Editor’s note: This sponsored article was written by Joel Brene and DorMiya Vance, PR writing majors at Georgia State University, as part of the Atlanta Global Studies Center’s annual partnership with Global Atlanta.
With the advent of the Internet, politics and economics have become globally intertwined to the point where seemingly self-contained events can affect an entire region – and even reverberate throughout the entire world.
As the ripple effects from macro trends (see: the pandemic) create unforeseen conflicts and challenges, global competence becomes all the more vital for students and educators seeking to engage with the world responsibly.
Since its launch in 2018, the Atlanta Global Studies Center has been dedicated to equipping the next generation of international leaders in Georgia and fostering awareness on a wide range of pressing intercultural issues.
The center’s faculty and staff have supported research, curriculum enhancement and student-faculty development at several universities in Georgia, all while engaging in a variety of community outreach efforts aimed at “empowering the region’s global agenda.”
Jointly founded and run by Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, the center is also focused on programming that promotes global citizenship and career advancement.
A prime example is the fourth annual AGSC Symposium set for April 13-15 at the Georgia State University College of Law. Sponsored by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Emory University Office of Global Strategy and Initiatives and supported by Global Atlanta, the event is themed around the idea that “ATL Is Global,” showcasing the metro area’s deep international connections and how joint research projects among its key institutions are simultaneously capitalizing on and advancing these ties.
Georgia State University communications professor Anthony Lemieux, the AGSC’s co-founder, notes that the annual symposium, which has drawn upwards of 600 attendees in years past, is a place for people to expand their knowledge and tap new relationships.
“This event brings people together in a way that leaves them feeling energetic and inspired and with new questions to tackle,” Dr. Lemieux said, noting that the event will knit researchers and scholars together with private-sector nonprofits and businesses. “What we try to do is promote a lot of networking at the event so people who have mutual or shared interests can find each other and have opportunities to connect and talk.”
Years before he co-founded AGSC, Lemieux saw the importance of interdisciplinary research as he wrote his own dissertation looking at the relationship between music, identity, behavior and adolescent development.
Even today, Lemieux’s work on transcultural conflict and violence, conflict and terrorism examines a wide array of factors: health behaviors, crisis messaging, persuasion and more. He has been the principal researcher on various projects, including a Department of Homeland Security-funded program where he examined the impact of grievance on support for terrorism and nonviolent protests.
Such work requires an expansive mindset that breaks down academic siloes, Dr. Lemieux said, a focus of the center’s Atlanta Global Research and Education Collaborative, or AGREC, which links the center’s two host universities with a consortium including Emory University, Spelman College, Agnes Scott College and Kennesaw State University.
A luncheon on the second day of the symposium, Friday, April 14, will feature a showcase of “Global at Home” research projects conducted under the AGREC banner and featuring such topics as supporting Black students’ global learning, enhancing virtual STEM exchange and engaging Atlanta’s migrant communities through writing.
A kickoff reception Thursday evening will include a keynote address from Yehimi Cambrón, an Atlanta-based visual artist whose work focuses on the experience of immigrants and undocumented Americans around the themes of identity, language, community and equity. In keeping with AGSC’s focus and work, Ms. Cambrón’s address will center on the power of art to expose and address tough social and global issues.
The third and final day will feature a P-12 Teacher Workshop that will provide resources for educators interested in global skills for younger students.
Overall, the symposium will look at both acute efforts to build students’ skill sets, but also to address big-picture issues like those addressed in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Some intersections in the program include deeper dives into the fight against climate change and the long-term effects of polarization.
“Political polarization is something that is happening globally,” Dr. Lemieux says. “We also look at health outcomes in the context of community collaboration, global engagement, and specific efforts we have undertaken with some of our colleagues from the Prevention Research Center.”
Along with networking, a hallmark of the event will be its focus on helping students and researchers alike address complex issues from a variety of perspectives – equipped with the right intercultural tools.
“If you look at any one of the sessions that we will feature, there is going to be an interdisciplinary component, especially when you have the language and culture piece overlaid on the top,” Lemieux says. “But you also have to be able to understand and work through language, culture, and context to fully grasp (the topic).”
Learn more and sign up for the symposium here.
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