MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2014 Activities by Sponsor - Center for International Studies

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"Catch Me If You Can"

LTC Deborah Ellis, United States Army, LTC Jayson Gilberti, United States Army

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Participants will be given brief instruction on required skills before embarking on a TOP SECRET mission.  If you’ve ever wondered if you have what it takes to plan and execute a mission to find the enemy, then this course is for you.  No prior military experience required.

Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT Security Studies Program
Contact: Harlene Miller, 258-6531, harlenem@mit.edu


NEW DATE - RESCHEDULED AFTER SNOW

Jan/27 Mon 10:00AM-12:00PM E40-496

Capturing Spirit: A Workshop on Chinese Ink Painting

Yun Yang

Jan/23 Thu 02:00PM-03:30PM E40-496, Lucian Pye Conf Room

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 20 participants

Yun Yang, an expert of Chinese ink painting and member of the Chinese Artists Association, will lead us to explore Chinese painting from historical to modern times. This talk will begin with a brief introduction on the history of Chinese ink painting, followed by a live demonstration of ink painting techniques, including a rare opportunity for those in attendance to try out their own hand. By the end of this talk, the audience will learn how to complete their own bird-and-flower painting, a traditional subject of Chinese art.

 Yun Yang was born in Langzhong, Sichuan, China. He is a senior member of the Chinese Artists Association, and Director of the Sichuan Artists Association. His works have won many awards, both nationally and internationally.

Sponsor(s): MIT China Program, Center for International Studies, Foreign Languages and Literatures
Contact: Sean Gilbert, E40-496 (Lucian Pye Conference Room), seang@mit.edu


Contemporary Military Topics (series)

Colin Connor, USAF

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Contemporary Military Topics (series of three sessions)

Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT Security Studies Program
Contact: Joli Divon Saraf, x8-7608, joli@mit.edu


Mythbusters:The US Navy at the movies

Jan/15 Wed 12:00PM-01:30PM E40-496 Pye Conf Rm

This 90 min. course will separate fact from fiction regarding the capabilities of the world's preeminent maritime force. Analyzing clips from popular movies with basic math, elementary physics & good humor we sort out what is real from what is not.

-        Movies will include Top Gun, Battleship, Under Siege and many more.

-        Did Maverick really need to shoot down those MIGs in "Top Gun", come and find out!

 

Karl McCarthy, USN


Future focus of the US Air Force

Jan/16 Thu 10:30AM-12:00PM E40-496 Pye Conf Rm

This course will provide a quick overview of the Air Force structure followed by a discussion of the top priorities within the Air Force.  Issues to be discussed will include nuclear weapons, aircraft inventory, and where the Air Force is focused for the immediate future.

Colin Connor, USAF


Military Planning Process

Jan/29 Wed 10:30AM-12:00PM E40-496 Pye Conf Rm

In today's world, organizations must act fast, be decisive, & synchronize activities across functional areas -- exactly what the U.S. military does daily.  Learn what the military decisionmaking process is & how it can be adapted to an organization.  This course is for leaders in business, academic, or any organization who want to make decisionmaking more efficient & effective so as to leverage the power of their team.

Phill Bragg, USMC


Ikebana: The Art of Japanese Flower Arranging

Hiroko Matsuyama

Jan/28 Tue 02:00PM-03:30PM E40-496

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 20 participants
Fee: $10.00 for Materials

Hiroko Matsuyama, an accomplished instructor of the Ohara school of Ikebana, will show you the basics of this ancient art as you create your own flower arrangements. You will get to take the finished product with you to enjoy.

Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT Japan Program
Contact: Tom Blackwood, E40-431, thomas_b@mit.edu


Kyudo Class (Japanese Archery)

Joyce Wu, Jim Boorstein

Jan/25 Sat 01:00PM-05:00PM MAC court, Z Center
Jan/26 Sun 09:00AM-03:00PM Rockwell Cage North, north court

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 15 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Fee: $20.00 for instruction

Kyudo, or Japanese archery, means the "way of the bow" and was considered the highest discipline of ancient Japanese samurai. Kyudo is based on standing Zen meditation used by Zen Buddhist monks as a means of cultivating self-awareness. Beginners will receive instruction in the basic form of kyudo, the Seven Coordinations or "shichi-do," and shoot at a short-range target.

Sponsor(s): MIT Japan Program, Center for International Studies
Contact: Tom Blackwood, E40-431, x8-8208, thomas_b@mit.edu


Re-imagining the Mahabharata

Kamesh Aiyer

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: welcome at individual sessions but no transition help provided
Prereq: Comfortable in English discussions

The Mahabharata is a 100,000 verse epic poem that is a source book of Indian myth.  It is many things: it is a story of a great war that engulfed all South Asia; it is History, beginning with Genesis – of the universe, the gods and demons, the first people, onwards, to the story of the generations preceding the war; it is a soap opera; a religious text; a textbook of how to rule; a treatise on how to live. There is something in it for everyone and it has been the wellspring of inspiration in India for the last two thousand years.

Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT India Program
Contact: Melanie Mala Ghosh, 258-5917, mghosh@mit.edu


Re-Imagining the Mahabharata

Jan/07 Tue 01:00PM-03:00PM 4-149
Jan/14 Tue 01:00PM-03:00PM 4-149
Jan/21 Tue 01:00PM-03:00PM 4-149
Jan/28 Tue 01:00PM-03:00PM 4-149

Jan 7 - Lecture 1: Introduction

Jan 14 - Lecture 2 - Tribal People

Jan 21 - Lecture 3 - Caste and Farming in the Gangetic Heartland

Jan 28 - Lecture 4 - The Limits of Empire and Dharma

Kamesh Aiyer