Latin America & the Caribbean — GLOBAL BRANDEIS 2.0

‘Tasty’ encounters in Buenos Aires – A Reflection by Alana Pellerito’13

March 26, 2012 By Alia Goldfarb Leave a Comment

There are two things that are bound to happen at every meal abroad. First, my friends and I will inevitably joke about how beautiful everyone is in Buenos Aires. Second, we have to gush over how incredible our meal is. These are unavoidable pieces of living in a gorgeous, bustling city where dulce de leche is a staple in half of your meals and its inhabitants are forever tanned.

One of the most delicious “tortas” I have ever tasted. It was served cold; one layer of chocolate cake, one layer of dulce de leche, one layer of chocolate cake, one layer of chocolate mousse topped with chocolate shavings

Although I have only been in Buenos Aires for five weeks, it feels like I have been here forever (except for when I get off at the wrong colectivo [bus] stop or when I ask someone a question in Spanish and their response is, “Oh, I speak English” or “where are you from”).

I had such mixed feelings only a few weeks ago before arriving in Buenos Aires. I was nervous and excited, mostly ready to start my adventure that didn’t begin until February 20^th. Because I am taking classes as an integrated student at the Universities in the city, and because Argentina is in South America (meaning their seasons are the opposite of ours) my semester of classes didn’t actually begin until this past week! I gather that most college students would be thrilled at the thought of not having classes for over 3 months, but since I am the “typical” Brandeisian, I have been itching to be busy again.

My first weekend in Buenos Aires could not have been more perfect. One of the reasons I chose to come to this humongous, magnificent city was its sizeable, well-known Jewish population. Coming from such a large, inviting Jewish population at Brandeis and being an avid Jewish sleep-away camp goer, I knew that I needed that religious and culture experience to be a part of my time abroad. I spent my first Friday night and my first Shabbat abroad at the Moishe House. From what I understand, the Moishe House is a Jewish house where three Jews in their twenties live (there are Moishe House’s all over the U.S. and all over the world). They host a Shabbat dinner once a month as well as other parties and get togethers for Jews from all over the world in Buenos Aires. This Shabbat was filled with prayers, brisket, Israeli dancing, Shira, and guitar playing, a given when any group of Jews congregate together. (Another source of comfort was walking into the Moishe House only to hear this series of bands playing in their CD player-Guster, Mumford and Sons, Dispatch…)

Some friends and me at the Moishe House-from top left to bottom right: Natí, Mauro, Me, and Nomi.

I couldn’t be more grateful to have made a connection to Moishe House so early in my time abroad. Purim was a few weeks ago, and between connections to Moishe House, Hillel and other Jewish friends in Buenos Aires, I was almost over prepared for the chag. This past Shabbat, I discovered a wonderful temple called Amichai with my friend Emma. Not only is Amichai exactly the kind of instrument-filled, enthusiastic service I was looking for here, but it is in “el barrio chino” which means that my post-Shabbat service meals will generally be Chinese food. Nothing could be more satisfying. I will also be interning with AMIA (Associación Mutual Israelita Argentina), the most well known Jewish Organization in Buenos Aires. They aim to promote and maintain the Jewish community in Argentina. Although most of my job will involve archiving, I cannot wait to begin my time there and meet more local, Jewish Argentines.

For my second weekend in Argentina, all of the IFSA-Butler Argentine Universities Program traveled to Colonia, Uruguay. Colonia is not only one of the most quaint towns I have ever visited but it was recently designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It reminded me very much of a small town in the Berkshires. This was a wonderful weekend getaway from the bustling city. Since that trip, I have made a getaway to El Tigre, a town an hour train ride outside of Buenos Aires with relaxing activities to partake in such as laying in the grass, eating postres, or canoeing (one of the more strenuous). Though I love the city and all of its excitement, it is nice to have a break from subways and buses (that I often get lost on). I have already planned my Patagonia trip for the last weekend in March and cannot wait to plan a Mendoza winery trip for the end of April!

Me by a boat port on the coast of Colonia.

Being in Buenos Aires is certainly a roller coaster. One day, I am happily walking down the sunny street, alfajor in hand taking in the scenery. A couple of hours later, I could find myself getting off of a colectivo at 10pm at night in a new neighborhood completely lost. Luckily, I have had great experiences with porteños when lost. Last week, a sweet, older couple helped me find my way to a bus stop and just a couple of a days ago a newspaper salesman helped me find my way to a photocopy store. Every day is a new experience, and every encounter with a Spanish menu is challengingly exciting (who knew that there were SO MANY names for food in Argentina). There are those undeniable comforts of hearing American music on the bus (and all around the city) and hearing other English speakers around you. There is also a surprising level of excitement when trying something new with Spanish speaking porteños.

I cannot wait to see what the next 3 or so months bring! Since I have hardly started having a normal schedule yet (I have been living abroad as a vacationer), I think that I will slowly start to feel like I live in Buenos Aires as my classes become more regular and my internship starts. Though, I have to admit, I will miss the relaxing life (that I have now enjoyed for 3.5 months) of eating alfajores, exploring the city without looming homework, and almost never having a set schedule!

Alana Pellerito enjoying a meal.

My friends Chloe, Nomi and I enjoying a day at El Caminito in La Boca.

