Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Testimonies Of War During Cuba’S Fight For Independence (1868-1898), Jorge Camacho

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In October 1868, a group of Cuban rebels from the Province of Bayamo took arms against the Spanish regime starting a war that lasted 10 years, at which point the Spanish government and the rebels reached a pact that put an end to the hostilities. As a result of this pact, Cubans were allowed to form new political parties, create newspapers that supported their “autonomistas” political views, and in 1886 the Spanish government finally abolished slavery in its entirety, putting an end to an institution that was already widely criticized. During this time of peace, due to the shortage of …

The Emergence, Persistence, And Success Of The Cuban Social Movement Las Damas De Blanco, Gail Markle

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In a three-day period, March 18-20, 2003, referred to as The Black Spring, the Cuban government arrested and imprisoned 75 journalists, human rights activists, and pro-democracy advocates. In response, the wives, mothers, and daughters of these political prisoners formed the non-violent protest organization, Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White), calling for an improvement in prison conditions and the release of their relatives. In March 2011, after eight years of Las Damas’ activism, the final prisoners were released. The women’s organization, now named the Laura Pollán Damas de Blanco Movimiento, continues its human rights activism despite continued repression. Combining …

The Charismatic Revolutionary Leadership Trajectories Of Fidel Castro And Lázaro Cárdenas: From Guerrillas To Heads Of State In The Age Of Us Imperialism, Joseph J. Garcia

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

After attempting to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista in 1953, Fidel Castro fled to Mexico where he, his brother, Raul Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara, and other revolutionaries were later jailed by the Mexican government under the orders of the Batista dictatorship to be returned to Cuba. Using his knowledge of the Mexican Revolution, Castro wrote a letter asking for help from former president and revolutionary general, Lázaro Cárdenas, appealing to his sense of revolutionary history and social justice. Cárdenas was impressed by this young revolutionary and worked to obtain political asylum for he and his comrades. This allowed Castro …

The Architecture Of The Dead: Cemetery Symbolism In Colon Cemetery, Havana, Cuba, Dana Moody

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The purpose of this study was to document and define symbolic imagery found within the grounds of the Colon Cemetery in Havana, Cuba. Memorials erected to the dead use symbology to tell stories about the departed, giving us clues to the deceased’s values and philosophies, as well as their religion, ethnicity, social memberships, occupations, education, level of wealth, and thoughts on the afterlife (Keister, 2004). Using images of Colon Cemetery from a photographic documentary series, Havana: Behind the Facade, architectural and cemetery symbology was grouped into categories, researched for meaning, and sought for interpretations to reveal clues about Cuban culture …

An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Cuban Cyberactivism, Neta Kanny

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article applies power-law degree distribution and network theory as a conceptual framework for assessing the effectiveness of Cuban cyberactivism based on an analysis of previous scholarly work on the topic. While Cuban cyberactivism indicates the potential for a more accessible, just, and transparent media environment, the movement continues to face serious obstacles due to extensive controls put in place by the Communist Party of Cuba.

Full Issue - Jgi V.14, N.1

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Full issue of Journal of Global Initiatives volume 15, number 1 - Special Issue: The Year of Cube

Introduction To The Year Of Cuba Special Issue, Daniel Paracka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

As part of the Kennesaw State University’s Annual Country Study Program, the 2019-2020 academic year was dedicated to the study of Cuba. The Year of Cuba (YoC)1 consisted of 27 distinct educational events with over 2600 students in attendance from 74 different majors and 11 colleges. The breadth and depth of the programs provided a strong basis for understanding Cuba in both its historical and contemporary contexts.

