Teaching Latin America and the Caribbean is sponsoring a talk by Dr. Jennifer Parker Talwar, associate professor of sociology at Penn State Lehigh Valley. Dr. Talwar will be speaking on "Food and Social Change in India: Drawing links to Latin America" on April 21 at 12:15 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center.

According to Dr. Talwar, the new politics of food characterizing India today finds expression at both symbolic and structural levels and is founded on a set of contradictory forces concerning democratic ideology and notions of healthy living. This talk will discuss some of the social and economic impacts of neoliberal policies including liberalization of food imports, the promotion of industrial and genetically modified agriculture and mono-cropping, and the rise of multinational chains that have created a new landscape of consumption culture. Linkages will be drawn to similar tendencies in Latin America.

Jennifer Parker Talwar received her Ph.D in Sociology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York with distinction in 1997. After a visiting professorship at Bucknell University she joined Penn State Lehigh Valley. She did a postdoctoral fellowship with SSRC, International Migration Program, in 2001-2002, and a Fulbright Fellowship in India in 2002-2003. She is the author of Fast Food Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream (Westview Press, 2002) and is currently working on a book about economic liberalization, entrepreneurialism, and changing cultural institutions in India.

The Spring 2009 Student Research Conference for Teaching Latin America and the Caribbean showcased the work of students in communications, philosophy, psychology, and sociology classes.

At the April 16 event, students presented either slideshows or posters summarizing their work.

In the powerpoint slideshow category, the winner was Amber Cicchitto, for her work on Haiti. In second place was James Davis, with a presentation on Peru.

In the poster category, the winner was Larry Nelson, for research entitled "Ratings of Personal Characteristics as Related to Perceived Accents." In second place was Emily Blake, Richard Whitney, and Brandon Smith, for their presentation on "Teaching International Web 2.0."

The entries were judged by Tahirah Abdullah, Bernie Cerasaro, Victoria Garwood, David Gribble, Andy Holtz, and Amelia Mitchell, with David Gribble computing the final scores to determine the winners.

The subject of this play is Shamanism in the upper Amazon rain forest. The story is adapted from a retelling by Lawrence Yep in a collection of stories from many cultures called The Tree of Dreams, and expanded with references to the work of ethnobiologist Mark J. Plotkin and the documentaries of Dean Jeffries.

Dates: April 23-25, 2009
Time: April 23, Common Period; April 24 and April 25 at 7:30 PM
Location: Ostermayer Room, Student Community Center

As part of the Teaching International Program at Penn State Greater Allegheny, Dr. Ian G. Rawson, Chairman of the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer, will deliver a lecture titled, “Poverty, Natural Disasters and Malnutrition: A Message of Hope from Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) in Haiti. Dr. Rawson's talk, originally scheduled for January and delayed because of inclement weather, is rescheduled for Wednesday, April 29, at 6:00 p.m.  in Frable 117.

The hospital is a model for health care organizations in developing countries, and provides health care and community health and development for more than 300,000 people in Haiti’s central Artibonite Valley. “Dealing with difficult childbirth, malnutrition, physical trauma, and the diseases of tropical poverty, HAS serves as clinic, emergency room, school, and outpost of hope—headquarters for an integrated health system dedicated to prevention as well as cure,” according to its website: http://hashaiti.org/.

Following the lecture, guests will be invited to a reception with Dr. Rawson at 7 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room in the Student Community Center.  Haitian art is exhibited in several locations on campus that guests will be welcome to view.  The art was provided by Lucy Rawson and the Friends of the HAS.

Dr. Rawson previously served as president of the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania, president of AmeriNet Central, and as a senior manager with Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation and Allegheny General Hospital. He is an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University and three other Pittsburgh area universities and serves on numerous community health organization boards. Dr. Rawson holds a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree in political science from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He also attended the Harvard University School of Public Health's executive program in health planning and management.

Thomas Pogge received his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Harvard, where he studied under John Rawls, an American political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Pogge has written many essays and reviews as well as books including World poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reform. In addition, Pogge has received grants from the Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies, the National Institutes of Health, the MacArthur Foundation, and The Princeton Center for Human Values, among many others. Dr. Pogge is also editor of social and political philosophy for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and serves on the editorial boards of 17 journals. In addition, he is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science.

The 2008-2009 Teaching International Program at Penn State Greater Allegheny focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean. The program began in 2004 to promote greater awareness of global trends and civic engagement and to broaden the student's understanding of intercultural and international issues.

Dr. Pogge's visit is being sponsored by Penn State Greater Allegheny 's Office of Academic Affairs.

