global currents spring 2009

IN THIS ISSUE:— 2009 CIE Conference–Sustaining Cities: Urban Lost and Found

— UWM Professor Works to Improve Landmine Detection Techniques

— UWM Welcomes Nathaniel Stern, New Global Studies Faculty Member in the Peck School of the Arts

— Engineering and International Education

A Biannual Bulletin by the Center for International Education

Global Currents Spring 2009Volume 5 Issue 2

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CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

The spring 2009 semester at CIE features a wide variety of programs and activities. We are proud to bring you such a diverse array of options for intellectual and personal enrichment. As usual, CIE’s Institute of World

Aff airs has a busy spring program schedule, culminating in the annual Kennan Forum at the Pabst Th eater. CIE will host its annual spring conference on April 17-18, 2009. Th is year’s theme, Sustaining Cities: Urban Lost and Found, promises to yield valuable and exciting discussions.

Th is issue of Global Currents showcases the true diversity of internationalization at UWM. Every school and college at the university works on the global stage, and we are better for it. CIE is pleased to showcase contributions from all corners of campus in this issue.

Robert Burlage, professor in the School of Health Sciences, shares his fascinating work on landmine detection and removal. Th is area of work illustrates the critical intersection of research and policy. We are also honored to include an interview of School of Information Studies faculty member, Dick Kawooya. His work on the digital divide in Africa is inspiring, and a true asset to the UWM community. And continuing a welcome trend in Global Currents, we are also pleased to feature a graduate student contribution by Krista-Lee Malone, a Ph.D. student in Anthropology.

Th ere is no shortage of people on campus who make important contributions to international education. Our Profi les section gives you an opportunity to meet some of them. Th is issue features a profi le of our new Global Studies faculty member in the Peck School of the Arts, Nathaniel Stern. Nathaniel’s fascinating academic and professional career is a testament to the importance of interdisciplinary work. Please join with us in welcoming him to campus. We also include an interview with Yea-Fen Chen, Assistant Professor of Chinese at UWM, whose work in developing the Chinese program has been nothing short of phenomenal. UWM is gearing up to off er the fourth-year of Chinese instruction after establishing a minor in 2007. And fi nally, the Profi les section also features Professor Matthew Petering from the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Petering’s scholarly achievements, particularly his experiences in foreign language study and engineering abroad, illustrates the broad scope and powerful impact of international education.

So many campus activities and achievements deserve mention in these limited pages. In this issue, we highlight the work of CIE’s Institute of World Aff airs (IWA), whose Director Robert Ricigliano is forging a new direction in international peacemaking eff orts. We also include a fascinating report from Emily Jensen, a Global Studies student who completed her mandatory overseas internship in rural India.

We look forward to your involvement with CIE this semester!

Cover image by Professor Emeritus Meredith Watts

LETTER FROM THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CIE

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ResearchDetection of Landmines Using Bacteria ......................................................................2

Information Access in Africa ....................................................................................4

The Gamer Community’s Vision of Japan ..................................................................6

Profi lesNathaniel Stern: New Interdisciplinary Visions ..........................................................8

Yea-Fen Chen: Teaching Chinese at UWM .................................................................9

Matthew Petering: Engineering on a Global Scale ....................................................10

Special FeatureCIE Conference Announcement - Sustaining Cities: Urban Lost and Found .................12

CIE World“So, how was India?” ............................................................................................14

Global Studies Students Blog ..................................................................................16

International Education Week 2008 ........................................................................16

Expert Meeting on Systems Thinking and Peacebuilding ...........................................18

Study Abroad in Summer 2009 ..............................................................................19

Notes ...............................................................................................................26

Events .............................................................................................................28

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Published by:

Center for International EducationUniversity of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeGarland Hall 138P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201www.international.uwm.edu

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Detection of Landmines Using BacteriaBy Robert S. Burlage

DR. ROBERT BURLAGE is an environmental microbiologist in the College of Health Sciences at UWM. His research concerns gene expression from microorganisms in the wild, especially among pathogenic microorganisms as they invade drinking water sources. To accomplish this he creates genetically recombinant microorganisms that include genes for the production of visible light (bioluminescence) or fl uorescence.

Landmines are not a typical hazard in Milwaukee, nor anywhere in the U.S. for that matter, but in many

countries around the world they present a very real danger. Th e United Nations estimates that there are some 110 million landmines scattered around the world, the majority of which are located in sixty-eight countries which have a recent history of warfare. In some cases, the mines are laid out in a regular pattern and maps are available to help with clearance when they are no longer needed. Most of the time, however, the mines are buried in a haphazard manner with no records and no clear responsibility for later clearance.

To this grim statistic can be added a related category of unexploded ordnance (UXO), which describes bombs, artillery shells, and other explosive devices that failed to detonate when fi red, but which remain live and prone to explode if disturbed. Estimates vary widely on what percentage of fi red munitions end up as UXO, but the fact is that a single 500 pound bomb can create quite a crater if you hit it with your plow.

Military experts will explain that a well-planned, well-placed, and well-marked minefi eld has great value: it keeps the people behind the minefi eld safe from attack. But mines that are simply distributed over the landscape serve no useful purpose and remain as deadly hazards. In some cases, they are tools of terrorism, since the local people will be reluctant to farm fi elds for fear of hitting a mine. And UXO are nothing but a threat (it is worth noting that there are some small areas in the U.S., mostly old military sites, which have UXO problems).

Th ere is a clear need to remove landmines and UXO in many

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countries around the world, returning the land to productive use and increasing the safety of the population. How can this be accomplished? Handheld minesweepers have been in use for decades and are easy to use. However, they detect metal, and most mines produced today are made of plastic (some small components, such as springs, are still metallic). Th us they remain invisible. Metal detectors will usually fi nd UXO, although if the UXO are buried deep enough, the signal will be too faint to be detected.

Th e most common method of landmine detection is familiar to anyone who has watched an old war movie. You take a bayonet, or similar metal probe, and push it into the soil in front of you at an angle. If you hit something it may be a mine, or perhaps a rock. You then carefully clear away the soil and determine if it is explosive. If it is, you will detonate it under safe conditions. Obviously this is a hazardous occupation and accidents are common. In addition, this is a very slow process. Th e demining technician must probe the ground every few inches. Imagine a typical suburban lawn, and how much time it would take to work your way through it under these conditions. Clearing a real minefi eld of a hundred acres or more is a daunting task.

Currently, the cost of anti-personnel mines is so low (some cost as little as three dollars apiece) and the rate of minefi eld clearance is so slow that there is no expectation that the job will ever be fi nished. In fact, the United Nations estimates that for every mine cleared, another twenty have been laid. Th is is a very discouraging fact.

A faster method of mine detection and clearance is needed, and the technique should be inexpensive. If the mine detectors can remove mines at the same cost as the mine users, much of the attraction of mines as a tool of warfare would disappear.

Our laboratory started with a project to use bacteria as detectors of small concentrations of chemicals in the soil and water. Th ese chemicals were largely hazardous waste compounds that needed to be treated to return the soil and water to a normal state. Knowing the extent of contamination gave more information on the costs and time needed for remediation. Th e bacteria were genetically engineered with genes from other species. Notably, we used a bioluminescent gene sequence isolated from a deep-sea bacterium, and a gene from jellyfi sh that produced a bright fl uorescent protein. Th is later protein, called Green Fluorescent Protein or GFP, recently earned the Nobel Prize for its discoverer, Martin Chalfi e of Columbia University.

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Th e objective was to engineer the gene into a bacteria cell in conjunction with another gene which would respond to the presence of a contaminant of interest. Using this method, we produced “bioreporters” of common chemical contaminants such as toluene, naphthalene, and mercury. Th ere has been concern over their use outdoors because they are genetically engineered microorganisms, although in every case in which they have been used, they have received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after a lengthy review.

We were challenged to produce a bioreporter for another chemical, trinitrotoluene, or the explosive TNT. TNT is a component in most, though certainly not all, landmines. It is known that buried landmines leak small amounts of explosives; when specially trained dogs sniff out explosives they are detecting these very small concentrations in the air. Our bacteria were not as sensitive as a dog’s nose, but we were detecting the considerably higher concentrations found in the damp surface soil. Th is usually means a concentration in the one part-per-million (ppm) range, which is the right concentration for bacteria looking for a potential food source.

Th e bioreporter bacterial strain was tested in a mock minefi eld that was constructed in South Carolina. Th e “mines” in our fi eld were TNT packages ranging from ounces (an antipersonnel mine) to pounds (an anti-tank mine). Th ere was no detonator in these packages, so they were relatively safe. Th e mines were planted about three months before the test, in order to let them “weather”

the right way. During this time, some small amount of TNT escaped from the packaging and made its way to the surface.

