Seminar Review: Brown University International Advanced Research Institute on Ethnic Conflict and Inequality

Dr. Paul James O'Connor
Photo Credit: Rythum Vinoben

Dr. Paul James O'Connor, the adjunct assistant professor in our department, has participated in Brown University International Advanced Research Institute (BIARI) on Ethnicity Conflict and Inequality in June, 2014. Here is Dr. O'Connor's review:

"This June I was fortunate enough to participate in the Brown University International Advanced Research Institute on Ethnic Conflict and Inequality. This was a unique event that brought together a variety of academics from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas to engage with debate and discussion with a host of visiting faculty at Brown’s Watson Institute for International Studies.

Our convenors for the institute were Professor Ashutosh Varshney and Professor Glenn Loury. They shared their own expertise and were superb and generous hosts throughout. Professor Loury’s research on race stigma and incarceration in the United States was one of the highlights of the event. For my own research and teaching on ethnicity I found enormous value in the research that was presented. I recommend Loury’s Race, Incarceration, and American Values which is a complimentary piece to Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow."

Group photo of the Brown University International Advanced Research Institute on Ethnic Conflict and Inequality
Photo Credit: Rythum Vinoben

"One of my aims in participating in the Ethnicity institute at BIARI was to be able to engage with comparative research to explore issues of ethnicity in Hong Kong further. In recent years the issue of ethnicity in Hong Kong has come under a double focus. The often marginal position of ethnic minorities has become an increasing concern that is being tackled by, amongst others, academics, students, educators, and NGOs. Also the debate about Hong Kong citizenship and identity has also made the issue of ethnic and national identity, ethnic conflict, and inequality a topical issue in the territory. The BIARI was a unique and valuable forum to explore these ideas with peers from very different settings. Ultimately the BIARI provided me with new knowledge to impart to students in my ethnicity course."

You may follow Dr. O'Connor at tumblr.