Participant Evaluations
Below are compilations of participant evaluations of CIEE International Faculty Development Seminars (IFDS).
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 In the middle of Managua, a friend and I stumbled into a story that is a tragedy, and we felt it should be told and retold. Click Here
Leo Dubray
Assistant Professor, Oregon Institute of Technology
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Participant Testimonials
At this moment, I’m digging out my notes from the Amsterdam IFDS for a discussion of prostitution and pornography in my Contemporary Social Problems classes. I have pictures and notes from Costa Rica on hold for later considerations of economic development and environmental issues. And, having finally mastered some basic digital technology, I’m using a PowerPoint of my pictures from Senegal and India to enhance presentations on cultural relativity, identity, religious traditions, families, and social change in my Principles of Sociology classes.
While such an account of integrating previous IFDS experiences into my courses demonstrates development of an increasingly global perspective, the actual effect of relating first-hand knowledge is more difficult to communicate…. Dozing students wake up. (“Imagine Dr. Lord drinking tea at the Prostitute Information Center!”) Shy students ask questions. (“How do multiple wives in Senegal get along with each other?”) Pencil pushers stop to think, consider, and ponder. (“How could out-sourcing be managed to benefit both Indian and American workers?”) Students tell me that personal stories and insights bring the subject matter alive; some who have never traveled farther than Pittsburgh ask me about possibilities for studying abroad. Not only do International Faculty Development Seminars put me in touch with the world, but they also enable me to keep actively in touch with successive generations.
Resisting my sixty-something peers’ talk about marking time toward retirement, I’m bent on gathering new information, raising new questions, and sharing new insights. Each IFDS experience whets my appetite for more.
Below are several testimonials written by participants after their seminar experience. If you would like to speak with someone who has participated on one of our faculty seminars, just let us know.
2008
Climate Change, The Reefs and Waterways of Australia
China’s Silk Road
Muslims, Jews, and Protestants in France Identity, Memory, and the Politics of Belonging
The Celtic Tiger, Myth or Reality
Balancing Tradition and Change in Senegal
2007
Cambodia & Vietnam: Post-War Development and Reconciliation
Chile & Argentina: Economic Reform, Regional Integration, and Democratization
Chile & Argentina: Economic Reform, Regional Integration, and Democratization
Ghana Today: Challenges of a Developing Nation
Ghana Today: Challenges of a Developing Nation
Ghana Today: Challenges of a Developing Nation
India: Cybercities: Exploring the New Business Economies of South India
South Africa: Building a Multiracial, Multicultural Society
Turkey: Civil Society, Politics, and Religion
2006
Belgium: International Institutions and the Challenge of Globalization
China: China's Southwest: Culture, Society, and Environment
Costa Rica: Development, Democracy and Human Rights
England: A New Britain: The Disunited Queendom
Faculty gain knowledge without borders
Hungary & The Czech Republic: Challenges of "New Europe" within the EU: The Central European Perspective
Senegal & Cape Verde: Crossing Borders: Migration, Identity, and Culture
South Africa: Building a Multiracial, Multicultural Society
Turkey: Civil Society, Politics, and Religion
2005
International Institutions and the Challenge of Globalization
Brazil: Societal and Economic Perspectives
Economic Reform, Regional Integration, and Democratization in Argentina & Chile
India: The Interplay of Geography, History, and Culture in Event & Experience
Senegal: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Senegal: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Regional Identities in the European Context: The Catalan Case
2004
Development, Democracy, and Human Rights in Costa Rica
Hungary & the Czech Republic – From Communism to European Union: A Decade of Change
Peace and Conflict in Northern Ireland
Senegal: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Senegal: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Nation Building in South Africa
Nation Building in South Africa
Tradition and Transformation in Vietnam
2003
Dakar, Senegal
Hungary & the Czech Republic: From Communism Toward the European Union
Nation-Building in South Africa
2001
Croatia
2000
China
1998
Northern Ireland
1997
Dominican Republic & Haiti
Germany
London
South Africa
Vietnam
1996
Russia