IFLE Newsletter - December 2022

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Volume 8 | Issue 4 | December 2022

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TOP NEWS

National Resource Centers and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships project directors convene in Washington, D.C.

Title VI NRC and FLAS Project Directors Meeting

On Oct. 27 and 28, the International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) office of the U.S. Department of Education (Department) hosted the 2022 Title VI National Resource Centers (NRC) and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships project directors meeting at the Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C. An estimated 175 project directors and associated staff from institutions that received new grants for the fiscal year (FY) 2022-25 project period participated in the two-day gathering. Opening remarks from Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Nasser Paydar offered reflections about the value of international education on his personal academic, cultural, and professional journey. He also acknowledged and thanked the grantees for their immense contributions to U.S. area studies, and global and foreign language capacity through innovative and effective use of Title VI NRC and FLAS funds. The conference offered panel sessions facilitated by Department colleagues and IFLE staff, where invited panelists shared best practices and innovative approaches around three thematic areas: Responding to Current World Region Crises; Advancing Minority-Serving Institutions and Community College Collaborations; and Leveraging Expanded Online Access — Developments in Virtual Instruction and Community Outreach.

 

The event featured a plenary address by former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Lee Litzenberger.  He explained, "Throughout my 38-year career in the Foreign Service, I have seen firsthand the extent to which our national security and foreign affairs agencies rely on the national pool of area and language experts that you in this room educate every year through the NRCs and FLAS programs.” He further illustrated his experiences with FLAS recipients, stating, “When I was in Azerbaijan, the Embassy Political Counselor was a two-time FLAS scholar trained at Indiana University in Russian and Georgian.” Click here to read select remarks from the ambassador's address.

 

Additional interactive activities throughout the two days included informational sessions with the IFLE staff who administer the Fulbright-Hays programs, region-specific sessions in which grantees highlighted collaborations that inspired robust exchanges among participants about ideas for further exploration, and one-on-one meetings with program officers that served as technical assistance opportunities. Cheryl Gibbs, IFLE’s Senior Director, shared the following reflections on the meeting:

 

“Engaging with grantees, other IFLE staff, Department officials, and our interagency colleagues provided a rich experience that everyone had been longing for. It was meaningful to convene over the course of two days to share perspectives and lessons learned, and to absorb the new ideas that emerged from the panel presentations, plenary session, and the world area meetings. The meeting affirmed that our respective roles are crucial not only for promoting and sustaining high quality area studies and foreign language education programs but also for making a measurable difference on U.S. education and  global competitiveness.”

 

Centers for International Business Education project directors meet in Philadelphia

2022 CIBE Project Directors Meeting

Last fall, the Centers for International Business Education (CIBE) project directors met at Temple University in Philadelphia for the group’s first in-person meeting since 2019 and the first meeting since the new FY 22 CIBE awards were announced by the Department earlier this year. Tim Duvall, CIBE program manager, and Brian Cwiek represented the Department at the meeting. The event provided an opportunity for grantees to describe new initiatives and reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on reshaping their training and outreach activities. The 16 CIBEs described the collaborative projects already begun or that will take place over the next four years. Participants also discussed the potential impacts of emerging trends in international business education and research on the ongoing development of effective and relevant curricula.

 


PROGRAM NEWS

IFLE awards 111 Fulbright-Hays fellowships to support faculty and doctoral dissertation research abroad

IFLE is pleased to announce the results of the FY 22 competitions for the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) fellowships program and the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad (FRA) fellowships program. DDRA and FRA fellowships offer unique opportunities for scholars to receive funding to support their research abroad with the goal of completing their dissertations or academic projects. Both programs are designed to deepen research knowledge and increase the study of modern foreign languages, cultural engagement, and area studies not generally included in U.S. curricula.

