Global Learning Program takes flight

The Origins of Liberal Education Global Learning Program (GLP) Tutorial, led by Mirzam Pérez (Spanish) and Aysha Pollnitz (History), spent spring break in Europe. The two faculty leaders, one language assistant (Italian), and 15 first-year students examined liberal education and its origins together on campus for the spring semester and then traveled, toured, and studied together in Italy and Spain for the duration of spring break for further investigation of the course theme.

While in Europe as a GLP Tutorial, the group analyzed visual arts, architecture, and public spectacles. Together the group interrogated global development of liberal education and reflected on whether ancient texts offered new perspectives on contemporary debates about the value of the liberal arts and sciences.

For part two of the same group's travels, the group will head to Mexico for nine days at the end of the spring semester where the students will visit: Teotihuacan Pyramids, Chapultepec Castle, Basilica de Guadalupe, and many other tours and excursions. In total, the cohort will travel for just over three weeks to various sites and countries which compliment the theme of the course.

It is the leadership of a talented interdisciplinary pair of faculty and these extensive travel experiences that make the Global Learning Program a rich opportunity for First-Year Grinnellians. The Center for International Studies is pleased to coordinate the GLP. We look forward to the second GLP Tutorial, "Tolerance and Intolerance: What is Enlightenment Today?" travels, which will take place in one stint, between May 22 and June 16.

Wilson Program seeks student committee members

Consider applying 

The Wilson Program inspires and prepares students as innovators and leaders. 

With a recently revised mission statement, the committee is in the process of reviewing and expanding programming. Programming has included events such as:

• TEDxGrinnell and Pioneer Weekend;
• support for courses related to the mission;
• and funding for student internships, externships, and other related travel.  

The Wilson Program Committee is composed of students, staff and faculty.  It assists in envisioning and implementing relevant programming, evaluating funding proposals, providing linkages to academic and co-­‐curricular programs, and generally promoting the program.  Student members will be expected to attend semimonthly meetings and contribute significantly to at least one major event per year. 

The Wilson Program is seeking new student members to serve on this program committee. 

All current 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year students who have an interest in innovation and/or leadership are urged to apply.

To apply, please submit a statement to Robert Ludwig ludwigr@grinnell.edu by 7am on Monday, May 2. This statement should discuss:

• your interest, activities and coursework in innovation and leadership;
• your reflections on Wilson Program courses or activities you have participated in;
• your ideas for Wilson-­‐sponsored programming you would like to see in the future.
• Please, also include your major (if declared) and your class year.

With questions, contact the Wilson Program Director, Monty Roper roperjm@grinnell.edu.

Anthropology of Collective Memory Explores Ireland

Spring Break 2016 group travels to explore course themes

Brigittine French, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, led her Anthropology 395 students, accompanied by Casey Oberlin, Assistant Professor of Sociology to Dublin, Ireland for a week during spring break. Professor French notes:

"The course addresses forms of collective memory from theoretical and ethnographic perspectives. It locates memory in the social world, in the relevance of the past for the present, and in on-going struggles to represent and commemorate meaningful histories. It begins by addressing foundational theories. It builds upon them to consider: the relationship between nationalism and memory, the limits and possibilities of representing violence, the on-going contestation of public memories, and embodied performances of memory."

The travel to Ireland provided students with opportunities to examine the major themes of the course. Upon the completion of the course, students will present scholarly posters or creative visual representations of their research in Ireland for a symposium during the final week of the semester.

Aside from touring around Dublin, there were excursions to:

 Newgrange, Glendalough and Glasnevin Cemetery

2017 German Bundestag Internship Program

Consider applying for the 2017 German Bundestag Internship 

                                     

Program information:

• Dates of program: March 1 -- July 31, 2017
• Application deadline: June 30, 2016
• Who: students who will be recent graduates in 2017
• Objective: promote relations between Germany and participating countries
• Student status: participants enroll as students at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 
• Where: work in the office of a member of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) 

For more information see the Deutscher Bundestag program website.

Black Lives Matter: Damon Williams '14 on campus April 28 & 29

4p.m. Thursday, April 28 ARH 302

Environmental Justice from the Lens of a Two-Spirit Ojibwe Woman

Presentation by Sharon Day on Earth Day, 22 April, 2016 in ARH 302, 7:00-8:00 p.m.

In 2003 Sharon Day, Josephine Madamin and other Anishinaabe women began Mother Earth Water Walks to bring awareness about water issues. By walking long distances with water and praying for it with each step, the women raise awareness about how water is connected to our lives. Join us on Earth Day to hear how Indigenous Two-Spirit identities shape activism and responsibility to the environment. 

Speaker bio: Sharon Day, Ojibwe, is executive director of the Indigenous People’s Task Force. Sharon is 2nd degree Midewin and follows the spiritual path of the Anishinaabe people; part of her spiritual practice is to care for water. In 2003 Sharon Day, Josephine Madamin and other Anishinaabe women began Mother EarthWater Walks to bring awareness about water issues. By walking long distances with water and praying for it with each step, the women raise awareness about how water is connected to our lives. In spring 2013 she led a group of Ojibwe women on a two-month walk from the headwaters to the mouth of the Mississippi River to raise awareness about the water’s diminishing quality. She is an artist, musician, and writer and has received numerous awards, including the Resourceful Woman Award, the Gisela Knopka Award, BIHA’s Women of Color Award, The National Native American AIDS Prevention Resource Center’s Red Ribbon Award, and most recently, the Alston Bannerman Sabbatical Award. She is an editor of the anthology Sing! Whisper! Shout! Pray! Feminist Visions for a Just World (Edgework Books, 2000).

Wednesday, April 6: film "Cafe Ta'amon" with Director

WED 6pm, in JRC 101, come for a light buffet & film screening of "Cafe Ta'amon" with Director, Michael Teutsch