Humanitarian Action Seminar Series

Now in its second year, the Humanitarian Action Seminar brings together practitioners and scholars working on humanitarianism for monthly discussions of shared interest. Sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, historians and others dialogue with representatives from the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and research institutes to reflect on such topics as humanitarianism's role in geopolitics, its narrative forms, organizational practices, and ethical commitments. Past speakers include Executive Director of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF), Nicolas de Torrente; writer and researcher, Alex de Waal; and Presidential Professor of Political Science at The CUNY Graduate Center, Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, and co-director of the UN Intellectual History Project, Thomas Weiss.

Past Events
Pamela DeLargy & Nicolas de Torrente | Gaza: Notes from the Field Image
Feb 4, 2009 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM    20 Cooper Square, 5th Floor, IPK

The Humanitarian Action Seminar is pleased to welcome Pam DeLargy, Chief of the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Humanitarian Response Group, to discuss her recent work in Gaza since returning from the field. Joining Dr. DeLargy as discussant will be Nicolas de Torrente, the former Executive Director of

After the Fall of Human Rights Image
Mar 4, 2009 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM    IPK, 5th Floor Main Conference Room

In this month's seminar, David Kennedy will give a presentation entitled "After the Fall of Human Rights."

Sally Engle Merry will serve as discussant for this session. Dr. Merry is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Law and...

Thomas Pogge | Developing Morally Plausible Indices of Poverty and Gender Equity: a Research Program Image
Apr 1, 2009 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM    IPK, 20 Cooper Square, 5th Floor

Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University, will present a new paper, "Developing Morally Plausible Indices of Poverty and Gender Equity: a Research Program," available for download on this page.

Various indices are used to track poverty, development, and gender equity at the population...

Blue Helmets and Black Markets:  The Business of Survival in the Siege of Sarajevo Image
Apr 15, 2009 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM    IPK, 5th Floor Main Conference Room

Reception will begin at 6:00, discussion at 6:30.

For this discussion, Alexander Cooley, Associate Professor in International Relations and Foreign Policy at Barnard University has agreed to serve as a discussant.

The 1992-1995 battle for Sarajevo was the longest siege in modern history. It was also the most...