 

The DDRA program provides opportunities to doctoral candidates to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. Ninety doctoral students were selected through the FY 22 DDRA program competition. Selected fellows include:

DDRA Fellows
  • David Borgonjon, Columbia University (Dissertation title: "Modern Chinese Literature in Cold War Indonesia"). Borgonjon will conduct archival research in Indonesia for six months and in the Netherlands for four months. He is most excited about searching for Chinese-language books, newspapers, and magazines from 1950s historical Indonesia.
  • Melissa Karp, Duke University (Dissertation title: “Imagining the Collaborator: Ghosts of Occupation in Transwar France and Korea”). Karp will conduct research in South Korea for two months and in France for four months. She looks forward to visiting memorials and museums in both countries to learn about the ways war memory is transmitted in public history spaces.
  • Sabina Madrid-Malloy, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Dissertation title: "Resonating Resistance: The Body in Contemporary Mexican Theatre and Performance"). Madrid-Malloy will conduct research in Mexico for six months and is excited to be in the field and to view performances.
  • Wallace Teska, Stanford University (Dissertation topic: The history of law, religion, and social change in a transnational zone of Francophone West Africa). Teska will conduct research in Senegal, France, and Italy for three months each. He looks forward to visiting five different archives across two continents and further developing his Arabic reading skills.
  • Adrian Wong, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Dissertation topic: Development discourse, digital infrastructure, and inequality in the context of Chile-China Relations). Wong will conduct research in Chile for 12 months, where he looks forward to connecting with the inspiring and groundbreaking scholarly community in Chile. 

The FRA program provides opportunities for faculty to engage in full-time research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. Twenty-one faculty from institutions of higher education across the U.S. were selected to receive FRA fellowships through the FY 22 program competition. Selected fellows include:

FRA Fellows
  • Anjara Mishra, assistant teaching professor, Florida International University. Mishra's research interests include Asian Indian diaspora and development studies, and her FRA project focuses on Chikan women artisans of Lucknow, India. Mishra looks forward to being in Lucknow over a period of four months, conversing with the artisans in the Urdu language, and collecting data.
  • Yücel Yanıkdağ, professor of history, University of Richmond. Yanıkdağ is a three-time Fulbright-Hays grant recipient, including a previous DDRA award. His research focuses on the late Ottoman Empire and the early Turkish Republic, and he will work in Turkey for seven months using his FRA fellowship. Yanıkdağ's research and instructional subjects are usually partially or completely unexplored, and he is excited to find new unutilized sources during his research project in Turkey.

To see a full list of selected fellows and to learn more about their projects, please visit the Google map of FY 22 IFLE Grantees. We also encourage you to watch the Meet the Fellows video playlist on YouTube featuring a number of the newly selected DDRA and FRA fellows.

 

We look forward to seeing how the new cohort of Fulbright-Hays fellows incorporates their experiences abroad into their dissertations, careers, classrooms, schools, and communities!

 

Current and upcoming IFLE program competitions

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IFLE will be accepting applications for the following FY 23 programs in the coming months:

  • Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad (SA) Program
    (Application now open! Deadline to apply: Feb. 9, 2023)
    The SA program provides short-term seminars abroad for U.S. educators in the social sciences and humanities to improve their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries. Educational lectures and activities are designed specifically for each seminar group, including visits to local schools and organizations, meetings with educators and students, and visits to cultural sites. Participants draw on their experiences abroad to create new curricula for their classrooms and school systems back in the U.S. The FY 23 summer seminars will be offered in Jordan (grades K–8), Argentina and Brazil (grades 9–12), and Mexico (postsecondary).
    Contact: SeminarsAbroad@ed.gov

  • Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program 
    (Estimated date for competition announcement: January)
    The GPA Program provides grants for overseas projects in training, research, and curriculum development in modern foreign languages and area studies by teachers, students, and faculty engaged in a common endeavor. Programs are designed to help integrate international studies and culture into an institution's or school system's general curriculum, to acquire resource materials for curriculum development and dissemination in the U.S., or to conduct group research or study projects abroad. The FY 23 GPA competition will invite applicants to request support for either a short-term project or a long-term project.
    Contact: GPA@ed.gov

VOICES FROM THE FIELD

Cornell University Southeast Asia Program assists Myanmar scholars to find safety in the United States

Cornell University

In the months after the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup in Myanmar, faculty, staff, and students at Cornell University's Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) considered how they could help at-risk scholars come to the university for safety, and to participate in SEAP programming. Drawing on Title VI National Resource Center funding, SEAP assisted four at-risk, scholars, activists, and artists, along with their families, to find visiting fellow positions at Cornell. The visiting fellows are May Sabe Phyu, co-founder of the Gender Equality Network and a prominent human and women's rights activist; Kyaw Yin Hlaing, executive director of Center for Diversity and National Harmony, a nongovernmental organization in Myanmar focused on social harmonization, peaceful coexistence, and the mitigation of violence; Min Ma Naing (a temporary pseudonym adopted due to the political situation in Myanmar), a personal documentary photographer; and Nay Yan Oo, former Myanmar parliamentary candidate for the pro-democracy People's Party.