Between Subject And Object: The Identity Of A Slave In Juan Francisco Manzano’S Autobiography, Carmen Salama

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The purpose of this research is to explore how the oscillation between violence and benevolence by the patriarchal master marks the dual status of the slave as the subject-object. This duplicity exists not only in the identity of the slave but also in the identity of Cuban society in the Cuban abolitionist narrative of the 19th century. My research focuses on the abolitionist work La Autobiografía de un Esclavo (1835) by Juan Francisco Manzano. Expanding the post-colonial approach of academics such as Claudette Williams and Lorna Williams, first I analyze the limits of property rights over the slave imposed by …

“Your Chance To Make Your Voice Heard”: Akaliyat Magazine And The Creation Of A Queer Community In Morocco, Benjamin Ale-Ebrahim

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Publicly claiming an LGBTQ identity in Morocco can place a young person under the threat of violence, both on the part of the state, which criminalizes homosexuality under Article 489 of the Penal Code, and from actors within Moroccan society who wish to uphold a heteronormative conception of Moroccan national identity. The internet, with its potential for anonymous communication, serves as a relatively free and safe space for young queer Moroccans to explore their sexuality and gender identity. Akaliyat Magazine, an internet-based publication founded in 2015, serves as one of the only Arabic-language media outlets in Morocco that focuses on …

Analyzing The Moroccan Artistic Presence At The Centre Pompidou Collections, Sirine Abdelhedi

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article highlights the cultural, economic, historical, and political criteria that influence the current international policy of the Pompidou Center, particularly a new interest in non-Western art in Arabic-speaking countries. It focuses on works produced by Moroccan artists that are part of the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art - Centre Pompidou in Paris. It includes a brief introduction to some key milestones in Moroccan art history that help contextualize the research project.

U. S. - Moroccan Relations In The Context Of The Anfa Conference, Karim Bejjit

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This essay seeks to shed new light on the intricate course of U.S.-Moroccan relations following the landing of American troops on the Atlantic coasts of Morocco. The Anfa Conference and Sultan Mohamed V’s dinner meeting with President Roosevelt marked an important stage in the process of Moroccan struggle for independence. Roosevelt’s personal interest in the Moroccan situation may have accentuated the inconsistencies in U.S. foreign policy in the 1940s regarding the French colonial empire and confronted its fundamental idealism with the exigencies of pragmatic politics. The vicissitudes of the war and America’s deep commitment to its French ally as well …

Language Debates And The Changing Context Of Educational Policy In Morocco, Taoufik Jaafari

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Language is a critical basis of local identity and a vital tool for global communication. In multilingual Morocco, the issue of language instruction has been highly politicized, a factor that has contributed to poor educational practice. This article aims at providing a brief description of Morocco’s linguistic landscape together with the language policies first established in Morocco by the French colonizer. It goes on to further assess the evolution of language education policy and makes recommendations for strengthening Morocco’s multilingualism.

Full Issue - Jgi V. 14, N. 2

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Full issue of Journal of Global Initiatives volume 14, number 2.

Panoptic Vision: Disjuncture, Transgressions, And Imagination In Laila Marrakchi’S Film Rock The Casbah, Touria Khannous

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article focuses on Laila Marrakchi’s film Rock the Casbah (2013), which reflects the exchange between global and local cultural and sociopolitical ideologies of a new Morocco. The film highlights the contradictions of globalization as it occurs through disjuncture. Arjun Appadurai’s theory of the world in motion and “a world of flows” provides a relevant framework for this analysis. The article uses Appadurai’s notion of “disjuncture” as a theoretical framework to discuss the dynamics and interrelationships involved in the protagonist’s movement between Western mediascapes as a filmstar and her Moroccan family’s local context. Appadurai’s conceptualization of globalization is crucial for …

The Year Of Morocco: An Introduction, Daniel Paracka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Marking the 35th anniversary of Kennesaw State University’s award-winning Annual Country Study Program, the 2018-19 academic year focused on Morocco and consisted of 22 distinct educational events, with over 1,700 people in attendance. It also featured an interdisciplinary team-taught Year of Morocco (YoM) course that included a study abroad experience to Morocco (March 28-April 7, 2019), an academic conference on “Gender, Identity, and Youth Empowerment in Morocco” (March 15-16, 2019), and this dedicated special issue of the Journal of Global Initiatives. Most events were organized through six different College Spotlights titled: The Taste of Morocco; Experiencing Moroccan Visual Arts; …

Between The Circle And The Line: Ibn Khaldun’S View Of History And Change, Allen James Fromherz

