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Cultural Traditions of India: Music and Art
by Madison Kjosa This past Wednesday, Nov. 14, the Burnett Honors College was swathed in the sights and sounds of India during “Cultural Traditions of India: Music and Art” as part of UCF’s International Education Week (IEW). Described by UCF Global, IEW is a “joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department […]
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COS Alums Among OBJ’s 40 Under 40
BY NICOLE DUDENHOEFER ’17 AND JENNA MARINA LEE Four College of Sciences alumni were among those honored at the Orlando Business Journal 40 Under 40 Awards, an annual celebration that recognizes successful professional who have created a big impact within their industry and in the local community. Honorees were selected from a group of nominees submitted […]
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Lady Bikers, Street Dogs and Kolkata Featured in New Films from UCF Students
By ROBERT WELLS Lady bikers, street dogs and visceral sights and sounds from a city nearly 10,000 miles away are showcased in new documentaries completed by UCF film students while they spent a few weeks in Kolkata, India. The documentaries will make their UCF debut at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Burnett Honors College as part […]
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Study Links Ethnic Violence and Natural Disasters in India
Didara Nurmanova, a Ph.D. candidate in the Security Studies program in the Political Science Department, is conducting a study on the links between natural disasters and ethnic conflict in India. In June 2013, India was hit by the North India floods, described as the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. The floods resulting […]
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Tactics For Resolving Kashmir Conflict Focus of Book
Longstanding disputes between countries are not solved overnight. But there are ways to mitigate the violence during the transitional period. That’s the focus of a book by Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra, Ph.D., entitled “Conflict Management in Kashmir: State-People Relations and Peace,” published by Cambridge University Press. Mahapatra, an adjunct professor in the Political Science department, […]
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COS Distinguished Alumni Award Winners 2018
Ten College of Sciences alumni were recognized Thursday for their career achievements at the 2018-19 Distinguished Alumni Awards. “Tonight’s awardees were selected based on their professional achievement, exceptional community service and reflection of the college’s mission to expand knowledge in the sciences, mathematical sciences, and communications,” COS Dean Michael Johnson, Ph.D., told the audience gathered […]
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PoliSci Grads Among 7 UCF Alums Elected to Office
BY: RACHEL STAMFORD and JENNA MARINA LEE Seven UCF alumni who were running for the Florida Legislature won their districts in Tuesday’s election. Although they don’t necessarily agree on political issues, pursued different careers and attended UCF at different times, they clearly share a passion for politics. Rep. Amber Mariano Amber Mariano ’17, a Republican, was […]
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K-12 Students Get Hands-On Civics Lesson With Mock Election
More than 245,000 K-12 students got a hands-on lesson in civic duty this year through a partnership between UCF’s Lou Frey Institute and Kids Voting USA. The students were spread out across 28 school districts that hosted mock elections this year using a ballot that reflected all the statewide races. The ballot was editable […]
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UCF Class Spotlight: Political Psychology
BY JENNA MARINA LEE Class Name POS 4206 – Political Psychology Description The psychological analysis of political behavior, with emphasis on the individual rather than the political system; includes political attitudes and communication, leadership and personality influences on politics. When is it offered? Occasionally. How many students are in a class? Capacity of 50 Prerequisites None […]
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Lou Frey Institute Wins Professional Organizational Awards
Over the weekend of Oct. 19-21, the Florida Council for the Social Studies, an organization that represents the field of social studies education in Florida, held its annual conference and awards dinner. The Lou Frey Institute, part of the Political Science Department within the College of Sciences, sponsored Dr. Tina Heafner of UNC-Charlotte, a leading scholar on social […]
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Poli Sci Online Program Ranked No. 1 by Affordable Colleges
The Political Science Department’s online program has been ranked No. 1 in the U.S. by Affordable Colleges Online. The department has offered its degree as an entirely online option for several years, and students can complete all three tracks in the major — American Politics & Policy, International Relations & Comparative Politics, and Pre-Law – […]
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India Border Disputes Inspires Award-Winning Research Paper
A research paper investigating why bordering countries with settled borders engage in militarized conflicts earned a political science doctorate student the Jim Wintakes award for best graduate paper at the International Studies Association (ISA)-South Conference in Ashland, Va., recently. Karthikeyan Thiagarajan, who is pursuing his doctoral degree in security studies, won the award Oct. 13 […]
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Political Candidates Reflect on UCF Experiences
Three political science alumna — including Florida’s youngest representative — are looking forward to seeing their names on ballots next week. Anna Eskamani, ’12 ’15 MNM, MPA, is currently senior director for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, and the Democratic candidate for Florida House District 47. Also running is Carol Lawrence, ’71, an […]
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Scholar Brings Insights on Indian and South Asian Politics
The India Center welcomed G. Gopa Kumar, Ph.D., to UCF last week. Kumar is vice chancellor of the Central University of Kerala, India. Kumar met with students and faculty to discuss issues in Indian and South Asian politics. During his presentation, Kumar highlighted that current political economy approaches to studying politics might not provide the […]
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Students Build International Bridges Through Filmmaking
Sponsorships from the India Center at UCF opened up the opportunity for eight students to travel to India this summer and grow their filmmaking chops. Six undergraduate and two graduate film students joined film professor and Fulbright Scholar Phil Peters in Kolkata on an innovative research project conducted by The India Documentary Lab. The […]