Filed Under: Abroad, Alia Goldfarb, Authors, Blogs, Latin America & the Caribbean, Regions, Students

Heller School “Tuesday Talks” Lecture Series Presents: Global Health Spending: Learning to Do More With Less

November 8, 2011 By Nahum Gilliat Leave a Comment

Professor Allyala Krishna Nandakumar

Last week, Professor Allyala Krishna Nandakumar presented a lecture titled, “Global Health Spending: Learning to Do More with Less. ” The lecture was one of a series known as “Tuesday Talks,” a lecture series held by the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. The lecture room was fully attended by faculty, staff, students, and alumni who came to hear Nandakumar explain the problems with our global health spending, namely, that we need to spend the funds we have more efficiently.

The world spends about 5 trillion on health a year. While this enormous amount has only increased over the past decade, the rate of morbidity and mortality has not decreased at the rate one would expect if such funds and technology are available. For instance, since 1990, annual child mortality decreased by 30%. Yet still, 8.8 million children died in 2008. This unfortunate disparity, according to a World Bank assessment, is the result of poorly managed projects and an inefficient allocation of funds. Moreover, many of these projects share similar characteristics: negligible monitoring and evaluation, inadequate supervision, lack of baseline data for which to set realistic targets, and insufficient political or institutional analysis to name a few.

To complicate matters, the majority of donor funds go to Third World countries where corrupt governments misuse them. Since 2008, however, the majority of donations have been channeled through NGO’s or non-governmental organizations in order to offset the rampant corruption.

Another complication is that low-come countries are often dependent on donor funds from high-income countries. This dependency is very dangerous for a state since donor funds are volatile and therefore unsustainable. This is especially disconcerting because many low-income states substitute donor funding as the sole means for government health spending. This dependency is also harmful because states receiving funds are not allowed to decide how to allocate funds: much of global health spending is “disease specific” in that donors typically donate for a specific cause such as HIV AIDS or malaria, and thus states who receive funds may not even be able to use them.

Another issue with global health spending is the unequal distribution of donors. Low-income countries, which compose 85% of the world’s population, only contribute 14.3% share of global health funds. Meanwhile, high-income countries, which compose 15% of the world’s population, contribute 82% of the global health spending. For instance, Ethiopia spends less than $10 per person on health; the US, nearly $7,300. This places a burden on high-income countries such as the United States, to sustain the health programs of other countries. Surprisingly, while the United States is the leader in global health funding, the second largest source of funding comes not from a country but from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Where are countries like Britain, France, and Germany? This interesting fact shows that other high-income states aren’t pulling enough weight.

Evidently, there are many problems with our global health spending. It goes without saying that millions of people shouldn’t have to die every year from diseases that could have been cured or treated but weren’t due to rampant corruption and a host of problems in our global health spending. We have the funds, we just need to allocate them more efficiently. To remedy these problems, we can employ numerous measures: increase accountability and transparency of governments to combat corruption, ensure that funds reach beneficiaries directly to avoid waste, empower individuals with health vouchers, and reform the health care system. Only then can we prevent needless death and disease. For more information on global health spending, visit the World Health Organization online.

Filed Under: Africa, Authors, Blogs, Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, Global Campus, Latin America & the Caribbean, Middle East, Nahum Gilliat, Regions, South Asia, Students

Engagement and Ambition at the eXperiential eXpo

November 3, 2011 By Ariana Leave a Comment

On October 25th, 104 poster presenters, 52 group presenters and five faculty presenters shared their experiential learning knowledge with the rest of the Brandeis community at the eXperiential eXpo. As a whole, the eXpo reinforced the notion of Brandeis as an incredibly diverse and motivated campus, with students’ presentations impressive in topic choice as well as ambition. With projects ranging from promoting community health in Waltham to examining the role of human rights in China, the posters represented a truly global focus.

Mangaliso Mohammed '12

One such global project was embarked upon by Mangaliso Mohammed ‘12, an environmental studies major and WOW recipient, who worked with the city council in Mbabane, Swaziland on environmental sanitation in the city. Collaborating with city council members to set up programs in waste management and general litter control, environmental sanitation and health, and urban environment management, Mangaliso truly embodied the experiential learning spirit. He spoke extremely highly of his site coordinator, and despite the challenges he described – such as underdeveloped litter and waste management infrastructure – he seemed humbly pleased at the positive impact he made over the summer in terms of environmental health management in the city of Mbabane.

Alexander S. Hulse '12

Similarly globally focused but vastly different in topic, Alexander Hulse ‘12 – majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Economics – presented on his internship with the University of Texas San Antonio Mopan Valley Archaeological Project in Cayo, Belize. Focusing on power transitions of Ancient Maya through archaeological excavation, Alexander had the opportunity to not only take part in the project but also supervise the excavations at a site in Belize. His goals of understanding the site’s location in the political structure of the valley were ambitious, but the findings he described – analysis and synthesis of a particular structure and cultural context to determine its likely role as an ancestor shrine and association with a political actor of some power, for example – seem to indicate his successful achievement of that goal.

The experiences of both Mangaliso and Alexander seem to encapsulate the purpose of the experiential expo, as well as the motivation behind the experiential learning emphasis at Brandeis. The drive and ambition of both projects – changing and introducing ideas of sustainable development in the urban waste management system of an entire city and directing the excavation of a site as part of a larger archaeological effort in understanding the political dynamics of an entire valley – are two of many equally ambitious and laudable projects. The most incredible part of the eXpo was the fact that without this sort of forum to present their experiences, the stories and incredible insights many of those presenting would not be heard by the larger community. 156 total students participated, and because of how humble all the participants were there would be no way of finding out their amazing stories without this kind of event. The effort, care, and professionalism seen at the eXperiential eXpo was a credit to all in the community who make such opportunities possible, and bring a whole new realm of possibility to the question, “what did you do last summer?”

