The Academic Minute for 2018.07.30-08.03 – American University Week

Academic Minute from 7.30 – 8.03

Monday, July 30th
Sarah Snyder – American University
Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy
Sarah B. Snyder is a historian of U.S. foreign relations who specializes in the history of the Cold War, human rights activism, and U.S. human rights policy. She is the author of From Selma to Moscow: How Human Rights Activists Transformed U.S. Foreign Policy (Columbia University Press, 2018), which explains how transnational connections and 1960s-era social movements inspired Americans to advocate for a new approach to human rights.

Her first book, Human Rights Activism and the End of the Cold War: A Transnational History of the Helsinki Network, (Cambridge University Press), analyzes the development of a transnational network devoted to human rights advocacy and its contributions to the end of the Cold War. The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations awarded it the 2012 Stuart Bernath Book Prize by for best first book by an author and the 2012 Myrna F. Bernath Book Award for the best book written by a woman in the field in the previous two years.

Tuesday, July 31st
Krista Tuomi – American University
Crowdfunding
Krista Tuomi is a professor in the International Economic Policy program at the School of International Service, American University. After teaching for many years in her home country, South Africa, she is enjoying the highs and lows of teaching economics and politics in DC. Currently she “imparts wisdom” to students on topics such as economic policy, crowdfunding, entrepreneurship, investment, and financial policy. She has worked for many years as a policy analyst in the areas of innovation and investment. Recently her focus has been on best practice in the start-up investment climate, particularly on policy related to angel investing, crowdfunding and seed financing. She also conducts workshops on all forms of financing, both for small business and non-profits. In particular, she is regular workshop presenter for SCORE, the Small Business Administration’s volunteer branch. Her passion for the field of innovation and entrepreneurship extends into her other pro-bono work as well. Apart from working with SCORE, she is involved with the Angel Capital Association, the Veteran’s Small Business Challenge Competition, and Syracuse’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families. She also publishes widely in the field of innovation financing, with recent papers and blogs focusing on the costs of software development, and best practice in entrepreneur eco-systems.

Wednesday, August 1st
Tricia Bacon – American University
Allies of the Islamic State
Tricia Bacon, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs. She is the author of Why Terrorist Organizations Form International Alliances to be published with University of Pennsylvania Press in May 2018.

Prior to her employment at American University, Dr. Bacon worked on counterterrorism for over ten years at the Department of State, including in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the Bureau of Counterterrorism, and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Her work on counterterrorism in the intelligence community received numerous accolades, and she conducted research and analysis on counterterrorism in South Asia, North Africa, East Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Thursday, August 2nd
Anna Amirkhanyan – American University
We Have Protested, Now What?
Professor Amirkhanyan’s research focuses on public and nonprofit management, organizational performance, public-private differences, and citizen participation. Her articles have been published in various outlets such as the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (J-PART), Public Administration Review, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, and others. Professor Amirkhanyan has received 2006 National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration Annual Dissertation Award, 2007 SPA Award for Outstanding Service to the University Community, and 2008 SPA Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching, and 2017 SPA Pioneer Award. She served on the Board of Directors of the Public Management Research Association, and is on the Editorial Board of J-PART.

Friday, August 3rd
Rachel Robinson – American University
How to Ensure Access to Sexuality Education for Teenagers
Dr. Robinson is a sociologist and demographer whose research focuses on global health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa, including family planning, HIV/AIDS, and sexuality education. Her book, Intimate Interventions: Preventing Pregnancy and Preventing HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa (Cambridge University Press 2017), investigates the relationship between family planning and HIV/AIDS interventions across the continent with a focus on Senegal, Nigeria, and Malawi. Journals that have published her research include Demography, Journal of the International AIDS Society, Population Studies, and Population Research and Policy Review. She has conducted field research in Namibia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Senegal, and current projects relate to politicized homophobia in sub-Saharan Africa and the extent of social science knowledge on NGOs. Her research has been funded by the MacArthur Foundation, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Robinson teaches courses on statistics, global health, NGOs, population studies, and development.