Audrey Weber ’24 earns Fulbright to teach English in Ecuador</h1> <article> <h1>Audrey Weber ’24 earns Fulbright to teach English in Ecuador</h1> <p>dfrezza — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:36:08 +0000</p> <span>Audrey Weber ’24 earns Fulbright to teach English in Ecuador</span> <span><span>dfrezza</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-10-01T10:36:08-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 1, 2025 - 10:36">Wed, 10/01/2025 - 10:36</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>What have you been up to since graduating from 91ֱ��?</strong></p><p>After graduation, I returned home to the Cayman Islands, where I’ve been working at a newly opened primary school as a learning assistant. I work primarily with nine to 11-year-olds, supporting them through reading and math interventions and introducing them to Spanish. The role felt like a natural extension of my experiences at 91ֱ��, including my time as an ExCo instructor and teaching assistant in the Hispanic Studies department. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to help young learners grow in confidence and curiosity, but I’m also looking forward to stepping into my next adventure.</p><p><strong>How does pursuing the Fulbright align with your post-college life and career goals? </strong></p><p><a href="https://us.fulbrightonline.org/">Fulbright</a> bridges my academic interests and my long-term goals. I’m deeply committed to cross-cultural communication, which has been at the heart of my work in both education and advocacy. My experience with Catholic Charities solidified my desire to pursue a career in human rights law, with a focus on nonprofit work alongside Latin American communities. The Fulbright fellowship will allow me to immerse myself in Ecuadorian culture, strengthen my language skills, and continue learning in dialogue with others. As an anthropologist, I believe that living and working in the community is one of the most meaningful ways to understand–and more justly represent–the people I hope to one day serve.</p><p><strong>Where specifically will you be/what will you be doing—and what are you looking forward to the most?</strong></p><p>I’ll be working as an English teaching assistant at a university in Ecuador. Outside of my teaching hours, I’m excited to engage in community life and continue exploring themes from my undergraduate thesis, which focused on Andean ontologies and indigenous resistance to extractive industries such as mining. Ecuador offers a vital context to further understand these dynamics, and I look forward to learning from the perspectives and lived experiences of those most directly affected.</p><p>I am most excited about forming relationships with my students and creating an environment for open discussion. Since I’ll be working with university students, I look forward to returning to the dynamic environment of a college campus and learning from their perspectives on language, identity, and contemporary Ecuadorian life. I am equally excited to volunteer with local organizations, explore Ecuadorian food, and see what sorts of sports I can get involved with! </p><p><strong>How did 91ֱ�� shape or influence you to pursue the Fulbright?</strong></p><p>91ֱ�� encouraged me from day one to think deeply about the world and my place in it. Courses like Introduction to Cultural Anthropology with <a href="/baron-pineda">Professor Baron Pineda</a> and Society and Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean with Professor Karl Offen challenged me to approach questions of culture, politics, and power with a multidisciplinary approach, listening to the perspectives of those affected. </p><p>The summer before my third year, I interned in Cusco, Perú at a non-profit organization that works with indigenous people in the Andes. This experience undoubtedly influenced the trajectory of my 91ֱ�� career by inspiring numerous papers, and eventually my application to Fulbright. I’m especially grateful to my Hispanic Studies professors, <a href="/ana-maria-diaz-burgos">Ana María Díaz Burgos</a>, <a href="/sergio-gutierrez-negron">Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón</a>, <a href="/patty-tovar">Patty Tovar</a>, and <a href="/sebastiaan-faber">Sebastiaan Faber</a>, who supported me as I navigated interning in my second language and continually encouraged me to apply for this fellowship.</p><p> </p><hr><p><a href="/fellowships"><em>Connect with Fellowships & Awards</em></a><em> to learn more about the fellowships and awards opportunities available to students.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">The young alum, from George Town, Grand Cayman, will serve as a teaching assistant in university-level English classes.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-10-01T12:00:00Z">Wed, 10/01/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Audrey Weber ’24 triple majored in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology">anthropology</a>, <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/hispanic-studies">Hispanic Studies</a>, and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies">Latin American Studies</a> at 91ֱ��. During that time, she volunteered as an <a href="/bcsl/programs/america-reads">America Reads</a> tutor and interned with <a href="https://www.ccdocle.org/">Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland</a> in the immigration legal services division. “There I had the privilege of listening to the stories of Latin American immigrants—people navigating displacement, legal uncertainty, and the legacies of political and economic upheaval,” she says. “My coursework helped me understand the broader structural forces behind those stories, while also reinforcing the importance of approaching such narratives with humility and care.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4080">Fellowships</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2360">After 91ֱ��</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24656">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4796">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Daria Keenan</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>Telling Complicated Stories</h1> <p>awillia2 — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 04:32:47 +0000</p> <span>Telling Complicated Stories</span> <span><span>awillia2</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-03-08T23:32:47-05:00" title="Saturday, March 8, 2025 - 23:32">Sat, 03/08/2025 - 23:32</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Sebastiaan Faber asked Spaniards how they deal with their country’s dictatorial past—and their answers explain the politically polarizing present.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-03-21T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/21/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Aimee Levitt</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It’s been nearly a half-century since the Spanish Nationalist general-turned-fascist dictator Francisco Franco Bahamonde died after close to 40 years in power. That’s a long time for a country to exist under a dictatorship. But even now, Spaniards can’t agree on what it all meant or what lingering effects it may have on Spain today — if they bother to discuss it at all.