Filed Under: Africa, Ariana Hajmiragha, Authors, Blogs, Global Campus, Latin America & the Caribbean, Regions, Students

Secrets of the Aztecs, Mayans, and Romans Revealed at the Third Annual Archeology Symposium

October 21, 2011 By Nahum Gilliat Leave a Comment

Kate McMahon, University of Southern Maine

Last Friday, the Anthropology Department, as part of Massachusetts Archaeology Month, showcased its 3^rd annual Archeology Symposium in Rapaporte Treasure Hall. At the event, archaeology graduate students from all over the northeast – Harvard University, University of Montreal, University of Southern Maine, as well as Brandeis – presented their research and laboratory analysis from their fieldwork.

Jeffrey Dobereiner, a Brandeis alum who graduated in 2009 and is now a second year graduate student at Harvard University, presented fascinating discoveries from his research in Mexico in which he explored the alternate segments of Aztec ethnicity. His presentation, titled “Multiscalar Identity in Archaeology: A Diachronic Perspective on Aztecs and Their Ancients 1300-1521,” showed how his analysis of Aztec iconography from the rise of the urban city center Tenochtitlan revealed a new Aztec identity category revolving around urban life.

The discoveries of Betsy Marzahn Ramos were equally as interesting. Ramos, a Brandeis graduate student, presented her findings from her excavations in Guatemala. Her presentation, “Preliminary Results for the Analysis of Sierra del Lacandon Ceramics”, documented how the stylistic differences in ancient Mayan ceramics were indicative of one’s political views. Ramos analyzed and contrasted ceramics from two rival Mayan cities: Yaxchilan and Pierdas Negras, finding distinct qualities in each. Ramos also showed how the ceramics excavated from cities and towns between the major rival cities indicated allegiance to either rival city. Ramos validated her findings be showing how cities closer to Yaxchilan had similar ceramic styles to those found at Yaxchilan and cities closer to Pierdas Negras also had similar ceramic styles to those found at Pierdas Negras. More importantly, those cities and towns in the middle exhibited ceramic styles of both major cities. Thus, a city with similar ceramic styles to Yaxchilan indicated that its community shared political viewpoints.

Natalie Sussman, a Brandeis graduate student, presented research from excavations in Italy and North Africa in which she uncovered an interesting fact about Roman life. Her presentation, titled “The Roman ‘Frantic Passion’ for Purple: A Geographic Analysis of the Murex Dye Industry from the late Roman Republican Period to Late Empire,” revealed how the Roman popular elite held a fascination for the color purple. In fact, wearing purple indicated wealth and prestige and therefore symbolized status. For instance, Roman senators were known to wear purple to symbolize their power. The senators would wear a toga that was a plain white wool toga with a purple stripe along the border. Even victorious generals sported entirely purple togas with gold embroidery. Purple dye was so sacred that it was even reserved for the emperor. Sussman explained the popularization of purple at the time: “purple” tended to appear more like crimson, and the more expensive the dye (i.e. those worn by the emperor) would be the color of blood, suggestive of symbolism related to death and victory. Sussman’s excavation also uncovered imitation dye sites which she claims that it shows that desire to wear purple was so strong that even the poor were able to obtain imitation dye so they could dress in elite fashion.

Sussman emboldened her theory by finding a correlation between the number of dye production sites and Roman stability and prosperity. She showed that the number of dye production sites were at its peak during the Roman golden age or “Pax Romana” and declined during periods of Roman instability. Sussman therefore concluded with the most likely explanation and backbone of her theory: since purple dye was a luxury and only the wealth could afford it, it naturally declined during tough periods and increased during prosperity.

The 3rd Archeology Symposium was a fantastic event and a huge success. Each presentation allowed the audience to step back in time and surmise from the artifacts uncovered at excavations, what life was like for the great ancient societies, be it Mayans, Aztecs, or Romans. Upon closer examination, one finds that life isn’t as different today as it was then and that while the times have changed, the commonly expressed values and wants humans exhibit have not.

Filed Under: Authors, Blogs, Europe, Global Campus, Latin America & the Caribbean, Nahum Gilliat, Regions, Students

Competing and Converging Narratives

September 26, 2011 By Ariana Leave a Comment

From left to right: Prof. Hale, Prof. Gaskins, Allyson Goose of the Office of Study Abroad, Prof. Sundiata, Kylie Vallario '12

Summer break and the incredible experiences traveling students and faculty embark upon remains among the most exciting and useful aspects of life in any university. Rarely does the opportunity come up to hear about the experiences of others, however: a gap the event “What Did You Do Last Summer?” aimed to close. Sponsored by the African and Afro-American Studies Department and moderated by Professor Faith Lois Smith, the experiences of six Brandeisians were highlighted: two undergraduates (Jessye Kass ’13 and Kylie Vallario ’12) and four professors (Jane Hale, Richard Gaskins, Ibrahim Sundiata, and Pashington Obeng).

As participants reflected in discussion later in the event, the notion of narrative as understood by one’s self and by others played a large role in the events of the summer. The speakers noted the inherent difficulty in contending with different narratives, particularly when tied to being a traveler in a foreign land.

Jessye Kass, who visited Ghana for the third time this summer with the Sorensen Fellowship Program, founded her own non-governmental organization based around art therapy in rural villages. In particular, she brought up the issue of the conflicting aims of anthropology and social justice in difficult situations, since anthropology stipulates detached observation and social justice demands intervention.