 

Thamora Fishel, Associate Director of SEAP, described this process in an interview with East-West Center Young Professional Drake Avila. Click below to read the full article.

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Graduate spotlight from the Center for International Business Education at University of Washington

Giselle Antoine

With a multicultural lens and a deep sense of curiosity, recent University of Washington (UW) Foster School of Business graduate Giselle Antoine researches shame cultures and their organizational impact. Shame cultures are systems of social control that guide members in how they ought to feel and behave surrounding the violation of norms. In an interview recently posted to UW's website, Antoine shared how her interest in intercultural communication led her to complete a Ph.D. in management and organization. The interview also reveals her insights about what’s next for her research and teaching, and key takeaways for business leaders.

 

Antoine’s research while in the Ph.D. program at UW was partially supported by the Title VI Centers for International Business Education (CIBE) program. The UW Foster School Global Business Center is one of 16 federally-designated CIBEs.

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Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellow studies fisheries, food systems, and indigenous food security in Canada

Samantha Farquhar

Samantha Farquhar, a doctoral student in the Integrated Coastal Sciences program at East Carolina University (ECU), will travel to northern Quebec next year to study and document how fisheries relate to food systems in nearby coastal Canadian communities. Her project is funded through the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) fellowships program and marks the first time an ECU student has received this award.

 

Farquhar’s project will explore the connections between fisheries and food consumption in nearby communities. She plans to spend time in the Inuit communities of Nunavik, Canada, conducting workshops and exercises with residents to get a sense of behavioral trends and how they relate to food security and consumption. When she is not in Nunavik, she will work with researchers at Laval University in Quebec City. She will also collaborate with the Makivik Corporation, an Inuit development organization that oversees the fisheries.

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Foreign Language and Area Studies fellow spotlight

Rose Adams

Master's student Rose Adams received two Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships from Stanford University's Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) to support her study of the Korean language and her thesis on depictions of women in North Korean post-famine cinema. In an interview on the CEAS website, Adams shares her path to East Asian language and area studies, and how FLAS helped her gain the knowledge and skills to write an article on the transition toward product placement in North Korean broadcast media that was recently published in North Korean Review.

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Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellow publishes article about experience in Warsaw at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine 

Leah Valtin-Erwin

Leah Valtin-Erwin, a FY 21 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellow and doctoral candidate at Indiana University Bloomington, recently published an article, “Ukraina — Jesteśmy з вами!: War in Ukraine and Warsaw Transformed,” in NewsNet, a publication of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. In the article, Valtin-Erwin shares her experience traveling from Bucharest, Romania, to Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 27, 2022, just three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Valtin-Erwin, who is a historian of contemporary Eastern Europe, shares her experience as she witnessed the large influx of refugees into the city, and how her background and research in the region provided a unique perspective and outlook on what she witnessed. Click the "read more" button below to read the entire piece and view additional photos.

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RECOGNITIONS

National Resource Center outreach director Brenda Randolph selected to receive 2022 Distinguished Africanist Award

Brenda Randolph Receives Distinguished Africanist Award

Howard University’s Center for African Studies Outreach Director Brenda Randolph has been selected to receive the 2022 Distinguished Africanist Award by the African Studies Association (ASA). For the first time, the ASA expanded its selection criteria beyond those who hold Ph.Ds. and have written significant academic texts to acknowledge the exceptional value of scholarship often relegated to the margins as "service." The ASA’s unparalleled decision acknowledges Randolph's lifelong engagement with and commitment to Africa, including developing and disseminating Africa-affirming scholarship and literature. It is also a recognition of the significant impact of African Studies Outreach programming on African knowledge production and promotion at all levels of education.

