Editor: Julius A. Amin
The Global Education Seminar serves as a key element for faculty development and supports academic units' strategic plans for internationalization. The program is an educational and scholarly initiative, providing an exciting opportunity for a coordinated team of faculty to be immersed in international locales, with intensive faculty study about a strategic site in advance of the three-week exploratory visit.
The chapters in this volume have been contributed by UD participants of the Global Seminar and colleagues in Peru and Argentina who interacted and helped to shape experiences in those countries.
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Journeying Through South America
Julius A. Amin
The Global Education Seminar offered opportunities to faculty to experience life in another culture with hopes of returning to campus to educate colleagues and students. This article argues that travels to Argentina and Peru accomplished some of that objective. Among the educational aspects, the experience addresses the question: “what does it mean to be black in those countries?” The conclusion was revealing in several ways, and among them was that racism was displayed in different ways in different societies. Additionally, the experience helped to reinforce the differences between cultural immersion and tourism. In the end the experience enriched participants’ knowledge and ability to promote global and intercultural conversations on campus.
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Philosophical Ruminations on Political Tourism
Ernesto Rosen Velásquez
In my piece I reflect on a few aspects of our cohorts in-country- experience in some regions of Argentina and Peru. In particular issues of political sensibilities and spontaneous political mobilization are discussed. Some observations about different senses of what a free university might potentially mean are also noted. Furthermore, as a way of framing different kinds of activities a distinction between two kinds of projects are made: projects that follow a logic of inclusion and projects that recognize alterity. These two kinds of projects are tied respectively to two conflicting views of the good life: vivir mejor (living better) and buen vivir (collective living). As a matter of morality I suggest the pursuit of the latter.
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Humility, Otherness, and Immersion: Reflections on Traveling in South America
Tereza M. Szeghi
This chapter addresses the nature of academic travel and some of the professional and personal dividends the 2013 University of Dayton Global Education Seminar trip to Argentina and Peru offered. It examines the power dynamics involved when entering unfamiliar nations and spaces in the interest of research, along with the shifting nature of identity in the context of such travel. It suggests that the lines between academic travel and tourism are fluid and contingent, and asserts that one of the merits of engaging in this form of travel (among others) is that it invites self-awareness about one’s place in the world and one’s relationship to others (as mediated by such factors as nationality, language, education, and socioeconomic status). A critical component of this self-awareness came through being in a position of otherness vis-à-vis the spaces and peoples encountered and experiencing unaccustomed vulnerabilities. Through a series of experiences the chapter shows that vulnerability, humility, and need can open doors to meaningful and transformative human connections not often available in the more comfortable and secured home environment.
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Peru Story Book
Caitlin Cipolla-McCulloch
Embarking on a year outside one’s own native culture challenges, stretches, and inspires. A year in Peru offered much to reflect on and share. This unique culture offers great diversity within its borders and in the midst of the variety of languages, dances, and foods is one of the ‘7 Wonders of the World’- Machu Picchu. In this spirit- the entry captures ‘7 Wonders of the World’ and ‘7 Momentous Experiences’ to honor a yearlong enculturation experience. In the end, it was a year marked by many transformative experiences.
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Lessons through the Lens: Some Thoughts on Travel--Prompted by Photographs by Susan Wawrose
Susan Wawrose
Travel photographs preserve memories and prompt recollections. They can be intensely personal, but even so themes and genres, familiar to all travelers, can be identified in any individual's collection. This photo essay relies on photographs from a faculty trip to Argentina and Peru as prompts for reflection on the nature of travel and return. It offers a photogenic perspective of the experiences in those two countries.
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Reflections on five Schools: Education and Social Justice
Kathryn Kinnucan Welsch
During the 2012 – 2013 academic year, seven faculty engaged in reading, reflection, and conversations with themselves and others as part of the Global Education Seminar, a faculty development program designed to support intercultural and global initiatives. The seminar culminated in a three-week trip to Argentina and Peru, during which the cohort visited schools, universities, and the streets of Buenos Aires and Lima. The stories of five schools, some affluent, some located in the midst of poverty, offer a window into the intersection of education and social justice. The stories offer food for thought around three themes: 1) social justice is embedded in the very fabric of the schools; 2) teaching English is a social justice project; and 3) direct experiences in unfamiliar settings have the potential to transform how we teach others.
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Marianist Volunteer Program Peru "Sharing Learning Experiences"
Felipe Melcher
This document explains the service mission of the Society of Mary in Lima, Peru, and identifies projects available for volunteers to do. It also points to the benefits of service. It explains many of the ways that people can volunteer to serve.
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Symposium on Bullying
Clever Serrano, Franco G. Chiappo, and Maria Eugenia Orihuela
During the visit to the Colegio Santa Maria a symposium took place on the subject of bullying. Speakers at the symposium included Treavor Bogard, Maria Eugenia Orihuela, Franco G. Chiappo, Clever Serrano, and Julius Amin. The articles in this section were presented by Serrano, Chiappo, and Orihuela. The symposium attracted a large audience and participation was very good. Perspectives on bullying in South America and the US were presented. It became clear that bullying was a universal problem and required both local and universal solutions.
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Testimonies of Second-Year Students at the Virgin of Miracles of Caacupe School
During the visit to Argentina and Peru faculty from the University of Dayton visited and exchanged ideas with students from a variety of schools and the conversation below was an example of those discussions. In the final analysis, those discussions showed that irrespective of where people live, they all dream of a better life.