She was followed by Kylie Vallario, who spent time studying race and human rights with a focus on public health in Salvatore, Brazil. The necessity of striking a balance between one’s sense of self and cultural understandings were emphasized in her talk. She relayed tales of the conflicts she observed on the topic of academic discussion about religion as well as regarding the question of asserting feminism in a culturally appropriate manner.

Professor Hale traveled to Haiti and Lesotho this summer, and broadened the discussion to address a myriad of situations across the globe, including her past experiences in Senegal. She emphasized that it is people who make places what they are, and advised future study abroad participants to meet local people (to not only socialize with expatriates). Along the same lines, she described the worthiness of learning at least the greetings in the local language, for the sake of both communication and respect for the culture.

Having led the Summer 2011 Brandeis in The Hague program, Professor Gaskins offered another perspective on the notion of narrative through his experiences with the International Criminal Court. There, different local, global, and foreign perspectives compete and attempt to combine to create a solid position through the proceedings. He described the complexity of the issues debated with regards to both the background of the trial and its impact on the local community in the present and future. He ended by noting how small one’s perspective is without multiple sides of an issue, an essential idea applicable to not only law but also life.

From left to right: Prof. Obeng, Jessye Kass '13, Prof. Smith, Prof. Hale

Professor Sundiata first explicitly brought up the notion of narratives when discussing his recent travels in Ghana, related to collective and individual memory. Specifically, he discussed Elmina Castle – one of the most prominent slave trade forts in Ghana – to illustrate the idea of competing narratives. He discussed: heritage tourism, the problems of being a tourist in a place of pain, and the sincerity of a docent during his tour of the castle (who made a point to avoid sensationalism). These stories raising the issue of competing, conflicting, and equally valid narratives to prominence.

Finally, Professor Obeng spoke of his time in India with two undergraduates from Harvard and Wellesley, and the problems with simplistic or one-dimensional views of situations. He discussed this in relation to race, caste, and disenfranchisement in India, pointing out the lack of a single root cause of marginalization, despite the many factors leading to it.

After further discussion regarding experiences and reactions to their own and others’ travels, the event wrapped up with speakers giving advice to those studying or traveling abroad now or in the future. Of the advice given, two sentiments in particular stood out. First, Professor Hale stressed the importance of traveling with the ability to fail: she advised that people know when they travel that is failure possible, and everything will be all right if they do. Second, Kylie Vollario stressed the importance of keeping an open mind not only about the culture one is visiting, but also about one’s self. Only by pushing ones boundaries can the culture and situation be experienced fully.

Filed Under: Africa, Ariana Hajmiragha, Authors, Blogs, Brandeis in The Hague, Europe, Global Campus, Haiti, India, Latin America & the Caribbean, Regions, South Asia, Students

Sorensen Fellows: Updates from the Field

July 26, 2011 By globalaffairs Leave a Comment

This article has been reposted, by permission, from the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life website. You can view the original article here.

June 1, 2011

The 2011 Sorensen Fellows are spending eight weeks “in the field” this summer, grappling with conflict resolution, death, disability, education, migration, and poverty. They return to Brandeis in the fall to process their experiences in the seminar “Internship in Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies.”

Calliope Desenberg '12, conducting a workshop with Centro de Estudios para la Paz (Center for Peace Studies), which is based in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Calliope Desenberg ’12, is working with the Centro de Estudios para la Paz (CEPPA – Center for Peace Studies), in San Jose, Costa Rica. After her first conflict resolution workshop, Calliope wrote, “I wanted the instigators to make up for all their actions, the victims to be paid for all damages done to them, and for everyone to dismantle the poisonous structures of machismo, patriarchy, and the overwhelmingly unfair distribution of resources that frame the entire situation. This, however, was impossible. No matter how angry it makes me, the best we can do is work with the torn, bloody fabric of reality. And while I can’t magically transform it into the beautiful tapestry that I cling to, I can try to patch it up and leave it at least a little better by the time I am done here.”

Sarah Michael ’12, is an intern at Children’s Association for Maximum Potential (CAMP), a summer camp in Texas for children and adults with special needs. Sarah wrote: “One of the CAMPers who has been coming to CAMP for over twenty years spoke about her dislike for people talking over her or like she wasn’t there. Can we see past a disability to see a person? or is that disability a large part of that person and must be accepted along with the person?”

Jessye Kass '13, with a child she worked with in Accra, Ghana.

Jessye Kass ’13, is working in Ghana, as one of the founders of Attukwei Art Foundation (AAF), which brings art projects to students who are living in underprivileged areas, or who have been victims of forced child labor and sex slavery. After doing an art project with kids about what they wanted to be when they were adults, Jessye wrote: “I knew that out of the 15 people who wanted to be doctors, maybe one would get to that level, but what was important was their smiling faces as they held up their beautifully colored drawings and told me that they would help people when they grew up. They would save lives.”

Shani Rosenbaum ’12, is working with the Hotline for Migrant Workers in Tel Aviv, which promotes the rights of migrant workers and refugees and works to eliminate human trafficking in Israel. She wrote of her visit to the children’s detainment in Matan, which houses largely Eritrean and Sudanese teen boys: “The children can’t be deported because they’re considered asylum seekers, and can’t be released because they’re unaccompanied minors. There’s a sort of heavy cheeriness among the staff here; each wears a sighing smile that seems to be part of the uniform of people caring for kids in limbo.”

