Ming Wan Analyzes Possible Outcomes of Obama's China Trip

CHSS staff GLOA

2009-11-17T15:06:11Z

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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/asia/july-dec09/ming_11-16.html" target="_blank">PBS Interview</a>

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China's preferred outcomes of the visit could involve its core national interests, including getting the United States to pledge to not sell arms to Taiwan and not mention Tibet's efforts to gain independence, said Ming Wan, director of global affairs program and professor of government and politics at George Mason University in Virginia. Meanwhile, the U.S. might consider it a breakthrough if China agreed to raise the value of its currency, the yuan, to the U.S. dollar in order to level the playing field for the cost of goods. But even though both countries could consider different outcomes the mark of a successful trip, the basic goal for both is to be more accommodating toward each other's concerns, Ming said. View his interview here: <script src="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/js/pap/embed.js?news01n350dqca0" type="text/javascript"></script>

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Danny & Dee added Global, PIA.

2009-11-17T10:01:00Z

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Published Mason's Global Affairs Director Interviewed by PBS's NewsHour

President Barack Obama met with Chinese President Hu Jintao Monday during his four-nation Asia tour. China analyst Ming Wan of George Mason University describes potential outcomes of the trip and how the country views Mr. Obama in a Web-only video.

Ming Wan Analyzes Possible Outcomes of Obama's China Trip

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Ming Wan Analyzes Possible Outcomes of Obama's China Trip

2009-11-17T18:24:37Z

B.J. Koubaroulis

2009-11-09T23:04:00Z

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<a href="http://chnm.gmu.edu/freedomwithoutwalls/" target="_blank">Center for History and New Media</a>

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On Monday Nov. 9, 2009, students at George Mason University celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by tearing down a replica that was built on campus. The wall, complete with graffiti, was built by students as part of Freedom Without Walls – a series of events organized by Mason’s Center for History and New Media. Monday, students and faculty gathered in front of the clock tower near the Johnson Center at Mason’s Fairfax campus. The tearing down of the wall was to commemorate the unification of East Germany and West Germany and the peaceful change that can happen throughout the world, organizers said. “It’s really great to see this day since we’ve been planning it for eight months and I’m really proud of the way that it evolved,” said Jacob Kohut, a 23-year-old graduate student in the school of music. “We had this idea of making it about social action. That’s why we have all these signs here because there are still issues in the world that are similar to the ones we experienced with the Berlin wall.” Signs at the event called for peace, social justice, tolerance and change. Before the tearing down of the wall, students and faculty were encouraged to speak out with the use of a microphone that was positioned in front of the replica. Monday’s event was a culmination of Freedom Without Walls, which was a series of events that included art exhibits, lectures, debates, a discussion with the German ambassador and more. George Mason University was one of more than 25 universities to receive a grant from the German Embassy to participate in the national Freedom Without Walls campaign. <object width="400" height="265"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7407872&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="265" src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7407872&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed> </object> <a href="http://vimeo.com/7407872">IconoClash! Preview</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2558280">David J. Miller</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.

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2009-11-09T23:04:00Z

"We had this idea of making it about social action. That’s why we have all these signs here because there are still issues in the world that are similar to the ones we experienced with the Berlin wall."

Jacob Kohut, George Mason University graduate student

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Published Students celebrate 20 years since Berlin Wall came down.

On Monday Nov. 9, 2009, students at George Mason University celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by tearing down a replica that was built on campus.

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Commemorative Berlin Wall Torn Down on Campus

2009-11-10T19:46:38Z

2009-08-08T13:24:00Z

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2009-08-08T13:24:00Z

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Published

In a recent article, Public and International Affairs professor Peter Mandaville illustrates the rise of Muslim hip hop as a new hybrid form of expression and social outlet of Muslim youth. Read the whole article in the <a href="http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/1426">Global Studies Review</a>, published by Mason's Center for Global Studies.

