Karpf & Hahn Peace Prize Updates 2015-2016

Take a look at the updates on the Karpf & Hahn Peace Prize Projects!

2016 Davis Projects for Peace WINNER

We are pleased to announce that Brontë Velez has been awarded the 2016 Davis Projects for Peace award.
Please join us in congratulating her!

Welcome New Sociology Professors

Join us this Thursday, February 25th, to welcome new Sociology Professors Derron Wallace and Mike Strand! Light refreshments will be provided at 11:45am in Pearlman 201.

Hope into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears

Karpf and Hahn Peace Prize Recipients 2015

Cooking Your ‘Self’

Join visiting scholar Rafi Grosglik for our upcoming colloquia!

It will be held in Pearlman Lounge on Thursday, February 11th at 2:30 pm. We hope to see you there!

PAX Statement of Solidarity with #FordHall2015

Below is the PAX Program’s statement of solidarity with #FordHall2015. Though the occupation has ended, with success, we feel it is important to share this nonetheless.

Statement of solidarity with #FordHall2015

The Peace, Conflict, and Coexistence Studies program (PAX) stands in solidarity with the students of #FordHall2015. At the heart of PAX is the mission to teach students how to analyze structures and processes of injustice, how to interact nonviolently with the world around them, and how to work effectively to improve it.

We believe it is essential to seek to investigate the nature of power, political participation, release from domination and exploitation, and the self’s relation to all this. We fully and enthusiastically endorse the Concerned Students’ efforts to make Brandeis more fully sensitive to race, gender, class, and other issues of oppression.

With some expertise in conflict resolution and its many applications and nuances, we offer to be as helpful as possible in any of the phases of the work ahead where we would be welcome to take part in this most urgent and promising dynamic under way.

Anita Sarkeesian – November 2nd, 2015

Please join us in welcoming Anita Sarkessian Monday, November 2nd, 2015 in Wasserman Cinematheque.

Co-Sponsored by Women’s Studies Research Center, The Chief Information Officer, Women’s & Gender Studies, Dead of Arts & Sciences, Office of the Provost, English Department, Sociology and SJSP.

Kaprf and Hahn Peace Prize Winner gives voice to poetry on campus

Source: The Hoot (link)

By Dana Trismen

Rohan Narayanan ’15 is changing the Brandeis community, one poem at a time. When the 2014-2015 school year began, the senior was already involved in an extensive amount of Brandeis extracurricular activities, including his position as president of Brandeis Television (BTV) and his critical role on TRON, the men’s Ultimate Frisbee team. But over the summer, Narayanan spent most of his time writing spoken-word poetry. He returned to Brandeis with the confidence to perform and the desire to create a safe space for others to express their emotions.

Since August, Narayanan has performed his poetry at many highly public Brandeis venues, including the Mela and Brandeis is Our House events. His spoken-word performances have been met with praise from students, faculty and staff, despite the fact that he admits he does not have any academic knowledge of the art form. “I started writing poetry a little over a year ago, and it just kind of took the form of spoken word … I think because I talk really fast and have a lot of angst and opinions, spoken word is absolutely the right medium for me,” he said in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot this week.

Narayanan is continuing to grow as a poet, and the topics he feels passionate about cover a wide range. “I do write a lot about myself, about identity, specific traumas in my life, struggles with depression and anxiety,” he said. “I also write a lot about systemic bias, issues from racism to gun violence to social strata and stereotypes, and how I really don’t like institutions like schools or the government.”

In a recent poem titled “Mike Brown,” Narayanan labels America as, “A country on its knees, burdened by racist violence.” The piece begins with the following stanzas: “Sometimes I’m afraid I’ll end up like Mike Brown/ I’m not even black and I’m worried I’ll end up face down/ Color is a target, an ardent marksmen/ We see a citizen, but they see a target/ Blood soaked shirt, hurt, shot, gunned down, dead/ Brown skin blood splattered red.”

Other spoken-word pieces are more personal. The poem “One of Us” allows Narayanan to address and struggle with his own atheism. The piece begins: “What if God was one of us?/ Then he’d probably take a wrong step off a crosswalk and get hit by a bus/ He’d mill through the crowd as another faceless citizen/ He’d get a Christmas sweater from his wife of an ugly colored crimson/ God would hate his job, on the corner he’d get robbed/ God would have student loans and there’d be a bunch of cracks on his iPhone.”

For Narayanan, sharing his own work and voice was not enough. He wanted to reach out to others on the Brandeis campus. “The Brandeis arts space is very stunted,” he said. “For a place priding itself on its social justice and commitment to free expression, I found it kind of ridiculous that there really were no places/spaces established on campus to consistently share poetry.” Narayanan is now striving to change that. He recently began hosting monthly events at Chum’s, calling the event Iamb an Artist, or simply Poetry Night.

“Poetry Nights were born from my strong desire to create a safe space and community on campus to share poetry and emotion. So far, the response has been awesome. It really warms my heart that people have gravitated toward such a space. My hope is that people keep coming out, pushing themselves, writing and sharing, and ideally the space continues to exist long after I graduate,” he said. Iamb an Artist takes place the last Thursday of the month from 9 to 11 p.m. in Chum’s, and everyone on the Brandeis campus is invited to attend. “I’m always looking to expand, grow, meet new poets and share that space with anyone and everyone who is willing to buy into the idea and challenges of free expression, strong emotion, and a safe space,” Narayanan added.

Narayanan, who names Saul Williams and George Watsk as his favorite spoken-word poets, truly believes that his work, and the work of others, carries power and momentum. “Spoken word is powerful because when someone writes and performs a poem that really means a lot to them, you can feel it. Emotion is the lifeblood of poetry, and oftentimes, when done and delivered right, it’s impossible to ignore,” Narayanan said. “It’s so important to be able to share issues, emotions and experiences in mediums apart from conversations and articles; just the idea of social justice art or extremely personal poetry is vulnerable and accessible in a way that just reading words or having a conversation isn’t always.”

Davis Projects for Peace

Want $10,000 to implement a peace project anywhere in the world? One (or more) Brandeisians will get the opportunity to do so through the Davis Projects for Peace, and that could be you!