Saskia Sassen, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago, delivered her complex and innovative idea of "third space" global institutions on Wednesday in the Lindsey Young Auditorium.

Stating that she sought to demolish what we see as truths, Sassen began her speech by asking the audience a question which she answered by introducing and giving examples of current third spaces in the world.

"If there is change in the world today, what is it?" Sassen asked.

To answer this question, Sassen delved into her abstract idea of areas and institutions world wide that have lost their national identity while by no means having global recognition.  She calls these areas third spaces because they have neither a national nor a global identity.
          
The hot topic of the Mexican-American border was Sassen's first example of a third space.  She described the entire length of the border-land as having lost its national identity due to the unprecedented number of Hispanics that are illegally crossing it into America and the incompetence of the border police to stop them.  However, the Mexican-American border is by no means a global institution, so therefore it is an area in between, Sassen explained.

She also pointed out that society is creating third spaces by currently allowing operations that would never have been allowed in the past.

An example of such an operation took place when Mexico's president simply walked into America illegally and met with undocumented Mexican workers to make a special informal jurisdiction for them.  America did not object to any of this.
 
Sassen met with the president and told him, in reference to his illegal actions deemed acceptable by America, "You have created a new jurisdiction."  The president agreed.
 
Sassen explained that such blatant allowance for law breaking creates third spaces because the areas in which the law is broken lose their national identity and do not have any global recognition.
 
Third spaces are a danger to Americans because they are causing us to lose our democracy, Sassen explained.
 
She humorously said that when her husband told her to get a hobby, she told him, "I have a hobby.  I am counting the rights that we as citizens are losing."
 
While Sassen admitted that her idea was complicated, she effectively conveyed her idea of the growing third spaces and emphasized the importance for global citizens to understand them and their impact upon the world.

Sassen is a prominent scholar of globalization and immigration who just completed an 8-year project concerning sustainable human development for the UNESCO.  She has published several works and written for such major publications as the Washington Post.
 
Her academic pursuits focus upon working with non-governmental organizations to promote civilized and legal globalization.  Evidenced by the fact that her publications have been translated into 16 languages, it is clear that Saskia Sassen has a crucial message for all.