Category | News

KSU to engage in global learning with Iranian students

Published on November 18, 2008 by The Sentinel

    KSU students will join students of the University of Kashan in a
video conference on Thursday to discuss and understand each other’s
cultures and experiences.

    Ken Hill, professor of first-year programs, had a military student in his KSU 1101 class last fall who said that he had some concerns about the Middle East after being involved in the war in Iraq. The student told Hill that Americans had some misunderstandings because they did not thoroughly comprehend the culture and it was easy for Americans to stereotype the people in that region.

    “My student [asked] me, ‘What if I could open a dialogue with another university in that part of the world?’ Well, when a student says something like that, I [say] ‘Sure, what can I do to help you?’”

    The student approached Hill in March and said that he had received a response from a professor at the University of Kashan in Iran. Hill immediately emailed the professor back and introduced himself.

    “I was doing back flips because this had worked and because of the nature of it being Iran and trying to understand it on a global scale. I immediately went to Dan Paracka and let him know where things were,” said Hill.

    Dan Paracka, director of International Services and Programs, and Hill decided that their students and the students at the University of Kashan should compose an essay about their experience in college, their interests and their long term goals of the future.

    “Having both groups of students talk about their daily life and what’s important [to them], describe their daily routines, and describe their experiences in college is important, says Paracka. “I think that’s a great way to start.”

    The ultimate goal for both groups of students is to realize that the stereotypes and perceptions that are portrayed in the media are not always true.

    “We need to excavate the stereotypes and do something to challenge those because, when you really boil it down, they’re just like us,” says Hill.

    “We are trying to have a person to person relationship to understand each other as people first, not as nations or representatives of the United States or representatives of Iran. Our goal is to get to know each other as people,” says Paracka.

    The video conference between both groups of students will be facilitated by Paracka and Hill in University College at 11a.m.