Piyawat "Paul" Sukijthamapan '13, interning with the Bairo Pite Clinic in East Timor.

Piyawat “Paul” Sukijthamapan ’13, is an intern with the Bairo Pite Clinic (BPC) in East Timor, in South East Asia, which serves an average of 539 members of the resource-poor local community each day. On a tour of the clinic on the morning of his very first day, Paul was thrust right into the action: “Just as we were watching over Maria, the first patient, someone came in asking for help with a 16 year old pregnant teenager who had to be transported to the maternity ward. We were helping with the wheelchair down the stair and through the rough terrain when she lost consciousness and her head swung without direction. We took her out of the wheelchair and carried her the rest of the way, until she could be stabilized.”

Sarah Van Buren ’13, is an intern with Wildflower Home in Chiang Mai, Thailand: a shelter, clinic, and school for women who have been victims of sexual abuse and the sex trade. Sarah wrote: “The women at the Wildflower Home are largely from Hillside tribes, with limited rights and almost no access to formal education. The women are young, ranging from 12 to 25. But these women are strong, both together and alone.”

Filed Under: Abroad, Africa, Authors, Blogs, Israel, Latin America & the Caribbean, Middle East, Regions, South Asia, Staff

Mi Familia Anfitriona

July 25, 2011 By globalaffairs Leave a Comment

Maya Grant ’13 is a Theater major and HSSP minor. This summer, she studied abroad in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Maya at the statue of Christopher Columbus in Santo Domingo

As this week comes to an end I only have a couple of more days left to spend with my host family. Over the past seven weeks they have been the best “Familia Anfitriona” that I could ever ask for. Moments such as blessing the food at lunch, playing with Carol and her tons of princess dolls (thanks to my mom and aunt), or going out with my brothers have all been such a beautiful experience. There is so much love within this family, and from the first day I arrived they have done nothing but share that love with me.

My birthday party was a typical house party with food, music, and great conversation. I think my parents were surprised at how easily I picked up the movement of Merengue and Bachata. They asked me where I learned the dance and I told them that besides dancing with my friends, I just have rhythm. Last night I asked my parents if I could see family photos and Ms. diva “Carol” brings out three different family albums. I got to see pictures of great grandparents, Miguel’s swimming competition, first’s communions, and first’s birthdays.

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Mi cumpleaños con mi familia anfitriona (My birthday with my host family)

Before studying abroad many students told me their doubts about staying with a host family, and I must admit I was very nervous about that aspect of my experience. However after living with the Collados I have no doubt that host families are the perfect way to experience a new culture.

Filed Under: Abroad, Authors, Blogs, Latin America & the Caribbean, Regions, Students

Global Brandeis Profile: Celeste Radosevich, M.A. ’11

May 4, 2011 By Ariana Leave a Comment

Celeste Radosevich, M.A. '11

Program: Master of Arts in Cultural Production

Year of Graduation: 2011

Hometown: Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

Previous Education: B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology and M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Clubs/Organizations: Intern at Jose Mateo Ballet Theater in Cambridge, MA; Salsa y Control Dance Studio in Allston, MA

Awards: Jane’s Travel Grant

“We’re all positioned in different ways, and race, gender, sexuality, ability, and all of those things are very real things that we deal with on a day to day basis.”

Constantly following her passions – be it biology, dance, or Latin American studies – Celeste Radosevich seems to be living the interdisciplinary life that she loves. In addition to minoring in Latin American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she also majored in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and started a flourishing biological society at the school while working in a lab for several years. When asked how she ended up at Brandeis studying Cultural Production, she laughs and says, “that’s everyone’s favorite question.” Her explanation was that while she certainly loves the subject, biology was not quite what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She made it clear that she has diverse interests, and that the Cultural Production program has enabled her to explore her multiple passions. Describing the Cultural Production program as being at the nexus of the arts, humanities, the social sciences, and other disciplines , she commented “I really like interdisciplinary studies: you’re allowed to ask all sorts of questions that you can’t really explore in more traditional academic disciplines.”

Celeste has a strong background in Latin American Studies as well as previous travel experience to the region: she has visited Peru twice, once as a general visit and later on a Foreign Language and Area Studies scholarship from the University of Illinois to study Quechua (a language spoken by nearly ten million people in the Andes). She also maintains a fervent interest in dance. Her receipt of the Jane’s Travel Grant for Latin American Studies fit extremely well with her studies in the social sciences and performing arts, allowing her to combine these two passions.

Focusing on themes of indigenous peoples, tourism, and customs, she describes that salsa is happening as “kind of battling on the dance floor for embodiments of ethnicity and gender, among other things.” She spent three weeks in the city, and describes it as being very diverse, and “a really interesting site, because the industry of Cuzco is tourism and that’s really what everybody does. But if you know the history of the city it’s also known as the capital of the Incan world, and so is also embedded with meanings from centuries of traditions and practices that go beyond the economic value of tourist attractions.”

Celeste describes the project as being interested in “the salsa scene in Cusco, a dance phenomenon that promotes a completely different understanding of so-called ‘Latin’ ethnicities while sort of rejecting what is going on locally in Peru. Popular media often shows Latin dancing in a way that portrays a monolithic, sort of pan-Latin American sense of identity and ethnicity. Because salsa and most so-called ‘Latin’ dances are from the Caribbean, they don’t always echo with the embodiments that are going on in Cuzco around dance.”

