Font Size: A A A

Designed to promote a greater understanding of and appreciation for global cultures, languages, issues, and traditions through lectures, discussions, and film.

Chris Shoemaker

March 31, 2011

Bluefield College will host a Global Education Emphasis Week, April 11-15, open to students and the community at-large and designed to promote a greater understanding of and appreciation for global cultures, languages, issues, and traditions.

"In its simplest form, global education, as defined by the Maastricht Global Education Declaration refers to 'education that opens people's eyes and minds to the realities of the globalized world and awakens them to bring about a world of greater justice, equity and human rights for all,'" said Dr. Gerardo Cummings, director of BC's Global Education Program.

Bluefield College's Global Education Emphasis Week will offer a greater understanding of the realities of the globalized world and encourage justice and equality through international films, guest speakers from abroad, and lectures and discussions in a variety of BC classes that focus on global issues related to business, language, psychology, and theatre.

The Global Education lecture schedule for the week will include one session on international finance presented by business professor Dr. Harry Snodgrass, Thursday, April 14 at 8 am in Science Center Room 122. Dr. Snodgrass will offer a second lecture on immigration, Friday, April 15 at 9 a.m. in Science Center Room 101.

BC theatre professor Charles Reese will present two lectures during the week on international theatre traditions, Monday, April 11 and Wednesday, April 13 at 1 p.m. each day in Harman Chapel Room 103. And, Dr. Cummings will offer a lecture on historical, societal, and cultural facts about Caribbean countries, Tuesday April 12 at 8 a.m. and again at 9:30 a.m. in Lansdell Hall Room 107.

Brazil native Dr. Luciano Picanço, an assistant professor of French at Bluefield State College, will serve as a guest lecturer for a session on "The Many Faces of Brazilian Religious Experience," Wednesday, April 13 at 2 p.m. in Lansdell Hall Room 107. A well-educated and often-published expert on Francophone literature and culture, Dr. Picanco will address the way in which the different cultures of Brazil express their religious beliefs.

The Global Education Emphasis Week group discussion schedule for April 11-15 will include a discourse on diversity and commonalities in marriages, families and the lives of children in the United States and other countries, hosted by psychology professor Dr. Marsha Mead, Tuesday, April 12 at 2:30 p.m. in Shott Hall. In addition, faculty members and members of the community who have lived in other countries will discuss issues related to child-rearing, relationships between adolescents and young adults and their parents, roles of men and women in marriages, and the strength of marriage as an institution.

Other discussions for the week include a session on the differences in words, accents, speech patterns, and intonations that Spanish speakers from the Caribbean have compared to non-Caribbean Spanish speakers. This discussion, scheduled for Tuesday, April 12 at 8 a.m. and again at 9:30 a.m. in Lansdell Hall Room 107, will be led by a group of BC students from or with ancestors from Spanish-speaking countries, including students from Puerto Rico and students with parents from the Dominican Republic.

The international film schedule for Global Education Emphasis Week will feature "María llena eres de gracia," a drama that deals with the drug trafficking problem and how it affects a woman who finds out she is pregnant. The film, set for Tuesday, April 12 at 6 p.m. in the Science Center room 121, will be followed by a question-and-answer session on the drug trafficking culture, led by Dr. Cummings and BC student Alexander Dove, both experts in Latin American issues and problems related to drug trafficking.

A second international film, slated for Wednesday, April 12 at 6 p.m. in the Science Center Room 121, will feature Jean Pierre-Jeunet's Academy Award-nominated "Amelie," a story of a painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris café who after a surprising discovery dedicates her life to helping others find happiness.

BC's weekly student convocation, Wednesday, April 13 at 10 a.m. in Harman Chapel, will feature a variety of activities based on the global education initiative. Students will offer presentations, music, and skits on social justice, interconnectedness between different cultures, and historical and cultural attitudes toward Christianity. The session will also include discussions about global views on Christianity.

Other activities for the week include Spanish skits, Thursday, April 14 at 9:30 a.m. in Lansdell Hall Room 107, and an information session on Friday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room (third floor) of Lansdell Hall on BC's Surrogate Families Program, a program designed to involve alumni and the community in helping BC make visiting exchange students and enrolled international students feel at home in Bluefield. If interested in learning more about hosting, mentoring, or entertaining international students through this Surrogate Families session, contact Alumni Director by email at or by phone at 276-326-4208.

All Global Education Emphasis Week events are open and free to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Cumming by email at or by phone at 276-326-4271.

Comments: