IU South Bend students’ video

A super 3-minute video about IU South Bend students’ experiences abroad is now up on our webpage!
https://www.iusb.edu/intl-programs/

Celebrating Dia da Consciência Negra in Rio

Even in the harshest times of slavery, people have found ways to maintain their dignity and their agency. In 1605, the city of Palmares was founded in the interior of Brazil by slaves to help other slaves.

They created a monarchical  government with limited electoral representation, practiced traditional African customs, and valued dignity in life. The African influence can be even seen in their chosen name, Angola Janga, roughly translated as little Angola, which is where most of the Palmares citizens and their ancestors originated. Palmares had about 30,000 residents and maintained their Africanized republic nearly a century before Dutch and Portuguese colonial pressures caused their demise. Their state had become important enough that the Portuguese felt it necessary to sign trade treaties with Palmares, signifying their political legitimacy.

Ganga Zumba and Zumbi are the last two leaders of Palmares and were their most prominent warriors. Today in Brazil, both men are revered as heroes and honored as symbols of national black pride. On November 20, many Brazilians celebrate Dia da Consciência Negra or “Black Awareness Day,” a  joyous affair for Afro-Brazilians. Zumbi’s legacy is honored by gracing banknotes and stamps throughout Brazil. So, on November 20, remember those who died fighting oppression throughout the world.

For Further Reading:

Mary Karasch, “Zumbi of Palmares: Challenging the Portuguese Colonial Order” in The Human Tradition, ed. Andrien

Robert Nelson Anderson, “The Quilombo of Palmares: A New Overview of a Maroon State in Seventeenth-Century Brazil,” Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 28, No. 3, Brazil: History and Society (Oct., 1996), pp. 545-566.

Free Pizza! Internationalize Your Education!

Please join us today!

Enjoy a Classic! IUSB History Club Presents: All Quiet on the Western Front

“This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war…”

Please come and see one of the greatest war films of all time.

Presented by the IUSB History Club

with a special introduction and commentary by Dr. Tom Murphy

NAFSA [Association of International Educators] announces that in addition to the $24 billion, “Tuition and living expenses paid by international students also supported 313,000 jobs in 2012-2013, according to data from Open Doors and the Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics.”
“Each year, NAFSA produces a detailed regional, state-by-state, and congressional district analysis on the economic benefits of spending by international students and their dependents to the U.S. economy.
International students not only contribute economic value, they build bridges between the United States and other countries; bring global perspectives into U.S. classrooms and research labs; support U.S. innovation through science and engineering coursework, making it possible for U.S. colleges and universities to offer these courses to U.S. students; and support programming and services on campus for all students by paying out-of-state tuition, funded largely by non-U.S. sources.”
According to this data, for our region, the congressional district of Jackie Walorski, that impact is $51 million.

Book Reading with the Author: The Reluctant Nazi

“When I was studying at Columbia University in New York, a fellow student started a conversation with me saying: ‘So, you’ve made soap out of my aunt.’ He meant it as a joke, but I could only run away to hide my tears.”

“I was shocked and hurt without, however, at that time feeling implicated in the horrors of the Nazi regime. Growing up in post-war Germany, the Third Reich hadn’t been part of my world. Then over 60 years later I made two discoveries which changed everything. The first brought the war back to me in terrifying detail. The second opened the floodgates to a torrent of questions about my family and the Nazi era.”

Please come to this reading by the author and how she learned about her beloved grandfather and his past that she never knew existed.

IU South Bend Hosts Talk by Syrian Activists

South Bend – Syrian international student Hala Alkattan is eager to inform American-born students and community members about the current situation in her home country. When the Political Science Club offered students an opportunity to organize events of interest to them, Alkattan eagerly volunteered.
“One cannot ignore the issue of belittling humanity and tearing away rights from the innocent. We must ask people to open their hearts and speak their minds for the Syrian people,” says Alkattan.

 IU South Bend’s Political Science Club has teamed up with the campus American Democracy Project to host an informative Syria Times Talk.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

Raghid Kadi, Syrian Activist

Suzanne Kawamleh, Syrian Activist 

Raghid Kadi is a Granger resident, and he is a pharmacist at Rite Aid in Dowagiac, Michigan. He is originally from Hama, Syria and he came to America in 1986, and to Michiana in 1991. He also just started a project called, Syrian Orphans Sponsoring. Syrian Orphans Sponsoring is an organization that delivers food, and medical supplies to Syrians that need it.

Suzanne Kawamleh is a pre-med student at Valparaiso University, and she lives in Valparaiso, Indiana. Suzanne was born and raised in the States, but her parents are Syrian immigrants from Daraa, Syria. Over the summer she visited the one of largest refugee camps, Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, to deliver food and medical supplies to the Syrian refugees. She is constantly trying help raise awareness for Syria, by organizing fundraisers, and food drives.

Central Topics:
What is the news reporting?
Is this really a civil war?
What is happening with refugees?
What is it like in the refugee camps?
How does this impact me? 

This public forum will take place on Monday, November 11th from 7:00-8:15 p.m. including time for Q&A.

Location: Fireside Room, The University Grill, Administration Building

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

The benefits of study abroad!