Her love for Latin American culture is apparent, and she says she would love to travel more around the region, there being so much more to see and do. While she has not chosen yet from several exciting opportunities for the future, each will be rich in cultural exploration and experience.

Celeste recently performed at the 2011 Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. Through her piece, “Me(ee)ting on the Dance Floor”, she “employ[ed] salsa dancing to explore the tension encountered by salsa musicians between their own dynamic identity and the identity projected onto them by others.”

You can find more information about her research and work experiences on her website: http://web.me.com/cradosevich/celeste/

Filed Under: Ariana Hajmiragha, Authors, Latin America & the Caribbean, Profiles, Regions, Students

Global Trade Summit 2011 Snapshot: “Doing Business in South America”

April 11, 2011 By Ariana Leave a Comment

Punctuated by ongoing football commentary, the panel discussion “Doing Business in South America” presented a smooth picture of the current state of economic and trade affairs in the continent from the macro level (examining the entire region) to the micro level (specifically looking at the example of the bio-tech industry). I do not pretend to know more than the most basic principles of economics, but the wonderful panelists kept what could have been a fairly long hour and a half session lively, interesting, and most importantly convincing of the great progress South America has made economically.

Moderated by Erich Schumann, CEO of Global Atlantic Partners LLC and Adjunct Professor at Brandeis International Business School, the panel was comprised of four excellent speakers. It began with Fabio Lacerda Carneiro, a Brazilian economist currently a Fellow of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, who was followed by Bodo Liesenfeld, Managing Partner in Liesenfeld International GmbH and Board Chair of the German Latin America Business Association. First-time panelist Abe Donner, the Latin American General Manager for New Balance Athletic Shoe, spoke third. The panel was concluded by Carolina Valluci, Genzyme Corporation’s Vice-President of Commercial Operations for Latin America in the Renal & Endocrinology Business Units.

As Valluci explained at the beginning of her presentation, there was an effort on the part of the panelists to start large in scale and end small in scale, and Carneiro and Lissenfeld acted as the perfect start to the session in that regard. The combination of Carneiro’s presentation on the economic situation of Brazil and Lissenfeld’s analysis on the economic situation of Latin America presented a compelling economic picture.

One of the most promising regions, with the combined economies of the countries having grown 6% over the last year (nearly three times the size of India or Russia as a whole, and not far behind China or Japan), Carneiro rightly pointed out that when talking about South America’s economies the discussion is no longer about economic recovery, but rather about further economic growth. Using Brazil as a particularly strong case, Carneiro discussed the strengths and financial successes as well as the infrastructural problems that need to be overcome.

On a broader scale, Liesenfeld painted a similar picture of Latin America as a whole. Emphasizing multiple times that the region is not homogeneous, and is in fact tremendously different in almost every aspect, he nonetheless explained that while the rest of the world was entangled in an economic and financial crisis Latin America only had an economic one. The lack of ties of Latin American banks to the global banking system saved the region from experiencing a similar financial crisis, paving the way to further growth. Liesenfeld also echoed Carneiro in his assessment of infrastructural problems throughout, as well as problems of a large social gap and some political instability.

On a smaller level, Donner presented a look at a particular business within the region: sports shoes. Talking about finding their niche, as well as emphasizing the need of local partnerships, he presented a view of the necessity of specialization of a brand or business. Valluci gave a similar picture with an even more specialized business: the biotech industry. Again, she emphasized the necessity of tailoring plans to the region, as well as the absolute obligation to spend time to cultivate ties with local constituents. She described Genzyme’s keys to success as being education, aspiration, preparation, and perspiration: a testament to the level of commitment and effort necessary to succeed in another market such as South America.

Following the panel, a series of questions were answered that truly underscored the difficulty and opportunity inherent in trade with South America. Certainly there are many obstacles to be overcome, but given the financial banking situation as well as the incredible growth experienced by the region the goal is not unfathomable. Carneiro presented the astounding statistic that over recent years approximately 40 million people have moved up to the middle class in Brazil, a testament and example the incredible growth. South America still has room for improvement, but the road ahead seems promising and ripe with potential.

Read more about the 2011 Global Trade Summit via: the article in BrandeisNOW, Perspectives from the Summit, and the Summit website.

Filed Under: Ariana Hajmiragha, Authors, Blogs, Global Campus, Latin America & the Caribbean, Regions, Students

Global Brandeis Profile: Holly Devon ’11

April 6, 2011 By Ariana 1 Comment

Holly Devon '11

Year of Graduation: 2011
Major: Comparative Literature
Minor: French
Home region/country: Los Angeles, California
Previous Education: Santa Monica High School
Clubs/Organizations on Campus: Brandeis Al-Quds Partnership Fellow, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, WOW Fellow

“I’d just like to continue being in places that make me feel alive, and continue having conversations and contributing however I can.”

While traveling, learning, and working over the course of her Brandeis career, Holly Devon has certainly pursued her passions successfully. Beginning her freshman year, her application and subsequent acceptance to the Brandeis Al-Quds University Partnership program triggered a series of travel experiences both powerful and exciting. She describes how “I just kind of like to get in there, mix it up with whatever opportunities I have. Literature is my passion, intellectually, amongst a lot of others – I’m a very typical Brandeis liberal arts student, I take a little of everything each semester – but I’d just like to continue being in places that make me feel alive, and continue having conversations and contribute however I can.”

Her adventures are certainly reflective of this, having traveled to Istanbul and Jerusalem with the Al-Quds University Partnership, to Kenya with an Oxford volunteer program, to France for study abroad, and to Argentina with a WOW fellowship. The Al-Quds University trip started her involvement with Brandeis and the opportunities therein, and she described it as “just a really humbling experience, really powerful, really hard, scary, but I felt really glad that I did that.”

From there, her summer expeditions became more non-governmental organization focused: she worked with NGOs in both Africa and Latin America, about which she says “comparing the [the two] was also really interesting.” Possessing strong convictions of the necessity for respect on the part of the volunteers for the people being helped as well as on the part of the people for themselves, she describes how she “felt sickened a lot of the time [in Africa] because there was this sort of expectation, in a way, that we were supposed to impart our cultural knowledge on to them. It was kind of paternalistic … there are a lot of problems in Africa that don’t have to do with the obvious – AIDS, poverty, war – I think there’s a lot of it also going on that we neglect to see how important it is that people feel like they have something to offer.”

She emphasizes the importance of respect; saying that what makes the difference is “how you think of it, and how respectful you are.” This emphasis on respect is reflected in her experiences with Confluir, a local NGO in Argentina devoted to acting as a legal and local intermediary between the people of the communities and the NGOs in the region. She describes how it was “also engaged in a larger conversation about poverty and education,” with a markedly greater sense of self-sufficiency and self-respect.

At the same time, it proved to be a challenge to her greater level of immersion into the community and culture. “I’ve never been in a position like that before, where I really felt I had to just trust people around me,” she says. “I didn’t really know anything about my surroundings, I was just trying to kind of plug in and work with them and do anything I could.”

She describes these opportunities as some of the most powerful in her life, and hopes to continue this encountering of new cultures and places this summer, potentially returning to Al-Quds University to foster more inter-student relationships between that university and ours. Whatever her future holds, it will surely be filled with more powerful experiences and conversations, helping and making her feel alive.

For more information about the Al Quds University/Brandeis University Partnership, please click here.

Filed Under: Africa, Ariana Hajmiragha, Authors, Europe, Israel, Latin America & the Caribbean, Middle East, Profiles, Regions, Students

Global Brandeis Profile: Elise Allan ’12

November 19, 2010 By Marie Zazueta Leave a Comment

Major: International and Global Studies

Elise Allan '12 studies in Panama

Minors: Latin American and Latino Studies, French and Francophone Studies, Anthropology

Graduation: Spring 2012

Hometown: Swedesboro, New Jersey

Previous Education: Kingsway Regional High School

Brandeis Clubs/Organizations: Campus Center Team, Varsity Swim Team, Casa Guatemala (Waltham Initiative), Astronomy Club (co-president), Mountain Club, Surf Club, Cheese Club, Skydiving Club, Photography Club, Aviation Club

Elise Allan is spending her Fall semester in Quito, Ecuador at the University of San Francisco with the IES Abroad Quito: Direct Enrollment program. Over the summer, she had an internship in Panama through the United Nations Population Fund. For the Spring semester, she will be attending Paul Valery University in Montpellier, France with the University of Minnesota: Integrated Studies program. She hopes to continue her experience abroad by staying in Europe to work or intern this summer.

Tell me a little bit about your field work experience. What was it like working in another country?

Elise and a friend at the United Nations in Panama

Panama is incredibly modern and bustling, but in the rest of the country you find quite the opposite: small, often poor towns in the mountains, along the coast, or isolated in the jungle, many indigenous people, dirt roads, and the like. I was able to experience the country as well as the work of the United Nations on many levels. I attended meetings and events with partners, met really inspiring and influential people, and worked outside of the city with an ongoing project concerning the provision of supplies, medical care, and the education of pregnant indigenous women. I worked with population data to identify particular aspects of a society that needs reinforcement. In Panama, the population is highly concentrated in the few urban centers, notably Panama City and Colon, which are incredibly modern, but the rest of the country is rural. Thus a great deal of the population consists of members of indigenous populations. My own research through interviews concluded the most widely recognized problems by these populations was accessibility, as there are few roads throughout many of the jungle regions. What I found is that communication is a key partner to a well-rounded understanding of a society in order to progress and succeed on all levels. It takes communication to uncover a problem, execute a solution, and maintain the support needed for future progress.

What are the highlights of your Brandeis education?

My Spanish class with Professor Scott Gravina this past Spring semester enabled the launch of Casa Guatemala, a tutoring and college support program geared towards for Waltham High School students whose parents are immigrants or who immigrated to the U.S. themselves.

What do you think it means to be a “global citizen”? How might you describe its importance to a friend or colleague?

To be a global citizen is to recognize that you are bound by the commonality of humanity. It is realizing that the problems that may be geographically far impact you no matter where you are. It means to have world perspective, to understand, empathize with, and to be aware of the world around you and the role you play in it.

Which one specific memory/moment sticks out in your mind the most (in regards to your global experiences), and why?

I visited a small village in the Western part of Panama to observe an educational convention for indigenous leaders. I got to sit in on the talks and participate in some exercises, but the best part was that I got to pull aside a number of attendees and interview them one-on-one. I gained so much perspective through the conversations, the live connections.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?

My work abroad has made my perspectives more informed and profound. When you go out into the world, it becomes both bigger and smaller; you realize how much need there is for so many people, which simultaneously emphasizes the closeness and connection you share with all people in this world. You feel the vastness of the world’s problems, but they become more personal, more real.

