The Southern History and Culture Exploration Program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, which is directly supported by the NAFSA Association of International Educators, kicked off the first year with a number of seminars, and educational travel programs. International students at UNC-CH have a unique opportunity to learn about Southern history and culture.
The Program was implemented in the fall of 1997 by providing a number of activities that initially focused on the University, Chapel Hill and surrounding communities and then the participants went on the road to tour and learn more about other parts of North Carolina.
The first learning tour of the UNC campus was held on October 21, 1997. A very informative talk was provided by a member of the UNC History Department, Jim Leloudis, who detailed the history of the nation's first public university. Students were able to trace the development of the University from its founding in 1795, through its expansion at the beginning of the twentieth century, and its rapid growth in the last twenty years. Professor Leloudis also provided the students with an instructive overview of the growth of higher education in America using the UNC campus as a guide for this intellectual tour.
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The next trip came several days later when our group toured the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area. Conducted by the Horace Williams House, our guides traced the growth of the town of Chapel Hill, showing how the town and the University developed side by side, and the unique symbiotic relationship that exists between the two communities. We viewed some of the oldest sites in Chapel Hill dating back to the founding of the region, as well as the Morehead Planetarium, and North Carolina Botanical gardens.
At the end of October, twelve students representing various countries got a taste of Appalachia when the group went to Asheville, N.C. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, Asheville is one of the most popular resorts in the eastern U.S. It is also an important cultural center in western North Carolina. Our group took advantage of this by visiting Pack Place, an education, arts and science center, housing the Asheville Art Museum and the YMI Cultural Center, an important center for the history of African-Americans in western N.C. as well as a permanent collection of African artifacts. The group also visited the Thomas Wolfe House, touring the childhood home of the famous N.C. author, gaining some insight into his life and Southern letters. Moreover, we were able to tour the Folk Art Center not far from Asheville, which offered the group a sampling of the rich craft tradition of southern Appalachia. After our tour of Asheville, we then spent some time on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, visiting gorgeous Looking Glass Falls and Mount Pisgah, before returning to Chapel Hill.
The generous support of Mr. Ben Jones made this a memorable visit.
Those who attended the Asheville trip: Front row: Fissehaye Tecle(Eritrea), June Wang (China), A student from Taiwan, Britta Jokinnen (Finland), Rakhima Izmaihlova (Kazakhstan), Back row: Jonathan Breugel (France), Yonas Mesfun (Eritrea), Thomas Pegelow (Germany), Gil Arumi (Spain), Axel Schwartz (Germany), Rotraut Schmidt (Germany), Katya Panina (Russia).
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In mid-January, the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) sponsored a musical evening for our participants, as we attended a performance of the Red Clay Ramblers at the Carrboro Arts Center. Before the performance, David Whisnant, a professor in the English Department at UNC, offered the students an overview of the group (the original members of which were UNC students), and then discussed the southern roots of the music they perform and preserve, adding some historical perspective. Then we were treated to the distinctive stylings of the Ramblers themselves-a wonderful evening!
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Professor David Whisnant (center) providing a 30 min. talk about the roots of southern music and the history of the Red Clay Ramblers. Program participants had a chance to speak with some of the musicians at the end of the program.
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Those who attended the Red Clay Ramblers concert: Axel Schwartz (Germany), Jonathan Breugel (France), Gil Arumi (Spain), Thomas Pegelow (Germany), June Wang (China), Britta Jokinnen (Finland). |
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At the beginning of February, we traveled to Winston-Salem to view some of the German heritage of North Carolina in Old Salem. Adjacent to downtown Winston-Salem, Old Salem is a living-history restoration of the Moravian church town of Salem founded in 1766. Much of the original town has been restored or reconstructed to re-create an eighteenth century atmosphere. We toured the town and viewed the various artisans at work, demonstrating how the first Moravian settlers carved a town out of the North Carolina wilderness and maintained that community over the course of the nineteenth century. While in Winston-Salem the group also toured Wake Forest University.