We used an agricultural sprayer to spray a large section of fi eld with our bacteria and let them contact the soil for a few hours. When we then checked the fi eld with an ultraviolet light we were pleased to see that the fl uorescent patches appeared as rings around the locations of the mines. All of the targets were detected, with only a few other points that appeared to be false positive signals. We speculated that they might not actually be false at all, but rather small bits of TNT that were tracked around the site by deer. Th is would not be unusual for the area.

Th e results would greatly diminish the area that would need to be examined carefully. Each positive signal was confi ned to an area of about a square meter, which is approximately the area that a bomb-sniffi ng dog would fi nd. In addition, the cost of using this method is extremely low, since the bacterial strain is easily grown in large vats.

Th ere is a great potential for this technology to be used in the fi eld. It is portable and accurate. However, the technique still has not caught on with the demining community. It is a very unusual approach, and most business people are wary of anything that is too radical in design. However, other applications of the same basic technology might be used, such as for determining where plant stress is located, or perhaps for nutrient analysis of the soil without resorting to chemical analysis.

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h DICK KAWOOYA is a Lecturer in the School of Information Studies. He is also the Lead Researcher of the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project (www.aca2k.org). In 2008, he completed a Ph.D. in Communication and Information at the School of Information Science, University of Tennessee. He is broadly interested in the impact and manifestation of intellectual property rights in Africa’s informal sectors. Kawooya was the recipient of a 2006-07 International Policy Fellowship of the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the Center for Policy Studies at the Central European University (CEU).

What is the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project?

ACA2K is a research project investigating the impact of copyright on access to information in eight African countries (Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda). ACA2K brings together a loose network of copyright scholars and activists in the eight countries. Access to information is examined through the narrow lens of access to learning materials for education and research. ACA2K is looking at the copyright environments specifi cally, the laws on one hand, and practices, on the other. ACA2K grew out of the need to understand the broader socioeconomic, political and cultural ramifi cations of copyright in environments where copyright never existed prior to Europe’s colonization of Africa. ACA2K also builds on the recent global development agenda negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), where sections of the global south called for reform of the international intellectual property system to make it more responsive to the needs of the poor countries and societies.

Is “intellectual property”, as defi ned in the American context, a problematic concept in Africa?

Intellectual property was only introduced in much of Africa as part of the colonial legal regimes. Certainly, the notion of intellectual works as property is one most Africans continue to grapple with. Interestingly, these are small sections of society because intellectual property remains unknown to the majority of Africans. At least that is the evidence we’ve gathered in the research countries.

What specifi c challenges have you overcome through your work? What are the project’s successes?

Widespread lack of knowledge of IP/copyright which, for government and regulatory offi cials, means inaction on matters of access to information in relation to copyright. Related to lack of knowledge, individuals that are aware of copyright fi nd it diffi cult to appreciate the fact that there is an access dimension to it. Many think primarily in terms of copyright as a reward system without due attention to access functions of the system. Th e idea of a balancing act between reward for creativity and access to works of an intellectual nature remains unknown or simply ignored. Th e situation is not helped by the perception of widespread illegal copying occasioned by readily available copying services. Due to widespread poverty, photocopying is rampant to account for the lack of reference materials and textbooks. Rights-holders fi nd the current photocopying practices and levels out of hand, even when statutory fair use provisions are taken into account. Of course, this happens in an environment where the majority of students and faculty simply cannot aff ord even the most basic literary materials.

What challenges remain for the immediate and distant future?

Reconciling the law and practices. As noted above, there are major discrepancies in this area. While there is a perception of widespread access to information and learning materials, most laws in the study countries remains unfriendly to access.

Can technology alone solve the problems that you are working to resolve?

Yes, long term technology is an important ingredient in the quest to widen access to information and learning materials. In the interim, it is not the central mechanism for access. All study countries report that ‘print’ or non-digital sources are the primary mechanisms for access but acknowledge that, increasingly, technology plays a crucial role. Many point to the availability of electronic resources and databases, as well as e-learning in a few privileged institutions – mostly large public universities. Unfortunately, many are constrained by very limited bandwidth and underdeveloped technological infrastructure.

Information Access in AfricaBy Dick Kawooya

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What is the digital divide? Is it accurate that the “information poor” constitute a new subgroup of hyper-disenfranchisement? (i.e. the “Fourth World”)?

In a nutshell (and probably simplistic terms) digital divide is the gap between those with technology and those without. Th e reason we are preoccupied with the digital divide is because technology is an important mechanism for access to information and participation (civic/political, economic, etc). In Africa, the digital divide is present in environments already struggling with a lot of challenges, some of which are perceived as delinked from technology. Yet, the reality points to the opposite. Th at is why our project specifi cally focused on digital information, although preliminary fi ndings point to print as the most important medium for now. Even with the limited usage of digital sources, we believe that electronic information is the future and with that is the need for a sound digital infrastructure.

Does information have its own politics? What is the relationship between information and power?

In the current knowledge economy, or so-called information society, access to information is paramount. Th ose with access to information wield enormous control and power over the information have-nots! Whether it’s the state or creators of information or knowledge goods, access to privileged information means that one is better positioned to make decisions for his/her own advantage. In Africa, it means that one can escape vicious cycles of poverty, avoid or prevent common diseases, or better still, tap the enormous resources available on the continent. We focus on education and access to information as an important avenue to cause fundamental changes in people’s lives. If empowered (with information) at that level, they just might be able to turn their lives around. In this case, our work focuses on understanding how information goods (and public information resources) can be accessed and used by publics with limited potential to fully participate in the information markets. In Africa, such groups constitute a signifi cant portion of the population and represent the future of African societies.

New Releases in CIE’s Book and Research Series CIE is pleased to announce the publication of two recent edited collections, both of which feature the work of UWM faculty and are the result of CIE annual scholarly conferences.

Th e fi rst book, published in the New Directions in International Studies series, under the general editorship of CIE Senior Director Patrice Petro, is Aftermaths: Exile, Migration, and Diaspora Reconsidered (2008). Edited by UWM faculty members Marcus Bullock and Peter Paik, this volume features the work of ten contributors—well-established scholars and promising new voices—working in diff erent disciplines and drawing from diverse backgrounds to present rich case studies from around the world. Th e editors and contributors to this volume—including UWM scholars Andrew Kincaid, Paul Brodwin, Zoran Samardzija, K.E. Supriya, and Ihab Hassan—show how we have reached a moment in history when it is imperative to question prevailing intellectual models. Th ey argue that the interconnectedness of world economies can exacerbate existing antagonisms or generate new exclusions. Th e volume itself engages important academic topics as well as leading political issues of our time.

Th e second volume, published in the Croatian performing arts journal Frakcija (2007), is co-edited by UWM faculty members Lane Hall and Jon McKenzie. It features work by the editors as well as UWM scholars A. Aneesh, Melanie Marino, and Jasmine Alinder. Th e collection explores the tension between security and liberty in our 21st century world, where security cameras, satellite imaging, datamining systems, and other technologies create a global surveillance network capable of “constantly capturing” one’s every move and transaction (“Constant Capture” was the title of the 2006 CIE conference from which this volume was drawn). Th e authors, artists, and activists who contribute to this collection explore, confront, and respond to this situation in a variety of ways, showing how artists and activists incorporate surveillance video and computer technologies into protests and public information campaigns, performance art, visual art and installation, as well as through historical, sociological, and cultural analysis.

CIE congratulates the editors of these collections and the scholars whose work contributes so much to UWM’s research profi le and mission.

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KRISTA-LEE MALONE is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a contributing author at Joystick101. Her research focuses on political and social organization in massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) worlds.

Globalization is the word of today. It is in the news, in classrooms, in books, and in politics, but what does it mean? In reference to media, globalization is sometimes referred to as the availability of images and programs across borders, but everything that is seen in this manner is packaged. Th us, this form of travel for the mind is a framed experience. Th is phenomenon is exemplifi ed by a segment called “What’s Up with Japan?” from the television program Attack of the Show (AoTS).

AoTS is one of the original programs of the G4 cable network, a cable station devoted to the video game community. Th e program consists of several regular segments, one of which is “What’s Up with Japan?” Although this segment focuses solely on Japan and Japanese culture, it does not provide the viewer with a comprehensive overview of the nation or their culture. Rather it highlights topics which are particularly distant from the American experience of life. Consequently, AoTS packages Japan as a foreign and exotic place.

Japan is an enigma to the West. “It is this complexity and ambiguity in the image of Japan that has given it a particular resonance in Western fantasies,” and fears (Morley & Robins 1995:148). Despite this fear of the Japanese “colonizing the world and taking possession of the future,” Japan is not presented as a threat within AoTS (Morley & Robins 1995:148). Emphasis is instead placed upon the strangeness of Japanese culture, more in line with Morley and Robins’ other claim that Japan is described “through a discourse of exotica and aesthetica” (1995:148).

Th is vision of Japan is also present in the cyberpunk genre. “Japan is a unique case in this context, for the country has

presented itself as a contradiction of advancement and backwardness, or exotic primitivism conjoined with high-tech supremacy” (Sato 2005:335). Japan has broken free from the Western dichotomous view of the world, and is now both East (exotic) and West (technological) in the American imagination.

