WHEN:
Tuesday, November 13th, 2018
06:30 PM
WHERE:
Room 123, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Borders are sites of control, crossing, difference, transgression, and at times, engagement. They are often embraced for the purposes of fragmenting, dividing, or disrupting societies, ecologies, landscapes, narratives, and imaginations. Yet there is much more that goes into their ‘design’ than meets the eye, even as the ‘design’ logics that justify their existence can also produce unanticipated outcomes that can undermine the initial attempts at bordering. How so? We will hear from three keen observers of borders in very different worlds: India/Pakistan, US/Mexico, and land-water borders within the US.
This event is hosted by MDes Risk & Resilience.
Pizza & refreshments will be provided.
James Wescoat
Aga Khan Professor of Landscape Architecture and Geography (Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture) + Co-Director of the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jim earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Louisiana State University and practiced landscape architecture in the U.S. and Middle East before returning to graduate study in geography at the University of Chicago with an emphasis on water resources. His current water research includes studies of Rurban Water Planning in Maharashtra with the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design, and Water-Energy Nexus management in Punjab Pakistan and the UAE. His current landscape research includes studies of Indo-Islamic waterworks and gardens in Delhi, the Deccan, and Lahore; and collaborative work with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Aga Khan Agency for Habitat.
Ieva Jusionyte
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Social Studies, Harvard University
Ieva’s research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of political and legal anthropology, with a focus on the study of state power and the materiality of violence. She is the author of Threshold: Emergency Responders on the U.S.-Mexico Border (University of California Press, 2018), which was selected as the winner of the California Series in Public Anthropology International Publishing Competition and shortlisted for Juan E. Méndez Book Award by the Duke Human Rights Center. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and featured in The Guardian, The Atlantic, and the BBC.
Amy Chester
Managing Director, Rebuild by Design
Amy Chester has spent more than 20 years in municipal policy, community engagement, real estate development, and communications advocating for the urban environment. As the Managing Director of Rebuild by Design Amy is responsible for the organization’s day-to-day operations and management in addition to overseeing its fundraising and strategic direction. Previously, Chester worked for NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Legislative Affairs and as a Senior Policy Advisor. Outside of government, Amy has also consulted for numerous nonprofit organizations and on many electoral campaigns.
