Events

Arid Land: Film Screening and Discussion with Filmmaker
6:00-7:30 p.m. / JRHH 258

Just south of Oregon’s border, the government prohibits cannabis farming and attempts to cut off water. After a fire ignites, distrust spills into protest. Shot in 2024, the documentary Holding on to Arid Land tells the story of Kim, who moved to Northern California for a new start and an acre of land. Over the last decade, local politicians have made it extremely difficult for Hmong families, like Kim’s, to live there. They face the looming challenges of a government that is working against them, wielding the legal system to push people out of the valley.

US Diplomats aim to “make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.” How is their work informed by the context and events of international political economy? How does their work shape the international political economy context and events? “International political economy” (or “IPE”) is a term that refers to the ways in which politics impact economics and economics impact politic, both at the international level and across levels of analysis. How do political events impact the global economy? How do economics impact international politics? This week’s news includes discussions of US President’ Trump’s trade tariffs and China’s influence on the international economic system.

FOSSIL FUEL DIVESTMENT ACTIVISM ON CAMPUS
Book talk & discussion with author Eve Driver, “What We Can’t Burn” (Friendship and Friction in the Fight for Our Energy Future)

Academic Fair 

Political Economy minors are invited to join Professor Elizabeth Bennett’s International Political Economy Classes and the Environmental Studies Symposium for a simulated experience of carbon emissions trading. Join us for 3 hours of CarbonSim, the Environmental Defense Fund’s artificial intelligence-enhanced, multi-lingual, multi-user, software application that teaches the principles of emissions trading and brings markets to life.

Guest Speaker: Dr Ellen Alexandra Holtmaat

How can you know whether a product that you buy is actually sustainably produced? Sure, the seller says so, but can you trust it? Sustainability certifications aim to provide reliable information for these situations. But who sets these sustainability certifications? Can we trust them? And, are we sure there aren’t any hidden agendas?

Corporate Social Responsibility and Consumer Activism: Solutions to socio-economic problems? Or distractions from sincere solutions?

Organic food! ESG (environmental-social-governance) investing! Fair trade! Certified B Corps! Social entrepreneurship! Triple bottom line! For three decades, our economy has been marked by companies “doing well while doing good” and consumers “shopping for change.” Do these initiatives fight poverty, wealth inequality, and labor exploitation? Or do they simply distract us from more effective solutions?

Join Political Economy Director Elizabeth Bennett for a special event!

Council on Foreign Relations Webinar: U.S. Response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative

What careers do political economy minors pursue? How do the skills/knowledge from this minor contribute to making a meaningful contribution to the world? What strategies have alumni used to identify interesting jobs and receive an offer?