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4292">91ֱ�� Research Review</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4796">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/sebastiaan-faber" hreflang="und">Sebastiaan Faber</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/hispanic-studies" hreflang="und">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-cte-images field--type-list-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yes (Individual Images)</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Valerie Chiang</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40684" class="paragraph paragraph--type--pb-el-bq paragraph--view-mode--default"> <blockquote class="blockquote--distinguished" data-text-size-giant data-add-quotes> <p>The real challenge has been the fact that what story to tell about the past has become such a political weapon.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40360" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"><p></p><figcaption><em>Exhuming Franco: Spain’s Second Transition</em> by Sebastiaan Faber</figcaption></figure><p>“A lot of the political struggle between right and left is fought over how to tell the story of the national past,” says Professor of Hispanic Studies Sebastiaan Faber. In this respect, Spain isn’t much different from other countries that have been dealing with painful histories that linger in living memory: Germany and the Nazis, for instance, or the American South and Jim Crow.</p><p>Faber’s latest book, <em>Exhuming Franco: Spain’s Second Transition</em> (Vanderbilt University Press, 2021; second edition, 2023), was inspired by the 2019 decision by the Socialist-led Spanish government to move the generalissimo’s body from the Valley of the Fallen, a public memorial erected by Franco to the soldiers who died in the Spanish Civil War, to a private family plot. Proponents of the move argued that a democratic country should not continue to honor a fascist leader. Right-wing opponents claimed that moving Franco would be tantamount to erasing history. The fight went all the way to the Spanish Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the exhumation. </p><p>For Faber, the debate echoed not just the 2017 protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, after the removal of a monument to the Confederate general Robert E. Lee, but also the rise of the American far right led by Donald Trump. The far-right Vox party, which began its rise in Spain in 2018, even borrowed one of Trump’s most popular slogans, vowing to make Spain great again.</p><p>“Generally, people in Spain who identify as conservative have a much more cavalier view of the legacy of Francoism,” Faber says. “They're not always convinced that it was bad for Spain to begin with.” The left, of course, feels otherwise.</p><p>These debates were not new to Faber, who frequently writes for American and Spanish media, so when his editor at Vanderbilt University Press suggested that he compile a book of interviews with academics, activists, and journalists about the current state of Spain after Franco’s exhumation, he jumped at the chance. “Using interviews as the basis for the book made it more readable,” Faber says, “and underscored the unresolved nature of these questions.” </p><p>Faber spoke to 35 people for the book. What surprised him the most in the interviews was how strongly people on the left disagreed about how much Francoism has impacted present-day Spain. Some of the people he talked to see many of Spain’s current political problems — the corruption, the closed nature of the Spanish party system, the complicated relationship between Madrid and the 17 regional governments — as direct results of Francoism. Others believe those problems actually existed before Franco, as far back as the 19th century, and the dictatorship just exacerbated them. Still others believe the current state of corruption started after Franco, during the Transition period of the ’70s and ’80s from dictatorship to democracy.</p><p>“The real conundrum these days,” Faber says, “is how to explain the rise of the far right in Spain.” The Vox party isn’t Francoist, he argues, although it sometimes uses Francoist language and nostalgia for the dictatorship; notably, Vox, along with the Franco family, was one of the chief opponents of moving the generalissimo’s body. Instead, Faber says, it’s more like other far-right parties in Europe today, which aren’t totalitarian as much as geared toward protecting the interests of the rich.</p><p>Still, the rise of the right does remind people of Spain’s not-so-glorious past and makes them wonder about the best way to acknowledge and commemorate it. In that respect, Spain is a lot like France or Germany or Faber’s home country of the Netherlands. But because Spain’s history is so much different from the history of those countries — it didn’t participate in World War II, and Franco’s dictatorship lasted until 1975 — Spaniards tend to see the gap between themselves and other Western Europeans as larger than it actually is.</p><p>“I try to propose that Spain is not necessarily behind,” Faber says. “Spain has actually achieved much more than it thinks by grappling with these issues of what to do, how to think about the past, how to teach it, how to process it. The real challenge has been the fact that what story to tell about the past has become such a political weapon.” This new Transition, then, may be about what story Spain decides to tell.</p> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40355" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <hr><p><em>Sebastiaan Faber’s research focuses on contemporary Spain and Latin America. He is the author of multiple books and is a frequent contributor to Spanish and U.S. media. Faber earned his doctorate in Spanish and Spanish American literature with a designated emphasis in critical theory at University of California, Davis.</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="field field--name-field-bio-card-el-biography field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <div class="biography-card"> <figure> </figure> <div class="biography-card__content"> <h2><span>Sebastiaan Faber</span> </h2> <ul class="item-list list--clean" style="margin-top: 0px;"> <li class="professional-title">Professor of Hispanic Studies</li> <li class="professional-title">Program Director, Latin American Studies</li> </ul> <a class="view-more" href="/sebastiaan-faber">View Sebastiaan Faber’s biography</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40382" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <div style="padding:56.25% 0 0;position:relative;"></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script><hr><h2 class="small-headline" style="margin-top:1.25rem;">About the Illustration</h2><figure class="captioned-image obj-right" style="margin-bottom:1.75rem;" data-cte><p></p><figcaption><em>Click the image to expand</em></figcaption></figure><p class="subhead" style="color:var(--darkgray);margin-bottom:0;">Illustrator: Valerie Chiang</p><blockquote data-add-quotes data-no-attribution><p>The Franco dictatorship tore Spain apart during his decades-long reign, so I wanted to approach this illustration with the idea of fragmentation. I love using negative space in my work and don’t normally get the opportunity to play with that when doing commissions. For this piece, I relegated Franco to the very edge of the frame, reducing his prominence while using cut up historical photographs of the Spanish people to emphasize the devastating consequences of Franco’s rule.