 

For the past 40 years, Randolph has played a transformational role in the field of K–12 African literature and curricular materials. She has published numerous articles, book reviews and online scholarly texts and websites, including "The Gold Road: Medieval Ghana, Mali and Songhai; Discover Africa in the World" interactive map, and a webpage of extended book reviews of children’s materials on Africa. The impact of these websites has been extensive, reaching nearly 9000 teachers and students to date, while her book reviews have been read by over 3000 educators. As founder of the nonprofit Africa Access, as well as the Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA), Randolph has been an exemplar in promoting Africanist authors, literature, and educational resources in U.S. K–12 schools. CABA, which was pioneered with the ASA Outreach Council in 1991, became the model for the creation of other world area book awards, and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

 

The Center for African Studies at Howard University is a current and past award recipient of the Title VI National Resource Center grant program, which supports language and area studies education at institutions of higher education across the country.

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RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

FREE conference for community college educators at University of Arizona, Jan. 20–22, 2023

UA Community College Educator Conference

The Center for East Asian Studies; Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language, and Literacy; Center for Latin American Studies; and Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona are excited to host the seventh annual conference for community college educators on Jan. 20–22, 2023. This year’s theme is “Globalizing the Community College Curriculum: Add Food and Stir.”

 

Community colleges are doing important work, educating a large percentage of postsecondary students to become part of a globalized world. As such, it is vital to internationalize the curricula of community college classes. The topic of food, as a universal need and cultural touchstone, provides an accessible gateway to the world. The upcoming conference will offer an opportunity to learn from and share with colleagues across community college departments and campuses how to use the topics of food and cuisine to internationalize their curriculum.

 

To acknowledge the Lunar New Year, occurring during the conference on Jan. 22, the conference will include a dinner to celebrate. This conference is FREE and will be meeting in person. Limited funding will be available for out-of-town presenters’ housing. Three meals will be included for all participants. 

 

Click here or on the "Read More" button below to register. For questions, please contact Abby Limmer at alimmer@arizona.edu or Katrina Dillon at kedillon@arizona.edu.

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Africa National Resource Center publishes new Hausa Ajami workbook for public health

Hausa Ajami Workbook

The Boston University (BU) African Language Program has published a new workbook in its growing series of Ajami teaching resourcesLittafin Koyan Hausa Ajami Don Lafiar Al-Umma (Hausa Ajami Workbook for Public Health) by Mustapha Hashim Kurfi. Across 12 chapters, the workbook covers topics including childbirth, family health, infectious diseases, death, and more.

 

The BU African Language Program is the recipient of a Title VI National Resource Center grant for the FY 2018–21 and 2022–25 grant cycles.

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Perennial resources from the IFLE grantee community

  • Teaching the World is a collection of materials produced by the area studies or international studies NRCs partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education. NRCs are mandated to conduct outreach activities for K–16 educators and students through educational training, cultural events, and other programming. NRC resources are available locally and nationally, and include virtual classroom visits, training workshops and seminars, multimedia materials, lesson plans, and more. The site also features a special section with resources just for community college educators!

  • Title VI Language Resource Centers (LRCs) support the nation’s capacity for language teaching and learning. LRCs offer free or low-cost teaching materials, professional development opportunities, assessment and evaluation services, and more. Visit the joint LRC website and download the LRC brochure to find out how LRCs can enhance your classroom instruction and supplement your existing resources.

  • Title VI Centers for International Business Education (CIBEs) meet the workforce and technological needs of the U.S. business community by training professionals with expertise in international business, world languages, U.S. trade, and research on business theories and practices. Fifteen CIBEs are located at universities across the country and serve as regional and national resources to business professionals, stakeholders, students, and teachers at all levels. Visit the joint CIBE website for more information.

  • The IFLE Group on Open Educational Resource Commons is a repository for resources developed with the support of Fulbright-Hays and Title VI grants. 


Google map of IFLE grantees

Google Map of FY 2022 IFLE Grantees

Explore our Google map of FY 2022 IFLE grantees to learn about the Title VI domestic projects being implemented on campuses across the United States and the Fulbright-Hays overseas projects being conducted around the world. These projects strengthen international education experiences and foreign language learning for students, participants, and dissertation researchers.

 

This map provides a user-friendly way for viewers to get a sense of the extensive reach of the Title VI and Fulbright-Hays grantee institutions featured, as well as the diversity of our grantee institutions.

 


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IFLE is on Twitter, with the latest from the world of international and foreign language education. Follow us @GoGlobalED and tell your friends. We’ll see you in the Twittersphere!

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We want to hear from you! Do you have suggestions for webinar topics? Ideas for things to include in future newsletters? Send them to Carolyn Collins at carolyn.collins@ed.gov.


Season's Greetings from the IFLE Team!

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