SGI-USA Host Lecture on Globalization and Human Rights

June 20, 2012 - PRLog -- SANTA MONICA, CA – Soka Gakkai International-USA's Culture of Peace Resource Center in Santa Monica will host a lecture with Dr. Judith Stevenson, director of the Peace and Social Justice Program at California State University, Long Beach.  Dr. Stevenson’s research focuses on Southern Africa, political economy, globalization, social change and gender. She will be sharing her research on contested narratives of globalization and how neo-liberal economic policies and the complexities of globalization processes are affecting Africa and its people. The free lecture will take place on Saturday July 21 at 4:00pm in the SGI-USA Culture of Peace Resource Center (606 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica CA 90401). Free parking is available.

“My research examines informal sites of daily practices of production, consumption, caring, and ideologies that are key to understanding globalization processes,” says Stevenson. “I suggest that it is these types of micro spheres that constitute and inform the macro spheres of globalization. For this reason my lecture will focus on rural black women’s engagement with the macro globalization process of platinum mining from a local, community perspective.”

“Among her many responsibilities, Dr. Stevenson is the Director of the GlobaLinks2Peace project which envisions a pathway to peace and social justice through a sustainable collaboration of learners and educators across international and cultural borders using Internet technology,” say series organizer Ian McIlraith. “This lecture will be a precious opportunity to more deeply explore the forces of globalization, their impact at the local community-level.

The Culture of Peace Resource Center in Santa Monica is one of five centers in the United States opened by Soka Gakkai International-USA with the support of former United Nations Under-Secretary-General Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury.

Soka Gakkai International-USA is a socially engaged Buddhist community promoting a culture of peace.