</p></blockquote><p class="icon-text"><span class="icon-text__icon fas fa-fw fa-link" style="color:black;" aria-label="Phone"></span><a href="https://rappart.com/artists/valerie-chiang/" target="_blank">Valerie Chiang’s portfolio</a></p><p class="icon-text"><span class="icon-text__icon fas fa-brands fa-instagram" aria-label="Instagram"></span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ninebagatelles" target="_blank">@ninebagatelles</a></p><hr class="hr--light" style="clear:both;margin:1.25rem 0;"><p><a class="view-more" href="/node/488025">Return to <em>91ֱ�� Research Review</em></a></p> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40356" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p class="header-tag no-show" id="header-tag">91ֱ�� Research Review</p> <style> .no-show { display: none } </style> <script> (function() { var header = document.querySelector(".story-header"); var headerTag = document.getElementById("header-tag"); header.insertBefore(headerTag, header.firstElementChild); headerTag.classList.remove("no-show"); })(); </script>  <script> (function() { var credit = document.querySelector(".top-combo__figure .figure__credit"); credit.innerText = credit.textContent.replace("Photo credit","Image credit"); })(); </script>  <style> aside .list--clean li { margin-bottom: 0.25rem; } aside ul.list--clean { margin-top: .5rem; font-family: var(--font-sans-serif); font-size: 0.875rem; } aside .basic-box { margin: .5rem 0; max-width: 240px; } aside .basic-box .small-headline { font-size: 1rem; } </style>  <style> .biography-card blockquote { display: none } .body-centered-layout blockquote.blockquote--distinguished { margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: -1rem; } </style> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>South-of-the-Border Second Home</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 15:37:28 +0000</p> <span>South-of-the-Border Second Home</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-06-16T11:37:28-04:00" title="Friday, June 16, 2023 - 11:37">Fri, 06/16/2023 - 11:37</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Anna Sheik makes no secret of her love of languages, teaching, and culture.</p> <p>Born in Philadelphia, she spent a transformative year in Cuernavaca, Mexico, prior to beginning studies at 91ֱ��. The gap year presented immense challenges: After all, she had studied German—not Spanish—throughout middle school and high school. Yet Sheik immersed herself in the culture: enrolling in a local school, living with a host family, and forging enduring bonds. </p> <p>“When I first arrived in Mexico, I didn’t speak any Spanish,” she says. “But by the end of the year, I had gained a new language and formed lifelong friendships. I also developed a deep appreciation for Mexican culture and realized that I love traveling and exploring new places and communities. I’ve wanted to return to Mexico ever since.”</p> <p>In May, Sheik graduated from 91ֱ�� with majors in <a href="/node/70776">history</a> and <a href="/node/3406">Latin American studies</a> and a minor in <a href="/node/3206">Hispanic studies</a>. A former resident advisor in 91ֱ��’s <a href="/node/4086">Spanish House</a> residence hall, she’s now set to return to the country that originally sparked her fascination for Latin American culture and teaching: This summer, she embarks on a year-long adventure as an English Teaching Assistant in Mexico, an opportunity made possible through the <a href="https://us.fulbrightonline.org/about/fulbright-us-student-program">U.S. Fulbright Program</a>.</p> <p>Throughout her four years at 91ֱ��, Sheik worked with <a href="/node/55496">America Reads</a>, serving as a literacy tutor at the local elementary school. The experience allowed her to witness the transformational power of education: From guiding young minds as a tutor to her tenure as a student-leader, she found that teaching became a rewarding facet of her college experience.</p> <p>It’s a feeling she also sensed during her gap year, when she volunteered to teach the string section of an elementary school orchestra. With her own limited Spanish proficiency at the time and her students knowing little English, she used a combination of languages, hand gestures, sounds—and above all, music—to fashion an effective means of teaching. The experience cemented her belief in the value of music as a language-teaching tool, a skill she looks forward to utilizing once again in the year ahead.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Anna Sheik returns to Mexico to follow her love of language, history, and teaching.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2023-06-16T12:00:00Z">Fri, 06/16/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tyler Applegate</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3501">Teaching & Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2391">Languages & Literatures</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25381">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4796">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25226">Education Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=245971">International Affairs</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/yorki-encalada" hreflang="und">Yorki J. Encalada Egúsquiza</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/pablo-mitchell" hreflang="und">Pablo Mitchell</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/history" hreflang="und">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/hispanic-studies" hreflang="und">Hispanic Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pull-images field--type-list-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yes</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-32092" class="paragraph paragraph--type--pb-el-bq paragraph--view-mode--default"> <blockquote class="blockquote--quotemark" data-text-color-red data-text-size-large data-text-size-giant> <p>I’ve had so many incredible professors at 91ֱ��, but I’m especially grateful to these two for believing in me from the beginning.”</p> <p style="text-align: right;"><em>—Anna Sheik, on professors Encalada and Mitchell</em></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-27736" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p>Sheik returned to Mexico in 2022 for research made possible through an Artz Grant earned through 91ֱ��’s History Department. “My honors project, on representations of La Malinche—the infamous Mexican translator for Cortés—in Mexico and the Borderlands from 1960-1980, led me deep into histories of Mexico and U.S.-Mexico relations that I hope to observe further in my year abroad,” she says. She credits a longtime 91ֱ�� mentor, Professor of History and Comparative American Studies <a href="/node/5906">Pablo Mitchell</a>, for guiding her development in research throughout her time at 91ֱ��. “This past year, he advised my honors project, which I could not have completed without his wisdom and encouragement,” she says.