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Historians from many different eras and contexts have viewed history and historical change as either linear or circular in nature. Giambattista Vico (d. 1744 CE), the Italian philosopher and historian, organized history in a cyclical way as different nations and peoples rise and fall. At the same time, according to Vico (2000), humanity was destined towards equity. Sima Qian of China (d. 86 BCE) viewed the past as a series of circular attempts to restore the Mandate of Heaven and consolidate central power, attempts that were then followed by breakdowns into feudal states (Qian, 1995). For Qian, history seemed to …

The Changing Roles Of Female Visual Artists In Morocco, Samir El Azhar

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Female artists are actively participating in the development and growth of visual arts in Morocco. This article seeks to highlight their important contribution in the Moroccan visual arts. It deals with the access of women to the field of visual art, delineates successive categories for understanding the types of work female artists have engaged in since the independence of the country in 1956, and the challenges that these artists have been facing. It focuses on the artistic experiences of specific artists, believed to be, representative of some historical era or artistic trend. Moreover, it tries to put these artists into …

Morocco’S Makhzen And The Challenge Of National Development, Zakaria Fatih

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article explores the question of national development in Morocco considering the institution of the makhzen. It asserts that to adequately assess Morocco’s national development as a post-colonial country, it is necessary to rely on an economic model based in politics rather than in theories exclusively informed by classical and neoclassical economics. Among the key economists called upon to investigate the validity of politics in discussions of national development and income inequality are the following: Simon Kuznets, Thomas Piketty, W. A. Lewis, and the duo Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, all of whom continue a long tradition of economic …

Year Of India: Introduction To The Special Issue, Daniel Paracka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Year of India marked the 34th anniversary of Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) award-winning annual country study program. The program has been a major force for internationalizing our campus introducing thousands of students to the rich diversity of world cultures that make up the human family and helping them to develop a complex understanding of today’s interdependent world. The program draws upon the expertise of our faculty to offer special courses, organize lectures and events, engage in collaborative research, partner with Indian universities and community groups, and mentor and assist students interested in learning about India and its place in …

Jgi Volume 13, Number 1 - Full Issue

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This is the full issue of Volume 13, Number 1 (132 pages).

Contains:

• Introduction to the Special Issue by Dan Paracka
• Vasco da Gama's Voyages to India: Messianism, Mercantilism and Sacred Exploits by S. M. Ghazanfar
• The World Parliament of Religions, the Swami, and the Evangelist: Contextualizing Late 19th-Century American Responses to Hinduism by Anne R. Richards
• Connections and Disconnections: The Making of Bombay/Mumbai as India's "Global City" by Ravi Ghadge
• India's Unbalanced Urban Growth: An Appraisal of Trends and Policies by Purva Sharma
• Housing for All in India and Its Future Sustainable Development by Nadia Shah
• Is India Becoming …

Vasco Da Gama’S Voyages To India: Messianism, Mercantilism, And Sacred Exploits, S. M. Ghazanfar

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama (1460-1524), was the first European to sail from Portugal to India. Accolades for this achievement have long obscured the messianic motivation for the 1498 voyage, “to invade, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens (Muslims) and pagans and other enemies of Christ; to reduce them to perpetual slavery; to convert them to Christianity; [and] to acquire great wealth by force of arms from the Infidels,” as sanctified by various Papal Bulls, together called “the Doctrine of Discovery” (Dum Diversas, 1452; Romanus Pontifex, 1455; Inter Caetera, 1493). The other key motive in …

The World Parliament Of Religions, The Swami, And The Evangelist: Contextualizing Late 19th-Century American Responses To Hinduism, Anne Richards

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article explores how Hinduism and other religions and philosophies outside the Christian traditions were received by Americans influenced by secularism, science, globalization, and expanding U.S. imperialism in the late 19th century. The article also explores the role of two missionaries, John Henry Barrows and Swami Vivekananda, arguably the most influential participants in the World Parliament of Religions of 1893.

Get Karma, good—well rubbed into you—absorb it, wallow in it, and then you will batter down all the obstacles of life.
—New York Times book review, 1896

Stanislavsky Inspired Acting Lessons For Life And Leadership, Harrison O. Long Prof.

