Economic historian to address Ethiopian economic development Nov. 15

Dr. Chuck Schaefer

Dr. Chuck Schaefer

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Dr. Chuck Schaefer, an associate professor of history at Valparaiso University since 1977, will speak on “Authoritarianism and Economic Development: Ethiopia's Investment Gamble" at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, in Room 1025 of Brown Hall on the campus of Western Michigan University.

About Dr. Chuck Schaefer

Prior to serving as a professor and chair of the Department of International Studies at Valparaiso University, Dr. Chuck Schaefer taught at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia as a Fulbright Lecturer and has since focused his research in Ethiopia. As an economic historian, he analyzes Ethiopia’s integration into the world economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, looking strictly at economic indices such as trade, capital creation, money supply and credit and lending in order to partially answer the question: Why is Ethiopia poor?

His research has since shifted to answer the question: Why is there conflict in Ethiopia and what can be done about it? This research initiative has focused on transitional justice. Schaefer co-edited The Ethiopian Red Terror Trials: Transitional Justice Challenged, and has since researched methods of peace-building, reconciliation and restorative justice in Ethiopia.

He is interested in modern African and Middle Eastern history focusing specifically on political and social history. The courses he teaches on a regular basis include survey courses on African history and global studies, and upper-level classes in 20th-century African history, modern Middle Eastern history, and topics courses on human rights and humanitarian intervention.

Schaefer's lecture is being hosted by the WMU Center for African Development Policy Research and co-sponsored by WMU's Light Center for Chinese Studies; the departments of Anthropology, Economics, Foreign Languages, Geography, History, Political Science and Sociology; Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Center for the Humanities; and Haenicke Institute for Global Education.

For more information, contact Dr. Sisay Asefa, director of WMU's Center for African Development Policy Research, at sisay.asefa@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5556.

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