Members of the Institute community in Monterey and around the world are making their mark, whether in print, online, or both. Here we share the latest news posted by alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
Jason Blazakis Pens Report on Far-Right Online Funding
Jason Blazakis, Professor of Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies (NPTS) and Director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism, has published his article “Far-Right Online Financing and How to Counterterrorism It” in August by the Global Center on Cooperative Security, a New York-based think tank. The paper examines technological issues (e.g. crypto and NFT) and how they can be exploited by right-wing actors.
Professor and Student Co-Author Paper on Five-Eye Right-Wing Terrorist Designation
Through the Soufan Center, Jason Blazakis has published a paper co-authored with his graduate research assistant, NPTS student Megan Rennebaum. In “Comparing Violent Far-Right Terrorist Designations between Five-Eyes Countries”, the two examine the range of terrorist designations adopted by Five-Eye countries – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States – against violence. right-wing terrorists.
Alum publishes translations of poetry from Russian to English
Former conference interpreting student Valeriya Yermishova MACI ’22 had her Russian-to-English translations of Nikita Sungatov’s poetry published this spring in two anthologies: Verses about the avant-garde: Russian poetry today (Deep Vellum Press), a project sponsored by PEN America; and This Is Us Losing Count: Eight Russian Poets (Two Lines Press, Center for the Art of Translation Calico Series).
A professor and students publish an article on the decolonization of the classroom
Professor Pushpa Iyer and four graduate students (Ellen King, Christina Guerrero, Chanel Leonard, and Alicia Clark) from the Iyer Decolonizing Knowledge Spring 2022 course co-authored a paper that was featured in Voice of the Monterey Bay in July. “Decolonize Your Head” offers an experience, led by the students of the course, of decolonization of the classroom, its program and its pedagogy. It details the experiences of the five authors and makes recommendations for decolonized approaches to classroom design.
Wei Liang co-edits reference book on trade wars
Professor Wei Liang and Karen Zheng are the editors of The Trade Wars Research Handbook (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022), which provides a holistic understanding of the origins, dynamics and implications of trade wars, which are increasingly prominent and prevalent in today’s increasingly interdependent global society.
Alum Lands Book Deal on Negotiation
Weekly editors announced that lawyer and mediator Damali Peterman MAIPS ’02 has sold the North American rights to her book Negotiating while being black: how to be who you are to get what you want to the American publisher Putnam. Peterman is CEO of dispute resolution firm Breakthrough ADR. Her professional experience in conflict resolution as well as her personal experiences as a black woman will, Putnam says, make the book an “authentic guide that takes into account the bias that occurs in most negotiations.” The release is scheduled for spring 2024.
Two alumni featured in new book that profiles project managers in English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
Shahid Abrar-ul Hassan MATESOL ’07 led a session on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at a convention, which resulted in a list of FAQs that he used to create an in-depth article that became a must-have resource for people in the field. And Tarana Patel MATESOL ’22 did a needs assessment for its on-site English language training program for engineers and managers in the IT and manufacturing industries. When it became apparent that employees’ primary motivation for learning English was to help their children with English homework, his team leveraged a flipped classroom approach that fostered engagement at home. For these achievements in ESP, the two MIIS alumni have been included in the recent book English for Specific Purposes Project Manager Profiles: The Leadership Communication of 55 ESP Project Managers. The book is free to download.
