#AcademicRunPlaylist - 3/8/25

I stayed warm while the family hit the slopes, and while enjoying winter's last gasp (hopefully!) I also enjoyed some talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was a great talk by Marixa Lasso with a Panamanian-centered history of the Panama Canal at the Stanford Center for Latin American Studies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icq1W8vWZns

Next was a compelling session by JETRO on Japanese Africa-focused startups with Shizuka Funayama, Jim Huang, Akihiro Kishimoto, Masaki Umeda, and Ben Mwasaga at the Africa Tech Summit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BLwcYHP-io

Next was an interesting talk by Jeannette Bohg on using YouTube data for robot learning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inJ86ETePVQ

Next was a compelling session on climate change tech in Africa with Scott Onder, Toffene Kama, Mwende Mugendi, Rose Goslinga, and James Odede at the Africa Tech Summit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6SvUOEjEpU

Last was "Birthright Citizens" by Martha S. Jones. The legal framework around free Black people in Antebellum America is a contradictory web, and the forces that conspired to further warp the law to make Black immigration more appealing than resistance are explored in detail in this richly researched book. While topics such as the American Colonization Society are also covered elsewhere, Jones provides rich accounts of these efforts and their effect on the American Black community. Overall, this is a powerful account of what American citizenship has meant and the central role that Black activists played in shaping our modern conventions. Highly recommend https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/history/early-republic-and-antebellum-history/birthright-citizens-history-race-and-rights-antebellum-america