Alejandro de la Fuente will present "The New Afro-Cuban Movement and the Debate on Race in Contemporary Cuba," at 12:15 p.m. Feb. 19, in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center at Penn State Greater Allegheny.

De la Fuente is the author of "Havana and the Atlantic in the Sixteenth Century" (University of North Carolina Press, 2008). His talk is part of the Teaching International Speaker Series.

Damion Jackson will give a presentation titled "The Three River City: Gateway to Freedom" at 7 p.m. Feb. 19, in the Lobby of the Residence Hall at Penn State Greater Allegheny.

Jackson will give a presentation on the history of blacks in the development of the city of Pittsburgh.

As part of the campus focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, Lilly Abreau will be performing at 6 p.m. on February 12 at the Dining Room Stage of the Student Community Center.

Lilly Abreu is a Brazilian artist with numerous appearances as a recitalist and soloist with orchestras and chamber ensembles in France, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, the United States and Brazil. She is an accomplished popular music artist, performing regularly some of the greatest tunes of the Brazilian repertoire, as well as Broadway and Jazz standards. She teaches voice at Carnegie Mellon University and Chatham University, and Portuguese at University of Pittsburgh.

This program is also being offered in conjunction wtih Black History Month, and is open to the public.

Award-winning musician Greg Adams presented his research on the Caribbean and African roots of the banjo, illustrated with demonstrations on authentic and reproduction instruments.  Maryland-based Mr. Adams has done extensive research on banjo roots and styles.

For more information, visit his and other web sites:
http://www.banjodatabase.org/: prototype database
www.myspace.com/banjoroots: banjo roots cyber-outreach
www.myspace.com/banjargreg: Greg's personal MySpace page
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/guides/Banjo.html: field recordings at the Library of Congress

Students from a variety of disciplines presented their work relating to the campus international regional focus for this year, Latin America and the Caribbean, on November 19, 2008. Many of the students also emphasized the theme of food security. Student work was displayed in a variety of formats.

Judges rated the submissions on the content, the use of the medium to present the information, and on the students' explanations of their work. Entries were judged by current and retired faculty and staff: Linda Curinga, Dr. Richard Frushell, Victoria Garwood, Lee Vercoe, and Sam Zabec.

Winners (in alphabetical order by title)
Title	Authors	Class
Dominican Times	Robin Bennett, Douglas Hodak, Kristin Biondo	International Management
Food Security and Civil Unrest in Haiti	Food Security and Civil Unrest in Haiti	Social Problems
Latin American Beans: Right to Your Cup	Cara Kemerer, Lee Marts, Lexie Chan, Rochon Washington, Stewart Brown	Introduction to Business
Teaching International Promotion Video	Eric Schleicher, Elissa Lapinski, Danielle Bleil, Brendan Smith, Tamara Brumfield, Amanda Boszan, Shyla Kachmarek	Public Relations and Advertising
The 2008 Presidential Election and Attitudes Toward Food Security in the Americas and the Caribbean	Yidi Li, Stephanie Citriniti	Introduction to Social Psychology & Basic Research Methods in Psychology
Using Web 2.0 for the Teaching International Program	Emily Blake, Cassie Clelland, Charles Howell, Lee Marts, Husani Thompson, Richard Whitney	Public Relations and Advertising
Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order by title)
Title	Authors	Class
21st Street Coffee and Tea	Nikeyla Satchell, Dayton Woodard, Anthony Yang, Eric Waites	Introduction to Business
Bolivia in Dire Straits	Zakiyyah Conerly	Honors Social Problems
Business in Jamaica: What Multinational Corporations Should Know	Ted Rice, Heather Kemp	International Management
Food Insecurity in Haiti	Jennifer Troutman	Honors Social Problems
La Prima Expresso	Renee Beckles, Jill Gattegno, Khalid Hatcher, Arianna Lee, Melanie Mak	Introduction to Business
Profitability or Social Responsibility	Dayna Abbott, Jason Barrow, Sasha Brown, Tenay Russell, Sunny Wang	Introduction to Business
Venezuela	Kimberley Jones, Meghan Ulmer	Genetics, Ecology, & Evolution

The students will present at the Carnegie Library in McKeesport, for their "Story Hour" and on campus for elementary school children in the PEPP program.

The campus and community presentation will be on Sunday, December 7, 2:00pm in the Ostermayer Room

The players will also perform one of the four stories in the production for the Alumni Society's Breakfast With Santa event on Saturday, December 13.

As part of the Teaching International curriculum at Penn State Greater Allegheny, Tangueros de Ley, a local musical and dance group whose repertoire includes all the most popular tangos, milongas, and valses, will perform on November 11 at 6 p.m. in the campus Student Community Center. 