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Celebrity Political Endorsements Have Their Pros and Cons
Pop musician Taylor Swift made headlines this week when she broke her longstanding silence on political issues and urged her Instagram followers to register to vote. Her plea — along with her endorsement of two candidates in upcoming Tennessee races for U.S. Senate and House—coincided with more than 166,000 new voter registrations between Sunday […]
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New UCF, Moroccan University Partnership to Develop Exchange Programs
The international partnership will promote faculty exchanges, joint classes, research and other activities. By Gene Kruckemyer UCF and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday creating an international partnership to promote faculty exchanges, joint classes, research and other activities. The agreement was signed by UCF President Dale Whittaker and AUI […]
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MyPoliticalScience Day Kicks off Second Event for Political Science Students
The Political Science department hosted its second myPoliticalScience Day in the Student Union on September 28. The event informed students about academic, extra-curricular, and career opportunities for students enrolled in Political Science and International & Global Studies, which are both housed in the Political Science department. The Political Science department held its first MyPoliticalScience Day […]
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UCF Experts Speak in Cairo, Launch Faculty-Expert Exchange
The American University in Cairo recently hosted events at their New Cairo campus featuring UCF’s Hakan Ozoglu, Ph.D. and David Dumke. Dr. Ozoglu, a professor in the Department of History and Chairman of the Middle East Studies Program, spoke about the transition from the Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic. Dumke, Director of the Prince Mohammad Bin […]
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Consul General of India Visits UCF
Dr. Swati Vijay Kulkarni, the new consul general of India based in the Atlanta Consulate, visited the University of Central Florida on September 11 for an introduction to campus leadership and faculty members. Kulkarni also met with several Indian students studying and conducting research at UCF who shared their experiences with student life. “We are […]
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IACC Recognizes Leaders, Celebrates Success at 9th Gala
Distinguished guests and a year of growth were recognized Saturday at the Indian American Chamber of Commerce’s 9th Annual Awards Gala. IACC President Yog Melwani addressed more than 300 entrepreneurs and business managers gathered in Orlando International Airport’s Intermodal Terminal Facility. “IACC continues to experience extraordinary growth in 2018, while building a strong presence in […]
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Terrorism expert sheds light on motivations of Islamist Militants
By Renzo Pierres Why would a person leave their country to fight in a foreign conflict? And how do they decide to join a specific group? On Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, Vera Mironova, Ph.D., shared her research and fieldwork in conflict zones to help answer these questions. Her discussion, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Islamist […]
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International Study Suggests Ancient Globalization
Using energy consumption as a measure, a team of international scientists has found that ancient civilizations engaged in globalization more than previously believed, suggesting that an integrated global economy is nothing new and may have benefited societies for ages. This archaeological research is the first of its kind, because instead of focusing on specific regions […]
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UCF-Madhya Pradesh State Sign Agreement for Research, Academic Cooperation
Dean of the College of Sciences and Interim Director of the India Center Dr. Michael Johnson announced that UCF and the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have signed an agreement to cooperate on a range of research, education, and sustainability projects. The memorandum of understanding agreement was the result of an April visit to […]
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UCF Student Named a Peace Fellow
By Nicole Dudenhoefer Christopher Faulkner, a Ph.D. candidate in UCF’s security studies program, was recently awarded a Minerva Research Initiative and United States Institute of Peace Dissertation Write-Up Fellowship for his dissertation on child soldiering. More than 200 students applied for the award this year, but only 18 were awarded, with some of last year’s winners […]
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Kurdish Political Studies Program Welcomes Resident Senior Fellow Haidar Khezri, Ph.D.
In fall 2018, Haidar Khezri, Ph.D., joined the Kurdish Political Studies Program (KPSP) as visiting faculty and senior fellow from Indiana University (IU), Bloomington. Dr. Khezri, born in Iranian Kurdistan, holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Damascus University in Syria, and a M.A. in comparative literature from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran. He […]
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Congratulations, Summer 2018 Ph.D. Grads!
The College of Sciences celebrated its new Ph.D. graduates in a reception hosted by Dean Michael Johnson. Twenty students were recognized at the ceremony with their family members and faculty advisors by their side. Associate Dean Teresa Dorman honored each student individually by presenting their research and a brief description of their dissertation. Afterward, the group toasted […]
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PMBF Director Speaks at House of Lords
The Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Program for Strategic Research & Studies continues to work through a busy summer schedule, highlighted by a presentation to the Parliament of the United Kingdom by PMBF Director David Dumke. Dumke was a guest of the Right Honorable Lord Ahmed of Rotherham. He spoke to the House of Lords on […]
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Connecting with India’s Experts
This summer, UCF’s India Center had the unique opportunity to meet with two delegations of experts from India. In May, the India Center hosted a group focused on U.S.-India space policy cooperation. The visiting group included two professors, a scientist and a member of the news media. The delegation met with India Center co-chairs John […]
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COS Distinguished Alumni Award Winner 2018: Rishi Bagga
For alumnus Rishi Bagga, attending UCF was a last minute choice after visiting the campus with his older sister. However, majoring in political science was the obvious choice. “My first interest in politics came through my dad,” he said. “But the real kicker came when I joined my high school debate team; I loved hanging […]