Scholars at Risk Virtual Speaker Series
Posted April 15, 2020
In an effort to support the collective shift to online learning, Scholars at Risk presents the Virtual Speaker Series as an opportunity for institutions to bring to campus one or more SAR scholars, using videoconferencing technology. The Scholars at Risk Virtual Speaker Series is an expansion of the Vivian G. Prins SAR Speaker Series that educates campus communities and the public about threats to academic freedom and attacks on scholars. Participation in the series helps strengthen the Network while highlighting the institution’s commitment to defend academic freedom worldwide.
Download the Speaker Series Handbook
Identifying a SAR Speaker: During these Speaker Series events, SAR scholars share insights on academic freedom based on their unique experiences and may discuss topics ranging from their experience on a SAR campus, the importance of their academic work, and how being under threat has impacted their academic career. SAR staff will work closely with members throughout the planning and selection process, including identifying suitable SAR scholars for the virtual event.
Preparing for a Scholar’s Visit: Each Speaker Series is tailored to fit the schedule and interests of the host campus. An online event might feature a lecture by a SAR scholar or a panel including the scholar and might be broadcast to a class or to the public as a remote campus event. The university is asked to arrange for the use of videoconferencing technology and to offer an honorarium to the scholar. It is recommended that the university and scholar connect via video in a trial run prior to the event or lecture. After the scholar and institution are in contact, they should discuss and decide upon the terms of the invitation including considerations about the scholar’s security preferences, i.e. whether the event will be open to the public and how it will be publicized.
Invite a scholar speaker to your campus
Learn more about in-person Speaker Series
Download SAR’s Publicity and Confidentiality Checklist
SAR Scholars Available for Events:
| Scholar ID | Location | Field | Areas of Expertise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan-518 | USA | Philosophy, Islamic Studies | History of philosophy in Afghanistan, women in classical Islamic intellectualism, political Islam |
| Afghanistan-558 | Canada | Engineering of Agricultural Economics | Agricultural economics, politics, development, rural poverty, international trade of agricultural products, poppy cultivation policy, food security in Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan-597 | Germany | Chemistry | Fabrication of doped titanium nanotubes with foreign ions, cementitious system |
| Afghanistan-599 | Canada | Medical Physiology, Midwifery | National family planning, Afghan men's involvement in family planning, neurophysiology, nursing |
| Afghanistan-687 | USA | Nutrition, Public Health | Non-communicable diseases, health policy and strategy, nutrition for behaviors changes, maternal/infant/child nutrition, integrated management of malnutrition, nuclear and radiological material waste management |
| Afghanistan-710 | USA | Media, Journalism, Refugee Mental Health | Social media and the spread of terrorism in Afghanistan, struggle of Afghan immigrants in the USA, Afghan immigrant children and the US education system |
| Afghanistan-777 | Sweden | Psychology | Family counseling, couples therapy, mental health |
| Afghanistan-832 | Italy | Law | Private law, civil law, commercial law, private international law, commercial arbitration law, procedural law, arbitration, globalization of law |
| Afghanistan-834 | USA | Persian Literature | Contemporary Persian literature of Afghan women,contemporary Afghan literature, gender studies, feminism, gender equality, critical literature in anthropological and sociological studies |
| Afghanistan-837 | USA | Economics, Sustainable Development | Sustainable development policy, development economics, microeconomics, behavioral economics, conflict and development in Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan-841 | Sweden | Law & Human Rights | Rule of law, academic freedom, human rights, minority rights, asylum policies, and migration studies |
| Afghanistan-854 | USA | Water Resource Management | Engineering, watershed modelling and management, human-water systems and socio-economic modeling, artificial intelligence in hydrology, sustainable agriculture, water governance, water security |