Whichever facet one chooses to focus on, the diff erence of Japan remains a common theme. In the AoTS segment, “What’s Up With Japan?” this diff erence is highlighted above all else. To demonstrate this packaging of Japanese culture for American consumption, I examined 7 segments of “What’s up with Japan?” covering 2 ½ months during fall 2008. I relied on archives from the offi cial AoTS website for this research. Th is particular segment and program is illustrative for its blatant use of Japanese cultural artifacts to entertain American audiences.

During AoTS, there are multiple segments covering topics of interest to the video game community. One of these segments is called “What’s Up with Japan?” which showcases new technologies or unique cultural attributes from Japan. On the website, this piece is described as “A segment that attempts to answer one of the great unanswered questions of our time...What’s Up with Japan?” (g4tv.com). Th is segment often uses Internet videos during the broadcast.

“What’s up with Japan” is not meant to be an overview of Japanese culture so much as it is a look at what is diff erent about Japan. Th e web captions accompanying archived footage and introductions to the segments support this theme. Two of the segments began with one of the program hosts saying some variation of the following: “When you are looking for the bizarre and strange there’s no better place to fi nd it than Japan” (Oct. 29th and Sept. 17th). Web captions include phrases such as, “We take a peek into the lives of the Japanese with the wackiest they’ve got to off er,” (Nov. 10th) and “Seriously, Japan. What is up with you guys?” (Sept. 17th).

Th ese instances of framed travel represent a version of what Morley describes as the viewer being distanced from what is presented (2000:183). Even though a segment like “What’s Up with Japan?” is able to bring images of Japan into American living rooms, this is not the “universalizing” form of globalization in which national cultures disappear (Moran 1998:2). Japan is retained and presented as exotic.

Th e opening animation of “What’s Up with Japan?” is a visual representation of Sato’s claim that Japan is presented as both technologically advanced and exotically primitive (2005:335). Th e introduction is an animation sequence

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showing a temple gate and a geisha. A giant lizard comes in for just a moment before being crushed by a giant mechanical monster. Th e backdrop to this includes images of modern skyscrapers and a Buddha. Japan is represented through images associated with tradition, modern amenities, and advanced technology.

Th e topics highlighted in this segment have to do with new technologies or trends that are diff erent from mainstream American culture. Technological subjects include a student made eco car, useless inventions, and new domestic and beauty products. All of these are packaged not just as new gadgets, but as strange and unique to Japan. In his concluding remarks, one correspondent says, “No matter how funny, weird, or awkward it gets over there, the Land of the Rising Sun is always full of surprises” (Sept. 10th). During this statement, an image of the featured cleaning product appears as he says “No matter how funny.” Th e graphic then changes to the beauty product as he says “weird.” Th is synchronous representation suggests that the gadgets correspond with the accompanying description. Th ese inventions are not presented as something new for the American viewer to desire. Th ey are presented as “funny” and “weird” gadgets that the foreign Japanese use.

Th e most blatant portrayal of Japanese cultural uniqueness, however, is found in a segment hosted from Tokyo. Entitled Olivia Munn Visits Tokyo’s Red Light District, this segment presents shots of Tokyo lit by neon lights and streets fi lled with people. Th e opening shows Munn, the presenter, in an alleyway where she says “grab some sanitizer…” Th roughout this segment Munn describes the environment as “creepy” and “kinda scary;” as well as insinuating dirtiness, as the aforementioned introduction and a later comment about taking a bath suggest.

Th is image of Japan as exotic is not unique. While AoTS uses this imagery as a form of entertainment and framed travel, this particular focus is a sign of Western culture’s (and specifi cally the video game culture’s) fascination with Japan; or more specifi cally, a fascination with this particular version of an exotically imagined Japan.

Despite dystopian fears that diff erences will disappear due to globalization, programs such as “What’s Up with Japan?” illustrate a continuing diff erentiation of and desire for the exotic. Although this media company has reached beyond American borders for these images of Japan, the intent is not to encourage a melting together of cultures. Th is packaging of Japan is meant to entertain the viewer with exotic and foreign images.

Japan is presented as strange and unique, and as traditional and progressive. Th e topics chosen are cast as both foreign to Western culture and uniquely Japanese. In many respects, this segment

highlights an enduring Orientalism, but it also illustrates Japan’s growing power as a leader in technology. For some American gamers, Japan is the place to buy the best gadgets and games, thus refl ecting Japan’s own growing cultural infl uence. Within the target audience of this program, the gaming community, Japan is both exotic and more advanced, an ambiguous middle ground between Orientalism and emerging forms of Japanese hegemony.

Bibliography:

Attack of the Show website. http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/index.html. Last accessed: November 30, 2008.

Moran, Albert. Copycat TV. UK: University of Luton Press, 1998.

Morley, David. Home Territories: Media, Mobility, and Identity. UK: Routledge, 2000.

Morley, David and Robins, Kevin. Spaces of Identity: Global Media, electronic landscapes and cultural boundaries. UK: Routledge, 1995.

Said, Edward. Orientalism. NY: Vintage Books, 1979.

Sato, Kumiko. “How Information Technology Has (Not) Changed Feminism and Japanism: Cyberpunk in the Japanese Context.” Comparative Literature Studies 41.3 (2004): 335, 355.

Krista-Lee MalonePh.D. student, Dept. of [email protected]

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T he Center for International Education is pleased to welcome NATHANIEL STERN to campus. As a Global

Studies faculty appointee in the Peck School of the Arts, Nathaniel brings an impressive interdisciplinary and international background to the university. His inspiring creative and academic work will be a valuable asset to the Global Studies degree program.

Hailing from Staten Island, New York, Nathaniel travelled an unusual path to Milwaukee. After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Fashion Design, Nathaniel developed an interest in emerging areas of digital technology, particularly creative uses of the html programming language. Expanding on his work in this area, Nathaniel enrolled in the Interactive Telecommunications program at New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts. As a groundbreaking program in the fi eld of interactive art, NYU enabled Nathaniel to make notable artistic contributions, even at the early stages of his career. Th e recent Act/React interactive exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum featured the work of Nathaniel’s longtime colleagues and friends.

After NYU, Stern spent six years in South Africa, where he would go on to forge his artistic career. While working on HIV awareness and education, Nathaniel also taught online at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Complementing his artistic production, the virtual and lived experiences in South Africa helped to shape Nathaniel’s engagement with the world through internationalized, digitized, local spaces.

Eager to delve back into research and writing, Nathaniel enrolled in a unique doctoral program at Trinity College Dublin, where he would spend several years as a graduate student. Housed in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Nathaniel pursued a humanities-based degree in digital art. Th is radically interdisciplinary experience has continued to inform his approach to creativity, research, and teaching.

Nathaniel views the Peck School as the perfect environment within which to further develop his multifaceted career. His focus on new, interactive art is well suited to the current direction of the school. And through the program in Global Studies, Stern fi nds an ideal platform from which to express his hybrid professional and personal identity.

In spring 2008, Nathaniel is teaching Social Participation in Contemporary Art in the Peck School. Th is class examines installation art and relational aesthetics, an area in which Nathaniel has signifi cant experience. Th is type of artistic production has the advantage of making political acts more implicit in the performance itself, thereby revealing structures of power. Student work from this course will be showcased at CIE’s 2009 academic conference, Sustaining Cities: Urban Lost and Found, on April 17-18.

For more information on Nathaniel Stern’s work, please visit his website: www.nathanielstern.com.

Nathaniel Stern: New Interdisciplinary VisionsP

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digitized, local spaces.

Nathaniel Stern at work: scanning water lilies in Emmarantia Park; Johannesburg, South Africa (photo by Nicole Ridgway)

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G lobal Currents is please to feature this interview with Yea-Fen Chen, Associate Professor of Chinese at UWM

Please briefl y describe the academic and personal journey that brought you to Milwaukee.

I came to Milwaukee from Clinton, NY, where I worked as a visiting assistant professor at Hamilton College for two years. I was very much impressed with the quality and collegiality of the faculty during my campus interview. Th e wonderful people at UWM were the main reason why I came.

What are you doing while on sabbatical/leave from UWM?

I am a visiting scholar supported by the National Science Council in Taiwan. My host is the Graduate Institute of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), Taipei, Taiwan. In additional to working on an intermediate level Chinese language textbook for high school students, I have been training graduate students here at NTNU who plan to become Chinese language teachers in the future, have given talks at many universities in Taiwan, and have organized several international conferences.

Please describe the history of the Chinese language program at UWM.

I think that the Chinese Language Program at UWM was established in 1986. Prof. Yuru Wu, my predecessor, was an excellent teacher; however, she had to leave UWM for health reasons. I came in 1998 and the program has been gradually growing each year. We expanded the program by off ering 5th and 6th semester Chinese, Chinese Culture through Film, and Chinese Calligraphy. Th e Minor in Chinese has been off ered since fall 2007. I am glad that we will be off ering 7th and 8th semester Chinese for the very fi rst time this academic year.

How have you seen student interest in Chinese evolve in recent years?

In the 1990s I think that most students who took Chinese were interested in Chinese culture or literature. Now, most people are taking it for future careers in business.

In terms of pedagogy, what have been the greatest challenges of teaching at UWM and how have you addressed them?

I think that one of the biggest challenges of teaching/learning Chinese at UWM is that it is situated in the Midwest where students don’t have many opportunities to practice Chinese in a natural way. We try very hard to pair our students with the

Chinese and Taiwanese students on campus and organize trips to local restaurants and Chinatown in Chicago. I also off er study abroad programs to China during the summer and to Taiwan during the UWinteriM.

In terms of instruction, we recognize the fact that Chinese is not easy for Westerners to master, and Chinese characters are very challenging for them. We employ a very systematic approach and also teach students language learning strategies, such as mnemonics, and using radicals to help them remember Chinese characters. We also tell students that when you study a foreign language, you have to work on it a little bit each day.

I think that building a loving and caring learning community for the students is what I have been trying to do and I do see the fruit. Th e Chinese Club at UWM is a perfect example.

Yea-Fen Chen: Teaching Chinese at UWM


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A s an undergraduate at Washington University in

St. Louis, MATTHEW PETERING never imagined that his study of Mandarin Chinese would ultimately contribute to his success as an engineer. However, years later, while pursuing his Ph.D. fi eldwork in Singapore, Matthew’s language abilities opened doors to work and research that would have been otherwise inaccessible. A native of Milwaukee, Matthew has returned home with a global perspective, outlook, and expertise. As Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at UWM, Dr. Petering’s message is simple: international education is an asset in every fi eld.

After studying Chinese during his fi nal four semesters of college, while completing a math major, Matthew traveled to China where he spent two months studying Mandarin Chinese at Beijing University. His time abroad proved to be a transformative, life-changing experience. Upon returning to the United States, Matthew enrolled in graduate school in the Industrial and Operations Engineering program at the University of Michigan. For several years, his language skills and intercultural experience seemed far removed from his academic work until, in 2004, he traveled to Singapore to conduct his Ph.D. dissertation research.

Singapore is often described as the “best fi rst stop in Asia” as it is home to a remarkable blend of regional cultures and languages. When Matthew arrived in Singapore, he was able to obtain a job at the city-state’s giant port, the site of his dissertation research. He credits his Mandarin Chinese skills, and particularly his ability to communicate casually with other workers, for this unique opportunity.

Petering’s research examines the organization and operation of ports. He develops algorithms to identify and resolve bottlenecks in the complex movement of containers between ships, through the port itself, and into the regional hinterland. Th e system of container movement is highly integrated, with each component holding major consequences for all others. As the largest port in the world, Singapore off ered an ideal environment for this type of research.

More broadly, engineers in this fi eld must not only consider logistical issues of port operations, but also contextual elements such as labor costs, associated political regulations, security concerns, and a region’s transportation infrastructure. Automation is a potential remedy for many port operation problems, but when factored against labor costs, the ultimate benefi t can be muted, or even erased.

Likewise, security is a major concern, particularly in the post 9/11 era. Th ese kinds of historical and political developments can have a major impact on the work of engineers. Petering explains that with many thousands of containers moving through a single port, each is only accorded a short time window for security assessment. Th is creates a wide variety of technological and logistical challenges for engineers.

Petering’s path through the world, and back to Milwaukee, shows that international education is a truly cross-disciplinary endeavor with profound impacts for the individual student, and society at large.

Matthew Petering: Engineering on a Global Scale

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Port of Singapore - above Port of Bremerhaven (Germany) - below

Big, rich, and fi rst world: Cities fi tting these descriptions have garnered much attention in their eff orts to be sustainable. Yet how are other communities faring? Th e Center for International Education’s 2009 academic conference examines the impact of development on big cities but also on small towns. It considers urban redevelopment of old industrial cores as well typically unexamined spaces that have become the new nexus of social and cultural interaction. While the term “sustainable” has been closely associated with ecologically sensitive urban design, we chose “sustaining” to suggest a broader interpretation. Beyond considerations of protecting natural resources are those for sustaining and improving social, cultural, historic, and economic resources. Beyond hi-tech, purpose-built structures, the conference looks at the ad hoc, makeshift, and mixed-use. Supporting diverse populations and cultures, histories and traditions requires looking at the city in new, and often unexpected, ways. What this conference probes is the expanded realm and defi nition of sustainable cities.

To this end, the conference organizers have invited researchers and practitioners from diverse fi elds, including architecture, urban planning, anthropology, cultural studies, media studies, and literature, among others.

CIE Conference Announcement Sustaining Cities: Urban Lost and FoundApril 17-18 2009Conference Organizers: Professors Linda Krause (Architecture) and Patrice Petro (English/Film Studies/CIE)

Th is year’s conference follows upon eight successive international conferences at the Center devoted to exploring new approaches to international studies and globalization. In 2000, human rights in the context of globalization was the conference focus; in 2001, CIE turned to issues of architecture and urbanism in a conference on global cities. In 2002, this dialogue continued with an exploration of new and emergent forms of media and technology; the following year’s conference, “Rethinking Global Security,” examined how the idea of security was being redefi ned post-9/11. Th e 2004 conference addressed questions of exile, migration and diaspora; in 2005, CIE examined the emergence of global governance in cyberspace. In 2006, the conference took up issues of surveillance and security in a range of visual and technological practices. Last year’s conference explored “World Making” in relation to art and politics in global media.

In addition to drawing large audiences, all of these conferences were invigorating, rigorous, and thoroughly cross-disciplinary, with speakers in attendance from a broad range of academic disciplines as well as related professional fi elds. All of these conferences, moreover, have had an afterlife through their publication in the Center’s book series (“New Directions in International Studies,” under the general editorship of Professor Patrice Petro and sponsored by Rutgers University Press).

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ParticipantsAckbar Abbas UC-IrvineSherry Ahrentzen University of ArizonaRobert Bruegmann University of Illinois at ChicagoGeorgia Butina Watson Oxford Brooks U, UKTim Ehlinger UWM, Biological SciencesBob Greenstreet Dean, UWM-SARUPAlfonso Iracheta El Colegio MexiquenseAndrew Kincaid UWM, EnglishPaula Massoud Brooklyn CollgeLinda McCarthy UWM, GeographyRobert Neuwirth New York City; journalistChristine Scott Th omson UWM, SARUPStephanie Smith Curator, Smart Gallery, University of ChicagoJohn Urry Lancaster University, UKJennifer Wolch University of Southern CaliforniaCharles Waldheim University of TorontoMo Zell UWM, SARUP

Conference Schedule Annual L&S Dean’s Humanities LectureTh ursday, April 163:30-5:00 pm (Zelazo 250)

Coinciding with the Sustaining Cities Conference, the College of Letters and Science is pleased to host Saskia Sassen, author of Global Cities, for its Annual Dean’s Humanities Lecture. Th e topic is: Th e World’s Th ird Spaces: Neither Global nor National.

SUSTAINING CITIES:URBAN LOST AND FOUND

Friday, April 17

9:00-9:30 am - Welcome and Opening StatementsProvost Rita Cheng, Patrice Petro, CIE Director, and Linda Krause, Conference Co-Chair

9:30-10:45 pm - Urban Place-MakingModerator: Nancy Frank • Charles Waldheim, University of Toronto Planning, Ecology, and the Emergence of Landscape • Georgia Butina Watson, Oxford Brookes University Th e Art of Place-Making

11:00-12:15 pm - Th e Disappeared, the DispossessedModerator: Tasha Oren • Robert Neuwirth, independent journalist System D: Th e Extroverted City • Andrew Kincaid, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee From “Th e Dead” to the Dead: Th e Disposable Bodies and Disposable Culture of Contemporary Dublin Noir

1:30-2:45 am - Urban Lost and FoundModerator: Linda Krause • Bob Greenstreet, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee in Focus • Robert Bruegmann, University of Illinois at Chicago TBA

3:00-4:15 pm - Cocooning, MobilitiesModerator: A. Aneesh • Sherry Ahrentzen, Arizona State University Stealth Sustainability and Housing Practices • John Urry, Lancaster University Th e City and Car Futures

4:30-5:30 pm - UWM Department of Geography’s Harold Mayer Lecture Series • Jennifer Wolch, University of Southern California TBA

Saturday, April 18

9:00-9:15 am - WelcomePatrice Petro, Conference Co-organizer

9:15-10:30 am - Global Economic PressuresModerator: Ghada Masri • Linda McCarthy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Imaging Networks • Christine Scott Th omson, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee Sustainable Communities

