\/strong> &#8211; <em>International Students Research Project: Belonging and Community<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4:15 p.m.  &#8211; 5:30 p.m. Student Panel #7:<strong> Yamali Rodas Figueroa &#8217;27, Dani Arana &#8217;26, Damaris Zamora-Aguilon<\/strong> <strong>&#8216;2<\/strong>6 &#8211; <em>Cultivating Identity and Empowerment: Celebrating Central American Culture and Building Sanctuary Spaces<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Friday, October 11, 2024 (<\/strong><em><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Davis Court<\/span>, Markim Hall<\/em>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>10:45 a.m. &#8211; 12:00 p.m. Student Panel #8: <strong>Aram Petrosyan &#8217;27, <strong>Akshat Koirala<\/strong> &#8217;26, Mozhdeh Khodarahmi, Bethany Miller<\/strong> &#8211; <em>Digital Sanctuary and Belonging in the Age of AI<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Slowing Down, Seeking Roots, Making Sanctuary: Belonging Beyond the Anthropocene \u201cSlowing&nbsp;down&nbsp;is not about reducing one\u2019s speed but about lingering in the places we are not used to.&nbsp;Seeking&nbsp;out new questions. Becoming accountable to more than what rests on the surface.&nbsp;Seeking&nbsp;roots. \u2026 Making Sanctuary.\u201dBayo Akomolafe (2020) Inspired by the idea of&nbsp;slow&nbsp;curation, we ask how we may stretch [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":829,"featured_media":0,"parent":342,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4393","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/829"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4393"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5497,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4393\/revisions\/5497"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/global-citizenship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}