</p> <p>Sheik also credits Hispanic studies professor <a href="/node/122501">Yorki Encalada Egúsquiza</a> for nurturing her interests in Spanish language and teaching. By her senior year, she served as his teaching assistant for two intermediate Spanish courses—an experience she calls “instrumental in my role as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant."</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Professor Pablo Mitchell (left) was instrumental in guiding Sheik's research on Mexican history and U.S.-Mexico relations. (photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97) </figcaption> </figure> <p>“I’ve had so many incredible professors at 91ֱ��,” she says, “but I’m especially grateful to these two for believing in me from the beginning.”</p> <p>As she steps into the next chapter of her life as a Fulbrighter, Sheik is filled with anticipation to return to a part of the world she loves so deeply.</p> <p>“I’m hoping my upcoming year will shed some light onto what I want to pursue next, whether that is teaching and education, foreign relations or immigration work, or going back to school for history or Latin American studies.</p> <p>“I’m really excited to explore more of Mexico,” she says: “See old friends, make new ones, and to soak up more Mexican history wherever I go.”</p> <hr> <p><em>The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people of other countries by sponsoring students and scholars to study, teach English, and conduct research overseas. The U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange program, Fulbright supports exchanges between the U.S. and more than 150 countries around the world. In February, 91ֱ�� was named a <a href="/news/oberlin-top-producer-fulbright-students-2022-23">top producer of Fulbright students</a> for the 14th consecutive year. It ranks third among U.S. colleges and universities on the all-time list, with more than 260 Fulbright recipients.</em></p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Riley Davis '22 Receives Fulbright to Argentina</h1> <p>anagy — Thu, 05 May 2022 16:02:23 +0000</p> <span>Riley Davis '22 Receives Fulbright to Argentina</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-05-05T12:02:23-04:00" title="Thursday, May 5, 2022 - 12:02">Thu, 05/05/2022 - 12:02</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Riley Davis will graduate this spring with a strong foundation in teaching English to non-native speakers, as well as a keen awareness of her position in doing global work, as she prepares for an eight-month Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Argentina. </p> <p>Davis has left no time to spare throughout her undergraduate career in 91ֱ��. She has double majors in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/hispanic-studies">Hispanic studies</a> and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies">Latin American studies</a> with minors in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology">anthropology</a> and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/gsfs">gender, feminist, and sexuality studies</a>. In addition to her coursework, Davis has taught Spanish lessons to local youth through the <a href="https://www.oberlinsites.org/">Spanish in the Elementary Schools</a> program; co-taught a course on the United States citizenship exam through her involvement with the <a href="https://www.lorainelcentro.com/">El Centro</a> Volunteer Initiative; and served as a teaching assistant for a handful of lower and upper level Hispanic studies courses. </p> <p>Through her work with El Centro, Davis also volunteers to teach English to a local family on Sundays. She has taken classes in language pedagogy, introduction to linguistics, and advanced linguistic anthropology, all of which have affirmed and encouraged her passion for language and language-learning.</p> <p>“I feel like this is the right next step after 91ֱ��,” says Davis, a resident of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “After being a student for so many years, I’m looking forward to being able to share my knowledge and to be a resource for those whom I can support.”</p> <p>The Fulbright program begins in March 2023 and will last for eight months. Davis has studied abroad in Latin America twice—first during a 2019 Winter Term group trip to Guadalajara, followed by a Winter Term trip in 2020 called Amazon Learning, in which she lived with an indigenous community in Ecuador for several weeks. </p> <p>“In both experiences, I grew extremely close with my families and I enjoyed learning most about their lives and relationships,” Davis says. “I’m excited to see how the culture of Argentina compares and contrasts with the countries in Latin America I am more familiar with. I’m curious to see how the country’s history of European immigration has shaped the art, architecture, and language of Argentina, as well as how these influences interact with indigenous communities, and to explore how cross-cultural interactions have shaped the different provinces of the country. Of course, I’m also looking forward to interacting with the students and faculty wherever I’ll be teaching.”</p> <p>Davis recently completed her honors thesis in Hispanic studies. Outside of academics, she is a member of 91ֱ��’s all-gender jazz and folk a cappella group ’Round Midnight, and she works as a manager of the 'Sco, 91ֱ��’s bar and music venue.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Davis is looking forward to applying her experience in language and teaching.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2022-05-05T12:00:00Z">Thu, 05/05/2022 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2391">Languages & Literatures</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3781">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2376">Study Away</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4796">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24656">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25361">Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25236">Linguistics</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/hispanic-studies" hreflang="und">Hispanic Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology" hreflang="und">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/gsfs" hreflang="und">Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Riley Davis '22 will embark on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Argentina beginning in March 2023.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Community Mural Project Highlights Aspects of 91ֱ��</h1> <p>ygay — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 15:01:35 +0000</p> <span>Community Mural Project Highlights Aspects of 91ֱ��</span> <span><span>ygay</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-09-14T11:01:35-04:00" title="Tuesday, September 14, 2021 - 11:01">Tue, 09/14/2021 - 11:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>More than 100 town and college members picked up artists' brushes and applied their painting skills to a 32-foot mural in Carpenter Court late last month during Community Paint Day. The result is an expressive collage that the organizer of the project hopes will fill passersby with 91ֱ�� pride.