Past Events: 2023

Operationalizing Mutuality and Reciprocity in Short-Term Study Abroad: The Case of Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador) (June 5, 2023)

Ongoing calls to decolonize study abroad often point to the need for increased mutuality and reciprocity in international partnership - specifically North/South university partnerships where short-term students' mobility is often unidirectional (Global North students studying abroad at their Global South university partner for 8 weeks or less). This session will explore the case of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, which has successfully developed recent out-going, short-term study abroad programs to U.S. universities, and is in the process of building a short-term (Spring Break) exchange of students with Cornell University. Perspectives from both faculty and administrators will be shared, with a focus on models and lessons learned in the development process. We hope to surface a discussion of challenges and opportunities that others have faced in their attempts to operationalize the call for mutuality and reciprocity in short-term study abroad programming. We welcome your participation!

Presenters and Discussants:

Julie Ficarra - Associate Professor of Practice and Director of Globally Engaged Learning, Global Development Department, Cornell University

Karla Diaz - Service-Learning Institute Director and Professor of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidad San Francisco de Quito

Gina Dow - Associate Professor of Psychology/Global Health and Alford Coordinator of Service Learning, Denison University

Carlos Vivero - Customized Programs Coordinator, Office of International Programs, Universidad San Francisco de Quito

David Chacon - Faculty-led Programs Coordinator, Universidad San Francisco de Quito

We encourage to you to Join the Collective to see full videos from the event.

Voices from the South: Decolonial Perspectives in International Education - A Conversation with the Authors (August 7, 2023)

Please join us for a wide-ranging discussion on this fascinating new contribution to the field, published by the Forum on Education Abroad.

"Inspired by the Editors’ work with U.S. students studying abroad throughout Latin America and including voices from colleagues working across the Global South, including in Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Peru, Senegal, India, and Jordan, this volume seeks to reverse the replication of imperialist and colonial patterns in Global North-to-Global South student mobility by passing the microphone to study abroad professionals based in the Global South. Their experiences and scholarship offer a rich, nuanced, and very current perspective on the challenges colonial attitudes and behaviors present to the field of education abroad and its future."

Line-up:

"Introduction" - Andrea Rizzotti, Héctor Cruz Feliciano, and Sophia Pekowsky (with discussants: Vaughn Thornton and Abbey Jones)
"Chapter 2: Jasper's Conceptions of Guilt" - Mauricio Paredes (with discussant: Talyjah Hyatt)
"Chapter 5: An Alternative to Service Learning: Reframing Community-Based Experiences in a Process-Oriented Approach" - Héctor Cruz Feliciano (with discussant: Vaughn Thornton)