Filed Under: Authors, Latin America & the Caribbean, Marie Zazueta, Profiles, Regions, Shelby Bleiweis, Staff, Students

A Day of Experiential Learning

November 12, 2010 By Marie Zazueta Leave a Comment

The 2010 Experiential Learning Expo

On October 21, I attended the Experiential Learning Expo, held in the Shapiro Campus Center. I talked to two different students who went abroad over the summer. Each had very different enriching and interesting experiences.

Shannon Festin ’12 is a Health: Science, Society and Policy major. For eight weeks over the summer, she interned with Las Damas Voluntaries at El Hospital Nacional de Los Ninos in San Jose, Costa Rica. Shannon found her internship through researching the AIDE website. She ultimately decided she wanted to go to Costa Rica for two reasons: to improve her Spanish skills and, more specifically, to explore why Costa Rica is known as having a health care system that is comparable to that of the United States.

Shannon Festin '12 speaks about her internship at a hospital in San Jose, Costa Rica

She discovered that the reasons had to do with Costa Rica’s greater focus on health and education – not as much money goes to the military as is does in the U.S. From this experience, Festin realized that she wants to work in health care in her future career, particularly with marginalized groups and children. The children who she cared for in the hospital had a range of illnesses, from cancer to burns, as well as children with Down’s syndrome and other complications from birth. Festin decided to intern abroad rather than in the U.S. because she wanted to see another country’s health care system and study how a country’s culture impacts the health of its citizens. For example, according to Festin, Costa Rica is more “laid-back” than the U.S., as well as more focused on family and religion. It was interesting to her to explore the different ways in which these factors influence the health care system in that nation.

Chia Jorento '11 presents on teaching children English in Siena, Italy

Chia Jorento ’11 is an English and Italian Studies double major. This past spring and summer, she lived in Siena, Italy. She studied abroad in the spring and then stayed on for the summer with Hiatt’s World of Work summer funding program. Jorento found this internship through her study abroad program, which had an internship component. For the summer, she stayed with the same organization she interned with during the spring semester. As someone with a strong interest in education, Jorento had an enriching experience teaching English to 3^rd and 4^th graders. She prepared materials, worked with the kids to perform skits and scenes in English, and recorded language videos to help her students learn English. In her Brandeis classes, Jorento still has the opportunity to speak Italian regularly. Through this experience, Jorento had a change in life plans. She now knows that she wants to live abroad after graduation, preferably in Siena. She is passionate about education and hopes to teach long-term.

The Experiential Learning Expo was a great opportunity to see the work that other students have done while abroad. It was interesting to see how these experiences have influenced the career plans of these two presenters. Working abroad gives one the opportunity to be deeply involved in another culture, an experience that Brandeis students should not pass up.

Filed Under: Authors, Blogs, Europe, Global Campus, Latin America & the Caribbean, Marie Zazueta, Regions, Students

Empowering Through Education

November 9, 2010 By globalaffairs Leave a Comment

From Brandeis University’s Experiential Learning YouTube channel, this video profiles Brandeis alum Shaina Gilbert ’10, who founded the organization ETE Camp in her native Haiti — drawing upon her classwork and service work in college.

Filed Under: Haiti, Latin America & the Caribbean, Regions, Video

Haiti Global Affairs Table — An Emotional and Informative Afternoon

October 20, 2010 By Marie Zazueta Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, October 13, the first Global Affairs Table of the semester took place, this time with a focus on Haiti. The Global Affairs Table was started in the Fall of 2008 as a collaboration between the student organization Gen Ed Now and the Wien International Scholars, with the goal of bringing a global focus to Brandeis by creating truly inclusive dialogue on important and current global issues. This event focused on the issues facing Haiti since the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti 9 months ago, as well as measures being taken by Brandeis students and faculty ranging from relief work to literacy efforts.

Each member of the Brandeis community who spoke had a different, valuable perspective on Haiti to give. Professor Jane Hale directs a Family Literacy Project called Famni Ki Li Ansamn, which is Haitian Creole for “Families Reading Together”. She spoke about the importance of Brandeis as a research institution in relation to Haiti and how students and faculty can contribute. Supreetha Gubbala ’12 spent a month during the summer of 2010 in an emergency medical relief camp in the district of Delmas, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Napoleon Lherisson ’11 is a Haitian American who visited Haiti for the first time this summer and is on the Brandeis Haiti Relief Efforts steering committee. Lastly, Patrick Pascal Sainti-Firmin is a graduate student in the International Health Policy and Management Program. He is a Fulbright scholar, originally from Port-au-Prince, and is a medical doctor in Haiti.

The discussion ranged between many intriguing topics. One topic that I found particularly interesting was the disconnect between NGOs and the government. Haiti has more NGOs than any other country, over 3,000, yet as a whole they have not been very productive in terms of relief efforts and in terms of communicating with the government. One conclusion that the speakers came to is that the possibility of change is there, there just needs to be that final push to mobilize that progress.

The Brandeis Global Affairs table for Haiti was very informative overall, and the combination of knowledgeable Brandeis students and faculty members resulted in a very interesting discussion.

Filed Under: Authors, Blogs, Global Affairs Updates, Global Campus, Haiti, Latin America & the Caribbean, Marie Zazueta, Regions, Students

Images of Hope for Haiti

October 12, 2010 By globalaffairs Leave a Comment

In early September, five Brandeis alumni medical professionals traveled to Haiti on a volunteer medical mission. Participant Michael Forman shares these photos, which illustrate both the beautiful and the bleak aspects of the nation. Read the Justice article here.