The Human Services department is making major strides in advancing its curricular program globally. For the first time, the Human Services department is offering a study abroad program that also counts for a general studies course and an on-campus winter term course, Global Violence Against Women.

The study abroad course, titled “Island Legends: Serving and Learning with the Elders of Guam,” is led by Assistant Professor of Human Services Judy Esposito and Associate Professor of Human Services Bud Warner.

Warner has visited more than 70 countries and taught in Moscow. Esposito lived in Guam for about a year and has experience with the island, but not with the elderly who live there.

“ The course will focus on students learning about Chamorro cultural practices, folklore, myths and legends,” Esposito said. “ There will be a service component—students will learn about the history of the island through the elders, and how it has changed since World War II.”

Students will devote 30 hours of service to two island agencies servicing the elderly: Catholic Social Services and Servicio Para I Manamko. One of the major assignments will include a life history assignment. Students will get to know one person and write a narrative about his or her story to learn about their culture and customs to give back to the elders.

“Students who are taking this course are required to practice at Twin Lakes Retirement Center,” Esposito said. “Each student has to interview somebody and write a narrative to give a cross-cultural comparison, looking at the similarities and differences between the culture now and from the elders’ viewpoint.”

Even though students will be busy with service hours, there are still many side trips planned. The class will take a 45-minute flight to the island of Saipan, where they will visit the Suicide Cliffs. There is a disturbing history to these cliffs that gave it its name—when the United States took over around World War II, Japanese families lined up and pushed each other off the cliff. The last person would run off the cliff backwards, avoiding seeing one’s own death and the other dead.

This class signifies the early steps towards moving more globally.

Associate Professor of Human Services Cynthia Fair said this is not the first on-campus class the department has offered that highlights global issues.

“ The department strives to integrate a global perspective into all of its courses,” Fair said. “ The main focus of a course may not be exclusively global in nature, but it is important to our department to encourage students to consider the importance of culture both locally and globally.”

Adjunct Assistant Professor Kristin Sullivan will teach the course. She is currently writing her dissertation at UNC-Chapel Hill, dealing with spouse abuse in army families. She has long been interested in violence against women.

Sullivan has viewed this issue first hand in Tanzania. She and a faculty member from UNC-Chapel Hill conducted a research project there, focusing on partner violence and HIV risk in women. She wanted to bring this research in the field to the classroom.

“I want to engage students in learning about the topic, focusing on key types of violence as well as promoting interventions to stop the violence,” Sullivan said. “Violence against women is a global epidemic that is under recognized—there are huge consequences for the functioning of the individual women, families and communities.”

Students will complete their own research project during the course, as well as read literature about the problem and interventions designed to reduce violence against women. Guest speakers who work globally on the issue are also on the agenda.

“ The main goal of this course is to raise awareness—helping students think critically about problems and ways to approach them,” Sullivan said. “Students will be able to understand that this is not an isolated issue, but that there are effective approaches being utilized to stop the violence.”

Reporter: Colby Pierce - 10/31/07