March 15, 2016

Teach-in to explore European refugee crisis

Share this story

By Brian McNeill

Syrian and Iraqi immigrants getting off a boat from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos. <br>Ggia via Wikimedia Commons, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Syrian and Iraqi immigrants getting off a boat from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Ggia via Wikimedia Commons, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
A teach-in at Virginia Commonwealth University will explore the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis in Europe.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Thursday, March 24, from 7-9 p.m. in room 1201 of the Academic Learning Commons, 1000 Floyd Ave.

The crisis began last year as hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees fled their home countries – such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq – to seek asylum in the European Union and elsewhere.

The teach-in will feature:

  • Christopher Burdett, Ph.D., instructor of political science in the College of Humanities and Sciences, who will speak on “European Dis-Union: Causes & Consequences.”
  • Robert Godwin-Jones, Ph.D., professor of German and international studies in the School of World Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences, who will speak on “The Evolving German Reaction to the Immigrant Wave.”
  • Bernardo Piciché, Ph.D., assistant professor of Italian and coordinator of Italian studies in the School of World Studies, who will speak on “The Italian Response to the Mediterranean Tragedy.”
  • Mayda Topoushian, Ph.D., instructor of international studies in the School of World Studies, who will serve as moderator.

The teach-in is part of an ongoing series, “Migration, Refugees and Displaces Persons,” sponsored by the international studies program of the School of World Studies. Previous events included lectures and teach-ins on the plight of Syrian refugees, refugee resettlement in Virginia and “ISIS/ISIL or Dae’sh ... What's in a Name?”

“As global citizens, our students are engaged and hungry to learn about events that occur in faraway places but have direct relevance to issues and policies that will impact us,” Topoushian said. “In addition, these teach-ins and lectures help connect the VCU community to the Greater Richmond community and present outreach opportunities with nonprofit organizations such as the International Red Cross, International Rescue Committee and other community-based nonprofit organizations to discuss and inform us about their work in the field and offer firsthand testimonies about the gravity of the Syrian refugee crisis.

“Ultimately, we hope that such debate could be transformative, could challenge our humanity and spark an interest to participate in the raging domestic political discourse about legal and/or illegal migration in this country.”

 

Subscribe for free to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday.