Embracing Diversity at Home and Abroad
From Kim Schmidl-Gagne, Academic Affairs: The National and International Exchange Program and the Campus Commission on Diversity and Multiculturalism will celebrate Keene State College’s International Education Week by sponsoring “Embracing Diversity at Home and Abroad,” November 17–21.
• Monday, November 17, noon–1 p.m., Mountain View Room (a light lunch will be available):
MacLean Gander, vice president for External Relations and Strategic Initiatives at Landmark College, will present “Learning Differences as Di-versity Rather than Dis-ability: New Lessons and Understanding in the United States and Arabic World.” This presentation will review current issues and developments in the field, and discuss a groundbreaking collaborative project in Saudi Arabia to work with students in the Arabic-speaking world who have learning disabilities.
• Tuesday, November 18, 9 p.m., Night Owl Café:
Fish Fall in Love, an Iranian film by director Ali Raffi. Atieh’s singular passion is food, and her small but popular restaurant on the sleepy Caspian coast is her pride and joy. But when Aziz, her former fiancé, appears after a twenty-year absence, the women believe he intends to close the restaurant, so Atieh prepares his favorite dishes, one after the other, in a desperate effort to convince him otherwise. Loosely based on the Persian fable of Shahrazad and the Thousand Myths (A Thousand and One Nights), director Ali Raffi uses the language of food to paint a richly textured portrait of life and love on the northern coast of Iran. Sponsored by the International Friends Club.
• Wednesday, November 19, 6–7 p.m. in the Madison Café:
Skye Stephenson, NIEC Director, will present ”Uni-versity/Di-versity/Plur-versity: Andean Indigenous Higher Education, Sustainability, the Good Life, and Wisdom.” Ecuador has one of the most active indigenous movements in the Americas, and a key goal of the movement has been the establishment of a university that reflects their nations’ and people’s ancestral knowledge and acknowledges the centrality of the Pachamama, or Earth. After a decade of development, the Intercultural University Amatay Wasi was accredited by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education in 2005. Skye Stephenson has visited this University twice, most recently in summer 2008. Come learn more about this truly innovative university as well as the burgeoning movement of intercultural universities throughout Latin America.
• Thursday, November 20, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. in the vending area, Student Center Atrium:
”Passport Day!” Apply for your official U.S. passport or renew your passport book or card on campus. Remember that a passport is now required for all travel to Canada and Mexico. For fee and application information, contact the Keene passport office.
