Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad (GPA) to South Africa - 2024
The University of Pennsylvania ran a four-week Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad (GPA) to South Africa in Summer 2024. Fourteen elementary, secondary and post-secondary educators, administrators, and curriculum specialists were selected to participate.
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The project offered rich experiential learning opportunities for participants to explore firsthand the topic of sustainable development in South Africa with a specific focus on interface between history, environmental justice, and social equity for integration into their curriculum back in the United States.
The project was based in Durban in affiliation with Chatsworth Education Center. In complement with classroom lecture seminars, there were educational tours to national historical/cultural sites in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Western Cape Provinces where participants experienced South Africa through the uniquely distinct environmental, historical and cultural features of these provinces. Participants used knowledge gained from lecture seminars, educational tours, meetings with government officials and local community members to develop curriculum modules to disseminate nationwide for use at secondary and post-secondary institutions.
As an Associate Professor from Hampton University, Department of English and Foreign Languages, in the School for Liberal Arts and Education, I created a module that centers on an enduring question. What does it mean to be human? To arrive at answers to this complex question, through the study of various literary and cinematic pieces by South African writers and filmmakers, students will:
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Examine the intersections of environmental justice and social equity issues such as ethnicity, race, class, and gender.
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Explore the relationship between Indigenous communities and the physical environment, traditional ecological knowledge, struggles for land ownership, and efforts to protect historical landscapes.
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Discover the multiple ways that literature and film can serve as apparatuses to engage and mobilize communities in addressing environmental injustices and social inequities.
Conversations in Literature
& Culture
Conversations in Literature & Culture is a video podcast where Hampton University students, faculty, and invited writers, scholars, and creative artists engage in discussion about humanities issues that raise historical, societal, and cultural awareness.
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Conversations in Literature & Culture is an opportunity for students to hone their research and interviewing skills and for faculty to mentor students and share their scholarship. Invited guests, in discussing their work, will inspire audiences and participants alike.
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This project will make a significant impact on teaching and learning within the department of English and Foreign Languages in the School of Liberal Arts and Education at Hampton University, serving as a space for interdisciplinary dialogue.
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