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

An artist’s creative work can become the primary lens through which he or she sees the world; it is a fundamental tool for interpreting life. But artistry can also teach a great deal about effective leadership. Based on the principles of Konstantin Stanislavsky, the father of modern acting, this essay reflects on five important lessons for life and leadership: The Power of Purpose, The Power of Context, The Power of Listening, The Power of Partnerships, and The Power of Community. After a year of studying Russian culture, history, and foreign policy, I believe these lessons can be applied on the …

The Economic Roots Of The Cold War: The Imf, Ito And Other Economic Issues In Post-War Soviet-American Relations, Kristina V. Minkova

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In light of newly released archival resources, this article examines the traditional historiography of Soviet-American relations focusing on economic relations at the end of World War II.

Ethnicity, Religion And Violence In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jusuf Salih

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The violence that erupted in the Balkans at the end of the second millennium made fierce enemies of people who had lived together in peace as neighbors, friends, classmates, and married couples. Nationalism, chauvinism, and religious fanaticism quickly grew stronger, leading to the disappearance of centuries-long harmony among its inhabitants. Among the reasons for the conflict were the experienced communist leaders who skillfully used religious slogans to advance their campaigns; also, religious leaders became close associates to political leaders with hopes that they would attain the religious rights denied and limited during the old governance. As a result, nationalism and …

The Sacred Forest And The Mythical Python: Ecology, Conservation, And Sustainability In Kom, Cameroon, C. 1700-2000, Walter Gam Nkwi Dr

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Scholars have taken a keen interest in the social and cultural meanings of the African landscape in the reconstruction of the continent’s history (Giblin, 1992; Spear, 1997; Wagner, 1995). But how much did Africans know of their environmental past? This article explores the indigenous history of ecology, focusing on the medicinal forest (ak’u mii-fii) and the mythical python (iigw-im) and their link with livelihood and sustainability in Kom, Cameroon. The paper argues that the Kom people have always been conserving their forests since the pre-colonial era. During the colonial period and especially in the 1930s many hectares of land including …

A Lagoa Do Cacimbo, Heather Leila H. Jordan Mph

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

A Lagoa do Cacimbo is a work of fiction which explores the dissonance between modern, urban, middle class Angolans and their rural past.

Critical Pedagogy And Language Acquisition: Benefiting From A Country’S Crisis To Improve Second Language Instruction, Jamile Forcelini

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Education has the power to influence learners to either accept reality or critically deliberate and change it. Critical thinking is vital to empower learners and society as a whole to move from a practice of inertia to Freire’s practice of freedom as well as humanization. Change, however is only attainable if pursued with one of the most powerful social tools: Language; the most perceptible manifestation of culture and culture is our connection to the world, what unites us in society, identifies us communally, and serves us as guidance for civic conduct (Larson and Smalley, 1972). The present article aims to …

Blending Myth And Reality: Maritime Portugal And Renaissance Portraits Of The Royal Court, Barbara Von Barghahn

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Historians have long recognized the singular nautical achievements of sixteenth-century Portugal. The Renaissance age of navigation was characterized by intrepid Portuguese mariners who charted unknown waters in double or triple-masted caravels. Vasco da Gama opened a route around Africa to India in 1497. Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 basically steered the same course to South Asia, but deviated on his return to set anchor off the coast of Brazil, the “Land of the True Cross.” Fernão Magalhães’s ship “Victoria” managed to circumnavigate the earth between 1519 and 1521. These Portuguese voyagers substantially changed the medieval world picture. Their maritime expeditions …

Vasco Da Gama, The Explorer: Motivations And Myths, S. Ghazanfar

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama (1460-1524), was the first European to sail from Portugal to India. The “da Gama epoch” refers to the era of European commercial and imperial expansion in Asia. The primary motivation for the 1498 voyage, however, was messianic, to ‘vanquish and subdue all Saracens (Muslims) and pagans and other enemies of Christ, to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to convert to Christianity,’ as declared in various Papal Bulls, together called “the Doctrine of Discovery.” The Church divided the world into Spanish and Portuguese zones, both to be part of the Papal Empire. Over …