Faculty Present at 35th Conference of Association of Global South Studies (AGSS)

January 18, 2018

In unprecedented numbers, Georgia Southern University faculty and students made the trip to Marrakesh, Morocco, in December for the 35th Annual Conference of Association of Global South Studies (AGSS).

AGSS alternates its conferences between locations in the Global South (recently, in Quito, Ecuador in 2015) and the United States.

The relationship between the University and AGSS dates back to the 1980s, when former faculty members Zia Hashmi and Nancy Shumaker helped found the organization. History Professor Paul Rodell, Ph.D., served as the AGSS executive director from 1996 to 2002, and Associate Professor of Political Science Jacek Lubecki, Ph.D., currently serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Global South Studies (JGSS), the AGSS major bi-annual publication.

Additionally, two faculty members from Armstrong State University, which consolidated with Georgia Southern in January of this year, have been prominent members of AGSS. Professor of International Relations Jose Da Cruz, Ph.D., and Professor of History Michael Hall, Ph.D., both serve on the association’s executive board. Hall is also the book review editor for the JGSS.

Lubecki, Rodell, Hall and Da Cruz attended the conference in Morocco along with Arabic lecturer Youssef Salhi, Associate Professor of History Cathy Skidmore-Hess, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor of International Studies and Sociology Matthew Flynn. Alumna Kelsey Flannery (17’) also attended the conference. The University faculty members boasted the largest faculty delegation from any United States institution at the event.

Faculty presented on a range of topics including:

• Amazigh Culture and Identity in North Africa- Salhi
• Brazilian Pharmaceutical Industry- Flynn
• Conservation, Identity and Hunting in Botswana- Skidmore-Hess
• Philippine Protest Theatre- Rodell
• U.S. and Cuba Relations under President Trump- Da Cruz and Joshua Kohler Da Cruz
• Palestinian and Polish Sovereignty Struggles- Lubecki
• Marketing of Colombian Coffee- Hall

Throughout the conference, attendees participated in cultural tours throughout Morocco.

“The prominent presence and activism of Georgia Southern University on the forum of Association of Global South Studies Marrakesh conference is testimony to longstanding ties and current synergies between our University and the Association,” said Lubecki. “We are proud that True Blue was so prominently present in Morocco, and we are all looking forward to the future of cooperation between the two organizations. Especially, more student participants from Georgia Southern will be certainly welcome.”