International Opportunities Bulletin
13 April 2009

Prepared by the Wisconsin International Outreach Consortium (WIOC).
For more information visit our website or email us.

In this issue:

International Travel Grant for US Teachers
US Department of State & International Research and Exchanges Board

Under the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) the US Department of State and IREX (the International Research & Exchanges Board) announce a competition for middle and high school teachers from the United States to participate in a two-week professional exchange program in Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Senegal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.

Eligible applicants must be:

  • Secondary-level (middle or high school), teaching professionals with five or more years of classroom experience in disciplines including English as a Foreign Language, English Language or Literature, and social sciences (including social studies, civics, and history),
  • U.S. citizens, and
  • Able to travel in spring 2010.

The program is fully funded and provides: visa support, round-trip domestic airfare, lodging and meals to attend the TEA U.S. Conference, round-trip airfare from the U.S. to the assigned country, emergency medical evacuation plan, and lodging and a daily stipend in host country.

Application Deadline: April 27, 2009

Applications can be downloaded at http://www.irex.org

For more information, contact Anne MiIazzo at 202.628.8188 ext 197 or tea@irex.org.

Migrantes: Migration's Impact on Mexican and Central American Lives
7 - 10 July 2009 | Summer Teacher Insitute

This institute examines migrant lives with examples ranging from internal migration of indigenous peoples to war refugees and transnational communities of immigrants who travel back and forth from their home country to the U.S. Participants will explore how best to introduce these themes into the classroom with invited speakers, including a group of high school teachers from southern Mexico.

$120 (covers continental breakfasts, lunches, and materials); campus housing and grad credit options available.

Application deadline is 1 May 2009.

Additional information is available at:
http://www4.uwm.edu/clacs/workshops/index.cfm

Or contact Julie Kline (jkline@uwm.edu / 414-229-5986).

Looking Forward, Looking Back
Causes & Consequences of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
22 - 26 June 2009 | Concourse Hotel, Madison, WI

UW-Madison's Center for European Studies (CES) and the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) are collaborating to offer a five-day teacher workshop this summer entitled, "Looking Forward, Looking Back: Causes and Consequences of the Fall of the Berlin Wall." The workshop will be held at the Madison Concourse Hotel from June 22nd through the 26th. Free lodging for teachers coming from out of town will be available on a first-come first-served basis.

The registration form, as well as a variety of workshop-related materials, can be found at:
http://www.uw-madison-ces.org/?q=node/85

The deadline to register with CES and CREECA is May 15, 2009.

Participants will earn a single UW-Madison graduate credit for successful completion of this course. Please contact either Nancy Heingartner at CREECA or Csanád Siklós at CES with questions.

NCSS Award for Global Understanding Given in Honor of James M. Becker

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is currently accepting nominations for the 2009 Global Understanding Award given out annually in honor of global education pioneer James M. Becker to a social studies educator (or team of educators) who has made notable contributions in helping social studies students increase their understanding of the world. NCSS celebrates the efforts of these educators during its annual conference to spotlight the importance of global education in the social studies classroom: cultivating the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed for responsible participation in an increasingly global 21st century community. Award-winners are granted a $2,000 cash award; commemorative gift; a session to present at the NCSS annual conference; complimentary NCSS conference registration; up to $700 in stransportation/lodging reimbursement; and publicity.

Nominations must be postmarked by May 15, 2009.

Please visit the Global Understanding website for more information about award eligibility and criteria as well as submission and nomination requirements.

World Affairs Seminar for High Schoolers: World Hunger & the Food Crisis Program
Institute of World Affairs, Center for International Education, UW-Milwaukee
20 - 26 June 2009 | Carroll University, Waukesha, WI

Please encourage your students to join us for the 2009 World Affairs Seminar! The Institute of World Affairs at UW-Milwaukee's Center for International Education is co-organizing the 2009 seminar, a unique week long summer program for high school students. Since its founding in 1977, the World Affairs Seminar has brought together thousands of students from around the world that have formed lifelong friendships, learned about global issues, and been inspired to change the world. The 2009 program will be held at Carroll University in Waukesha from June 20-26. This year’s seminar will address world hunger and the global food crisis, and will provide an opportunity for students to hear from renowned experts, discuss and simulate key issues, build new skills, and generate action plans at local and global levels.

Scholarships are available!
Deadline for application is 31 May 2009.

Please visit www.worldaffairsseminar.org for more information and to apply.

Great World Texts in Wisconsin
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites high school teachers to participate in “Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin,” a collaborative program for the 2009-2010 academic year.

This program celebrates Chinua Achebe’s great text and promotes student and teacher collaboration between high school and post-secondary institutions across Wisconsin.

