Fulbright Conference presentation, "Cultivating Global Citizenship in Higher Education"

I enjoyed participating in my third Fulbright Association Conference. This year's annual meeting was held in Atlanta at the Omni Atlanta Hotel.

I presented my poster/paper presentation "Cultivating Global Citizenship in Higher Education: Internationalizing the Curriculum by Creating Collaborative Learning Partnerships."  I focused on the project I developed with Professor Gabriel Andreescu at the National School of Political Science and Public Administration in Bucharest, Romania (SNSPA). The students in my U.S.Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights partnered with Dr. Andreescu's seminar on religion and politics at SNSPA to work together on comparative legal research papers comparing decisions of the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Supreme Court of the United States on topics related to religious freedom in the US and the EU. My students' dialogue with their counterparts in Romania, explaining the US Supreme Court precedents we covered in class to their Romanian colleagues and learning from them about the ECJ and ECtHR precedents, provided an opportunity for my students (and the Romanians) to challenge their assumptions about American government and politics and to think more deeply about the role of religion in politics and in society.

For more information about this project, please see my blog

http://europeancourtofjusticeproject.blogspot.com/

Presenting the paper in the atrium of the CNN Center:

It is always a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet with Fulbrighters from all around the world -- and especially Moldova! I met a Fulbrighter who is in Atlanta studying Public Administration at Georgia State. We have shared interests, and we look forward to staying in touch and to collaborating in the future.

The theme of the conference was  "Creating Pathways to Peace: Global Health and Education."  It was with great sadness that we learned at the reception on Friday evening about the horrific terrorist attack in Paris. The event underscored that now, more than ever, we need programs like Fulbright -- to promote mutual understanding and peace.

There was a wonderful reception and private tour at the World of Coca-Cola. Pictured with USF Professor Darlene De Marie

What a treat to learn more about the research of Dr. Madeleine Hackney during her Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture. She shared the results of her studies about how the tango can improve mobility of those with Parkinson's disease. She got us to do a few tango moves as well! I don't think I have done the tango since my husband and I danced the tango as our wedding dance. slow, slow, quick, quick, slow.

With Stela, Fulbrighter from Moldova

The hotel was across from Centennial Olympic Park, which gave me the opportunity to visit my brick!

I was pleased that I was also able to visit the Civil and Human Rights Museum, which was located on the other side of the park.

at the interactive display at the lunch counter you can test yourself to see how long you could sit there and be insulted (the timers are lit in red)

in the theater with a video presentation about the Freedom Riders...here is the back of one of the "bus" seats used as theater seating

an exhibit about the Letter from Birmingham Jail

Coffee (selfie) with Stela to discuss future projects

Dr. King's notes for his acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony 

outside the World of Coca-Cola, the inventor of Coke, Atlanta pharmacist Dr. Pemberton