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Teacher As a lecturer in cultural anthropology at various tri-state universities since 1999, I am fortunate to be able to offer, along with traditional core subjects, faculty developed classes that utilize the international scope of my educational, humanitarian and professional opportunities. A sample of classes taught follows: Courses Culture, Sex, and Gender Western Connecticut State University Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Sacred Heart University; Western Connecticut State University; St. John's University Medical Anthropology; Illness and Curing University of Connecticut, Torrington Campus; Sacred Heart University Introduction to Sociology Westchester Community College Health and Lifestyle; World Cultures Sacred Heart University Faculty Developed Study: The following two courses were designed as a result of my interests in children, international politics - and art. An avid viewer of contemporary foreign film, including documentaries and independent cinema, these courses are meant to take something students know (childhood, movies) and turn it upside down. Is childhood as understood in the West universal (trick question!)? Can students develop a 'visual vocabulary' to 'see' more than meets the eye? (SW/ SOC offering at Sacred Heart University) This course takes a cross-cultural look
at the situation of 'forgotten' children. This will include children abandoned
and homeless; those living in exile or as refugees; children politically and
culturally displaced; children participating in war as soldiers; and children
working to support themselves and often their families, both legally and illegally.
The course will begin by examining what it is to be a child, both in contemporary
times and from a historical perspective. What exactly defines a 'child'? What
is society's responsibility to children? The goal of this course is to provide
the student with a theoretical and ethnographic base from which to pursue
further studies.
Assigned books: (In addition to the following books, there will be several hand-outs provided in class to students. Most are marked on the syllabus, some may be added.) Death Without Weeping, Nancy-Scheper-Hughes Small Wars: The Cultural Politics of Childhood, Nancy-Scheper-Hughes, Carolyn Sargent, editors Abandoned Children, Catherine Panter-Brick, Malcolm Smith, editors Adult Wars, Child Soldiers, UNICEF publication The State of the World's Children, UNICEF publication Children and the Politics of Culture, Sharon Stephens, editor Sample films: Lost Boys of Sudan Born into Brothels Promises Daughter from Danang Children Underground Salaam Bombay Stolen Childhoods (200/ 400 level offering at Western Connecticut State University) Unlike documentaries, theatrically released movies by their very nature viscerally transport the audience into the mind and body the film's main characters. Setting, mood, color, sound, editing, and language all contribute to and aim to create a particular viewer response. In addition, while watching contemporary foreign films, the class will gain an understanding of what critic Laura Marks calls 'the skin of the film:' that is, the experience of cinema as a 'physical and multi-sensory embodiment of culture'. Further, the class will explore what social, political and religious forces are behind international episodes of contemporary ethnic, class and gender violence. Goals: Through this course students will 'see' rather than read about societies in transition outside the United States. Students will discuss why foreign directors turn to particular subject matter when portraying contemporary issues of their native society. Additional topics will include an exploration of the representation of the 'other' in film and a discussion of cinematic film as 'ethnography.' Sample Readings: Media Worlds, Faye D. Ginsburg and Lila Abu-Lughod, editors Identities in Motion: Asian American Film and Video, Peter X. Feng An Accented Cinema: Exilic and Diasporic Filmmaking, Hamid Naficy The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment and the Senses, Laura U. Marks Sample films, including but not limited to: To be a child: (India) Salaam Bombay: Directed by Mira Nair (Brazil) City of God: Directed by Fernando Mierelles (Iran) Children of Heaven: Directed by Majid Majidi (Afghanistan) Osama: Directed by Siddiq Barmak A wedding story: (Taiwan/American) The Wedding Banquet: Directed by Ang Lee (Belgium/ French production) Wedding in Galilee: Michel Khleifi (Czech Republic) Koyla: Directed by Jan Sverak To be a Family: (India) Fire: Directed by Deepa Mehtav (French/ Algerian) Inch' Allah Dimanche (Colombia) Maria Full of Grace: Directed by Joshua Marston (China) Shower; Directed by Zhang Yang (New Zealand) Once were Warriors; Directed by Lee Tamahori Journeys: (Iran) Kandahar: Directed by Moshen Makhmalbaf (China) Not One Less: Directed by Zang Yimou (South Korea) Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter . . . Spring: directed by Kim Ki Duk (Colombia) Maria Full of Grace; Directed by Joseph Marston