10:45-12:00 pm - Sustainable DevelopmentModerator: Kris Ruggiero • Alfonso Iracheta, Advisor and Consultant, World Bank Sustainable City: Crisis and Opportunity in Mexico • Tim Ehlinger, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Sustainable Development in Romania

1:30-2:45 pm - Sustainable ArtModerator: Lane Hall • Stephanie Smith, Smart Museum of Art, Chicago Sustainable Art in Urban Territories • Mo Zell, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Northeastern University Veterans Memorial: An Urban University’s Role in Creating the Public Realm Th rough a Single Architectural Gesture

3:00-4:15 pm - Envisioning the Urban Moderator: Arijit Sen • Paula Massood, Brooklyn College Imagining a Promised Land: (Th e Historical Precedents of ) Recent African American Films Set in Harlem • Ackbar Abbas, University of California-Irvine Chinese Cities: Design and Disappearance

4:15 pm - Closing Remarks and Wrap-upLinda Krause and Patrice Petro

Schedule subject to change; please check the conference website(http://www4.uwm.edu/CIE/research/conferences/Sustaining_Cities/)

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“So, how was India?” Th is was the leading and most-loathed question I received upon my return to the U.S. I’d always try to respond generously, relaying an anecdote or two, but always wondering how I could possibly distill my experience in India and convey it wholly and accurately. Yet, as I think about my time in India, I continue to learn from it as I revisit notes and memories, and now, it’s actually a question I look forward to receiving. I hope this refl ection might shed some light on the issues I faced during my time abroad, particularly for people traveling to non-Western destinations.

As a participant in the Minnesota Studies in International Development program, students had the opportunity to engage in grassroots work in the fi eld of development with an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) of their choosing. With a burgeoning interest in Public Health, I chose to work with Jagran Jan Vikas Samitee, an NGO based in Udaipur district in Southern Rajasthan. Jagran focuses on the promotion and enhancement of the traditional health system, but also participates in a lot of other broad-spectrum work in the fi eld of integrated rural development, including collaborative monitoring of government development

schemes and advocacy work. As for my role, I took on a short-term mapping project at their Guni Ashram, a property owned by the NGO that serves as a training, research, and resource center for Gunis, or traditional medicinal practitioners. Th e Ashram raises culturally and ecosystem-specifi c plants, saves seeds (in a Jodi-Buti Beej Bank) and is home to a raw drug depository and processing facility for Gunis. Particularly during this internship, I had the opportunity to observe their work and form close relationships with the people in my workplace and community that absolutely could not have happened under any other circumstance.

My most active day “in the fi eld” took place at the environmental awareness program that Jagran hosted at a school in a small village called Morval, about 50 kilometers south of the city of Udaipur. We brought along 10-15 diff erent types of free-standing plants used for the treatment of common ailments as Dr. Deshwalji, an Ayurvedic doctor from the JJVS staff , explained. Children enthusiastically called out the names of the plants, which were to remain in the village to aide in the creation of home herbal gardens.

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“So, how was India?” By Emily Jansen, Global Studies-Global Security Major

The Angnawadi Center - Above

Emily Jansen and Ayurvedic doctors at the environmental awareness program - below

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Guni Bhagwan Lal, a familiar face from the Guni Ashram, tended a table stocked with the medicines produced by Jagran, made available after a consulation.

After a march through the village with the students, environmental awareness signs in hand, I visited Morval’s Angnawadi center in a building just around the corner from the school. In the strata of public health infrastructure, this is essentially the fi rst point of contact for people in Morval. I met with two Angnawadi workers, and one accredited social health activist (ASHA), all women. Th e creation of their positions resulted from the National Rural Health Mission, a government scheme implemented to improve health outcomes in resource-poor settings. Th e Angnawadi workers provide primary health care for women and children, document relevant data (birth weights, referrals, immunization records), and provide health and education activities to the public, including the discussion of family planning with mothers. Th e ASHA acts as a liaison between the auxiliary nurse midwife and the village. Her primary role is to ensure more institutional births, in conjunction with the governmental incentive of 2500 rupees to the mothers who deliver in hospitals. In practice, there is a lot of confusion as to how to claim the money and the proper assessment of fees. Th ese problems, combined with insuffi cient hours of operation, doctor absenteeism, lack of critical resources (e.g. medicines), the high cost of treatment and travel to the medical facility, as well as

language barriers, all contribute to patients not completing a full course of treatment and a general lack of confi dence in the allopathic primary healthcare system.

In my observation of the program, this is exactly where Jagran’s intervention rests. Where biomedicine proves to be unreliable, the traditional healthcare system emerges as a necessity. Jagran’s work does not intend to discredit the allopathic system; rather it exists primarily to provide people with an accessible and aff ordable alternative, to ensure the health security of the community, and to provide people with the agency to take their primary health care needs into their own hands.

As I surveyed my experience and my presence in the activities at my NGO in general, I arrived at more questions than answers: Can a person outside of the culture in which they work fi nd ways to contribute meaningfully to regional social justice movements, or will there always be a gap in outsiders’ understanding of the issues at hand and their capacity to help? How might we best mitigate this divide? Th ere are not easy answers to these questions, but it is one worth returning to for the duration of our academic careers, and well into the future.

An environmental awareness march through the village


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tank course. Th ink Tank Learning Communities are one-credit courses designed to promote collegial interactions among students on a wide range of academic and professional topics.

UWM Metamedia (uwmmetamedia.wordpress.com) features articles on everything from global events, to study abroad, to the diffi culties of managing school and full-time employment. Th e blog off ered students a forum and format to communicate perspectives that may be diffi cult to voice

elsewhere. Article titles included, “Study Abroad: A Fair Trade?”, “Great Firewall of China”, “Mandatory Military Service”, and “Garbage and Profi ts”. Students also engaged in spirited discussions about their self-selected blog topics. In this sense, the content of the course was largely student-driven.

Th e UWM Metamedia blog is now open for faculty, students, and staff to submit articles and comments. For more information, contact CIE’s research coordinator, THOMAS MAGUIRE at [email protected].

Global Studies Students Blog

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International Education Week 2008

This fall, the Center for International Education sponsored an array of events in honor of International Education

Week (November 17-19, 2008). International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefi ts of international education and exchange worldwide. It is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education and aims to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

Th e events held at UWM this fall included: a career talk on teaching English abroad, a panel session on students of color

and study abroad, CIE’s annual International Reception, an international trivia night, a special lecture on global health and development, a cross-cultural simulation, and the Global Student Alliance’s sixth annual International Bazaar.

Over 1,500 students, faculty, staff , and community members attended the week’s events. Th e Center for International Education plans to continue its International Education Week programming again in fall 2009. If you would like information on the 2009 events, or are interested in being involved in our campus wide planning committee, please contact ANDREA JOSEPH at [email protected].

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International Education Week 2008

Giving to the Center for International Education

Th e mission of the Center for International Education is to foster international education at UWM. Th e Center off ers a wealth of international, global, and area studies programs, activities, and resources for educators, students, and the public. CIE is committed to promoting and sustaining exciting international education initiatives across the UWM campus, Wisconsin, and the nation.

If you are interested in sponsoring a particular program, activity, or event, or you wish to provide funding for a current or new scholarship or research project in international education at UWM, please feel free to contact Sara Tully, CIE’s Administrative Director, at 414-229-3767 or [email protected]. All donations are tax deductible.

Your generosity in supporting such programs will help to strengthen international education at UWM in the years to come, to underscore the quality of International Studies and Global Studies at UWM, and to recognize the best of our best in a manner that will assist them signifi cantly in their intellectual and professional development!


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In October 2008, CIE’s Institute of World Aff airs hosted the Expert Meeting on Systems Th inking and

Peacebuilding at the UWM Hefter Center. Th e purpose of the meeting was to explore the application of systems thinking and social networking to peacebuilding (broadly defi ned) with an emphasis on eff ective coordination among diverse actors. Both research and anecdotal experience demonstrate the need for improved methods of peacebuilding and the promise of building a systemic theory of peacebuilding and accompanying tools. Th e meeting was designed to share information, connect researchers and practitioners, and to enrich the work of participants individually and through identifying potential collaborations. Th e meeting resulted in expanded networks across governmental, non-governmental, and academic programs and isolated several key initiatives for improving the practice of peacebuilding, post-confl ict reconstruction, and sustainable development. Th ese included the need to identify and share “theories of change” across these various fi elds and actors, consolidate and refi ne tools for confl ict analysis and program design, and begin the process of changing the system of international peacebuilding (both policy making and funding) that privileges pre-set programmatic

outcomes that are less able to accommodate integrated and responsive programs.

Attendees at the meeting included participants from: the Collaborative for Development Action, the Peacebuilding Development and Security Program at the University of Calgary, SUNY Albany, University of North Carolina, Harvard University, Institute for Confl ict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, US Army Corps of Engineers, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, Mercy Corps, USAID, US Department of State, the 3-D Security Initiative at Eastern Mennonite University, World Vision, and UWM.

