Global Studies strengthens links with Cornell University

Four members of Global Studies faculty and a group of doctoral students visited Cornell last month to advance the Sussex-Cornell Partnership. The partnership, which was established in 2015, formally links the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell with the School of Global Studies and the Institute for Development Studies to further collaborative research and teaching in the field of Global Development.

Dr Rebecca Prentice, Dr Peter Luetchford, Prof Geert De Neve and Dr Ben Selwyn led panels on ‘The Politics of Precariousness and the Production of Vulnerability’ and ‘Class Dynamics of Development’ at the ‘Development in Question’ international conference, with Dr Selwyn also holding a highly praised keynote talk.

The conference was accompanied by a special doctoral symposium, involving students and faculty from Sussex and Cornell. ‘Students from both sides were very excited about the opportunity to exchange research findings and receive feedback from experts in their field,’ said Prof De Neve. ‘We are keen to develop this type of exchange further in the future.’

Prof De Neve and Cornell colleagues also met with more than ten other partners to discuss the next steps for an international consortium in development studies. The network will bring together scholars from the global north and global south, with plans to establish a joint web presence, student exchange, the development of joint research projects and collaborative teaching.

Sussex and Cornell have agreed to expand the existing Visiting Faculty Scheme in the new year, with Dr Nigel Eltringham and Prof James Fairhead visiting Ithaca in the spring to teach six-week modules.

‘It was clear that Sussex is very much on the map of our colleagues at Cornell as an institution where leading research is conducted on a range of development issues,’ commented Prof De Neve. ‘As our partnership goes from strength to strength, we are seen as a key collaborator in the development of the consortium too’.

The Sussex-Cornell Partnership is a strategic research partnership supported by the International Research Partnerships and Networks Fund. Cornell is also an eligible institution for the new Harry Kroto Fellowships, which aim to consolidate sustainable collaborative research with specific partner institutions.

The Current Conjuncture in World Affairs

Faculty from Sussex and Cornell universities met in May for the concluding workshop of a joint research project on ‘The Current Conjuncture in World Affairs’. The project brought together scholars from International Relations, International Political Economy, Development Sociology, Anthropology and Cultural Studies to analyse the present moment in history from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

Pictured here: Connal Cash, Kamran Matin, Chris Boyle, Andrew Davenport, Julian Germann, Andrea Cornwall, Justin Rosenberg and Fouad Makki.