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Hip Hop and Urban Islam in Europe

2009-10-28T00:15:19Z

http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/1426

2009-08-08T13:02:24Z

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In fall 2009, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages will offer a new course in Arabic Media, FRLN 330. The course is designed to provide students with the basic skills and vocabulary required for understanding the language of newspapers, magazines, television and internet news.  It will cover a wide range of topics such as business, elections, political demonstrations, trials, conflicts, terrorism, disasters, and aid. At the end of the course, students will be able to read and comprehend moderately complex Arabic texts from written or oral media sources. To be successful in this course, students should have a high intermediate knowledge of Arabic. FRLN 330 001 Arab Media is taught by Omar Salawdeh and meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1030 to 1145 in Robinson A 210. For more information contact: The Department of Modern and Classical Languages 233 Thompson Hall, MSN 3E5 4400 University Drive Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 703. 993.1220 <a href="mailto:language@gmu.edu">language@gmu.edu</a>

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2009-08-08T13:02:24Z

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Published

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New Course in Arabic Media

2009-08-10T16:25:54Z

Jeff Mantz

2009-07-09T15:11:00Z

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<a href="http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/322" target="_blank">Blood Diamonds of the Digital Age: Coltan and the Eastern Congo</a>

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Jeff Mantz in the Eastern Congo

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2009-07-09T15:11:00Z

It is not surprising then that nearly a decade after a few daring investigative reports first emerged divulging how war in the eastern Congo was being fueled by the global trade in coltan—a dense silicate necessary for most of the electronic products we have today—both the ore itself and the story it told about the digital age linger in relative obscurity.

Jeff Mantz, Department of Sociology and Anthropology

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Published Blood Diamonds of the Digital Age: Coltan and the Eastern Congo

Jeff Mantz from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology is back in the Congo, where he is pursuing field studies about coltan. He recently wrote "Blood Diamonds of the Digital Age: Coltan and the Eastern Congo."

Mantz Pursuing Field Studies in Congo

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Mantz Pursuing Field Studies in Congo

2009-11-05T14:35:06Z

http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/322

B.J. Koubaroulis

2009-06-10T17:28:43Z

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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/21/AR2009052104697.html" target="_blank">Washington Post Story</a>

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George Mason University offers ARAB 380, a class that explores the different dialects of the Arabic language. Iraqi is the focus for Fall 2009. "Iraqi in particular is the dialect that concerns many Americans these days," said Sana Hilmi, Arabic coordinator. "Iraq is the hot spot. A lot of my students either went or will be going for few months; and they would like to learn this dialect. It is a dialect that needs to be studied because of the many linguistic changes and derivations we have." In ARAB 380 students will study of the structure of one Arabic dialect with comparison to Modern Standard Arabic and the classical Fus-ha. The course includes study of literature, proverbs, and culture associated with that dialect. Many students who travel abroad experience "language culture shock," said Hilmi. "They will not sound anything close to the spoken language. This is because what they have learned is what they should write and what they should use in a formal setting." ARAB 380 will cover Iraqi proverbs, riddles, jokes, folklore stories and songs and will look at the different ethnic groups in Iraq with focuses on the Baghdadi Dialect. Hilmi will also introduce many guest-teachers, including one who teaches Iraqi at Georgetown, to talk about the dialect of the south which is close to the Gulf Dialect. "Besides the language, I think this course will also give students a lot of insight into the Iraqi people, culture, and customs," Hilmi said.

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2009-06-10T17:28:43Z

Iraqi in particular is the dialect that concerns many Americans these days. Iraq is the hot spot. A lot of my students either went or will be going there, and they would like to learn this dialect.

Sana Hilmi, Arabic Coordinator

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George Mason University offers ARAB 380, a class that explores the different dialects of the Arabic language. Iraqi is the focus for Fall 2009. “Iraqi in particular is the dialect that concerns many Americans these days,” said Sana Hilmi, Arabic professor and coordinator. “Iraq is the hot spot. A lot of my students either went or will be going there, and they would like to learn this dialect. It is a dialect that needs to be studied because of the many linguistic changes and derivations we have.”