</p> <p>“I hope [people] feel joy when they see the vibrant colors,'' says organizer Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97. “I hope they feel pride in what a special place 91ֱ�� is. I hope they realize there is a strong arts, sports, and music culture in this town.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>We Are 91ֱ�� organizer Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97. Photo credit: Courtesy of Rosen-Jones</figcaption> </figure> <p>The idea of a vivid community mural appealed to Rosen-Jones’ artistic side and small-town appreciation. After graduating from 91ֱ�� College with a major in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/history" target="_blank">history</a> and concentration in <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" target="_blank">Latin American Studies</a>, she turned a passion for photography into a professional career in 1999. She returned to 91ֱ�� in 2008 and opened a portrait studio in the downtown area. </p> <p>With artists and community members lending a hand, and donated lemonade and water from local churches nearby, the August installation was completed in just two weeks. However, groundwork for the We Are 91ֱ�� Mural Project was two years in the making.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption>The mural design is added to the wall. Photo credit: Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97</figcaption> </figure> <p>Location of the new mural was inspired by an existing installation that had been on the back of the 91ֱ�� Bookstore since 1996. It depicted a sitting figure whose hands steadied a ball of light on top of its head. “I wondered about its origins,” says Rosen-Jones. “It was almost 25 years old and there was no graffiti on it. I wondered how it was still respected after so much time.”</p> <p>Her inquiries led to former associate dean Brenda Grier-Miller, who held a Summer in the City camp in the 1990s that connected middle school students to local artists for hands-on learning experiences. During a 1996 mural painting class, students came up with the concept and installed the work with the help of <a href="/nanette-yannuzzi" target="_blank">Nanette Yannuzzi</a>, professor of studio art, installation, sculpture, and book arts; and Imani Miller-Annibel ’03. </p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption>The 1996 mural design is added to the We Are 91ֱ�� mural. Photo credit: Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97</figcaption> </figure> <p>“I spoke with Brenda and her daughter, Imani. They were sad to see the mural go, but were excited about a new generation getting the opportunity to create something beautiful and inspirational in the space,” explains Rosen-Jones. “We compromised that any new design would include an homage to the original mural."</p> <p>Rosen-Jones also received an education on the process of grant writing and discretionary funding by Darren Hamm, former director of the 91ֱ�� Center for the Arts, which served as the project’s fiscal sponsor. She consulted with middle school art teachers about the artistic process. And a mural committee (made up of representatives from the college, conservatory, local artists, and community members) assisted with making edits and decisions about designs before they were submitted to the public. </p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Community members paint sections of the We are 91ֱ�� mural. Photo credit: Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97</figcaption> </figure> <p>“I wanted the mural to feel community-owned, so it involved three important steps,” explains Rosen-Jones. That included 91ֱ�� High School student participation, a community-wide vote, and a Community Paint Day.</p> <p>After receiving a grant from the 91ֱ�� Schools Endowment Fund in 2019, 91ֱ�� High School students were asked to express, “What Makes 91ֱ�� Special?” during a three-day workshop and all-school assembly. </p> <p>Although planning was halted because of the pandemic, community support grew once it was determined that the project could safely continue. Local groups and churches helped spread the word about Community Paint Day, and nearly 700 votes were cast to choose the design during an in-person vote at the 91ֱ�� Public Library.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption>Professional mural artists work near the roofline in Carpenter Court. Photo credit: John Seyfried</figcaption> </figure> <p>By early August a platform lift that stretched nearly 32 feet high was placed behind the 91ֱ�� Bookstore on Carpenter Court. A sketch of the winning mural design that spans 27 feet was added to the building by professional mural artists Martha Ferrazza, Isaiah Williams, and Jared Mitchell. Days later, the artists, chosen by Rosen-Jones, filled in the shapes closest to the roofline with vibrant pops of color. The lower portions of the wall were brought to life with a Community Paint Day. </p> <p>“91ֱ�� truly is a special place,” says Rosen-Jones, reflecting on the project after its completion. “[91ֱ��] is small enough so that we celebrate our victories together and we suffer our losses together. It is the kind of place where you can make a positive difference in people’s lives.”</p> <p>Visit the 91ֱ�� College Flickr page to see more <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWxGdXY" target="_blank">Community Paint Day photos</a>.</p> <p><br> </p> <p> </p> <p><br> </p> <p><br> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-09-14T12:00:00Z">Tue, 09/14/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yvonne Gay</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2572">Downtown 91ֱ��</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2385">Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25436">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25381">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/art" hreflang="und">Studio Art</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/history" hreflang="und">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">We Are 91ֱ�� mural is located on the back of the 91ֱ�� Bookstore.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Nina Harris ’20 Awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Guatemala</h1> <p>hhempste — Thu, 28 May 2020 13:56:54 +0000</p> <span>Nina Harris ’20 Awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Guatemala</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-05-28T09:56:54-04:00" title="Thursday, May 28, 2020 - 09:56">Thu, 05/28/2020 - 09:56</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Nina Harris ’20, a <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies">Latin American studies</a> and <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/gsfs">gender, sexuality, and feminist studies</a> major and Saratoga, California, native has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Guatemala. </p><p>Harris’ interest in Guatemala began at 15 years old, when she lived and worked in the town of San Lucas Toliman with a host family. Since that first visit, she returned numerous times to stay with the family and also work in a variety of roles, including as an English teacher, for a mobile medical clinic and nutrition program, and in a women’s safe house. </p><p>She recalls that her connection to the country and with the host family fostered meaningful experiences. “I took weaving classes from a woman who became a dear friend of mine, and I went on many long hikes with my host father who shared with me about his experience during the Civil War,” she says. “My time in Guatemala sparked my interest in Latin America, inspired me to continue to learn Spanish, and developed my interest in U.S. involvement in Latin America.”