Each year, Penn State Greater Allegheny adopts a country or region of the world as a common theme to inspire teaching and scholarship. The 2008-09 themes are Latin America and the Caribbean and Food Security.  Courses and activities are aimed at advancing a greater understanding of globalization processes and their impact on the lives of people around the world, including our own region.

Since 2002, Tangueros de Ley have been playing “milongas”---a style of dance originating in Argentina and Uruguay---as well as hosting acclaimed tango social events grounded in dance and enriched with other tango-themed cultural arts, including composition, visuals arts, and videography among others.

“Penn State Greater Allegheny is fortunate to have this talented and creative musical group perform for our students and local community,” said Dr. Veronica Montecinos, professor of sociology. 

For more information on Tangueros de Ley, visit http://www.tanguerosdeley.com/.

This year's program is entitled Choices for a Warm and Hungry Planet. Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in all or part of this international teleconference, which will provide an overview of the current state of climate change as a factor affecting world hunger, global peace and security. The teleconference will examine the issues affected, the challenges posed and diversity of approaches that will be required to respond. As one expert has said the “catastrophes are not democratic.” The multifaceted ripple effects are being felt from Main Street to the UN and are inspiring urgent searches for new civil society partnerships including the academic community. Three experts from very different backgrounds will be our guests. Dr. Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Center for Global Development; Dr. Siwa Msangi, from the International Food Policy Research Institute; and Mark Ritchie, Minnesota’s Secretary of State will discuss the many cross-cutting issues and consider ways to encourage collaborative efforts by concerned citizens in every sector of society. (www.worldfooddayusa.org)

The talk is sponsored by the Teaching International program, which has food security as the theme for this year.The talk is sponsored by the Teaching International program, which has food security as the theme for this year.

Date: October 16, 2008
Time: Noon- 3 pm
Location: Ostermayer Room, SCC

Ero and Dolney will speak about the work of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, which serves 11 counties and over 350 member organizations (food pantries, soup kitchens, etc.) in western Pennsylvania. Their talk will address the issue of hunger and the world food crisis from a local and regional perspective. This event is open to the entire campus community.

The talk is sponsored by the Teaching International program, which has food security as the theme for this year.

Date: October 7, 2008
Time: Common period (12:15-1:30 PM)
Location: Frable 117 

This event is part of the Teaching International initiative focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean, with a theme of food security.

The international teaching program began in 2004 to promote greater awareness of global trends and civic engagement and to broaden the student's understanding of intercultural and international issues. This event is free and open to the public. For information, call 412-675-9143.

Eson will speak about the work of the Progress Fund, a Community Development Financial Institution that creates jobs and improves communities by providing entrepreneurial coaching and capital, and more specifically about their new PGH (Produce Grown Here) program that seeks to link local farmers to local businesses, thereby promoting greater community health, food safety, environmental benefits, and local economic support. Eson was invited by the Introduction to Business (BA 100S) class, but his presentation is open to all students and faculty.

According to the BA 100S instructor, Dr. Lydia Lockhart, the class is incorporating both civic engagement and Teaching Latin America this semester.  With the assistance of Sara Ahrens, community engagement coordinator, the class will be exploring the issues of fair trade certified coffee with local (and possibly national) coffee roasters in the context of multiple business topics.

On September 11, Sam Patti, owner of La Prima Expresso, spoke to the class as part of a discussion of ethics and corporate responsibility. On September 18, Alexis Shaffer, owner of 21st Street Coffee and Tea, will speak on the global marketplace.

Kelly Library is sponsoring its second annual display of resources for campus international programming. The display can be viewed through September 24.

Head Librarian Kay Harvey and Reference Librarian Mari Soulsby coordinated the presentation of books, films, and other reference materials for faculty to use in their classes.

This year's focus is on Latin America and the Caribbean, and there is an associated theme of food security. The pictures to the right and below also show some of the paintings on loan to the campus from Friends of Hôpital Albert Schweitzer, Haiti, for the year's study of the region.

Dr. Manlove provides this background on reggae:

A moving and easily identifiable music, reggae also inevitably tells stories—whose narratives and sacred roots are often missed for the enjoyable beat. Unlike most other popular music of the twentieth century however, the stories sung in reggae are not about any one individual—their hopes, and dreams, and feelings—but rather are about the modern struggle of sacred versus profane, of a community against 3 colonizing forces: commerce, government, and organized religion. Reggae is a transatlantic cultural transaction between West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. In addition to its aesthetic and spiritual/folk significances, reggae also tells the stories behind the rebellious political life of the Caribbean, and Jamaica (becoming independent only in 1962) in particular.

