The original objectives of the UNC-CH Southern History and Culture Exploration Program (SHCEP) as outlined in the initial grant proposal were twofold: to deepen international students' understanding of the American South, and to help them look beyond the often simplistic stereotypes of the region to consider the South's vibrant cultures, development and human relations. With support from NAFSA, International Educators, USIA, and UNC-CH staff, we feel the program set a precedent in achieving outlined objectives and setting up a novel educational service for foreign students. Through a series of trips to various locations in North Carolina and associated lectures designed to add both historical and cultural context to these outings, the SHCEP Program offered UNC's international students an important and detailed exposure to North Carolina and the South. From the mountains of Appalachia to the Atlantic seacoast, UNC's international students sampled a wide range of North Carolina history and culture that in certain terms reflects that of other great Southern states.
For a complete listing of events follow link to ACTIVITIES COMPLETED
Tony Young, Program Coordinator, Southern History and
Culture Exploration Program
Bogdan Leja, Director of Outreach, University Center for
International Studies, Principal Investigator SHCEP
David Moltke-Hansen, Director, Center for the Study of the
American South
Diana Levy, Coordinator, International Center
Sharon Glover, Administrative Manager, UCIS and SHCEP
Accountant
Sharon Caughill, Office Manager, Center for the Study of the
American South
Ben Jones, University donor, Hendersonville, N.C. (helped
coordinate Asheville trip).
The program reached the international student body on campus through a variety of media, including newspapers, email announcements, our webpage on the internet, contacts with various international student organizations, and our presentation during international student orientation. We chose this approach after careful consideration of the best way to reach incoming foreign students and visiting foreign scholars trying to juggle complex academic schedules and adjusting to a new home and US culture. Our coverage in the student newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel came at the beginning of the academic year and was followed by monthly email updates about the status of the program and upcoming trips. Students were also encouraged to consult our webpage for more information. A listserve of interested students was developed so that details and program changes were directly provided to their individual email accounts.
Overall, the most rewarding aspect of the program was our ability to expose international students to the varied cultures of North Carolina. Students gained a first-hand knowledge of the history, culture, folklore, and diversity of the state and they will be able to share this with their friends and family back home. On one occasion, a visiting scholar from St. Petersburg, Russia, Ms. Galina Varganova, was so impressed by the program that she began plans for having a cultural exchange between the St. Petersburg State Academy of Culture which she heads and Chapel Hill, UNC.
The main regret we have concerning the program was our inability to carry out all of our proposed outings. Students found it difficult to get away at the end of the semester due to their academic obligations. Because the majority of them returned to their home countries after the semesters were over, trips during the holidays and summer were virtually impossible. Another drawback was the late date of the initiation of the project. Our presentation of the SHCEP Program during international student orientation was almost a week after most international students arrived in the Chapel Hill area, and as a result our early tours of the UNC campus and the environs of Chapel Hill were largely moot for the majority of these students. A corrective recommendation is to mail information on such immersion programs with application packet, thus informing the prospective student in advance on activities that they can participate in.
Another frustrating aspect of the program was the initial lukewarm response the program seemed to receive from the international student community. Our presentations at orientation and subsequent announcements through various different media (brochures, newspaper articles, emailing, and postings at various international students meetings) reached most of the international student body on campus, however, in our opinion a relatively small but dedicated group of students attended the various SHCEP functions. The foreign students who participated found the program enriching and returned for subsequent trips. By the end of the academic year, a small but devoted group of eight to ten students, not including various foreign scholars, attended all our trips.
Despite these drawbacks, we feel that the first year of the program was a considerable success. If the program were to continue at and be supported by UNC-CH, we would certainly suggest an earlier starting date and possibly tying the program into the larger American Studies curriculum here at the University. Making the program a one credit course would increase the appeal of the program and draw more students and faculty into the fold.
Student responses to the program were all very positive. Axel Schwarz, a student from Germany, remarked that the trips offered him "a great possibility to learn about the history and culture of North Carolina," and provided, "great experiences in my year in North Carolina." Jun Wong, a Chinese participant, said she thought the program was "a great way to give foreign students a glimpse of life in North Carolina and the South". Thomas Pegelow, a German graduate student, echoed this sentiment commenting that the program, "allowed me to view the South from an entirely different perspective--one I could not have gained without the SHCEP program."
We at UNC-CH who actively participated in the SHCEP would be very glad to do this project again, especially in the light of new administrative knowledge that we developed during the first year.
Chapel Hill and surrounding environs are at the heart of the great Southern states that surround NC. UNC-CH is one of the oldest public universities in the US and attracts foreign students and scholars from all over the world. Local history, variation in southern culture and reasonable travel time greatly contributed to the project success. To some degree, the project can be duplicated in many other parts of the US, since there are many variations in local and regional culture and history. Oregon State and North Carolina may be at the opposite ends of the US, but for foreign students, both have a unique local history and culture to offer in an extended educational immersion program such as SHCEP. We at UNC heavily relied on the local history aficionados and organizations serving the purpose of supporting folklore and local culture. We are also very lucky to have the Center for the Study of the American South, one of the premier US institutions dedicated to this region.
An educational immersion program that involves many members and has events throughout the academic year is an administrative challenge in its first year. But such a program, once established and provided a course status can be enriching and educational. To experience the people, culture and environment, while interacting with ten or more students from various countries of the world is a memory that can be shared and carried well into the future.