Participants were provided with a number of opportunities to learn about life in Old Salem. Those who made the Winston-Salem trip: Axel Schwartz (Germany), Jonathan Breugel (France), Gil Arumi (Spain), Thomas Pegelow (Germany), Mathias Heidel (Germany), Katya Panina (Russia). |
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On the weekend of April 3-5, SHCEP took a trip to Wilmington, N.C. To begin, the group toured the Cape Fear Museum, one of the most important regional museums in the U.S., showing how the community of Wilmington grew from a sleepy colonial community, to one of the most important ports in the southeast. Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, much of the cotton exported to Europe from the southern states passed through Wilmington and our group got a first-hand glimpse of this as we toured the Cotton Exchange, a shopping and museum area in the historic downtown district. There we were to see how cotton traveled from all over the South to the textile mills of Europe.
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Those who made the Willmington trip clockwise: Katya Panina (Russia), Jonathan Breugel (France), Andrea Meier (Switzerland), Galina Varganova (Russia), Gil Arumi (Spain), Axel Schwartz (Germany), Claudia Heierli (Switzerland). Missing from photo are Silvana Rugiati (Argentina), Monika Naf (Switzerland). |
Afterwards, the group wandered through the downtown area touring various landmarks, including several mansions, the St. John's Art Museum, and the USS North Carolina a World War II destroyer moored in the Wilmington harbor. Then we saw how a typical plantation in southeastern North Carolina operated, touring the Poplar Grove Plantation, a peanut farm ten miles north of Wilmington. The group also got a chance to sample the beautiful North Carolina coast, despite the inclement weather, before we returned to Chapel Hill.
The Program has been successful to date in attracting students and scholars from various foreign countries and providing information about North Carolina and the South in a travelogue fashion. Organizing the trips, coordinating speakers, lodging, transportation and meals is the most difficult part of the program and has been brilliantly managed by Tony Young, the Program Coordinator.
Attracting students from Asian countries, especially Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China continues to present obstacles since many of the students are so completely focused on their academic priorities at UNC-CH. We hope to provide the remaining two trips, one to the Somerset Plantation and Edenton, the other to Fayettevile and Fort Bragg during the summer vacation. We hope to attract foreign students who will be on campus or in Chapel Hill during the summer and may have less academic pressure on them at that time.
To a large degree, the initial program goals have been met. However, the Principal Investigator, Bogdan T. Leja realizes that the program as initially outlined in the project proposal to NAFSA was overly ambitious. Our first year of operations included promoting efforts and organizing a program that is new and unique to UNC-CH foreign student community. The many activities and necessary schedule adjustments to cater to the special needs of students from many different backgrounds also provided its own set of challenges. The number of participants were limited on certain trips due to costs in overnight lodging and transportation.
In summation, we provided many foreign students a more complete view of North Carolina and the South which they will carry back to their home countries in their memories and hopefully the program promoted the establishment of new friendships that will last beyond student days at Chapel Hill.
The Program will be reviewed by the three principal grant writers and a presentation for continued funding will be made to the UNC-CH Provost, Richard Richardson.
The proposed development of an SHCEP course is driven by the need
to institutionalize the Program and streamline year to year
administrative responsibilities. Developing an actual SHCEP course
which provides one or two UNC-CH credits and is targeted at foreign
students as part of their overall introduction to the South and North
Carolina would not be that difficult since UNC-CH contains a wealth
of resources and expertise on the South.
To this end, foreign students requesting information on available
programs at UNC-CH would receive a brief outline in print on SHCEP as
part of the overall introductory packet of materials, and could
continue their review by visiting the program and its accomplished
activities on the internet. Application and preregistration for the
course could be done ahead of time on-line or in person upon arrival
at UNC-CH.
Associated with campus classroom time would be a complete set of
travel dates and places of educational and historical value that
students would visit.The participants would have a complete syllabus
and be aware of educational requirements and assignment completion
dates.
In this way, once the initial parameters are established, the course
can be repeated year to year with less management effort and within
set expenditure lines.
The review committee will engage university administrators and
outline this plan of action and gather responses. If plans are
approved, than SHCEP can play a central role in providing foreign
students an extremely valuable learning experience while building
understanding and friendship.