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Iraqi the Focus of Arabic Dialects Class

2009-09-25T01:14:45Z

CHSS Staff

2009-05-22T14:41:42Z

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During the spring 2009 semester, Mason professors Michael Chang and T. Mills Kelly from the Department of History and Art History created a Post-Socialist Film Series that focused on the end of the Cold War and what has come afterwards. The series featured prominent documentary filmmakers who showed their films and then answered questions from students, faculty, staff, and members of the community. “We were aiming to use film and filmmaking as avenues of emotional and intellectual engagement with the experiences of people living in areas that are often labeled "post-socialist space," said Chang. “I think we hoped to get beyond the headlines through the medium of cinematic storytelling.” The first interactive discussion took place during the conference 1989: Looking Back, Looking Forward and featured two award-winning filmmakers: Elvira Dones and Carma Hinton. Dones, Albania’s best-known writer and filmmaker, presented scenes from her film Stuck about the reappearance of the blood feud in post-communist Albania. Hinton, one of Mason’s Robinson Professors, presented scenes from her film The Gate of Heavenly Peace. “I think we hoped, once again, to get behind the silver screen and wanted to invite students and members of the Mason community to think about the process of filmmaking itself and what the act of representing other people's lives entails more generally,” Chang said .  Audience members were treated to the sight of two filmmakers sharing their work and discussing the editorial decisions that go into turning hundreds of hours of film into just an hour or two of final product. Both women also described the difficulties they faced in shooting their films—everything from hostile criminal gangs to hostile government officials. The second interactive discussion took placein mid-April when James Tusty, co-director of the film The Singing Revolution, came to Mason to present his work. The film, which deals with the struggle of the Estonian people to break free from the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s, recently won the highest award the Estonian state can give for cultural achievement. Like Hinton and Dones before him, Tusty emphasized the many challenges he and his co-director faced in creating the film, including long searches in film archives for footage from earlier decades, problems of translation from Estonian to English, and how one might find funding for a project like theirs. All told the Post-Socialist Film Series, which was supported by Mason’s Center for Global Studies, presented more than a dozen films during the semester. “Not always, but all too often, discussions of China, Russia, and/or Eastern Europe, and many other parts of the world, tend focus on geo-strategic and/or international political issues,” Chang said. “This is quite understandable, but much of the impetus behind organizing this film series was to provide other perspectives on the emotional and political complexities of quotidian life in these places.”

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2009-05-22T14:41:42Z

We were aiming to use film and filmmaking as avenues of emotional and intellectual engagement with the experiences of people living in areas that are often labeled "post-socialist space. I think we hoped to get beyond the headlines through the medium of cinematic storytelling.

Michael Chang, Professor in the Department of History and Art History

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Published Chang and Kelly Host Filmmakers on Campus

During the spring 2009 semester, Mason professors Michael Chang and T. Mills Kelly from the Department of History and Art History created a Post-Socialist Film Series that focused on the end of the Cold War and what has come afterwards. The series featured prominent documentary filmmakers showing their films and then answering questions from students, faculty, staff, and members of the community.

Post-Socialist Film Series Brings Documentary Filmmakers to Campus

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Post-Socialist Film Series Brings Documentary Filmmakers to Campus

2009-05-26T18:22:12Z

B.J. Koubaroulis

2009-04-22T15:55:24Z

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For More Information: <ul> <li><a href="http://littleitalies.gmu.edu/">Little Italies</a></li> <li><a href="http://japanesestudies.gmu.edu/immersion">Tastes of Japan</a></li> <li><a href="http://japanesestudies.gmu.edu/">Minor in Japanese Studies</a> </li> </ul>

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Little Italies and Tastes of Japan are two separate eight-week summer courses aimed at helping students, with little or no exposure to Italian or Japanese, complete their foreign language requirement in one summer. In these immersion programs, students learn basic language skills during class meetings, lunch conversation hours, and excursions. The combination of intensive classroom meetings and immersion into the Italian-American and Japanese-American communities of the Washington D.C. metro and Baltimore area, covers the elementary and intermediate course work for these languages, which equates to nine credits. In addition to class work, <a href="http://littleitalies.gmu.edu">Little Italies</a> offers lunch conversation hours, which are daily authentic Italian lunches that expose students to foods from diverse regions of Italy. The lunch conversation hour reinforces classroom material while giving students the opportunity to speak the language spontaneously in an informal gathering. “The reason we add on the lunch-hour conversations and the cultural excursions is to show students how they can integrate Italian into the local community,” said Italian Program Coordinator Kristina Olson. “It’s a way of showing them how they can take what their learning inside the classroom about Italian culture and Italian-American culture and apply it to different venues.” Excursions include trips to Baltimore’s Little Italy – a tradition rich area nestled between the inner harbor and historic Fells point. There will also be trips to Italian-American cultural events in Washington D.C., such as the Festa Italiana. Students will also tour the Italian Embassy and Italian collections in the National Gallery of Art. Students will also have the option to extend the eight-week language program with a one-week field trip to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, three Northeast cities with historic Little Italies. This optional 1-credit course gives students the opportunity to integrate their knowledge of Italian language and culture with an exposure to thriving Italian-American communities. <a href="http://mcl.gmu.edu/news/Japa.pdf">Tastes of Japan</a> uses a multimedia approach, invites guest speakers and takes advantage of the abundant cultural resources and facilities available in the communities around George Mason. Students also engage in a lunch-hour, catered authentic Japanese lunch-hour twice a week. There are also excursions. Students will also learn to read and write Japanese characters (hiragana and katakana). “Of course language is important to communicate with people,” said Dr. Manako Fujiwara, Tastes of Japan director. “But without knowledge of the culture it’s more abstract and it’s harder to grasp. This program offers a chance to learn culture and language simultaneously.”

