January 25, 2000
UW explores aftermath of ‘Battle for Seattle’ and future of WTO
As World Trade Organization delegates left Seattle in a cloud of tear gas and disappointment, University of Washington scholars began studying and debating the outcome and its implications for the future.
Post-WTO examinations are under way in numerous corners of the university, said Jere Bacharach, director of the Jackson School of International Studies.
Upcoming events include a six-professor Jackson School forum, a lecture by a Business School expert on global trade and a gathering of union and environmental leaders convened by the Center for Labor Studies.
Also in the works are a student-essay contest hosted by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), a public-opinion survey from the School of Communications and a major political science department initiative on dissent, citizen participation and free speech.
The UW already had established itself as a neutral forum for serious discussion of trade issues during the months leading up to the Nov. 30 start of WTO talks, Bacharach said. The school even hosted a direct encounter between strong critics of the WTO and its director-general – a vigorous but civil exchange of ideas that stood in contrast to the chaotic clashes that later erupted downtown.
The university’s scholarly and educational contributions will outlive the furor of the Seattle talks, said Douglas MacLachlan, a business professor who co-chaired the university’s WTO working group convened by President Richard McCormick.
CIBER, for example, produced a secondary-school curriculum on trade to enrich social-studies classes for years to come. These lessons were brought to life in local classrooms by specially trained UW undergraduates, dubbed Student Ambassadors.
Campus forums, lectures, courses and debates setting the stage for WTO were too numerous to list. The Law School alone hosted speakers as divergent as pro-trade ambassador Thomas Foley and free-trade critic Ralph Nader. Meanwhile, economics professor Kar-yiu Wong staged an interactive discussion with scholars in Hong Kong, and international studies professor Donald Hellmann and the Institute for International Policy conducted a major conference.
But equally significant are new efforts by UW students, faculty and staff to probe beneath the surface, said Debra Glassman, a senior lecturer in finance and business economics who will deliver a Feb. 2 lecture on the future of international trade.
“The public perception is that the WTO Ministerial Meeting pitted protesters against the WTO,”Glassman said. “But we all missed a bigger and more important story: the conflict between the developed and developing countries that unfolded inside the convention center.”
Here are some of the major post-WTO campus events and studies:
— Jan. 28. “Seattle?And the World.” 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall. Forum on issues that will shape global trade. Faculty members Daniel Chirot and David Bachman, (Jackson School), Matthew Sparke (geography) Richard Moxon and Raymond Waldmann (business) and Anita Ramasastry (law). Sponsored by the National Resource Center in International Studies. Information: Courtney Ratner, (206) 543-1666 or cratner@u.washington.edu.
–Feb. 1. WTO Essay Contest: Legacy of the Seattle Ministerial. Open to any undergraduate college student in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana or Alaska. The 1,000-word essays are due Feb. 1. Call (206) 543-8738, mail uwciber@u.washington.edu, or see http://www.washington.edu/wto/classroom/casewriting.html.
–Feb. 2. The World Trade Organization After Seattle: The Future of the International Trading System. 5:30-8 p.m., Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall. Debra Glassman, senior lecturer. Part of the Jackson School’s “International Updates” lecture-dinner series. Contact Glassman at (206) 543-8738 or dg2854@u.washington.edu.
–Feb. 2. Puget Sound Residents’ Opinions on WTO. Release of a public-opinion survey comparing residents’ views before and after the talks, and analyzing the roots of popular opposition to WTO. For more information, contact Keith Stamm, associate professor of communications, at (206) 543-2660 or kstamm@u.washington.edu.
–Feb. 4. “WTO: What Happened in Seattle? 9:15 -10:30 a.m., discussion by Glassman and Waldmann, followed by “The WTO and Non-Governmental Organizations-What Happens Next?” 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., discussion by Margaret Levi , chairwoman of the UW Center for Labor Studies, Ron Schulz of the Audubon Society and Bruce Kochis, director of the UW Human Rights Education and Research Network. Boeing Auditorium, Seafirst Executive Education Center. The public is welcome at these sessions, which are part of the annual workshop of the Northwest International Business Educators Network. For more information contact Glassman at (206) 543-8738 or dg2854@u.washington.edu.
–March 3-4. Labor’s Program After the WTO: The Future of the Alliance Between Unions and Social-Justice Activists. Friday evening forum in Kane Hall with labor and environmental leaders, followed by Saturday workshops in Savery Hall. Participants on Friday include Brian McWilliams, president of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, and David Solnit, a leader of the Direct Action Network that organized many WTO protests. For information contact Levi at (206) 543-7947 or pcls@u.washington.edu, or see http://depts.washington.edu.pcls/.
–Spring 2000. Free Speech, Citizen Participation and the University in Contemporary American Society. Times and places to be announced. Series of events sponsored by the political science department on citizenship and political dissent as free speech issues. Forums will focus on such topics as struggles for civil rights, the role of mass media and challenges in the way of public participation.