Who doesn’t want to have adventures, see exciting things, and create lifelong friends through a wonderful bonding experience? What student does not want to enrich their education, receive college credit, and gain great job experience all at the same time? If any of these apply to you then you should contemplate studying abroad. While you study abroad, you will be able to further your academic career in an international environment.

Money is the largest obstacle that prevents students from gaining valuable experience and knowledge from studying abroad. Did you know that students can use financial aid, scholarships, & loans toward the cost of travel and fees? Did you know that there are several scholarships designed specifically for study abroad programs? That means that you can study abroad, gain beneficial experience and build your resume without carrying the financial burden at a time in your student career when finances are tight. Studying abroad is typically cheaper than similar trips taken by oneself and has the added benefits of receiving financial support and college credit without all the hassle of planning the trip.
Not only do these classes distinguish you from your peers, but most study abroad programs count for general education requirements. This means that while you enjoy experiencing a new culture, you will also accelerate your growth in language skills and get college credit. What better way of getting out of the school-work-school rut than a trip to foreign country with financial support and college credit?
Study abroad programs will stimulate you, inspire you, and challenge you in ways that will expand your mind and help you appreciate not only the foreign culture, but American culture as well and how it fits into the world. In an increasingly interconnected world, expansion of thoughts and experiences is essential to gaining a wider perspective and to distinguish oneself from peers.
International study abroad programs are beneficial for all areas of study and are the simplest and most fun way to distinguish oneself from other applicants in both the workforce and graduate school. Study abroad programs provide a unique opportunity for you that would likely be more costly in the future and more difficult to do as life responsibilities expand. Take the time to look into these programs and discover how they can benefit you, giving you unforgettable and invaluable experiences, setting you apart from others and enabling you to be a better world citizen.
Get more information about study abroad opportunities at Indiana University, South Bend’s Office of International Programs

Five Medals, Tecumseh’s War and the War of 1812

Many Americans forget that the US fought two wars with Great Britain. Practically everyone knows of the Revolutionary War, and many people know that the White House was set ablaze by the British, but many do not realize that the White House was not put to flames during the Revolutionary War, but during the War of 1812. On Saturday and Sunday, October 19-20, 2013, at River Preserve County Park in nearby Elkhart County, there was a commemoration for Chief Five Medals.
Chief Five Medals was a Potawatomi chief who lived in Elkhart County and fought with Chief Tecumseh during the War of 1812 and Tecumseh’s War. Known as a relatively peaceful man, Five Medals negotiated the peace at Fort Wayne after the Battle of Fallen Timbers. During Tecumseh’s War and the War of 1812, Tecumseh’s Confederation was an ally with Great Britain, so Five Medals was essentially forced to lay siege to Fort Wayne. This prompted Governor and future President William Henry Harrison to send troops to Fort Wayne and then dispatch Col. Richard Mentor Johnson to attack Five Medals’ village. 
Unfortunately, the village could not be defended and had to be completely abandoned, and it was consequently burnt, leaving returning natives with no shelter and food at the beginning of the winter. Richard Mentor Johnson eventually became Vice President under Martin Van Buren. Many claim that he was the person who killed Chief Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames, resulting in the end of effective Native American resistance in the old Northwest.
Over 100 re-enactors  gathered to show Five Medals’ village and surrounding area from 1650 to 1815, including accurate representation of French settlers (Indiana had a large number of French traders and French influence during the early Colonial period), woodland Native Americans, and traders. For more about this event, see the organizer’s Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/GatheringatFiveMedals

Florence trip leader Dora Natella is interviewed by the publication Sculpture News

Born in Venezuela to Italian parents, raised and educated in Italy, and with an art degree earned in America, Dora Natella attributes her multicultural background as a major contributing factor to her art. A Fulbright Scholar, Natella is now an Associate Professor of Sculpture at the E.M. Raclin School of the Arts, Indiana University, South Bend. Natella exhibits her work locally, nationally, and internationally and her artwork is included in various public and private col- lections in the U.S. and abroad. In recent years, Natella earned a Faculty Research Grant which allowed her to install her multisculptural piece Mutable Body at IU South Bend and Western Michigan University. Her sculptures Gaia and Overseer were included in Art Prize’s international outdoor/indoor competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, respectively. Natella won the Alex J. Ettl grant from National Sculpture Society in 2000 and became an Elected Sculptor Member in 2004.

She writes: Growing up in an artistically and historically rich environment gave me a wonderful jump-start as an artist; a first- hand, invaluable experience and insight into visual arts.
Everything from my childhood and my life as a teenager growing up in Italy, reappears in my art; the classical ballet training, my exposure to the art work and architecture of Italy’s ancient past, my academic training, and my involvement with body-art performances in the seventies. All of these elements contribute meaning to my art work today.
Over the last thirty years my scholarship of teaching and my studio practice have dovetailed very creatively. Since arriving at IU South Bend I have been dedicated to my art, my students, and my University. In 2012 I created a summer studio program in Florence, Italy for painting and sculpture which gives me the opportunity to share with my students my passion and knowledge of Italian Renaissance as a studio artist.
By living and studying in Florence for one month, students have a first-hand experience and insight into European history and art that are invaluable to cultural awareness.
Excerpts above from the November / December edition of Sculpture News
http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=152d56c7524ffb1e956ff3cc7&id=1c070e852d&e=f2d938b39b