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2009-04-22T15:55:24Z

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Published Through these intense eight-week summer programs, students can fulfill their foreign language requirement.

Can’t afford to study abroad? Still want that immersion experience? The Modern and Classical Languages Department offers you an opportunity to immerse yourself in Italian or Japanese cultures right here in the metro area through a summer session that fulfills your foreign language requirement in just eight weeks.

Students Offered Opportunities to Immerse Themselves in Italian and Japanese Cultures

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Little Italies and Tastes of Japan Immerse Students into Foreign Language Communities

2009-05-18T12:59:11Z

B.J. Koubaroulis

2009-04-17T17:23:38Z

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Visit <a href="globalaffairs.gmu.edu">globalaffairs.gmu.edu</a>.

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This fall, students at George Mason University will have the opportunity to earn a master of arts in global affairs. The MA in global affairs is an interdisciplinary degree based in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, but students in the program take courses in other academic units across the university. Designed to cultivate advanced perspectives across a broad range of international and global issues, the new program will position its graduates for success in a rapidly growing international community. “In the past, graduate students have either become experts in a particular world region, like the Middle East or South Asia, or they have become experts in a particular disciplinary approach, such as comparative politics or developmental economics,” says program director T. Mills Kelly, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Art History and Associate Dean. “The increasing complexity of globalization means that these older approaches aren't really sufficient for some students. For this reason, we've built the Global Affairs MA on an interdisciplinary foundation that prepares our graduates for this complexity.” Building upon Mason’s commitment to global education, the global affairs MA gives students an opportunity to further explore globalization and choose from a variety of courses en route to the required 30 credit hours. Students will study a wide range of topics, including business, economy, health, environment, culture, peaces studies and more, depending on their personal interests and career plans. “Whether students want to work in the United States or abroad, the MA in global affairs will position them to step into responsible and exciting careers at an advanced level,” said Kelly. A central course in this curriculum is a two-week study abroad seminar. Each year, this seminar is taught in one or more locations, including Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. “Rather than just teaching our graduate students about the world, we are taking them into the world,” Kelly said. The culminating course in the core curriculum is the capstone seminar, in which students pursue original research on a topic of their choice. Highly-qualified undergraduates may apply to the accelerated master’s degree in global affairs and obtain both a BA and MA degree in five years of full time study. Undergraduate students, regardless of major, who have excellent academic credentials may apply to the MA in global affairs as they near completion of 90 credits in their undergraduate program. George Mason expects the new MA program to grow rapidly in the next several years. The BA in global affairs, launched just a few years ago, is one of the university’s most popular programs. Students in both global affairs programs are able to take advantage of Mason’s location in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the hub of globalization. They have access to the cultural, political, academic and employment resources of America’s most global city. In working toward the 30 credit-hours (18 required and 12 elective credit hours), global affairs MA students will be connected directly with Mason’s distinguished faculty—a group that is internationally recognized for its commitment to research. “Graduates of this program will be very well-positioned for employment in a variety of contexts in a marketplace that is increasingly globalized,” Kelly said. “They will be better global citizens because they will understand the forces that are shaping our world now and will shape that world in the future.”

