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Field Sites 2008GIEU Site - BrazilStruggles for Economic and Environmental Justice in Brazil and the United States Site Leaders: Ian Robinson and Dorceta Taylor Abstract : Participants will connect with people and organizations struggling for a more just distribution of key resources in Brazil and the United States. They will meet with local farmers seeking access to good land; auto workers fighting for fair wages; and urban poor demanding decent housing in a non-toxic environment. Students will ask what role public universities are playing, and ought to play, in these struggles. The heart of the experience will be homestays within the impoverished local community and a “buddy system” with Brazilian university students in and around Salvador, the capital of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil. GIEU Site - ChinaUnited States and China Dialogue on Global Justice in the 21st Century Site Leader: Daniel Pak Abstract : The United States of America and the People’s Republic of China represent two of the world’s largest and most influential nation states. The influence of these two empires is unmistakable, but very distinct in their nature and context. If today’s world was shaped by the Western European colonialism of the 1700’s, then the future will be reshaped by the global economic imperialism of this century. Participants will be asked to address issues of economic, environmental and social justice in dialogue with Chinese university students. GIEU Site - Costa RicaMoving from Thought to Action: Understanding Community Development Outreach through the Lens of Costa Rica Site Leader: Bob Miller Abstract : Participants will directly engage in community development outreach in Costa Rica. They will spend two weeks working with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), a local office of the United Nations Development Program, and a government loans office in order to learn the process for preparing a development project. They will then travel to a rural site and spend the final two weeks building community relationships and collecting data. Participants will have the opportunity to live with families and will receive intensive on site Spanish lessons. GIEU Site - DetroitDetroit From the Ground Up: Creative Communities through Art and Food Site Leader: Nick Tobier Abstract : Nurturing a garden is a creative act that connects individuals to places. Through shared work in the urban fields, participants will learn from and collaborate with community members to create permanent garden structures and share communal feasts. They will engage all of their senses from the ground up, while finding the connections among gardening, food, the arts and community. In partnership with Earth Works Garden in Detroit, participants will work with children, elders and a variety of community members to grow gardens and build sustainable structures of fresh food and creative arts projects while living with community members in the city. GIEU Site - GhanaCombating Maternal Mortality in Ghana Site Leader: Kathleen Sienko Abstract : Participants will begin to develop a maternal mortality prevention program focused on both the generation of innovative technological interventions and educational outreach for the purpose of reducing maternal mortality. Students will investigate the best practices in the U.S. and other developing nations, observe clinicians in both the U.S. and Ghana, conceptualize medical, technological and infrastructural interventions, and develop and implement a basic educational outreach program for child-bearing aged women. GIEU Site - IndiaGurukula Learning: Yoga, Music and Dance and Literacy in South India Site Leaders: Stephen Rush and Carol Richardson Abstract : Participants will learn yoga, music and dance through the rote-style tradition of instruction unique to India, Gurukula style. By studying at the feet of the master (Guru) in the home of the Guru, the participant will learn the sociological context of the artist, including the place of the artist in the family. Participants will also be working with the Vivekananda Center in Mysore, encountering first-hand the problem of literacy in India. GIEU Site - ItalyPuppet Pageant Art in Italy Site Leader: Mark Tucker Abstract : Participants will travel to Italy to work with pageant puppet master artists, who are renowned for boldly addressing political, social and cultural issues in their large-scale puppet art. They will experience life in Italy through the eyes of an artist. Students will stay with host families while creating their own puppet, which will be presented in a culminating celebration pageant in a remote north Italian community. GIEU Site - New OrleansThe Arts of New Orleans: Gender, Race, Class and Katrina Site Leaders: Robin Wilson and Dwight Fontenot Abstract : Participants will explore how life and the arts, so central to the lives of New Orleans’ residents, changed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and how artists are working to rebuild in its wake. They will work with community arts organizations to rebuild the infrastructure of New Orleans, while examining the arts through the lens of gender, race, and class. GIEU Site - PhilippinesRehabilitation in Philippine Communities Site Leader: Gianna Rodriguez Abstract : Worldwide there are a growing number of people with disabilities. In the Philippines, a developing country, people with disabilities are generally not active members in the home or community. Participants will lay the groundwork for Filipino-specific programs that will educate, provide rehabilitation services, and create economic opportunities for people with disabilities. They will increase awareness and educate volunteer leaders and doctors in impoverished communities while researching Philippine culture, beliefs and practice. GIEU Site - SenegalSenegambian Megaliths, Cultural Heritage and Local Community in Senegal Countryside Site Leader: Augustin Holl Abstract : The Senegambian megaliths that dot a significant portion of the South-Central Senegal landscape are a puzzling phenomenon that fascinates and raises interesting questions on the nature of past societies. They are at the same time components of an active cultural heritage program supported by the recent listing of the site of Sine Ngayene in UNESCO World Heritage. Archaeological research will be conducted in close collaboration with the local community, offering participants training in field archaeology as well as an exceptional vista on the character and pace of life in an African countryside. GIEU Site - TanzaniaTanzania: Education and Opportunity for Children Site Leader: A.T. Miller Abstract :Participants will compare the educational opportunities and support for children in settled rural villages and among nomadic people, interning in schools, daycare settings, and orphanages in Kenya and Tanzania. There will be home stays with local families and outings to some of the natural wonders of East Africa, while interacting with projects of U-M alumni. What are the prospects for tradition and modernity in the lives of children in the U.S and around the globe in our interconnected world? GIEU Site - Viet NamViet Nam Today: From War to Economic Transformation and Globalization Site Leaders: David R. Smith and ThuyAhn Nguyen Abstract : As one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, Viet Nam provides an opportunity for participants to examine the rapid social and economic changes associated with globalization. Directly connected to this economic change are the enormous human, social and political consequences stemming from America’s involvement in the wars for Viet Nam. Participants will interact with faculty and students at Viet Nam National University in Ha Noi and will also volunteer at Kids’ First Viet Nam in Quang Tri Province.
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The University of Michigan | Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates |
