Customs Checkpoint

STOPPPPPPP!!!!!

All journeys have a starting point. As your official customs officers, we have the unfortunate task of telling you that you must return to the first post in August to properly read the blog. Got a problem? Talk to Ugresic, Kincaid, Hamid, or any of the many authors we have explored this semester about their frustrations with airports and customs regulations. Don't forget to keep your passport handy!

Collegiate Collages

Today was the presentation of collages in class. Some of the collages met my expectations and assumptions about the points and questions they would raise; however, others completely surprised me. The areas of interests of students manifested themselves in each of the collages. It has always been clear that Izzi is interested in women’s issues and in Africa and her collage, remaking the picture of a woman through different snippets succeeded in showing this. My interest in France was even more obvious and I tried to raise a question about the cultures which France is willing to accept and which it is not (similar to Jim and American immigration). I like that the topics of our collages reflected both our personal and academic pursuits, as if each of us were a master of some areas of knowledge (hmm…kind of like those country projects I guess). Two collages which really struck me came from Melissa and Tom.

Melissa’s collage came out of nowhere. We have discussed the question of the human condition many different times this semester; however, the language we use in this class has been focused elsewhere and our conversations appear to usually graze the surface of this topic. From Berreby to Fanon, from individual presentations to group ones, our language and discussion have been saturated with theories and examples of collective groups and individuals function within the human race. By using no language, Melissa surfaced something that is constantly present in our discussions, papers, and projects. I think that this demonstrates the importance of understanding concepts through different media. Verbally, I was unaware of the stickiness of the situation yet, visually, it became so clear to me that our class deals with these issues on a day to day basis.

What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to see another person as human? How does membership in a group change our personal agency and what it means to be human? Are we always the most important actors in our lives? All of these questions raced through my brain when I saw Melissa’s poster.

A second presentation that was unexpected was Tom’s. Tom’s collage revealed to me that he pays full attention in class and that he has lots of interesting ideas despite the fact that he doesn’t always contribute to our class discussion. Haley and I have no problem explaining ourselves in class. We feel comfortable and confident using language; moreover, we both had problems pushing further using the collage and not using words in expressing ourselves. On the other hand, it was so clear that Tom expressed himself fully through the power of his images. They were picked very meticulously and the way they were assembled made his collage both interactive and intriguing. By exploring this visual media, we were able to hear and see new perspectives and unheard voices.

I love movie days!

Today we watched a documentary called Mechina. This film was made by two of our very own ICS graduates: Matal Guttman and Madeleine Sackler. The film documented a group of Israeli students who had the opportunity to take a gap year after school before entering into IDF. I’m not going to lie, this movie was pretty emotional. It tackled some tough issues and really opened my eyes to what kids my age are like in Israel. When I think about the decisions I make on a daily basis, picking classes or deciding how and when to go to the library to do work, it makes me really appreciate what these kids are going through. At age 18, both females and are required to serve for two to three years. This is a huge responsibility and risk. At 18, I was nervous to leave home for college, and these kids have to leave their families to learn to hold and shoot a gun and they are trained to kill. I have never held a real gun before (and don’t intend to) and I can’t imagine shooting one, let alone shooting one with the intention of killing.

I was extremely impressed by the group of students of the Mechina. Each displayed an exceptional maturity. I really enjoyed the conversational tone of the documentary that gave us real insight into how these kids were feeling. I felt a personal connection to Amitai and I must admit that I did get a teary eyed when the Mechina year was over and Amitai boarded the bus with his family surrounding him to see him on his way.
I think the point of this film was to show different ways of discussing global issues. Matal made the movie because she was “frustrated with the way Israel was portrayed on campus, as a place of conflict and violence and wanted to show the human story, beyond the headlines.” The film helped to expose this global issue in a more personal way.

Maybe this is what ICS is all about: creating a personal connection with global issues. I can’t solve all the problems of the world, I cant even solve some of the problems of the world, but maybe if I could just pick one that I feel a personal connection with, I could have a real tangible impact. Hey, maybe I’m getting somewhere with this now?

Check out the facebook page for the movie. Talk about globalization and getting connected....

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This blog is untitled on purpose: get it, no language?

How awesome is this video from Ukraine’s Got Talent. At first I was a little upset that we didn’t talk about it in class, but now I realize that by trying to put the message of the video into words or by using language to describe it, we would alter the individual impression/interpretation each of us has of the video by itself. Ahh, the fruitful frustrations of non-language! Enjoy. (as a side-note: it depicts the invasion of Ukraine by Nazi Germany). Click on the screenshot for a link to the whole video!

Behold The Power...of the Heritage Galler-CHEEEEEESE!

So today, Haley and I presented our Heritage Galleries to the class. I think that we really benefitted from going during the second gallery and not in the first because we had a better idea of how much time and thought to put into the project. It was pretty awkward to talk about my family through the lens of a cheese that I couldn’t even find in North Carolina. Letting the other people in the class into our personal lives is weird but also a valuable exercise considering we are all so different. As students with 18 unique experiences we have a lot to learn from others and tons to teach each other. I think that the process of picking my gallery topic even taught me a lot about the way that I perceive myself and my family: and what makes my particular heritage unique in comparison to the rest of the class. I never knew that Grana Padano could say so much about where my family is from, what family does, and how we interact with each other (I got a pound of it for my 16^th birthday. Yeah. That happened.).

I’m a little nervous about how we are going to be graded on the project because they are all so diverse. How can you compare a song to a picture to a cheese to a book? It really will be a tough job for Marcy. The more I think about this project, the more I realize how cool it is and how ICS it is. We are taking this small project that seems more show-and-tell than college class, and turning it into a truly meaningful experience. There are so many different implications about perspective, difference, and communication that expose themselves as more and more people present.

This exercise is also such a bold contrast to the rest of the classes I have taken at Duke. In all of my classes (from 5 people to 50) we don’t know anything about the rest of the class. We go through semesters and years sitting next to other students and the only defining qualities they have are their test grades or their answers to the questions that teachers act. They are legitimate strangers. In this class, personal narratives have become a learning tool: like a novel we would read or theories we would study. Beyond being fun and interesting, I think that this activity is perfect in a class like ICS 200S where we talk about international conflict and issues. We now have a better understanding of each other’s interests, thoughts, and perspectives: how their heritage influences their thinking (just like on the first day when we shared our international experiences). This is another piece of putting together the puzzle of our international thinking and why we are ICS seniors.

It was important to dive head-first into the project and not be worried about being too personal, but still I am glad it is over. I wonder if Marcy will present anything...

FDOC

WOOO FDOC!!! (First day of classes) Today was the first day of ICS 200S, the capstone for the ICS major. After only one real ICS course, I am still a bit confused as to what this class is going to be about. There are only 18 of us. It’s a small class, and as a seminar, I expect that we will have some pretty in depth discussions. We started off the class introducing ourselves and filling out a map, coloring in where each person and their families were from, and where they have traveled or studied. North America was covered along with Europe and China, different parts of Africa were colored in and both Central and South America seemed to be popular places of study. I couldn’t believe that almost half the class had done some type of abroad experience in Argentina. Did I miss the bandwagon on this one? Should I be packing my bags for Buenos Aires this summer? (I hear the beaches are great!).

Our class is quite eclectic. Jim (Marcus) is from Sweeden, Johnny is from Alabama, Izzie is from Haiti and Ashley and Nathalie are both from Colombia. Charlie and I probably gave the least exciting presentation of everyone in the class. But maybe this will be a good thing. Maybe Charlie and I have a few things to learn from everyone. Although it does make me a bit nervous; will I have anything to contribute to our class discussions? I sure hope so.

The rest of the class was kind of overwhelming. We did a free association activity of terms that come to mind when we think of ICS. Everyone started blurting out words: identity, boundaries, and ethnicity were obviously some of the first buzz words that came up. Hmm… not like went spent too much time with those in ICS 125… or did we? The list went on. Words like NGOs, power, and colonization were added to the list. Development was one of the words that stood out to me. I don’t know too much about this topic but it seems interesting. Lastly, Marcy (our professor – She told us to call her Marcy) asked us to think about how these relate to place, as in location and how each of the terms is used in different disciplines. And so it was that we got our first assignment.

On the car ride home, Charlie and I talked about the list. We both felt a little overwhelmed but we came the conclusion, that we were okay with it. We discussed the terms that we thought were most relevant and since we are both Western Europe focuses and interested in History, we narrowed our list down a bit. I think it was a helpful activity to do on the first day. It kind of gave us an overview of all the topics we would be covering and helped spur my memory since its been quite a while since ICS 125.

First ICS 200S Class Tomorrow!!

Tomorrow will be the first day of senior year and my only class is ICS 200s. Despite the fact that I took Intro to ICS last semester (125), I have no substantial ideas as to what we are going to be studying during this semester. I know that we are going to be participating more in class which I look forward to since I may be able to understand the concepts more, but it will be weird to share and listen to other student’s ideas since we barely did this last semester. I’m also nervous that I don’t fully grasp the ICS topics like boundaries and identity: I remember writing my final exam and thinking “I literally have no idea if this is what I am supposed to be saying or not.” It felt like no matter how many times we went over the concepts and the ideas, I didn’t have any real-life applications or experience to apply to the topics. My cognitive map was about a food court (lame!). Hopefully, I will feel less clueless, less frustrated, and less stuck with the olds ideas from ICS 125 and whatever new ones come up.

I wonder how much we’ll talk about the topics we discussed last semester and if my understanding of easily-definable terms, like “globalization” will continue to change and continue to complicate. I also wonder what kind of work we’re going to have to do. More country projects? More guest lecturers? Who knows?

Thank goodness Haley will be in class with me. I wasn’t that close to my friends in 125 and that definitely made things difficult because I had nobody to bounce ideas off of before or after classes. It also means I’ll have a ride to the John Hope Franklin Center and someone to pass notes with if I need to! Well enough rambling for now, I have pencils to sharpen and I need to label all of my folders. See you tomorrow!