American Anthropological Association

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published an “Innovators in Internationalization” article on East Carolina U’s Global Understanding program. According to ECU’s website, “The Global Understanding Course provides a format for students to learn about other cultures without traveling.”

The 23 participating international institutions communicate through live video conferencing and chat technology. Students discuss topics ranging from college and family life to stereotypes and prejudices. Partners email each other on a daily basis, maintain reflective journals, and jointly write a paper for the course, developing their expressive and listening skills.

Dr. Jami Leibowitz (leibowitzj [at] ecu.edu), associate professor of anthropology, is Lead Teacher for the course. Additional primary contacts include Dr. Elmer Poe (poee [at] ecu.edu) and Dr. Rosina Chia (chiaro [at] ecu.edu).