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2009-04-17T17:23:38Z

“Graduates of this program will be very well-positioned for employment in a variety of contexts in a marketplace that is increasingly globalized,” Kelly said. “They will be better global citizens because they will understand the forces that are shaping our world now and will shape that world in the future.”

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Published Students will have an opportunity to study abroad, and pursue a course of study tailored to their personal career plans.

This fall, students at George Mason University will have the opportunity to earn a master of arts in global affairs. Building on Mason’s commitment to global education, the MA in global affairs gives students an opportunity to further explore globalization and choose from courses from a variety of disciplines.

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CHSS Launches New Global MA

2009-08-13T13:10:43Z

B.J. Koubaroulis

2009-03-25T18:55:00Z

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To read more about the conference, visit  <a href="http://gorbachev.gmu.edu">http://gorbachev.gmu.edu</a>

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A sold-out crowd of 1,575 students, faculty and others stood and applauded as George Mason University President Alan Merten welcomed former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to the Center for the Arts podium for his keynote address on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Gorbachev was the keynote speaker at the two-day conference “1989: Looking Back, Looking Forward.” During the March 24 and 25 event, Gorbachev -- a 78-year-old former Nobel Laureate -- offered a critical perspective on how the lessons of the Cold War should be applied to the promotion of peace. “We have lived through these 20 years, but I don’t think we truly understand them,” Gorbachev said as he stood a few feet in front of both the American and Russian Flags. He offered insight into his decision-making during his time in office and also spoke about the lessons that should be learned from the global politics that followed the Cold War. During his lecture, Gorbachev noted three key threats to global peace – security, poverty, and the environment. By offering details of his time in office, in particular his role in nuclear disarmament, Gorbachev drew parallels between the past and the present and gave listener’s insight on the many global security issues we still face. Security, he said, is key. However, he noted that the world must demilitarize politics. “Right now, there is a real possibility for a conversation between Russia and the United States,” said Gorbachev, who called for the reduction of nuclear weapons. While he lamented the opportunities missed by world leaders following the Cold War, Gorbachev said that, after recent meetings with President Barack Obama, he was optimistic that “Things will be changing for the better between our two countries.” Poverty, he said, has become a “fertile ground for extremism” and the global environment is “near collapse.” On March 25, T. Mills Kelly, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Art History and Associate Dean, moderated a roundtable discussion with Gorbachev, Judge William Webster, the former Director of the FBI and CIA, and Sergey Chumarev, First Counsellor of the Russian Federation. Kelly mixed questions from the crowd of about 750, covering topics like global economics, the rise of new global powers, and human rights. Webster, Chumarev, and Gorbachev drew on their personal histories and participation in past events to share their perspectives, both in reflection and in making suggestions for the future. “China, India, Brazil and South Africa will play a more prominent role in international relations,” Chumarev said. The roundtable discussion was followed by breakout sessions with many scholars, both from George Mason and from abroad, who held discussions in intimate settings. The event, sponsored by University Life and the Office of the Provost, drew students, faculty, and others to George Mason’s Fairfax campus. Raymond Beverage, a 52-year-old who was on active duty with United States Army from 1974 to 1998, attended Tuesday’s keynote address with his son, Andrew, a junior administration of justice major at George Mason. “In our training, we used to have pop-up targets on the shooting range that we called ‘Ivans,’” Raymond Beverage said. “Now, I’m here with my son and so much has changed. The circle has come back around.” Wes Bryan, a sophomore history major from Springfield, Va., attended the conference because he is a Russian history buff. “This is a once in a lifetime experience,” Bryan said. Edward Palmi and Sam Hewett, British students studying abroad at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, made the near one hour commute to Fairfax because “Gorbachev is part of the history we’re studying,” said Hewett. “We’re going to get to see him in the actual flesh,” Palmi said. “It’s incredible, thinking of who he was and what he did.”

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2009-03-25T18:55:00Z

We have lived through these 20 years, but I don’t think we truly understand them.

Mikhail Gorbachev

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Published

During a two-day conference called “1989: Looking Back, Looking Forward,” the former Soviet leader and Nobel Laureate offered a critical perspective on how the lessons of the Cold War should be applied to the promotion of peace.

Gorbachev Visits Mason, Reflects and Looks Forward

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Former Soviet President and Nobel Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev visits George Mason for two-day conference

2009-10-28T00:21:12Z