Joriana Gibbens-Egolf '28 (ITS, SPN, ORG) published an op-ed in The Miami Student about the ethical consumption of Starbucks coffee for the college-aged campus consumer. Her piece, titled "A Bitter 'First Sip Feeling'," derived from an ITS assignment. 

Alice Ross '28 (ITS, East Asian Language and Culture) published her policy paper from last semester's ITS 202 Problem Solving in International Studies in the Journal of Undergraduate International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Elliot Clarkson '28 (ITS, SPN, LIN) will be the keynote speaker and workshop provider for the World Affairs Council's International Education Summit 2025, to be held at Northern Kentucky University on December 9.

She has devoted hundreds of volunteer hours to fundraising efforts for water security in Africa with the Thirst Project. 

She was able to secure this opportunity through networking at this October's inaugural International Leadership Conference at Miami University. 

Students in Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy's America: Global and Intercultural Studies (AMS 207) class took Oxford's public transportation on a field trip to MOON Co-op, our local member-owned grocery and deli. They learned about local foodways, supply chains, and community-supported business models. 

Students in Naaborle Sackeyfio's class ITS 365 International Development prepared skits on an aspect of international development of their choosing. Three groups prepared skits centered on global north and global south countries, multinational corporations and international financial institutions and debt crises. One group came up with a Christmas carol theme involving Ronald Reagan (as Scrooge) Margaret Thatcher, the IMF, DRC and other developing countries. They essentially acted out a critique of developmental policies and that were complete with accents! 

Students in Elena Jackson Albarrán's HST/LAS 319 Revolutions and Social Movements in Latin America engaged in three debates this semester that corresponded to case studies of Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Peru. For the Nicaragua debate, 1979 Daniel Ortega debated 2016 Daniel Ortega in a heated showdown in the FSLN multiverse. In the end, all Ortegas collegially recognized their mutual humanity. 

Social chair for Miami's Model Arab League Eliza Sullivan ('28) reached out to share about the organization's recent conference. In November, they attended the University of Cincinnati x Wilmington College x Miami University Invitational at University of Cincinnati. There were 50 delegates participating, including 14 from Miami University. This was the first conference for 9 of their new members, and they did incredibly well! They represented Algeria and Libya, and between the two countries, won 6 awards.

Joey Jeffcott and Elena Jackson Albarrán pose behind MacMillan Hall during Joey's visit to campus.

In October, the GIC Department hosted a workshop for students interested in applying to graduate school or law school programs. Kate Dannies moderated the event, and panelists included Nathan French, Naaborle Sackeyfio, Kenna Neitch, Elena Jackson Albarrán, and GIC alumnus Joey Jeffcott (ITS/LAS/ANT '24). Joey is currently working on his M.A. in Latin American Studies at Ohio University, and was excited to return to the same classroom where his LAS capstone was held to provide his perspectives as a graduate student.

The Department of GIC in conjunction with the Department of Economics is delighted to announce the inaugural study abroad opportunity for students, the fruit of our partnership with the Tandana Foundation. On this one-week, one-credit workshop to Otavalo and Quito in May 2026, students will learn about community development in the rural Andes. On this faculty-led trip, learn about how local markets, educational practices, and social relations interact with global forces. 

For more info, contact Juan Carlos Albarrán (GIC) or Jenny Minier (ECO). 

Miami Presents: Object Lessons--Videotape | Online Event

Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy presented her latest book Videotape as part of the Miami Presents online speaker series.

Over the span of a single decade, VHS technology changed the relationship between privacy and entertainment, pried open the closed societies behind the Iron Curtain, and then sank back into oblivion. Its meteoric rise and fall encapsulated the dynamics of the '80s and foreshadowed the seismic cultural shifts to come after the Cold War.

By the mid-1990s, the VHS format was displaced by the DVD. The DVD would eventually give way to streaming. Yet the cultural legacy of the videotape continues to inform our relationship to technology, privacy, and to entertainment.

Here is just a snapshot of some of the globally-engaged scholarship of GIC Faculty this semester. Their active research agendas inform their teaching and make them uniquely suited experts in their fields for the courses they offer. 

Naaborle Sackeyfio delivered a public lecture titled "Energy Sovereignty and Environmental Justice in a Rising Africa" at Penn State on November 5. Her talk was sponsored by their Humanities Institute; Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering; Lifelong Learning and Adult Education (LLAED) Program, the African Studies Program, and the Office of Education and Social Equity.  

A recent Miami News article describes Rodney Coates' manifold contributions to Miami education, recruitment and retention of students, outreach to the community, and maintaining joy in his work ethic. 

To read more about administrator, colleague, and student perceptions of Coates' career-long impact at Miami, click on the button below. 

In October 2025, Elena Jackson Albarrán traveled to Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil to present her latest research on the Latin American reception of Uncle Sam, as part of the Fifth Meeting of Historians of Latin American Childhoods (REHIAL), an academic collective that she helped to found. 

As an executive committee member of REHIAL, she also helped to celebrate the organization's tenth anniversary, participating in book presentations, review of workshops and meetings held, and announced a special issue of an academic journal that she will be co-editing with her Latin American peers. 

Cristina Alcalde presented at a roundtable on "Feminist Anthropology and Decolonial Practice in the Andes and Beyond" at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting in New Orleans, November 2025.

Indivar Jonnalagadda presented the paper "Everyday Populism: Property-making and the political game of momentum on Hyderabad's Frontiers," based on research for his book manuscript, at the Annual Conference on South Asia in Madison, WI, in October 2025.

Liz Wilson presented a paper titled “Child ordination among South Asian Svetambara Jain and Buddhist communities” at the European Conference for South Asian Studies in Heidelberg, Germany on October 2, 2025. She also served as the convener of the panel "Child ascetics in historical and contemporary South Asian Jain and Buddhist communities."

Oxford (black and white) and Morris (orange and white) are Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy's two trusty teaching assistants, grading companions and interlocutors. Even though their work ethic leaves much to be desired, and they are too loud when they want something, they provide all the emotional support (and random cuddles) needed for efficient grading and course preparation.

Creating and Crafting Community | April 8-9 | Armstrong Student Center

Mark your calendars for next semester's QT-Con, A Queer and Trans Conference. Submit a proposal to present an individual or panel presentations. Proposal deadline is February 4, 2026.

Submit newsletter content to Elena Jackson Albarrán at albarrej@miamioh.edu

Global and Intercultural Studies Contact Info

513-529-5333

MacMillan 120

Dr. Sande Garner, Chair

garners2@miamioh.edu

Martha Sapiro, Admin Assistant

sapiromc@miamioh.edu