</p><p>For Harris, these experiences helped inform her decision to apply for a Fulbright opportunity in Guatemala, but her passion for teaching, including her work in the 91ֱ�� <a href="https://www.oberlinsites.org/">Spanish in the Elementary Schools</a> (SITES) Program, in which students teach introductory Spanish to children in grades K-2, and working with <a href="https://serve.oberlin.edu/agency/detail/?agency_id=45392">El Centro Volunteer Initiative</a>, cemented her decision to pursue an English teaching assistantship. </p><p>“Many of the most significant memories of my time at 91ֱ�� are teaching experiences,” says Harris. Through these opportunities, Harris says she “became even more certain of her love and commitment to teaching.” </p><p>In addition to her involvement in various teaching initiatives, Harris was instrumental in co-creating the curriculum for the El Centro Volunteer Initiative <a href="https://oberlinexco.org/">ExCo</a>, and she participated in teaching opportunities at 91ֱ��’s Langston Middle School. She also worked for the <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/dance">Department of Dance</a> as a student publicist and was part of a hip hop dance company <a href="https://calendar.oberlin.edu/group/and_what">And What?!</a>. She was involved with the Chabad student group, where she served as the cochair, and was a member of the <a href="http://osca.wilder.oberlin.edu/coops/oberlin">Kosher Halal Co-op</a>. Harris also co-created the student organization Advocates for Reproductive Justice. During her senior year, she worked in the <a href="/fellowships">Office of Fellowships and Awards</a>. </p><p>Harris credits the course Gender and Migration, taught by former Visiting Assistant Professor Kathryn Miller, for her interest in the politics behind migration—specifically asylum rights for women following gender-based violence. Harris remained interested in immigration studies and during the summer of 2019, she worked at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies where she conducted in-depth research about conditions in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, known as the Northern Triangle, and worked on asylum cases. These academic and work experiences culminated in her undergraduate thesis which examines asylum cases for Guatemalan women seeking safety in the U.S. </p><p>Through her Fulbright experience, Harris hopes to learn more about the history and culture of Guatemala, along with improving her teaching skills. “While I have studied the country in depth from an academic perspective, there is so much still to discover by living in a new country,” says Harris. “The Fulbright is such an incredible opportunity, and I plan to spend the ten months learning and teaching as much as possible.”</p><p>In addition to teaching English in Guatemala, Harris also intends to work for a nonprofit connected to immigration rights. After her Fulbright opportunity concludes, she plans to attend law school to pursue a career as an asylum attorney. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-05-28T12:00:00Z">Thu, 05/28/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Hillary Hempstead</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2410">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25361">Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/gsfs" hreflang="und">Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Nina Harris’ ’20 interest in Guatemala began at age 15, when she lived in the country with a host family.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of Nina Harris</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>Monthlong Speaker Series on Militarization Features Three Former Ambassadors</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:17:27 +0000</p> <span>Monthlong Speaker Series on Militarization Features Three Former Ambassadors</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-02-13T11:17:27-05:00" title="Wednesday, February 13, 2019 - 11:17">Wed, 02/13/2019 - 11:17</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Over the last four years, the Global Issues Symposium has exposed 91ֱ�� students to international current affairs in historical depth by inviting a range of experts to cover important themes. Funded by an alumnus through the Isenberg Family Charitable Foundation, the symposium brings renowned scholars, policy practitioners, and activists to campus to discuss crucial transnational issues with the college and community.</p> <p>This year’s theme, <a href="/news-and-events/special-events/global-issues-symposium">Militarization of Global Politics, Economy, and Society</a>, features three former ambassadors in panel discussions. The monthlong programming begins with a keynote lecture on the topic of U.S. militarization on <a href="/events/dr_rosa_brooks_how_everything_became_war_and_the_military_became_everything_tales_from_the">Friday, February 15</a>. Rosa Brooks, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, will give a talk titled “How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon” at 4:30 p.m. in Craig Auditorium. Brooks is a former counselor to the under secretary of defense for policy.</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-left"> <figcaption>Rosa Brooks, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center</figcaption> </figure> <p>Other topics in the symposium include international law and constitutional dimensions; militarizing the Middle East and South Asia; militarizing East Asia; and militarizing Latin America.</p> <p>The event organizers this year are Zeinab Abul-Magd, associate professor of history and chair of international studies; Kristina Mani, associate professor of politics and chair of Latin American studies; Sheila Miyoshi Jager, professor of East Asian studies; and Jiyul Kim, visiting assistant professor of history.</p> <p>“We all conduct research and publish on issues of military institutions and armed conflicts in many regions,” explains Abul-Magd. “Under the Trump administration, we noticed increased militarization of U.S. domestic and foreign policy, which triggered us to adopt the theme for this year’s series of events.”</p> <p>Abul-Magd says the breadth of speakers from various disciplines will appeal to a wide range of interests.</p> <p>“Three of the 11 speakers are former ambassadors, in addition to law scholars, think-tank political experts, historians, and more. They come from different countries, including the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Pakistan, and Iran. They will cover a vast geographical areas that should appeal to the interest of different students.”