Mortara Center for International Studies

Goldman Sachs Dinstinguished Lecture Series

The Goldman Sachs Distinguished Lecture is made possible through the generosity of Goldman Sachs in memory of Mr. Michael P. Mortara. The lecture is held annually for students, faculty, and visiting dignitaries, and features an internationally-recognized scholar or government official. Past speakers have included Lawrence Summers, Samuel Huntington, John Ruggie, Robert Rubin, and Ellen Johson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia and the first African woman president of an African country. This year's speaker was U.S. Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin) who spoke about "Promoting Democracy, Development and Diplomacy: U.S. Interest and Values."

Distinguished Lecture in Modern International History

This event brings a prominent contemporary historian to Georgetown to present his/her ideas on an aspect of recent history related to international relations. The inaugural lecture was given by Yale University Historian John Lewis Gaddis on February 1st, 2006. Past historians included Paul Kennedy, of Yale University, who spoke about "The Past, Present and Future of the United Nations" which was based on his recent book, The Parliament of Man. In 2008, Professor Niall Ferguson from Harvard University addressed Georgetown students and faculty about "The Problem of Conjecture: American Strategy after the Bush Doctrine". This year, Professor Paul Kennedy returned to talk about his research on WWII. The title of his topic was "History from the Middle: How The Second World War Was Won, January 1943-June 1944".

Distinguished Lecture in International Economics

This lecture brings to campus a well known scholar of economics as applied to an international issue. Nobel Prize winning economist Douglass North gave the inaugural lecture in 2006. Professor Dani Rodrik spoke about "Is Globalization Compatible with Democracy?".

Research Seminars

Mortara Center research seminars bring outside speakers, faculty, and graduate students together to present and discuss their research. The Center has expanded its offerings during the past year, and now include the China Forum, the South Asia Forum, working groups on Political Economy, International Development, International Relations and a seminar series on Comparative Government Field.

Emerging Issues Conferences

These conferences address issues just beyond the political horizon, but little examined by scholars as of yet. The first panel co-sponsored by CPASS and the Georgetown Medical School, took place in the fall of 2005. The panel examined the public health, economic, and security implications of an Avian Flu Pandemic. Last year, the Center organized a conference on World Malaria, its impact, the medical research in controlling and eliminating it and the policy and international legal implications of malaria interventions. This conference engaged the Center for Infectious Disease of Georgetown's Medical School, experts from the Main Campus and from the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law from Georgetown's Law Center. Additionally, the Center organized a conference on State Fragility: Causes, Consequences, Responses and on Realism and the Next US President: National Interests, Grand Strategy and the Use of Force.

Faculty Book Events

The Mortara Center sponsors book launch events featuring panel discussions of new Georgetown Faculty publications, which highlight the important work being done at Georgetown. The Center recently sponsored book launches for Professor Madeleine Albright's "Memo to the President", Professor James J. O'Donnell's "The Ruin of the Roman Empire", Associate Professor J.P. Singh's "Negotiation and the Global Information Technology", Professor Katherine Marshall's "Navigating Turbulent Waters: The World Bank and the New U.S. Administration", and Professor Stanley Nollen's "New Industries from New Places".

Faculty and Student Proposed Activities

The Mortara Center is open to receiving ideas from faculty and students for new activities. The Center can help finance and organize such activities. Please contact mortaracenter@georgetown.edu with new event proposals.