The Ivy Bookshop and the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute at Johns Hopkins University present the latest installment of Humanities in the Village, featuring Prof. Zekeh Gbotokuma and Dr. Linda Loubert as a two-person panel to chat about Prof. Gbotokuma's book, Obamanomics and Francisconomics (Europe Books 2022).

Obamanomics and Francisconomics, is committed to combining the experience and life of two leaders, belonging to two different worlds but so similar in some respects with the current economy. It conveys how much the future and sustainability depend "on the ability and willingness of President Barack Obama and Pope Francis to produce more leaders than followers. These leaders are, in Obama's words, the 'relay race which is human progress'."

Click here to RSVP!

Books will be available for purchase at the event.

Dr. Zekeh S. Gbotokuma is a globetrotter, polyglot (Ngbaka, Lingala, French, English, Italian, German, and some Spanish), Lexicographer, and a Congolese-American who refers to himself as a cosmocitizen. He earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from Gregorian University, a post-doctoral Diploma in International Studies from the Italian Society for International Organization, a BA in Theology from Pontifical Urban University, all in Rome, Italy. He also holds several Certificates (English as Foreign Language from St. Luke’s Priory, Wincanton, UK; Certificate in French from the Institut d'Etudes Françaises de Touraine, Tours, France; Certificate in Deutsch als Fremdsprache (German as Foreign Language), from Goethe Institute Boppard, Germany; and a Certificate in African Studies from Yale University’s PIER-African Studies. After twelve years of education and work in Europe, he is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland (USA), and the founding President of Polyglots in Action for Diversity, Inc. (PAD). He is the former Director of the Center for Global Studies at MSU. His “extraordinary commitment to global learning and international understanding” made him the recipient of the prestigious Dr. Sandye Jean McIntyre, II International Award 2008. He is also one of Afrimpact Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People Awards 2017 and 2021 recipients. He is the author of numerous multilingual publications (written in English, French, Italian, and Lingala), including, among others, DEMOCRACY AND DEMOGRAPHICS IN THE USA (2020). A Polyglot Pocket Dictionary of Lingala, English, French, and Italian (2016); Global Safari: Checking In and Checking Out in Pursuit of World Wisdoms, the American Dream, and Cosmocitizenship (2015); A Pan-African Encyclopedia (2003), and the International Literary award-winning book, OBAMANOMICS AND FRANCISCONOMICS: A Call for Poverty Alleviation, Fairness, and Welfare (Europe Books 2022).

Dr. Linda Loubert is a Political Economist with a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is an Associate Professor in the Economics Department at Morgan State University. Dr. Loubert is a certified Geographical Information Systems (GIS) professional and has used GIS for more than 20 years to support her spatial analysis of socioeconomic data. She has published numerous articles that include spatial analysis of socioeconomic data, an approach now better known as Geodemographics. She especially enjoys bringing trending GIS tools to the classroom, where her students majoring in Economics learn the value of this emerging technology for economists. She is currently studying how AI can be added to her curriculum as an additional tool for understanding how equity is lost.

Event Details