International Education Week

In celebration of International Education Week, program directors will be promoting their study abroad programs at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

An information table will be on the second floor of Cavanaugh Hall on the IUPUI campus from 15-18 November, where students can find out more information about programs traveling to India, China, France, Germany, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Greece, Canada and many more.

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Charles Beeker Recognized by Armenian Scientists

Charles Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University Bloomington, has been honored by the National Academy of Sciences for the Republic of Armenia (NASRA) for his archaeological work with the Armenian-owned 1699 Quedagh Merchant, Captain Kidd's shipwreck discovered in the Dominican Republic.

Indiana University research on the Quedagh Merchant is funded in part by the United States Agency for International Development, under the Living Museums in the Sea project, which will establish the Captain Kidd shipwreck as an Underwater Preserve, protecting the archaeological and associated biological resources as a sustainable tourism destination.

(Image of certificate courtesy of Indiana University)

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IU's HPER Students Off to Dominican Republic

The Indiana University (Bloomington) School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation's (HPER) Office of Underwater Science is partnering with fifth-grade teachers from Edgewood Intermediate School in Ellettsville to develop a curriculum based on actual IU research taking place in the Dominican Republic and involving some of the West's earliest explorers, reports the IU News Bureau.

The 11 teachers and IU researchers will travel on 4 July to the Dominican Republic, where they will walk on the streets and follow the paths of explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Hernando Cortes, and others. In preparation for the trip, the teachers have been attending lectures at the IU Underwater Science lab, which is under the direction of archeologist Charles Beeker, and have been learning to snorkel so they can view ruins of sunken ships and other underwater discoveries.

The purpose of the curriculum is to expand the view and understanding of the age of exploration and the first contacts between the indigenous groups and European explorers, ultimately encouraging students to broaden their world view and increase tolerance and acceptance.

As a result, this unit intends to develop a practical curriculum that they hope will be available to all fifth-grade teachers in Indiana and contain a variety of artifacts for students to be able to manipulate.

With the proposed curriculum, students will:

* Travel through history by simulation from 1492-1783
* Experience life as a captain of a fleet
* Plan for voyage (food, supplies, placement in ship, etc.)
* Log daily journal entries by keeping a captain's log
* Encounter explorers traveling to the New World

Currently, the plan is for eight classrooms at Edgewood Intermediate School to pilot the model curriculum in the fall of 2010.

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Junot Diaz Speaks at Butler University

A presentation by author Junot Diaz (pictured) is set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday (11 February) as part of the spring 2010 Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series. It will be held in the Reilly Room of Atherton Union on the Butler campus in Indianapolis.

Diaz, who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is the author of Drown (1996) and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), which won the John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. His fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, African Voices, Best American Short Stories (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000), in Pushcart Prize XXII and in The O'Henry Prize Stories 2009. For more information, call 317:940-9861.

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Haitian Writer to Speak at Butler University

CANCELLED DUE TO EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI: Author Edwidge Danticat, winner of a 2009 MacArthur Foundation "genius grant", will NOTopen the spring 2010 Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series at 7:30 p.m. 13 January in the Reilly Room of the Atherton Union at Butler University, Indianapolis. Her presentation will be rescheduled later.

Danticat is a novelist whose moving and insightful depictions of Haiti’s complex history are enriching our understanding of the Haitian immigrant experience. In works that chronicle the lives of ordinary Haitians, she evokes themes of family, isolation, and community that, while grounded in a specific cultural milieu, resonate with a wide range of audiences.

Her books include The Farming of Bones (1999), The Dewbreaker (2004) and the memoir Brother, I’m Dying (2007), which pays tribute to her father and uncle through an unflinching account of the triumphs and tragedies they experienced in Haiti and the United States. She has been a visiting professor of creative writing at New York University (1996-1997) and the University of Miami (2000 and 2008).

Next up on 11 February is Junot Diaz, who was born in the Dominican Republic. All events in the series are free and open to the public; no ticket is required. Call 317:940-9861 for more information.

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University of Evansville Students Head to Caribbean

The University of Evansville is returning to the Dominican Republic to help develop a humanitarian project, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Students from the Schroeder Family School of Business Administration and UE's mechanical engineering program will be in the Caribbean country in January to work on a project to help create sustainable, green energy and make it available throughout the entire Dominican Republic.

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