Expert Meeting on Systems Th inking and Peacebuilding

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Photos by Spencer Chumbley

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Th e Center for International Education is pleased to announce the following study abroad programs during summer 2009. Programs off ered for the fi rst time are described below in greater detail.

Austria - Upper Austria Summer Course in Social Work and Criminal JusticeFaculty Director: SUSAN ROSE, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, GeosciencesJuly 4 – 19, 2009

Th e program consists of a combination of lectures by Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences School of Social Work faculty, contact with professionals in social work and criminal justice, and service site visits. Students may study in the areas of social work and/or criminal justice. Special emphasis will be on substance abuse, family counseling, child welfare, prisons, and policing. Within each of these broad areas, students will choose to focus on a particular topic in order to compare an aspect of the Austrian system to a comparable concept in the US. All students will hear lectures on European social policy, issues of immigration and crime, historical background on the Nazi era, and responses to family violence and substance abuse. Students are required to attend all lectures, site visits, and write a paper refl ecting their work. Students will earn 3 - 6 undergraduate or graduate credits in Social Work or Criminal Justice.

China - China and the New World EconomyFaculty Directors: MARGARET SHAFFER and SALI LI, Lubar School of BusinessMay 30 - June 14, 2009

Th e purpose of this 3-credit study abroad program is to provide UWM students an opportunity to explore the culture and business practices of China in person. Th is program will be off ered to sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students in the UWM Lubar School of Business for three business administration credits. Th is program is intended to extend student knowledge of China business through fi rst-hand experiences in China. Pre-travel sessions will be held to orient students to the opportunities and challenges of doing business in China. Overseas sessions will include lectures, discussions, and site visits to businesses and historical landmarks. Each delivery option has been chosen to best match the material to be communicated to the students.

Costa Rica- Intensive Spanish and its Use for Social Work Practice Faculty Director: SHARON KEIGHER, Helen Bader School of Social WelfareMay 23 – June 13, 2009

Th e increased immigration of Latin Americans and their subsequent integration into North American society are increasing demands on American social service systems. Th is factor, coupled with the need for cultural sensitivity, has led to a rapidly growing need for Spanish language competent social workers with an in-depth understanding of Latin American culture. Th e Helen Bader School of Social Welfare is initiating a broad-based strategy for expanding Wisconsin’s pool of culturally and linguistically competent social work students by directly recruiting native Spanish speakers to our academic programs, and expanding both Service-Learning and Field Placement opportunities for students working with Spanish Speaking clients. Th e opportunity to study in a Spanish speaking country is an excellent way to improve language skills and cultural awareness, as well as to stimulate learner motivation. Th e purpose of this 3-week on-site immersion course is to facilitate acquisition of basic, practical skills in conversational Spanish.

Denmark - Urban Policy and IntegrationFaculty Leaders: NANCY FRANK and VIRGINIA CARLSON, School of Architecture and Urban PlanningMay 30 – June 13, 2009

Th is 3-credit study abroad program will examine the potential for integrated planning solutions to create sustainable cities. Based in Copenhagen, this trip will take place in one of the world’s most walkable and livable cities, and explore how urban design and physical environment can combine to produce sustainability and vitality. Th ree specifi c areas of studiy will form the backbone of the program: (1) the city of Copenhagen itself; (2) the greater Oresund international economic region, which includes Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden; and, (3) the Kalundborg region’s industrial symbiosis project. Th is experience will include visits to the Carlsberg Breweries large-scale urban redevelopment and industrial reuse site, sustainable villages and eco-municipalities in Sweden and Denmark, an off -shore wind farm located just beyond Copenhagen’s harbor and Santiago Calatrava’s Turning Torso skyscraper.

Study Abroad in Summer 2009

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England - Image Bank: Digital Imaging as a Way of SeeingFaculty Director: MARNA BRAUNER, Visual Art, Peck School of the Arts, GeosciencesJune 15 - July 16, 2009

Th is 6-credit program takes place at Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex. In addition to the “Image Bank” course taken by all participants, students may choose one other class from a variety of disciplines including Art History, Business, Economics, English, Music, Th eater, Physics, or Politics. Image Bank is an interdisciplinary course investigating how new personal, social and political meanings can be generated from the integration of various visual sources. Creating and collecting visual images (from high to mundane), each student will create a personalized image bank of at least 250 examples, primarily their own digital photographs, but also including internet images, postcards, newspaper and magazine clippings and scanned found objects. Students will each create a methodology for their collecting, and learn to build and alter that system. Th rough collecting, categorizing, and juxtaposing images, students will hone their visual and conceptual skills, as well as create new personal visual languages for themselves. Th e application of their individual image bank to other visual media processes will also be discussed. Th roughout the course, contemporary artists whose work has focused on ideas of collecting, as well as unique museum collections in London and Oxford, will be studied.

Ethiopia- The Cradle of CivilizationFaculty Director: AHMED MBAILIA, Africology, College of Letters and Science May 31 – June 19, 2009

Designed for students interested in Africology, anthropology, archeology, political and economic issues of Africa, this program allows for an intense visit to and study of Ethiopia, considered to be the political capital of Africa. Students can earn 3 credits in Africology and take an additional 3 credit internship for a possible total of 6 credits. Providing an alternative learning opportunity to the fascinating area of East Africa, students will: visit the country where anthropologists believe that human man fi rst walked upright; explore the rich, ancient and fascinating history of a country that dates back to the time of Egyptian pharaohs; witness the diversity and contrast from the ancient to the modern; and interact with the Ethiopian people in order to understand their economic, sociocultural and political viewpoints of the world.

Germany - Giessen: The German American ExperienceFaculty Director: JENNY WATSON, Foreign Languages & Linguistics, College of Letters and ScienceIn Milwaukee: TBDIn Germany: TBD

In this 3-credit course, we will explore the German immigrant experience to the US---not through American eyes, as is usually done here in the US, but through German eyes. We will do our primary research in Germany, reading through church records, journals, letters from the US to Germany, newspaper accounts of the “new country,” etc. In many cases, we will be the fi rst researchers to go through these papers. We will begin our research here in the US on the German American Experience. We will read the secondary source, Th e German American Experience, watch a few fi lms and listen to a few lectures on the German American Experience. We will also learn how to read the German script, called Handschrift. We will then leave for the state of Hessen, with Giessen as our “headquarters.” In Giessen, we will take a course on research in German archives as well as take a Handschrift course (so that we can read the letters, journals, etc. we fi nd). We will then head to the archive. Each of you will be asked to concentrate on a specifi c family and to trace the emigration: the number of people who emigrated (also gender, age, education, etc.); reasons for emigration; where they ended up in the US; what happened to those who left; and what also what happened to those who stayed. Th ere may also be an option to work by topic, such as published material about the US and emigration, etc.

Korea, Republic of - Information Society of Korea and JapanFaculty Director: WOOSEOB JEONG, School of Information StudiesMay 22 – June 12, 2009

In this unique 3-credit study abroad course, students will learn about information technologies, information society and librarianship practices in East Asia through a series of lectures by Korean experts, ranging from government offi cials and practitioners to library and information science professors. Th is course provides opportunities to understand the history of information and knowledge development in Korea and Japan, exploring both internal and external infl uences. Participating students will also have the chance to attend lecutres about information issues at several Koren information schools and visit various information related

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sites such as libraries and information technology institutions. Lectures and discussions will be conducted mainly by Dr. Wooseob Jeong and guest speakers. In addition to the diverse academic compoent of the program, students will also take a 3-day cruise to Japan, exploring several Japanese cities and towns along the coast. Th is program is open to SOIS and non-SOIS majors and there is no Korean language experience necessary.

Mexico - Is Acid Rain Melting the Pyramids?Faculty Director: JOHN KAHL, Atmospheric Sciences, College of Letters and Science June 30 – July 11, 2009

Numerous pre-Hispanic and colonial structures in Mesoamerica are made of limestone. Th is soft stone building material, sometimes covered with paintings and stucco, steadily deteriorates in the presence of acidic pollutants. In the developing countries of Latin America, eff orts to protect cultural artifacts from the damaging eff ects of air pollution are in their early stages. In this 3-credit course students will examine fi rsthand the relationships between meteorology, air pollution, and cultural artifacts. Th e course will blend lecture and laboratory experiences at universities in Milwaukee, Mexico City and Campeche with visits to spectacular museums and cultural heritage sites throughout Mexico.

Peru - Peru Past and Present: Archeological PerspectivesFaculty Director: JEAN HUDSON, Anthropology, College of Letters and ScienceJune 16 – July 8, 2009

Th is 3-credit summer study abroad course provides an intensive, on-site introduction to the archaeology of Peru and to the skills of zooarchaeology. We will focus on the north coast of Peru, home to the Moche culture, a pre-Inca civilization famous for its artistry in ceramics and gold, its monumental architecture, and its regional expansion. We will visit archaeological sites and museums, including the Moche capital at Cerro Blanco, the world famous tombs of Sipan, and the Chimu site of Chan Chan. We will participate in museum and laboratory research by identifying and interpreting animal bone from local archaeological collections, helping to build a regional data set that traces the origins and development of the Moche, and the interactions between coastal fi shing communities and the farmers of the interior valleys. Students will learn fi rst hand how to build an archaeological research design, collect the relevant data, analyze it and present it. In the process you will also gain new insights into the exciting and dynamic modern nation that is Peru today, and into daily life in another part of the world.

