In 1948, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the University of Idaho to lecture on war and peace. This lecture was the first Borah Symposium. This year, for the first time in the symposium’s history, every expert speaking at the event is female.
The Borah Symposium has been an annual lecture event at UI since Roosevelt’s visit 71 years ago. The symposium tackles questions about the causes of war and the conditions necessary to create peace. The Martin Institute, a research center connected to the International Studies program, assists the Borah Foundation committee in producing the symposium each year.
Director of the Martin Institute Bill Smith said the longevity of the symposium differentiates the event from other colloquiums, symposiums and lecture series on campus.
“This (theme of war and peace) comes out of a legacy of the state of Idaho through figures like Senator William Edgar Borah, for whom the symposium is named, who were very interested in big macro ideas of global peace and how to attain it,” Smith said.
Smith said after Roosevelt’s visit, almost every speaker at the symposium was a white male and nearly all of them shared a traditional perspective of the concepts of war and peace. He said the diversity of this panel should provide a more holistic approach to understanding war and peace.
Sherri Goodman, a senior strategist at the Center for Climate and Security, began the symposium with a plenary address Monday. Smith said the field of research into conflict as it relates to climate change was founded by Goodman in the 1990s. She was invited to give a holistic view of climate change as it relates to world conflict.
Captain Shaun McAndrew, commanding officer with the UI-WSU Navy ROTC Detachment, will speak on Tuesday. She will share a lecture titled “Considerations on the U.S. Navy and Climate in the Arctic.” Smith said she was invited to share information on how the military is involved in climate-related conflicts.
Ertharin Cousin, former executive director of the UN World Food Programme, will also speak on Tuesday. Smith said she was invited to share information on food aid in conflicts and how climate change will impact that dynamic. She will share a lecture titled “Food, Climate, and Conflict.”
The symposium will end with a keynote address by Samantha Power, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday in the International Ballroom. Smith said she was invited to explain how climate change influences people on an individual level.
McAndrew will speak at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Vandal Ballroom. Cousin will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Power will speak at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]