Also on September 2, students in participating classes will view the film The Harder They Come, which portrays Jamaican society 12 years after independence and includes much reggae music. Dr. Manlove will introduce the film and provide the context. He recently had an essay on this film accepted for publication in Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts & Letters for their Winter, 2008 special issue ("The Politics Issue"). The paper is entitled "Reggae and Rastafarian “Versions” of “Dread” Politics in The Harder They Come."

The first film, The Harder They Come, is a 1973 Jamaican classic, one of the most beloved and longest-running of all international cult favorites. The film expresses the live-wire Jamaican spirit--an impoverished Africa tuned to American radio. Produced and directed by Perry Henzel, the film incorporates "outlaw justice" very common to many American westerns. Released 12 years after Jamaica achieved independence, The Harder They Come also reflects the disenchantment that followed the post independence exodus from the country's small hamlets to the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica's largest city, where a grinding urban poverty awaited.  The story is set to seductive reggae rhythms. The story follows its main character, Ivan, who dreams of being a singer from his arrival in Kingston, through continuing disasters until a final climax, where Ivan breaks from his passive behavior and begins to wreak his revenge.

The campus will host a double-feature on Tuesday, October 7. The first film with be the 1989 Brazilian work of Jorge Furtado, Isle of Flowers, which tracks the path of a tomato from garden to dump with the help of a monotone voiceover and a collection of bizarre images. A humorous film, the message it delivers on how humans treat each other is anything but humorous. The film was awarded the Margarida de Prata (Silver Daisy) , calling it "the best Brazilian film of the year" in 1990. In 1995, Isle of Flowers was chosen by the European critics as one of the 100 most important short films of the century.

The Mexican film, Like Water for Chocolate, filmed in 1993 and directed by Alfonso Arau, tells the story of a young woman who learns to suppress her passions under the eye of a stern mother, but channels them into her cooking.   The steady stream of cuisine is likely to make moviegoers hungry. The film incorporates magic realism with a good story line.

Films are also planned for November and December showings as well as the spring, 2009 semester. All films will be shown in the Ostermayer room of the Student Community Center at 6:00 p .m. Showings are open to students and faculty in participating classes.

Film Series Dates:

Tuesday, September 2
The Harder They Come - Jamaica

Tuesday, October 7
Isle of Flowers - Brazil
Like Water for Chocolate - Mexico

Thursday, November 8
XXY - Argentina

Tuesday, December 2
Nine Queens - Argentina

For all showings:
Time:   6:00 p.m.
Place:  Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center

The campus is currently displaying 32 works of art on loan from the Friends of HAS (Hôpital Albert Schweitzer), Haiti. The Friends of HAS, Haiti, is a Pittsburgh-based organization that supports the operation of the rural Haitian hospital through the sale of Haitian artwork. The organization’s goals, along with its support of the hospital, are to educate the public about Haiti, the genius of its creativity, and the medical needs of its people.

The organization’s curator, Ms. Josie Pellier, organized the Penn State Greater Allegheny display in cooperation with Dr. Verónica Montecinos, Professor of Sociology, and Dr. Margaret Signorella, Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies, who are coordinating the campus’s current Teaching International Program with a focus on food security and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Haitian artwork will be exhibited throughout the current academic year at various campus locations.   The J. Clarence Kelly Library displays a variety of styles of Haitian art including Saint Soleil Paintings, Village Scenes, and Village Ceremonies.

The Frable building’s Conference Center houses paintings with the theme of Haitian local life and the role of the hospital in improving health in Haiti, which is considered an impoverished nation. The Office of Academic Affairs displays two decorative flags.

The third location is the Student Community Center (SCC).  Paintings in the Ostermayer Room depict the history of Haiti and images related to food and food security. 

Throughout the 2008-09 academic year, Penn State Greater Allegheny has scheduled a series of academic and cultural events based on the current Teaching International theme. A speakers’ series, exhibits, and musical events,  all of which will be open to the public,  and a film series, field trips, a common reading and civic engagement activities planned for PSUGA students are publicized through the campus’s events calendar.

In 2007-08 the campus's international focus was on Teaching South Asia.   Over 20 Greater Allegheny faculty and staff members cooperated in exploring and reflecting on various aspects of South Asia's history, culture, and economic, social and political reality.  

Greater Allegheny's Teaching International initiative began in 2004 with a Teaching Haiti theme.  In 2005-06 the initiative focused on Africa and in 2006-07 on India.   In each academic year faculty developed course lectures, supported student research projects, developed service learning components to their courses, produced theater productions, hosted films and scheduled guest lecturers as components of the chosen academic focus.

The overall objective of the Teaching International initiative is to increase the student's global perspective and to broaden their understanding of intercultural and international issues.   The initiative also supports the overall University goal of fostering diversity throughout the Penn State system.