</p> <p>A panel discussion Thursday, March 7, includes <a href="/events/ambassador_kathleen_stephens_militarization_and_demilitarization_on_the_korean_peninsula">Kathleen Stephens</a>, former ambassador to South Korea from 2008 to 2011. After her retirement, she was a research fellow with Stanford University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center, and last fall, she became the president and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., that focuses on U.S.-South Korean relations and the South Korean political economy. </p> <p>Stephens is also scheduled to give a talk 10 a.m. Friday, March 8, in Nancy Schrom Dye Lecture Hall, in which she will discuss her career as a diplomat and the state of relations between the United States, South Korea, and North Korea. Her visit immediately follows the second U.S.-North Korea summit, which will be held February 27-28 in Vietnam.</p> <p>The goal of the Global Issues Symposium is to encourage more students to seek semesters and winter terms abroad, as well as internships in international communities. Abul-Magd adds that the symposia “have drawn more students to declare an international studies concentration.”</p> <p>View the complete <a href="/sites/default/files/content/event/special-events/documents/gis-general-poster-2019.pdf">list of speakers</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-file-pdf-o"></span>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-02-13T12:00:00Z">Wed, 02/13/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Now in its fourth year, the Global Issues Symposium expands student learning beyond the international studies concentration.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2567">Conference-Symposium</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2390">Events</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25381">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25416">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25336">East Asian Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/zeinab-abul-magd" hreflang="und">Zeinab Abul-Magd</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/kristina-mani" hreflang="und">Kristina Mani</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/sheila-miyoshi-jager" hreflang="und">Sheila Miyoshi Jager</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jiyul-kim" hreflang="und">Jiyul Kim</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/east-asian-studies" hreflang="und">East Asian Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/history" hreflang="und">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/politics" hreflang="und">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>A Conversation with Baron Pineda</h1> <p>anagy — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 19:05:38 +0000</p> <span>A Conversation with Baron Pineda</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2018-10-17T15:05:38-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 15:05">Wed, 10/17/2018 - 15:05</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>How did you become involved in Facebook’s Data Transparency Advisory Group and Yale Law School’s Justice Collaboratory?</strong></p> <p>Recently, Facebook has been exploring ways to seek feedback and advice from academics around a variety of new challenges that they are confronting on the platform. Earlier this year, I was invited to meetings at Facebook offices around the country to discuss the possibility of creating one such group that would be dedicated to having a look at the work that Facebook is doing on enforcing what they call their “community standards.” These standards are basically the rules of conduct that Facebook would like to be upheld on the platform. Tracey Meares and Tom Tyler, directors of the <a href="https://law.yale.edu/justice-collaboratory">Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School,</a> are coordinating our work. They are experts in institutional reform of the criminal justice system in the United States and abroad, so their expertise is particularly valuable for Facebook as they think about how to best manage the platform.</p> <p><strong>What is the purpose and expectation of this group?</strong></p> <p>In May of this year, Facebook released a report called the “Community Standards Enforcement Report” which represented their first major effort to publicly release quantitative data on some of the violations that occur on Facebook. In this report, they give a quantitative picture of their efforts to address “violating content” by, for example, using computer systems and people to detect it and remove it quickly. This first report was focused on the following six areas: graphic violence, adult nudity and sexual activity, terrorist propaganda, hate speech, spam, and fake accounts. The main charge of our group of academics is to assess this report and provide feedback and suggestions to Facebook. I have learned a great deal about the challenges that Facebook and other social media companies are dealing with as they manage a platform with more than 2 billion users, and I have met a lot of wonderful people who spend their days trying to figure out how to deal with these challenges.</p> <p><strong>What is your role in the effort?</strong></p> <p>I am the only anthropologist in the group of seven academics that constitute the <a href="https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/justice-collaboratory-lead-facebook-data-transparency-advisory-group">Data Transparency Advisory Group (DTAG)</a>. My colleagues are either legal scholars or experts in the relationship between metrics (the gathering of accurate and reliable data) and institutional monitoring and reform. My role is to bring to bear the strengths of anthropology (a cross-cultural perspective and an attention to the complexities of cultural dynamics) on the tough questions that we are hearing about from Facebook. It is exactly these strengths that I try to teach to my students in my classes at 91ֱ��.</p> <p><strong>What is your current research focus?</strong></p> <p>I currently am writing a book about global indigenous politics, human rights and the United Nations called <em>Indigenous Conventions: Human Rights and Cultural Politics at the United Nations</em>. I have brought many groups of students to the UN as academic observers over the years and I am planning another such trip this year. The work that I have been doing at Facebook is quite different than my UN work, but the issues that come up are really fascinating and complex and relate to issues of free speech, censorship, pluralism, surveillance, and propaganda. I am thinking of ways to move forward after this experience with DTAG into a research project of my own that picks up on some of these themes. I currently am working with a student research assistant, Stephen Gruppuso ’20, on developing ways for us to study social media anthropologically.</p> <p><strong>What are some developments in the field of anthropology that most people don’t know about?