Transcultural Education & the Liberal Arts in the Age of Globalization

Saturday, April 9, 2005
Room E101
9:30 a.m.

Participants:

Christina Isabelli-Garcia (Hispanic Studies): Language Acquisition and Social Networks in the Study Abroad Context

Rebecca Gearhart (Sociology & Anthropology): Taking Race on the Road....to Africa

Laura Myford '05: Murdering Ladybugs and Being Spit on in Samoa: How Transcultural Experiences Have Shaped My Education

Lavanga V. B. Wijekoon '04: An International Student's Experiences at 'Home' and 'Abroad'

Jennifer White Reding (Director of the International Office), Discussant

Weaving together transcultural experiences that Illinois Wesleyan students, faculty, and staff have had both on the campus and abroad, this panel highlights the ways in which meaningful interactions with peoples of other societies enhance a liberal arts education in today's increasingly integrated world. Student panelists will discuss the benefits of cross-cultural exchange between international students and their American peers on campus, as well as share insights they have gained while studying in different countries. Scholarly analyses of undergraduate study abroad is presented by faculty panelists, whose research documents the educational advantages of programs that offer language immersion opportunities, and explores how exposure to other life-ways deepens students' understanding of themselves and their own societies in profound and unexpected ways. As discussant, the new director of the International Office will highlight the points at which experience and scholarship meet and demarcate the crucial place that transcultural learning has in the liberal arts education offered at Illinois Wesleyan.