Upcoming Events

Please join IPSA on Sunday, June 28th for our second IPSA Summer Book Club event.  Even if you have not read the whole book, feel free to come join us! See details below:

IPSA Summer Book Club: Emma’s War by Deborah Scroggins

When:  Sunday June 28th, 11 AM

Where : Tea Spot, 127 MacDougal Street

About: “Enriched by Deborah Scroggins’s firsthand experience as an award-winning journalist in Sudan, this unforgettable account of Emma McCune’s tragically short life also provides an up-close look at the volatile politics in the region. It’s a world where international aid fuels armies as well as the starving population, and where the northern-based Islamic government—with ties to Osama bin Laden—is locked in a war with the Christian and pagan south over religion, oil and slaves. Tying together these vastly disparate forces as well as Emma’s own role in the problems of the region, Emma’s War is at once a disturbing love story and a fascinating exploration of the moral quandaries behind humanitarian aid.”

Co-sponsored by Wagner Student Alliance For Africa (WSAFA).

More upcoming events below the fold.

IPSA Summer Book Club-Mountains Beyond Mountains

On Thursday, 6/18, an eclectic group of current and future NYU students met to discuss the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. MBM chronicles the life and work of Paul Farmer, an American doctor has worked tirelessly since the mid-1980′s to bring high quality medical care and social equity to various underdeveloped regions, but most notably Haiti. Much of this work occurs through the organization he co-founded, Partners in Health, but his work in these regions began long before the founding of PIH.

Discussion began with general reactions, all positive, to the book. Some identified with Farmer and his quest (also noting the frequent mentions of Lord of the Rings, a favorite of Farmer’s, in MBM); others admired Farmer for his work but felt that they didn’t share his tireless devotion. The book prompted a great deal of discussion around the methodologies, advantages, pitfalls, and other issues surrounding international development.

Farmer was criticized for not working to improve poverty more holistically. Although much of his work has reported and analyzed the associations between poverty, disease, and poor health outcomes, Farmer himself has refrained from working directly in alleviating poverty. His life’s work has centered around multi drug tuberculosis health care, and he himself has become directly involved in administering that care. Farmer cites this as crucial to improving health and quality of life, but some would criticize that he could be more effective by working less with patients.

Farmer, however, treasures his time with patients, especially those of Haiti. Furthermore, by working in Haiti so often, Farmer rejects many of the rewards and advantages of the American medical system, and some thought he was particularly unique in his refusal of material rewards.

Farmer himself would most likely sternly rebuke any such criticisms of himself, as he does in the book, and there can be no doubt that he has improved the lives of thousands, if not millions, by working in his unique methods.

Andrew Quinn