Spain - Language, Culture and Business in Galicia Faculty Directors: GABRIEL REI-DOVAL and ISABEL MENDEZ-SANTALLA, Spanish & Portuguese, College of Letters and ScienceJuly 19 - August 15, 2009

Th is unique program takes place in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia’s enchanting capital in Northwestern Spain, a UNESCO heritage city and an ancient site of pilgrimage. Students will examine the culture of Galicia, a Celtic bridge to understanding the past and present of the Hispanic and Portuguese-speaking worlds. Culture class discussions will focus on the factors that have contributed to the making of the identity of Galicia in such areas as history, politics and society, traditions, mythology, music, and cinema. Language classes will provide either an introduction to Business and Legal Spanish or intensive oral practice in Spanish. Th e program also includes several weekend excursions. Students may earn 6 credits on this program.

Sweden - Conquering the VikingsFaculty Director: VERONICA LUNDBACK, Foreign Languages & Linguistics, College of Letters and ScienceIn Milwaukee: June 8 – 10, 2009In Sweden: June 12 – 29, 2009

In this 3-credit course we will explore the culture, traditions and society of the Vikings and the impact they had on the world, then and today. We will discuss how the Vikings have infl uenced modern Scandinavian society, e.g. how did a war faring people develop into a people of pacifi sts and mediators? We will also connect the various themes of the Viking Age with its modern day equivalent. You will not only learn about the history and culture as you would in the classroom, but you will visit reenactments, excavations, exhibits and burial grounds, and have the opportunity to talk to experts in the fi eld and people who have a special interest in the history of the Vikings.

Taiwan - Understanding Mandarin and Technology ManagementOpen to UWM students onlyFaculty Director: TIEN-CHIEN JEN, College of Engineering and Applied ScienceJuly 6 – 31, 2009

Th is unique new program, hosted at Feng Chia University, off ers an introduction to Taiwanese culture, Chinese language, and technology management (for non-business majors). Lectures will focus on: Chinese language; enterprise value chain and technology management; R&D project management; creative product development; e-commerce; and innovative management


strategies. Th e program will also include fi eld trips to featured companies in the Central Taiwan Science Park. Program participants, hailing from universities around the world, will take classes and learn together. Participating UWM students (only four positions are available!) will earn 3 undergraduate credits. Engineering Professor Tien-Chien Jen will serve as the program’s onsite coordinator. Th is program is open to UWM undergraduate and graduate students with science/engineering/business backgrounds. CEAS students will have the top priority.a service learning component, working with AIDS orphans to improve the reading culture in their community. Students will learn about the roles of culture and technology in the access, use, and interpretation of information in South Africa. Students may earn three undergraduate/ graduate credits in Information Studies for this program. Other activities include a visit to a Bushmen settlement, sightseeing around the Cape of Good Hope, and a two-day safari.

Taiwan - International Industrial Academic Leadership ExperienceOpen to UWM Engineering students onlyFaculty Director: TIEN-CHIEN JEN, College of Engineering and Applied ScienceJuly 13 – 31, 2009

Th is unique program is hosted by the Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU), a private university located in northern Taiwan. Participating students from the United States (UWM, Iowa State, Pittsburgh State, and Wright State) will spend three weeks studying and learning together with students from South East University in China and CYCU. Th e program includes lectures, group projects, and fi eld trips to high-tech factories in Taiwan. Also included are sightseeing and Chinese cultural excursions. Th is study opportunity is limited to CEAS students. Participants (only fi ve positions are available!) will earn 3 UWM engineering technical credits. Engineering Professor Tien-Chien Jen will serve as the program’s onsite coordinator.

Other Programs Available:

England - U.S. – U.K. Comparative Public PolicyFaculty Director: TOM LEBEL, Helen Bader School of Social WelfareJuly 2 -16, 2009

France & Italy - Summer Field Study in Architecture and Urban PlanningFaculty Director: GIL SNYDER, School of Architecture and Urban PlanningIn Milwaukee: May 24 - June 1, 2009In Paris: June 2 - July 29, 2009

France - Paris: Immersion in European BusinessFaculty Director: JIM KASUM, Lubar School of BusinessMay 16 - 30, 2009

France - Summer in Paris: French Language and CultureFaculty Director: MARIE FOSSIER, ACCENT Instructor – Sponsored by French, Italian and Comparative Literature, College of Letters and ScienceJuly 1 - August 1, 2009

Germany - Giessen: Europe and Global FinanceFaculty Director: NILOY BOSE, Economic. College of Letters and ScienceMay 15 - 30, 2009

Germany - Hessen/Wisconsin Exchange International Summer UniversitiesFor specifi c dates, visit: www.isu-hessen.de Open to UWM students only – not a faculty-led program

Ireland - Gleann Cholm Cille: Irish Language and CultureFaculty Director: JOHN GLEESON, Celtic Studies, College of Letters and ScienceJuly 11 – August 1, 2009

Italy - Florence: Santa Reparata Arts ProgramFaculty Director: ALLISON COOKE, Visual Arts, Peck School of the ArtsJuly 7 - August 6, 2009

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Japan - Hidden Order: Historic Preservation in a High Tech CountryFaculty Director: MATTHEW JAROSZ, School of Architecture and Urban PlanningAugust 12 – September 2, 2009

Japan - McKendry Cultural Exchange ScholarshipSophia University Summer Session of Asian Studies in TokyoOpen to UWM Business majors only – not a faculty-led programJuly 29 - August 18, 2009

Korea, Republic of - Ajou University Exchange Summer SchoolOpen to UWM students only – not a faculty-led programVisit: http://www.ajou.ac.kr/english/international/international_3.jspJuly 1 – August 15, 2009 August 12 – September 2, 2009

Mexico - Oaxaca: Spanish Language and Service LearningFaculty Director: ESTRELLA SOTOMAYOR, Spanish & Portuguese, College of Letters and Science In Milwaukee: June 22-23 and July 13-17, 2009In Oaxaca: June 24 - July 11, 2009

Mexico - Health, Culture and WellnessFaculty Director: ELIZABETH RICE, College of NursingAugust 2 – 13, 2009

Mexico - Tecnológico de Monterrey Exchange Summer School For specifi c dates, visit: www.studyinmexico.com.mxCampus Monterrey or Mayan RouteOpen to UWM students only – not a faculty-led program

Poland - Lublin: Polish Language and CultureFaculty Director: MICHAEL MIKOS, Foreign Languages & Linguistics, College of Letters and ScienceJuly 5 - August 10, 2009

Romania: Sustainable Development in RomaniaFaculty Director: TIM EHLINGER, Biological Sciences, College of Letters and ScienceMid-June to early-August

Spain: Madrid: Spanish Language and CultureFaculty Director: CESAR FERREIRA, Spanish & Portuguese, College of Letters and ScienceMay 28 - June 26, 2009

USA: New York: United Nations Summer SeminarFaculty Director: SHALE HOROWITZ, Political Science, College of Letters and ScienceIn Milwaukee: May 26 - 30, 2009In New York: May 31 - June 27, 2009

Fall 2009 Semester Programs:

Consider spending the entire Fall 2009 semester abroad! UWM off ers a wide variety of study abroad programs and exchange programs. Several programs are highlighted below.

Australia & New Zealand: AustraLearn programs with seven universities Open to UWM students only – not a faculty-led programFor specifi c dates, visit: http://www.australearn.org/

Chile: Pontifi cia Universidad Católica de Chile Open to UWM students only – not a faculty-led programLate July to Mid-December

England: Herstmonceux Castle International Study Centre Open to UWM students only – not a faculty-led programSeptember 9 – December 17, 2009

Spain: CIEE Program in SevilleOpen to UWM students only – not a faculty-led programFor specifi c dates, visit: http://ciee.org/study/study_spain.aspx

In addition to these semester programs we have 33 exchange programs, open to UWM students only, in numerous countries including China, Japan, Mexico, England, France, and Germany. Come to the Overseas Programs and Partnerships Offi ce, Pearse Hall 166, for more information.


In March 1940, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the executions of 22,000 Polish army and police offi cers, intellectuals and clergy. Th e Nazis discovered the mass graves during their march on Moscow in the fall of 1941, but Soviet propaganda blamed the deaths on Adolf Hitler and punished anyone speaking the truth with harsh prison terms. In 1990, Moscow admitted that Stalin’s secret police were responsible. Wajda’s fi lm is the fi rst Polish fi lm on the Katyń crime and uses stories from an authentic diary of an army offi cer that was found during the exhumation to tell the stories of four fi ctional offi cers and their families.

