Lunch With Alex Strick van Linschoten

           Students interested in developing a deeper understanding of the Taliban and Afghan policies had the opportunity to feed their knowledge at a free lunch and lecture on Thursday, Sept. 27. 

            The University of Oklahoma’s Center for Middle East Studies and the Department of International and Area Studies brought in Alex Strick van Linschoten, an author and researcher on Afghan relations, to talk to attendees about his experiences living and working in Afghanistan.

One of the assignments for IAS 3003.012, a class about 9/11 and the War on Terror, requires students to attend two guest lectures made by speakers who have regional expertise on Pakistan and Afghanistan as policy-makers, researchers and academics, according to Mariam Mufti, a professor for the Department of International and Area Studies.

Mufti planned the event with the hopes that students would benefit from Linschoten’s first-hand knowledge on Afghan issues.

“I really want students and the OU community in general to benefit from the insights of scholars, academics and policy-makers…It is for this reason that I organized Alex Linschoten’s visit to OU,” Mufti said.

Linschoten has worked with Afghan refugees in London at the Afghan Association of London and also as a liaison between various Iraqi non-governmental organizations based in Syria and their international donors. In 2006, he co-founded AfghanWire.com, an organization that seeks to improve awareness of the wide range of issues and opinions relating to Afghanistan.

“Alex Linschoten has lived in Afghanistan for several years, and his experience of living there through these troubled times is an invaluable glimpse on Afghan society and culture,” Mufti said.

The next guest speaker scheduled to discuss Afghan relations with Professor Mufti’s class is Dr. Robert Lamb from the Center of Strategic International Studies in Washington, D.C., in November. This lecture will not be an event open to the public.

A Whole New World

           For students interested in studying abroad next summer, there is no better time than now to be researching and weighing all your international travel options.

            The University of Oklahoma’s College of International Studies hosts study abroad opportunities for students in over 100 cities across more than 50 countries for a spring break, summer, semester, or year, according to OU’s education abroad website.

            Among the many study abroad programs offered by the College of International Studies are the Journey programs. Journey programs are summer travel seminars designed to introduce OU students to world affairs through the lens of a particular country or region, according to Alice Kloker, director of education abroad for the College of International Studies at OU.

            “The Journey programs are taught in English by OU faculty for OU students, and include cultural excursions and experiential learning components in the local country or region where programming is taking place,” Kloker said.

            Journey to China was the first Journey program, launched in 1997 as an initiative of President Boren to introduce OU students to Chinese civilization, economics and politics, according to Kloker. Journey to Italy was formally established in 2006. In 2009, Journey to Latin America was introduced, which took place in Chile and Peru that year. It went to Peru every year thereafter, and this year will take place in Brazil. This summer, the College of International Studies will be introducing two new Journey programs: Journey to Africa (Tanzania) and Journey to Turkey, according to Kloker.

            Student participation in Journey programs has continued to grow over the years.

            “Between 2010 and 2012, a total of 175 students participated in one of our Journey programs,” Kloker said.

            Steven Dixon, a senior at OU, participated in the 2012 Journey to Latin America: Peru and spent four weeks emersing himself in Peruvian culture.

            “I had done some cultural events for Peru the semester before the trip, so I was already somewhat oriented with Peruvian culture. I’ve always wanted to go to Latin America, so I took the first opportunity I had once I found out about the Journey program to Peru, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life,” Dixon said.

            Most students become involved in a Journey program, unsure of what to expect, since they are generally unfamiliar with the foreign country they are visiting.

            “I was expecting to expand my competency and comprehension in Spanish, which I definitely did. But I also learned to be independent and gained confidence by being able to do things in a country that wasn’t my own,” Dixon said.

            The Journey to Italy is the most popular summer study abroad program at OU. The Italian Center of the University of Oklahoma is located in Arezzo, Italy, and works in conjunction with this program. Lauren Byrd, an engineering major at OU, participated in the 2012 Journey to Italy program last summer.