</strong></p> <p>Even though Laura Nader, an eminent legal anthropologist at UC Berkeley, made her famous call for anthropologists to “study up” in the early 1970s, I don’t think many people are aware of all of the ways that our traditional anthropological tools are brought to bear on the study of powerful people and institutions. In my work at the UN, I have had a number of people come up to me and tell me that they always know when an anthropologist is speaking because of their unique perspective. In the section of Introduction to Cultural Anthropology that I teach every semester, I always tell students that my main goal is to teach them how to think like an anthropologist. I like to imagine that even if they don’t major in anthropology or work directly as an anthropologist, they will be enriched by an anthropological perspective and that distinctive perspective will be evident to people with whom they work in the future.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2018-10-17T12:00:00Z">Wed, 10/17/2018 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A cultural anthropologist specializing in human rights and indigenous peoples, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies Baron Pineda is one of seven scholars advising Facebook on the challenges of enforcing community standards.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=24656">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/baron-pineda" hreflang="und">Baron Pineda</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/anthropology" hreflang="und">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Associate Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies Baron Pineda </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jennifer Manna</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Julia Pearlstein-Levy '15 Awarded Fulbright Grant in Mexico</h1> <p>anagy — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:02:25 +0000</p> <span>Julia Pearlstein-Levy '15 Awarded Fulbright Grant in Mexico</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:02:25-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:02">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:02</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Julia Pearlstein-Levy hopes to gain a deeper understanding of Mexico’s influence on the United States with a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. A May 2015 graduate with a Latin American studies major and environmental studies minor, Pearlstein-Levy hopes to use her time in Mexico to “spark honest, compassionate communication between our two communities.”</p> <p>“Both countries share history, populations, and cultural influence, so studying in Mexico will allow me to connect directly with Mexican populations in the U.S.,” she says. “I would also love to share what I have learned with my future students if I pursue a career as a bilingual educator as American textbooks often fail to highlight Mexico as a vital country that continues to influence the U.S. today.”</p> <p>A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Pearlstein has gained teaching and study abroad experience while at 91ֱ��. She spent a summer teaching computer skills in Otavalo, Ecuador, as well as a semester and subsequent winter term in Costa Rica, where she conducted research on conservation and sustainability. She also interned with a local artist, Ana Ovares, for a project to create a public mural out of trash. She developed a friendship with Ovares and <a href="http://languages.oberlin.edu/obies-using-languages-julia-pearlstein-levy-15/">returned the following winter term</a> to help her open a local art studio and business that sells natural and herbal medicines.</p> <p>Pearlstein-Levy also has been a teacher with 91ֱ��’s Spanish in the Elementary Schools program; she ran an environmental education program last summer at a raptor center in New Jersey; and served as an educator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York for a winter-term project.</p> <p>After the nine-month Fulbright exchange, she hopes to teach at a bilingual school or work for an organization that provides immigrant services. “I would like to better understand, relate to, and communicate with people whose voices I will aim to project.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2015-05-18T12:00:00Z">Mon, 05/18/2015 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Julia Pearlstein-Levy ’15</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jennifer Manna</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Alyssa Phelps '15 Receives Fulbright in Mexico</h1> <p>anagy — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:02:52 +0000</p> <span>Alyssa Phelps '15 Receives Fulbright in Mexico</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:02:52-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:02">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:02</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Phelps, a May 2015 graduate from Bowling Green, Kentucky, has a deep interest in immigrants’ rights. She is cofounder of Project Unbound, a student group working to raise awareness about human trafficking in and around Lorain County, and to raise funds for the Human Trafficking Collaborative of Lorain County. With previous study abroad experience in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, she says she applied for the Fulbright placement in Mexico because she felt it was crucial to become familiar with the country’s culture and history.</p> <p>“My father used to be an archeologist in the Yucatán peninsula, where he excavated Mayan ruins. Since I was young, we have traveled to Mexico every few years, and he has passed down his admiration for its many rich indigenous cultures,” says Phelps, who majored in Latin American studies with a minor in politics and a peace and conflict studies concentration. In her time at 91ֱ��, Phelps has engaged in several teaching opportunities. She has been an instructor for 91ֱ��’s Spanish in the Elementary Schools (SITES) program for a year and a half; she served as a writing tutor for the Spanish 101 course; and in spring 2015, she served as a teaching assistant for Spanish 303, Conversation and Communication in Spanish. She also spent a summer in Ecuador teaching kids ages 4-13 a course called “Explorando el Mundo” and teaching English to the staff of a local nonprofit.</p> <p>A Bonner Scholar and a member of the Interfaith Student Council, Phelps has participated in community service projects for various organizations, particularly the MAD Factory youth theater company, and she has helped organize the Interfaith Service Day for four years. After the nine-month Fulbright period, she intends to get involved with solidarity work with immigrant communities while applying for PhD programs in international relations with a focus on women’s rights.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2015-05-04T12:00:00Z">Mon, 05/04/2015 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25276">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/latin-american-studies" hreflang="und">Latin American Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Alyssa Phelps ’15</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Jennifer Manna</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>