Cosponsored by UWM’s Center for International Education, Institute of World Aff airs, Cinema and Media Studies Program, Polish Studies Committee and the College of Letters and Science; additional support provided by the Wisconsin Division of the Polish American Congress.

Katyn Screenings

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(Andrzej Wajda, Poland, in Polish with Eng st., 118 min., 35mm, 2007)

SPRING 2009

April 2nd, 2009 • 4-6pm

Pabst Th eater • 144 E. Wells Street Moderated by Ben Merens • Wisconsin Public Radio

Admission:FREE for Institute of World Aff airs Members, UWM Faculty & Staff , WPR Members, MPTV Members, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Members, and ALL area students

$5 General Public

For More Information:www.iwa.uwm.edu OR CALL 414.229.3220

Join the LIVE 90.7 WHADWisconsin Public Radio Broadcast!

Learn how to become an Institute of World Aff airs Member!

414.229.3220 • www.iwa.uwm.edu

George F. Kennan Forum 2009Th e US and the Changing Global Order

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Th omas DonnellyResident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute

Th omas Donnelly is a resident fellow in defense and security policy studies at AEI. He is the author, with Frederick W. Kagan, of Ground Truth: Th e Future of U.S. Land Power (AEI Press, May 2008); the coeditor, with Gary J. Schmitt, of Of Men and Materiel: Th e Crisis in Military Resources (AEI Press, 2007); and the author of Th e Military We Need (AEI Press, 2005), Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Strategic Assessment (AEI Press, 2004), and several other books. From 1995 to 1999, he was policy group director and a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee. Donnelly also served as a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He is a former editor of Armed Forces Journal, Army Times, and Defense News.

Nina HachigianSenior Fellow at the Center for American Progress

Nina Hachigian is a Senior Fellow at Center for American Progress. Based in Los Angeles, she is the co-author of Th e Next American Century: How the U.S. Can Th rive as Other Powers Rise (Simon & Schuster, 2008). She focuses on great power relationships, international institutions, and U.S. foreign policy. Previously, Hachigian was a senior political scientist at RAND Corporation and served as the director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacifi c Policy for four years. Before RAND, she had an international aff airs fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations during which she researched the Internet in China. From 1998 to 1999, Hachigian was on the staff of the National Security Council in the White House.

Featured Panelists


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CIE Welcomes New Staff

YOMARIE TEJADA recently joined CIE as a Study Abroad Coordinator. Yomarie received her B.A. in Communication Studies with minors in Spanish, Public Relations, and Th eater from Marquette University. She is currently fi nishing her M.A. in Counseling with an emphasis in Higher Education from Lakeland College. Her international experience includes studying abroad at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain. Prior to joining the CIE team, Yomarie worked for the UWM Educational Talent Search Program.

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New articles of Global-e (www.global-ejournal.org), an innovative online journal of Global Studies, are now released every few weeks. Th e journal is jointly sponsored by: the Center for

International Education at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee; the Global Studies program at the University of Wisconsin - Madison; the Center for Global Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and the Center for Global Initiatives at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Th is online journal features short-form articles (roughly 1000 words) on a variety of topics and welcomes reader comments. With this innovative “blog” style, unique among academic journals, Global-e off ers current, cutting-edge perspectives on the emerging fi eld of global studies. According to the Global-e précis, “commentaries focus on public issues, theoretical debates, methodological challenges, and curricular concerns.” Th e journal also aims to build connections among university programs in global studies.

UWM faculty members are invited to submit articles to this exciting new journal. If you are interested, please contact Th omas Maguire, CIE’s research coordinator, at [email protected].

New Issues of Online Global Studies Journal Released

SPRING 200927

Th e Center for International Education invites teams of 3 or more faculty and staff from 2 or more departments to submit proposals for activities involving cross-disciplinary collaborations in teaching and/or research on topics relating to the following broad themes:

• International Development• Technology• World Languages

A limited number of awards of up to $10,000 will be granted to stimulate new interdisciplinary international partnerships in teaching and research. Activities may include but are not limited to new course development, grant proposal planning, working conferences/workshops, development of research cluster action plans, undergraduate and/or graduate level certifi cate program planning, conference planning, overseas partnership development, etc.

Funds (from FY09) must be expended by June 2009 and therefore may be used for e.g. June summer salary, library/research materials acquisitions, supplies or equipment. Any travel plans are subject to current UWM travel policies and require prior authorization of the dean before expenses can be reimbursed.

All proposals submitted under this RFP, including those not selected for funding at this time, will be eligible for inclusion in a federal grant proposal CIE will submit in fall 2010.

Selection Process: Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee composed of faculty and administrators from a variety of departments, schools and colleges. Grant applications will be reviewed in accordance with the following criteria:

1. Quality of project design 2. Qualifi cations of key personnel 3. Feasibility/Likelihood of achieving anticipated results 4. Extent to which the project will enhance/expand interdisciplinary international teaching at UWM 5. Extent to which the project will enhance/expand interdisciplinary international research at UWM 6. Extent to which the project involves participants from across traditional university divisions

Application: Please submit a single PDF document containing:

1. a 2-3 page project narrative describing the proposed activities; 2. an itemized budget indicating how funds will be used (by June 2009) 3. 1-2 page summary CVs for the key cluster participants

Deadline: Applications must be submitted by email to Sara Tully ([email protected]) no later than 12:00 noon on Monday, March 16. Applicants will be notifi ed of the review committee’s decisions by early April.

Request for Proposals:Interdisciplinary InternationalTeaching and Research Clusters

Questions: Please contact SARA TULLY ([email protected] or 229-3767).


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Study Abroad FairUnion ConcourseFebruary 18, 2009

Culture CaféCulture Café creates a time and space for all globally-minded members of the UWM community to interact and get to know one another over coff ee, snacks and a brief, informal presentation on the featured culture, presented by a UWM international student, faculty member or a return study abroad student.

Culture Café is held in Garland Hall room 104 from 2:00-3:00pm. All students are invited to attend and share their insights and expertise.

Dates for Spring 2009 Culture Café:

February 12 February 26 March 12 March 26 April 19 April 23

April 2nd, 2009 • 4-6pm

Pabst Th eater • 144 E. Wells Street Moderated by Ben Merens • Wisconsin Public Radio

Admission:FREE for Institute of World Aff airs Members, UWM Faculty & Staff , WPR Members, MPTV Members, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Members, and ALL area students

$5 General Public

For More Information:www.iwa.uwm.edu OR CALL 414.229.3220

Join the LIVE 90.7 WHADWisconsin Public Radio Broadcast!

Learn how to become an Institute of World Aff airs Member!

414.229.3220 • www.iwa.uwm.edu

George F. Kennan ForumTh e US and the Changing Global Order

S T U D YA B R O A DS u m m e r 2 0 0 9WWW. S T UDYA B ROAD . UWM . E D U

SPRING 200929

Great Decisions 2009Tuesdays • January 20-March 10, 20097:00-8:30pm

UWM Student UnionUnion Ballroom • 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.

Admission:FREE for Institute of World Aff airs Members, UWM Faculty & Staff , and all area students$5 General Public

For more info, visit www.iwa.uwm.edu or call 414.229.3220

Speaker Lineup:

January 20th - Rising Powers:Cooperation and CompetitionMichael Kraig, Th e Stanley Foundation

January 27th - Afghanistan: Finding a Way ForwardNeamat Nojumi, George Mason University

February 3rd - Cuba: Contemplating Engagement Wayne Smith, Th e Center for International Policy

February 10th - Egypt: Preserving Stability,Promoting ReformAmal Hamada, Cairo University/Fulbright Scholar

February 17th - Human Rights:Restoring Moral AuthorityWilliam Schulz, Former Executive Director,Amnesty International USA

February 24th - Energy & the Economy:Fostering a Green Recovery Robert Pollin, University of Massachusetts Amherst

March 3rd - Russia: Confrontation or PartnershipIrina Bystrova, Russian Academy of Sciences/Fulbright Scholar

March 10th - Global Food Crisis: Rethinking the Economics of HungerErick Fernandes, Th e World Bank

www.international.uwm.edu

P.O. Box 413Milwaukee, WI 53201

Th e Center for International Education (CIE) fosters new areas of scholarly inquiry into internationalism and globalization by strengthening the connections between research, teaching and outreach programs on the UWM campus. CIE is deeply engaged in on-campus and overseas curriculum development, research conferences and scholarly publication, public programming, and professional development for teachers. CIE is home to Wisconsin’s only World Aff airs Council, the Institute of World Aff airs, which provides high quality public programs featuring international experts. Because the insights and perspectives off ered by students and scholars from other countries greatly enhance our campus, CIE also provides advising services for international admissions and immigration.

global currents spring 2009

Documents

global studies student

fascinating work

global currentscenter

global stage

uwm professor works

peck school

interview of school

uwm community