            “One of my friends in high school actually told me that if I ever got the chance to go to Italy, I have to go. So when the opportunity to study abroad came up, I was really interested in the Journey program to Italy,” Byrd said.

            The month-long Journey takes students through the cities of Rome, Florence, Venice and Arezzo.  Art history is taught on this journey, and gives students a first-hand learning experience in Italian art.

            “Being able to see works of art that I only saw in textbooks before I actually went to Italy was just so incredible to me. I really took on an appreciation and interest for things that I never really had thought about before my Journey to Italy,” Byrd said.

            Travel and program prices for 2013 have not yet been determined. Last year, the program costs for Journeys varied between $3,200 and $4,000, according to Kloker. Generous fundings have been allocated each year to help offset the cost for students wanting to study abroad.

            Students that are interested in participating in the 2013 summer Journey programs are encouraged to attend a Study Abroad 101 session to learn more about the study abroad application process.    

            The next Study Abroad 101 session will be held this Thursday, Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. in Zarrow Hall, room 120. To learn more about the 2013 Journey programs, visit the study abroad website at studyabroad.ou.edu.

Lauren Byrd, Journey to Italy 2012 participant, describes
the significance of the Weekend of the Jousts flag 
she took home from Arezzo, Italy last summer.

University Participates in Japan Foundation Film Series

Students intrigued by Japanese cinema will have the opportunity this fall to attend free screenings of contemporary Japanese films during the eighth annual Japan Foundation Film Series.

             

The New York office of the Japan Foundation owns a collection of Japanese film on 35mm prints. For the past eight years, they have been circulating these films to institutions in parts of the country that do not often get a lot of exposure to Japanese cinema, according to Elyssa Faison, associate professor of Japanese history at the University of Oklahoma.

           

 “My hope is that OU students who may be familiar with Japanese popular culture through manga and anime…might give themselves the opportunity to see the latest themes and visual aesthetics that are driving today’s younger Japanese filmmakers,” Faison said.

          

  “Dog in a Sidecar” is the first film scheduled to be screened Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium.

Latin Luncheon

           Students interested in Latin American culture have the opportunity to feed their curiosity, as well as their bellies, this fall semester.

            The University of Oklahoma Department of International and Area Studies is hosting three free Latin Americanist lunches throughout the semester. Each lunch will feature a different guest speaker who has expertise in a special area of Latin American culture, as well as free lunch for all who RSVP to attend.

The first of these lunches took place on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at noon. Latin American filmmaker Carolina Rueda visited students and faculty to discuss her lecture series “Latin American Cinema in the New Millennium: Phantasmagoria, Crisis, and the Urban Space.”

Raeven Aguilar, a Latin American Studies major, looked forward to attending this event for some time.

“Latin America is so interesting to me to begin with, and I also love cinema, so the combination of the two was irresistible,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar was not the only person anxious to hear Rueda speak. The event room was packed with students and faculty interested in Latin American cinema and Rueda’s journey as a filmmaker.

Rueda received an Emmy in 2006 for the television program she co-founded, LatinEyes, and also recently co-produced a Columbian film. She spoke about the direction in which Latin American cinema has been heading in the recent years.

“It focuses more on urbanization and uses a lot of phantasmagoria from the recent struggles of the country,” Aguilar said.

With the success of this first Latin Americanist lunch, Aguilar is anxiously awaiting the next two in the series.

“I will definitely be going to the other events. You get free lunch and education on really interesting topics!” Aguilar said.

The next Latin Americanist lunch is scheduled for Oct. 10, 2012 at noon in Hester Hall, room 160.

An Arabic Journey

           Students intrigued with Arabic and the faraway lands of the Middle East can now follow in the footsteps of the University’s very first student to complete the Arabic Flagship Program.

            Chase Smithburg, a recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma who now works for the University, returned from Egypt a couple of weeks ago, completing the 5-year-long Arabic Flagship Program. 

Chase Smithburg, Program Coordinator 

for the Arabic Flagship Program at OU,

stands beside the Egyptian flag and a 

sign promoting the program.