Back to Top Travel Study The Travel Study Program was developed to take teaching out of the classroom and into the field. In this way, students are no longer reading the 'script,' but they are in the 'movie.' Trips utilize participant observation, interviews, student-teaching and other hands-on experiences. Planned mainly to underdeveloped nations, participants receive first-hand exposure to political, social, medical and economic issues normally found only in textbooks. Bangladesh  Western Connecticut State University Winter Session Travel Study to Bangladesh: ANT 298 Cross Cultural Aspects of Health Care Delivery Course Description: This course will look at risk factors for health in third world countries, specifically Bangladesh. Students will examine how socio-cultural elements such as gender, economics and politics impact peoples' abilities to access or maintain a healthy lifestyle. Located in South Asia and bordered by India and Myanmar, Bangladesh is a poor country of 130 million people whose average family income is $180 a year. On this visit, students will observe an international medical team as they set up to operate in Dhaka at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. This medical team will travel under the auspices of Healing the Children, NE, Inc. They will perform reconstructive surgery on burn victims and children born with cleft lips and palates. Please consult the itinerary for other visits planned on this trip. Goals: It is expected that by the end of this travel study students will have a grasp of differences regarding health issues in a first world and third world country. Also, students will gain an understanding of how governmental, non-governmental and local agencies each in their own way attempt to alleviate the suffering of the underserved population of Bangladesh. Readings: Several journal articles will be on reserve at the Ruth Haas library. Copies will also be available on the trip. 1. 'Hospital Ethnography: introduction,' (from Social Science and Medicine, March, 2004). 2. 'Sulphuric acid burned women in Bangladesh: a social and medical problem,' (from Burns; a journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries, January, 2000). 3. 'Acid Violence: a burning issue of Bangladesh - its medico-legal aspects,' (from The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, December, 2004). 4. 'Socioeconomic and Cultural Influence in the Causation of Burns in the Urban Children of Bangladesh,' a publication from DMCH, 2001. 5. 'Poverty and violence, frustration and inventiveness: hospital ward life in Bangladesh,' (from Social Science and Medicine). 6. 'Credit Programs, Patriarchy and Men's Violence against Women in Rural Bangladesh,' (from Social Science and Medicine, 2004). Useful Links: www.rupantar.org www.htcne.org www.impactfoundationbd.org www.acidsurvivors.org (News Times Link) Cambodia  Inter Session Travel Study to Cambodia ANT 498 Jean Hatcherson Course description: Cambodia is a poor country the size of Missouri, bordered by Thailand and Vietnam. The GDP per capita is $282. This country's history includes massive violence from 1975-1979 when the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of people, with more dying of disease and starvation. Estimates of the dead during these years range from 1.7 to 3 million out of a 1975 population of 7.3 million. During this travel study students will have an opportunity to become acquainted with these recent historical events in Cambodia giving them an informed perspective on the current political and economic issues in that country today. They will also become familiar with Cambodia's glorious past when, from 900 to 1200 AD, the Khmer Kingdom produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces as the group tours the famous temples of Angkor Wat near the city of Siem Reap. Readings: The syllabus will include several relevant readings that will supplement the students' understanding of current events in Cambodia. These readings will be available online from Ruth Haas Library. This list will include, but not be limited to: 'Reshaping government at the local level in Cambodia: with an example of urban water supply in Battambang,' from Public Administration and Development (1996). 'The dilemmas of aid: Cambodia 1992-2002,' from Lancet (2002). 'Justice delayed,' from National Journal (2005). 'The Khmer Rouge and education: beyond the discourse of destruction,' from History of Education (1999). Useful Links: www.heartsandhandsforcambodia.org www.angkorchildrenshospital.org http://shch.hopeworldwide.org/index.htm www.sunrisechildrensvillage.com Dominican Republic  Dominican Travel Study: Literacy and Healthcare Initiatives of Haitian Immigrants The Dominican Literacy Project (DLP) is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the economic, health and social status of men, women and children in the community of Barahona, through education. Their target population is primarily the children of immigrant Haitians working in the Dominican Republic in the sugar cane industry. As they are not Dominican nationals, these children have no access to school or medical care. During this Travel Study, students will design enrichment programs, perform hands on building and cleaning projects and assist DLP personnel in recording baseline medical information for the children in their educational program. Currently, 98 children are receiving free education through the DLP. In addition to volunteer activities with the Haitian children and their families, students will visit Barahona Hospital; several mission schools; and Lago Enriquillo (a saltwater lake with indigenous wildlife). Goals: It is expected that activities associated with this trip will give students knowledge of: the politics and economics of healthcare; the results of social stratification for impoverished communities in regards to work, education and medical care; and perspectives on not only Dominican culture, but Haitian culture as well. Readings: 'The Plight of Haitian Workers in the Dominican Sugar Industry,' by Ryan McKenzie, 1999. Peripheral Migrants: Haitians and the Dominican Republic Sugar Plantations by Samuel Martinez, 1996. Mama Lola: A Voudou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen McCartyh Brown, 2001. Useful Links: www.copa.org.uk/ www.hotelcostalarimar.com (News Times Article) Speaking Tailored for grades K - 12, or for universities or corporations, specialty topics are listed below. Engagements range from 1 to 3 hours or can be formatted as one-day workshops. Cost and dates provided upon request. Cross Cultural Perspectives on Health and Illness How do you know when you are sick? And what caused the illness, a virus or the argument yesterday with your mother-in-law? Is the cure rest and aspirin or a visit to your religious practitioner for forgiveness? Topics include the social construction of health, illness and curing in a cross cultural perspective. These issues are excellent for lunch-bag discussions at schools and corporations or in seminar format for doctors, nurses, social service agencies and university students. International Humanitarian Services Are you curious about the delivery of humanitarian services in international settings? Or simply interested in volunteering abroad? With a graduate degree in medical anthropology and 29 years of international volunteer experiences, these lectures combine personal perspectives with academic discourse, providing useful information about doing charity in foreign settings. Learn about: short and long term volunteer opportunities; the nut-and-bolts of surgical and public health care delivery in foreign settings; and questions to consider when planning missions or measuring outcomes. These lectures are tailored to medical professionals, hospitals, non-profits and individual groups interested in poverty, gender discrimination and health care disparities on a global level. 'Accented Cinema' International movies viscerally transport audiences to exotic locales, assaulting the viewer's senses with distinct music, colors and languages: but what is 'lost in translation' when the movie-goer's audio/visual vocabulary is culturally limited? While watching contemporary foreign films, participants will experience cinema as a physical and multi-sensory embodiment of culture. As well as engaging our senses of smell, taste and touch, learn why foreign filmmakers select certain subject matter to express their society to an international audience. Examples include: arranged marriages and caste in India; culture change among Maoris in New Zealand; and gender and marriage in Iran and Israel. Discussion topics also include the social, political and religious forces behind international episodes of ethnic, class and gender violence. The Politics of Childhood Do the clothes we wear, the rugs we place at our doorsteps or the foods we eat involve child labor? Should pre-teen girls marry? Are children perfect soldiers, every ready to please their commanding officers? These and other issues are discussed in this cross cultural exploration of what it means to be a child in today's environment. While in the US we see children as an expense, learn how other societies see children as important wage earners in a family's efforts to survive. These discussions can be tailored by topic and are excellent for social service agencies, high schools and groups involved in multicultural topics. Gender For high school clubs or community service agencies, learn about cross cultural and historical approaches to the social construction of gender and its impact on marriage, social stratification and work. Previous speaking venues include Gay/ Straight Alliance Clubs and high school classes on peer leadership and multiculturalism. These talks provide an informative base for current political discussions on same-sex marriage in America. Passport to Travel: K - 5 Geared towards primary and intermediate school children, these 1-hour talks give students exposure to all things international. This includes new tastes, clothing and art. These interactive lectures are designed to wake-up their senses, bringing 'culture' to the classroom. |