Deadline for applications is 15 June 2009.
Download the application here.

Interdisciplinary teams of teachers (English, Art, Social Studies, Psychology, etc.) will be selected to participate in the fifth of our series of successful, state-wide projects. The project aims to bring Achebe’s classic novel into high school classrooms throughout Wisconsin. Each team will receive a financial award, teaching support and materials, access to university resources, and opportunities to participate in two teacher colloquia and a student conference. This program benefits from four years of successful programming during 2005-09, “Don Quixote in Wisconsin,” “Dante’s Inferno in Wisconsin,” “One Hundred Years of Solitude in Wisconsin,” and “The Brothers Karamazov in Wisconsin,” and we expect that the program will be even stronger with the addition of more curricular resources, more previous teacher experience and feedback, longer-term planning and co-operation with our new and continuing partners across the state and around the University.

For more information visit http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/, or contact Mary Claypool at 608.890.1468 or greattexts@humanities.wisc.edu.

Online credit course - Latin American and Caribbean Studies, UW-Milwaukee
Using Children’s Literature to Explore Latin American/Latino Cultural Heritage
June 22 - July 18, 2009

Given that Latinos make up the fastest-growing population group in the U.S., classroom teachers increasingly are in need of meaningful resources and learning strategies for students of Latin American heritage. These same resources can also help internationalize/diversify classrooms serving non-Latino student populations.

This course will focus primarily on children’s books that have been recommended by the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP). When read and explored as a body, together with supplemental readings/resources, Américas Award titles offer a unique resource with which to explore Latin America, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino cultures in all their diversity. 3 undergraduate or graduate credits ($816.39 / $1,654.98). Summer registration begins April 11.

Additional information is available at:
http://www4.uwm.edu/clacs/workshops/2009/wssmr09.cfm

Or contact Julie Kline (jkline@uwm.edu / 414-229-5986).

Global Studies Summer Institute for Educators: Choices for a Sustainable Future
22-24 July 2009 | UW-Milwaukee

Food, water and shelter are the three pillars of a livable world. The choices we make to secure them involve the complex interplay of politics, economics and technology. This year's Global Studies Summer Institute will examine the concept of sustainability-- how societies are attempting to meet their immediate needs in ways that build community and conserve the environment for future generations. Participants will explore options for a sustainable future from the perspectives of various stakeholders: the scientist, the CEO, the policymaker, the farmer, etc. Educators will find content and resources applicable across the curriculum, from science to social studies. Join us for an interdisciplinary look at preserving the world your students will inherit.

Registration information is available at http://www.iwa.uwm.edu/.

Please contact Nicole Palasz at palasz@uwm.edu for more information.

Bringing Mexico in your Classroom
US-Mexico Partnership in Agriculture, Business, or Social Sciences

Are you interested in exploring issues in your classroom at a global scale? Would you like to travel to Mexico to learn about sustainable rural development? Would you like to help your students develop a broader view of issues such as trade, immigration, food and agriculture? Then, consider the opportunities offered by the US-Mexico Partnership in Agriculture, Business, or Social Sciences grant program. You will have to choice to participate in a unique spring seminar, a late summer (August) study tour in Mexico, and to work with a UW-Madison undergraduate student to develop a new lesson unit for your class. For more information visit the program webpage (and here) or contact Michel Wattiaux, UW-Madison Associate Professor, by email or phone (608.263.3493).

8th Annual International Children's & Young Adult Literature Celebration
Saturday, November 21, 2009 | Memorial Union, Madison, WI

Featuring: Rachna Gilmore, Sylviane Diouf (and two unconfirmed authors)

Rachna Gilmore is the critically acclaimed Governor General’s Award winning author of numerous books. Her publications include picture books, early readers, middle grade and young adult novels, as well as adult fiction. Her young adult novel, A Group of One, was named a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor Book, and recommended by the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age List. Born in India, Rachna has lived in London, England and Prince Edward Island. She now lives in Ottawa where she continues to plark (play, work, lark) at her writing, dreaming up weird and wonder-filled tales. Visit Rachna's website for more of her work.

Sylviane Diouf is a historian and writer of Franco-Senegalese origin. She received a doctorate from the University of Paris VII and has taught at Libreville University in Gabon and New York University. She is the author of many books which have won critical acclaim, such as Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America (2007). Diouf has written several books for younger readers, including Kings and Queens of West Africa, part of a four-book series (2000); and her fiction book, Bintou’s Braids (2001). Visit Sylviane's website for more of her work.

For updates and registration information (when available) visit:
http://wioc.wisc.edu/childlit/

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