Politics and Religion

Speakers for this event

• Allison Quatrini

  Allison Quatrini

  Allison Quatrini holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from The George Washington University. She is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations and Global Affairs in the Behavioral Sciences Collegium at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her research focuses on ethnic politics in China, with an emphasis on how ethnic minorities, particularly the Uyghurs, navigate their relationship with the Chinese party-state. Her current book project, relying on 26.5 months of fieldwork, focuses on Tibetan, Uyghur, and Mongolian holiday celebrations, considering both how the Chinese state has repurposed them to form its own cultural narrative and how minority groups use the celebrations to form counter-narratives that best represent their understandings of themselves. Allison’s published work has appeared in Nationalities Papers, Qualitative and Multi-Methods Research, The Diplomat, Responsible Statecraft, and The Tampa Bay Times. She has also written for the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and the Rising Powers Project at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at The George Washington University. Recently, Dr. Quatrini was awarded a grant to complete research on nationalism and festivals in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

• Donald Morrison

  Donald Morrison

  Moderator

  Donald Morrison is an author, journalist, and educator. In a long career at TIME magazine, he served as editor of its World section in New York, its Asian edition in Hong Kong, and its European edition in London. He has taught at New York University's London Center, Tsinghua University in Beijing, and the Institut d'etudes politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris. Mr. Morrison is the author, co-author or editor of books on subjects as diverse as Chinese democracy, the Obama presidency and photojournalism. His "The Death of French Culture," a 2009 French best-seller, was published in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2010. He is currently Europe Editor of the London-based magazine PORT, as well as a columnist and advisory board member at The Berkshire Eagle. His weekly podcast commentary is featured on NPR's Robin Hood Radio, Podcasts.com and other news outlets. He has written for The New York Times, The Financial Times, Le Monde, Le Point, The New Republic, Smithsonian, and Quartz. Mr. Morrison holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the London School of Economics. He is married to Ann Morrison, former Executive Editor of Fortune magazine and Editor of Asiaweek.

  Moderator

• Elizabeth Gelman

  Elizabeth Gelman

  With a wide-ranging background in education, museums, performance, cultural arts, and economic development, Elizabeth Gelman holds a unique skillset and perspective which emphasizes the role that organizations play within their communities, primarily focusing on the intersection of social justice and the arts and humanities. Gelman spent decades as an artist and arts educator before transitioning into the museum world where she held leadership positions at Terra Museum of American Art, the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn, Spertus Museum and, most recently, as the Executive Director of The Florida Holocaust Museum. She is currently serving as Curator and Senior Director of Arts and Cultural Programming for Creative Pinellas, Pinellas County's designated arts agency. Gelman is also the creator of the award-winning “Arts Attack” which connects visual art, music, and storytelling through interactive programs and workshops. Trained by MOMA’s Philip Yenawine in his groundbreaking inquiry-based Visual Thinking Strategies, Gelman remains passionate about using the arts to promote critical thinking and deeper understanding of challenging and sensitive topics.

• John Maguire

  John Maguire

  John Maguire, who retired last July, was Director of International Relations and Cooperation of France Medias Monde, a French public service media organization, from September 2013. From March 2012 to September 2013, he was Director of International Development, Audiovisuel Exterieur de la France; from May 2010 to March 2012 he served as Director of International Affairs, Radio France Internationale and from 2004 to 2010 he was head of RFI's International Training Department. Before that he spent six years as Managing Editor of RFI's English service. He has forty years experience in the media world and has contributed work to journalistic outlets in France, Ireland and the United States.

• Luis Felipe Mantilla

  Luis Felipe Mantilla

  Luis Felipe Mantilla is Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Political Science, St. Petersburg campus. He earned his Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University. His research focuses on comparative political party development, religion and politics, and natural resource politics, with a regional emphasis on Latin America and the Middle East. His forthcoming book, How Political Parties Mobilize Religion: Lessons from Mexico and Turkey (Temple University Press) compares patterns of religious political engagement across Catholic and Sunni Muslim majority countries, tracing its evolution across regions and traditions. His research has been published in journals including Party Politics, Democratization, Politics and Religion, and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, among others.

• Taoufik Djebali

  Taoufik Djebali

  Taoufik Djebali was born and raised in Tunisia, a former French possession in North Africa, known for its cohesion and religious tolerance. In the 1980s, like many North African students, he decided to move to Paris to pursue higher education after earning a degree in English. In Paris, he got a degree in sociology and a Ph.D. in American studies on race and public policy. Djebali then started a career in teaching at the University of Caen in the northwest of France. Since then, he has been dividing his time between the port city of Caen, Paris, and Tunisia where he teaches as a Visiting Professor. He has published articles on racial, ethnic and immigrant issues in the United States and Tunisia.