| Afghanistan-940 | USA | English Literature, Cultural Studies | Poetry, play, translation, journalism, Persian and English literature |
| Afghanistan-1605 | Norway | Gender Studies, Business | Economic policy, corporate finance, financial management, macroeconomic, gender responsive budgeting, gender issues in Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan-2098 | Canada | Forestry & Environmental Protection | Women's empowerment, sustainable food systems, alternative food networks and organic farming, sustaiable urban landscapes, land use change, the impact of foreign direct investment |
| Bahrain-517 | Finland | Human Rights, Interfaith Dialogue | Political theology, human rights advocacy, religion and democracy, faith-based diplomacy, religious texts, human rights within the Islamic framework, religion and politics, religion and conflict resolution |
| Colombia-539 | Colombia | Social Sciences, Collective Health, Gender Studies | Human right to health and education, social activism, health and gender, gender-based violence, sexual health, reproductive health, sexual and reproductive rights (Spanish-speaking events preferred) |
| Congo(Brazaville)-513 | USA | Filmmaking, Documentaries, Human Rights | Film, cinema, human rights, democracy, authoritarianism, African political history, African studies |
| Egypt-608 | USA | Human Rights | Authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa, human rights, social movements, criminal justice |
| Ethiopia-578 | USA | Development, Food Security | International development, food security |
| Ethiopia-694 | USA | Economics, Development, Industrialization, Sustainability | Development economics, investment, trade, industry policy, private sector development, policy and practice of science/innovation/technology (STI), entrepreneurship, small businesses development, job creation |
| Ethiopia-704 | USA | International Law | Comparative law, law and society, African studies, international courts, dispute-resolution mechanisms, human rights, supranational legal institutions |
| Ethiopia-708 | Denmark | Economics | Development, behavioral and experimental economics |
| Ethiopia-727 | Australia | Nursing, Midwifery | Palliative care in rural and regional health care settings, adult health nursing, professionalism in nursing, life-threatening illnesses |
| Ethiopia-742 | USA | Law | Criminal and civil litigations, pro bono, political prisoners |
| Ethiopia-766 | Norway | Public Policy, Development | Democratic governance, corruption, gender equality, public trust, politics, political economy |
| Ethiopia-776 | Norway | Media and Communications | Journalism |
| Ethiopia-781 | United Kingdom | Media and Communications | Journalism and communication, media and communication, digital media, social media, new and online media |
| Guatemala-503 | Mexico | International Law, Human Rights | Legal and social sciences, law, notary, international law, indigenous law |
| Iran-663 | Norway | Political Psychology, Human Rights | Political psychology, human rights, democracy and theocracy, theocratic ideology's impact on democratic behavior, women studies, organizational psychology |
| Iran-745 | Finland | Women and Gender Studies | Gender, culture, development, religion, migration, academic freedom and freedom of learning, political and intellectual history |
| Iraq-801 | USA | Philosophy | Political philosophy, critical theory of social space, Frankfurt school, international relations, minorities in the Middle East, social ecology movement |
| Mexico-510 | USA | Law, Human Rights | Human rights, democracy, justice system, gross human rights investigations including enforced disappearance, torture and independence of prosecutors |
| Pakistan-618 | USA | Journalism, Human Rights, Asian Studies | Human rights, journalism, fundamental freedoms, minority rights, non-violent resistance, and democratic policy and procedures, gender equality, religious extremism, freedom of expression in the South Asian region |
| Pakistan-628 | Canada | Public Policy | Religion and politics, leadership, religious fundamentalism in politics, misuse of religion in politics, non-state human security and emancipation, systems and structures of repression |
| Palestine-628 | Italy | Organizational Sociology | Political and economic sociology |
| Syria-653 | Sweden | Archaeology | Heritage studies, Middle Eastern archaeology, the Bronze Age, the impact of civil wars on the patrimony and armed conflict, using heritage for peace-building, the misuse of heritage for political ends |
| Syria-808 | Norway | Linguistics, Translation | Language and linguistic studies, translation, cultural understanding through translation |
