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| India and Sri Lanka | Peru and Mexico |
Country: INDIA and SRI LANKA
Seminar Title: India and Sri Lanka: ncient Civilizations in the 21st Century
Dates: Pre-departure orientation in United States: July 1-2, 2008
Program in India: July 4 - August 8, 2008
Program Content:
The purpose of the program is to provide the United States educators with a broader insight into culture and heritage of India and Sri Lanka, and into how the two countries are emerging in the 21st century. The participants will gain practical knowledge on the different cultural, social, religious and historical aspects of the study of India and Sri Lanka, which will help the United States educators in identifying reference materials and resources for their institutions. The purpose will be to help the visiting educators understand contemporary India and Sri Lanka against the backdrop of their history and culture.
India
The program will consist of two phases, namely, academic study and field visits. The three-four days academic program in New Delhi will orient participants on different aspects of India using a multi-disciplinary approach involving formal lectures, interviews, and discussions with prominent scholars. The field visit phase of about three weeks will take participants to Agra, Udaipur, Mumbai, Bangalore (Bangaluru), Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and Varanasi to expose participants to the geographical and regional diversities of the country. The program in each place will be designed to enrich participants' knowledge by combining academic and cultural experiences. Visits to institutions, schools, colleges, NGOs and museums, and rural areas will be interspersed with demonstrations of Indian dance and music.
Sri Lanka
The purpose of the program is also to provide United States educators with a deeper understanding of Sri Lanka by focusing on its political, cultural and social identity within the South Asian context. While the program in Sri Lanka will complement the content of the first part of the program conducted in India, this program will also highlight a phenomena that has baffled observers of the island - the inherent uniqueness that Sri Lanka possesses within the South Asian setting due to its "synthesis of the East and the West" which is not seen in any other South Asian country.
The objective of the program will be to define the multifaceted nature of the continent through the similarities, dissimilarities and contradictions displayed by its countries, with Sri Lanka as a case in point. The program will consist of a seminar component conducted by leading academics, intellectuals and non-residents, who will present a series of lecturers, discussions and group interviews that will highlight the seminar theme, as well as a field-tour component which will be tied to the issues and aspects that were discussed in the seminars.
The field tour will include visits to sites as well as opportunities for the participants to meet and interact with people and visit institutions. At the end of the field tour, the participants will re-assemble with some of the academics who conducted the seminar to discuss, debate and re-cap issues that were presented to them against the participant's own observations and studies that were made on the tour.
Web Sites: www.fulbright-india.org and www.fulbrightsrilanka.com
Country: PERU and MEXICO
Seminar Title: On the Footsteps of the Maya and Inca Peoples: the Indigenous Inheritance of Mexico and Peru
Dates: Five weeks: June 29 - August 3, 2008 (Tentative)
Program Content:
Daily life in Mexico and Peru is a combination of old traditions and contemporary issues that are reflected in both their societies and culture. These two countries not only were the cradle of pre-Columbian civilizations, but they also lived for three centuries under Spanish dominion; as a result, they share many similarities that should be studied in order to gain a deeper insight into the particular features that distinguish each country.
The goal of the seminar is to explore both urban and rural settings in order to get a better understanding of the evolution and present day situations of Mexico and Peru. By comparing different socio-economic conditions and studying their historical roots, participants will be able to have a better understanding of local problems and expectations in each country.
The seminar will combine visits to indigenous communities, archaeological sites, schools and museums, with lectures on different topics. This allows a unique opportunity to interact with teachers, specialists and citizens acquainted with the many realities of modern Mexico and Peru.
Participants will be assisted in identifying resources for their individual seminar projects, which enables them to expand and improve their current teaching or curriculum development work related to Mexico and Peru.
As a result of the seminar, the participants will have prepared a project and acquired a good understanding of the history of and contemporary issues facing Mexico and Peru, as well as relevant educational material that they will be able to share with their students and colleagues.
Web Sites: www.comexus.org.mx and www.fulbrightperu.info
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