           The OU Arabic Language Flagship Partner Program is a merit-based undergraduate program designed for learners of Arabic who seek to achieve superior language proficiency while pursuing degrees in the academic majors of their choice, according to the program’s website. The website also states that the program offers an innovative five-year curriculum in Arabic language and culture designed to produce graduates with dual strengths in Arabic language proficiency and their chosen career fields.  

            This flagship program is concerned with languages that are becoming more and more critical for people all over the world to be better versed in.

            “The language flagship itself kind of focuses on these critical languages that a lot of American students don’t usually study like Russian, Chinese, Urdu, Farsi and Arabic,” Smithburg said.

            As a political science major and Spanish minor, Smithburg was somehow drawn to the Arabic culture and interested in its unique language.

            “I started studying Arabic my first semester at OU in the fall of 2007, but the flagship program wasn‘t available at that time. The Arabic Flagship Program came to OU through the efforts of President Boren and other faculty, and I joined pretty much as soon as the program became available my Sophomore year,” Smithburg said.

            The program has high stipulations and eligibility that one must meet in order to be accepted. These requirements include a commitment to complete the entire five-year Arabic Flagship Program, having Arabic as a long-term career goal, and a GPA of at least 3.25, according to the program’s website.

            “As a flagship student I was really determined to reach a certain level with my understanding of the language, and there are certain testing guidelines from novice to advanced to superior that I was required to meet in order to progress in this program,” Smithburg said.

            Each student has their own ideas of what they want to get out of the program. Language proficiency and a better understanding of that culture are two things that every student can expect from completion of the flagship. Smithburg also had some other goals of his own.

            “I was also really wanting to get the point where I could read something as simple as newspaper articles and really understand what’s going on culturally and politically. And of course, today, being able to read what’s on Facebook or Twitter, because a lot of the time, friends that I made over there would post things in Arabic and I could understand the words, but not the context. So I was hoping to someday be able to understand what’s going on at the societal level, too,” Smithburg said.

            With Smithburg’s recent arrival back to the United States, his time spent in Alexandria, Egypt, the second largest city in the country, is fresh on his mind. Although he accomplished the goals he had anticipated to complete going into the flagship program, Smithburg also came home with something unexpected.

            “I’ve only been back from Egypt for about two weeks, so something I didn’t expect was that my experience in Egypt would become such a big part of my life. I made these close relationships with people there, like other Egyptian students or even people I met randomly. These are people that have really become a very important part of my life, and I just didn’t expect that going into this. At first, I looked at this like it’s more about me and my education, and came out of it with really a different life experience,” Smithburg said.

          Being that Smithburg was the first, and at this point, only student to complete the program, OU’s College of International Studies has hired him on to be the Program Coordinator for the Arabic Flagship Program.

Every year the program is gaining more students interested in the Arabic language and culture. There are now six students participating, and Smithburg hopes that the program continues to appeal to students entering the college.

            “I was able to learn and experience so much through this flagship program, so my hope is that the program only continues to grow, so that other students can get this incredible opportunity like I did,” Smithburg said.

Smithburg pins the location of where he lived during his yearlong stay in Alexandria, Egypt.

Leaders Cash In

Students interested in taking on international leadership roles now have an opportunity to cash in on their future leadership dreams.

              University of Oklahoma’s College of International Studies is re-launching its International Leadership Program, which provides chosen applicants a $2,000 stipend toward an approved internationally focused internship. Participants are also eligible to attend the College of International Studies Washington and the World Spring Break trip in March 2013.

           Former Oklahoma Secretary of State and Tulsa Mayor, Susan Savage, leads this program for OU’s College of International Studies.

           “As someone who is known for leadership, Susan Savage and our former dean put this program together last year in order to mentor and shape students into becoming great leaders themselves,” said Rebecca Cruise, special advisor to the dean of the College of International Studies.

            The application deadline is Sept. 14, 2012. Recipients will be announced the first week of October.