| Syria-934 | Finland | Social Studies of Gender | Gender, culture, society, globalized politics of queerness and community-building |
| Türkiye-543 | Norway | Law, Human Rights | Human rights law, democracy, comparative constitutional law, electoral integrity, theories of constitution-making, Turkish constitutional politics and law, academic freedom, democracy education |
| Türkiye-580 | Greece | Psychology, Peace Studies, Childhood Studies, Social Policy | Academic freedom, psycho-social consequences of personal debt around the world, neoliberal decay in for-profit universities, martyrdom and militarism, university entrance exams in Turkey, children’s rights |
| Türkiye-583 | Germany | Psychology | Clinical psychology, gender, sexuality, ethics in research, psychotherapy, mental care within the LGBTI community in Turkey, mental health care access for refugees |
| Türkiye-616 | Canada | Educational Sciences | Educational research, professional development of teachers, mentoring, multicultural education, curriculum studies, teaching and learning |
| Türkiye-643 | Canada | History, Political Science | History of the Middle East, Turkish politics, international organizations, comparative history, international law, the Cyprus problem and intellectual history |
| Türkiye-1321 | Belgium | Migration Studies | Human geography, identity, space, history of geographic thought, multiculturalism, minorities, Turkish and Muslim immigration to Europe and North America, religious and ethnic minorities in Turkey, postcolonial theory |
| Türkiye-1366 | Netherlands | Physics | Condensed matter, nanostructured materials, solar cells, renewable energy, photovoltaics, solid state physics |
| Türkiye-1484 | Germany | Economics | Development economic, economic growth, regional policies, regional inequalities, economic geography, innovation, university research, socio-economic inequalities |
| Türkiye-1585 | Switzerland | Criminal Justice | Police and society, crime prevention and evaluation, crime policies, deradicalization, transnational repression, Turkey's democratic backsliding, institutional ethnography, international security |
| Türkiye-1640 | Germany | Sociology | Political sociology, Kurdish mobilization and national struggle, theories of the state, subject formation, social movement theories, youth studies, standpoint epistemology, race, and ethnicity |
| Türkiye-1821 | Switzerland | Medicine | Medical dermatology, general dermatology, dermatoimmunology |
| Uganda-535 | United Kingdom | Human Rights Law, Transitional Justice | International law, international relations, transitional justice, peace studies, criminal justice |
| Uganda-542 | USA | Theater, Playwright, Postcolonial Studies | Film, plays, novels, manuscripts, history, colonialism, anti-homosexuality law, exile |
| Ukraine-639 | USA | History, Library Science and Information Studies | Decolonization of history, history of Ukraine, history of Russia, USSR and post-Soviet Russia, Russia's war in Ukraine, politics of memory, national narrative, socio-cultural practices and identity, information manipulations and political myths |
| Ukraine-783 | USA | Physics | General relativity, gravitation, cosmology, dark energy, black holes, expanding universe |
| Yemen-540 | USA | Biotechnology | Political psychology, human rights, democracy and theocracy, the impact of theocratic ideology on democratic behavior, women studies, organizational psychology |
| Yemen-627 | Italy | Computer Science | Artificial intelligence, machine learning, time series forecasting, Generative AI, Large Languge Models (LLMs), software engineering |
| Yemen-640 | Germany | Computer Science | Artificial intelligence, machine learning, causal inference, time series forecasting, natural language processing, deep learning, bioinformatics, sentiment analysis |
| Yemen-674 | Italy | Microbiology | Microorganisms, biomolecules, biological components in immune modulation, wound healing and biomarkers |
| Yemen-733 | Switzerland | Information Science | Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, software engineering, human rights, data protection, promotion of freedom and equality |
| Zimbabwe-556 | Canada | Adult Education, Counseling, Psychology, Public Health | Government, civil society organizations, education, HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS awareness in schools |
| Zimbabwe-565 | Canada | Journalism, International Relations | Journalism, radio, television, online media; issues of health, human rights, and gender equality |