Every other Thursday this semester, roughly 50 students have gathered in the Watson Institute for International Studies for two hours to listen to diplomats, foreign policy experts and government officials talk about global hotspots. The sessions are part of a study group led by former Sen. Lincoln Chafee '75, a visiting fellow at the Watson Institute.
Since his appointment last December, Chafee has been highly visible on campus, and though he has yet to teach a class, he has led the biweekly no-credit seminar for international relations and political science concentrators, who were selected through an application process in January.
Chafee has invited speakers to discuss international hotspots such as North Korea, Venezuela, Israel and Palestine and Iraq. The class has no compulsory work, though articles are distributed before every meeting so students can prepare for guest speakers when the forum is opened up for a question-and-answer session in the seminar's second hour.
Though Chafee himself has not given lectures, he presented his views on certain topics in his introductions, said Harrison Moskowitz '07.
As the semester comes to an end, students involved with the group said the access to Chafee was invaluable.
"Chafee was my senator, so I was very interested to hear his perspectives," said Michael Boyce '08. "The talks have all been very interesting and have allowed me to gain a keener understanding of situations."
Herald Contributing Writer Kamyl Bazbaz '07 agreed. "Chafee always brings in unique experts to talk and enlighten us on different issues," he said. "It's amazing to have access to Chafee. I learned everything I could learn in such a short time."
Last week, Frederick Barton from the Center for Strategic and International Studies spoke to the group about the deteriorating situation in Iraq, reminding them that the first step to solving problems in post-conflict states is to recognize that they're working in a volatile world.
Barton is the co-director of the post-conflict reconstruction project and senior adviser to the international security program at CSIS. He has traveled and worked in hot spots such as Haiti, Rwanda, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bazbaz said he enjoyed Barton's lecture. "He has amazing credentials and is a clear expert in the field," he said.
Barton's projects focus largely on "putting-people-first methodology." In Afghanistan, he and his team traveled through the country and ultimately interviewed 1,000 people. "It's a spectacular way to discover what was going on," Barton said.
"Afghanistan is a 10-year project, but we have to get this year right," he said. "2007 is a very important year."
Both Chafee and Barton said they were impressed with the students' dedication and interest.
"This was a terrific group who had great questions and comments," Barton said. "I could tell they were people who had a sense of the issue. But what impressed me most is that this is a non-credit course, and students still put so much effort into it."
Chafee told The Herald he is always impressed with the preparation and interest of students. "They're all curious about these issues and ask aggressive questions," he said. "I'm impressed most by the involvement of the students, the questions they ask speakers after class."
The study group will meet next Thursday for the last time. Chafee said he has not yet planned a similar project for next semester but will soon discuss his future plans with Watson Institute officials.
