Cultures and Learning...

...was the title of my last course. It was a heavy workload - a 700-page course reader to be digested in 3 weeks, and 3 assignments, one of which was a 20-page paper that required citing all 56 articles in the reader. Well, that is done, and now we are going to the beach!

The course itself was interesting. The overall topic was culture, which is of course extremely broad (we spent an entire day trying to decide what culture was, and never really came to a definitive conclusion). We also talked about racism, discrimination, ethnocentrism, and privilege. I think for me this was the most interesting part, reflecting on my own biases (because while we all like to think we don't have them, really, we do). So yes, I do believe that we all have biases to one degree or another, but we can be aware of them, and over time we can erode them. I am working on mine.

It was also interesting to talk about cross-cultural awareness. While I have spent extensive time in other countries, I have had little cross-cultural training, other than what I got in Peace Corps training. There was a lot in this course that would've been practical to learn some years ago, before living in many different countries - specifically about biases and ethnocentrism. But, I am learning now, and hope to share with others.

Outside of class, life has been busy and full. I've been teaching English a fair amount (I think I mentioned picking up a job a few weeks ago), about 10 hours a week, which is about all I can handle on top of the academic workload. Teaching yoga is great and brings me lots of joy. We tried to have another World Cafe, but only a few of us showed up, so we had a Nonviolent Communication workshop instead - a good alternative! I'm organizing an International Human Rights Day open mic for December 10, so that should be fun. It doesn't require much organizing, it's really just making it happen!

Meanwhile...it is interesting to be in the academic world. UPEACE is an interesting place. It is struggling with its own identity. I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that the university has been around for 30 years, but really only started offering extensive programs over the past 8 years or so - and really it's only been the past 3 or 4 years that there have been a lot of students. So it is still growing, still premature, to some extent. And it is struggling with its identity. It is not sure whether it wants to be this extremely unique institution, or if it wants to be well-respected in academic circles - and right now it seems to be an either/or scenario, like it doesn't think it can have both. It already is extremely unique - it is certainly one of the only universities in the world offering solely programs relating to peace. However, there is something missing...

...I guess, I feel like we spend all this time in class doing the theoretical work, reading and writing and discussing, but not practicing. And I realize to a certain extent this is the nature of academia, and what you do when you go to school. With peace, though - how can you not practice it? And it's like we don't really have enough time to. I know my personal practices fall by the wayside when I have a paper due or a hundred pages of reading to catch up on. And that's not good. The personal practices are really, really important.

Then there is the cultural dimension. Most students come to UPEACE because they are looking for cultural diversity, to have the opportunity to study with students from all over the world. And, really, just by being in the same class together, sitting next to each other, we learn from one another. However, this learning could be so much deeper, if we had time. If we had time to do cultural exchange projects, or sharing circles, or something - but there is not time, when you are cramming a masters degree into a year.

So this is kind of what I'm trying to work on, to help bring a more holistic education to UPEACE, but time is a constraint.

Well, speaking of time, it's off to the beach! Happy thanksgiving!

Religions for Peace Conference

This weekend I attended a conference sponsored by UPEACE, the Arias Foundation, and an organization called Religions for Peace. They are kicking off a year-long international youth campaign for global disarmament.

My interest in disarmament and interfaith dialogue took me there, for although I do not personally identify with a religious affiliation, I recognize that religion can play an important role in conflict and peace. The morning sessions were interesting, including a speech by the president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias. In one speech, given by the religions for peace director, he kept referring to "we, the people of religious faith," "we, who came here as religious people," "you, youth of religious faith..." and I felt a little out of place. Later in the day, the workshops were definitely geared towards "faith communities." I also was given a somewhat awkward "observer" status (as well as some other UPEACE students), which meant we could watch but not participate. After awkwardly watching for a bit, I left early.

Religious awkwardness aside, the campaign is exciting and has good goals. It is for the disarmament of nuclear weapons, the scaling back of conventional weapons, and a third goal which off the top of my head I can't remember now.

A guy from New Zealand spoke about the importance of raising public awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons. Most of us (fortunately) never see these weapons, and as such, forget they exist. But just because we forget about them doesn't mean they are no longer a threat. Furthermore, as we forget about them, we don't do anything about them. Obama is pledging for nuclear disarmament, but he can't do it alone.

That being said, the idea is not to raise fear, but rather awareness, followed by hope that we can actually tackle this challenge and create a nuclear-free world.

Those are my thoughts at 8:30 on this Sunday morning!