A university teaching delegation from Oaxaca, the fifth largest state in Mexico, will meet students, faculty and administrators at SUNY Fredonia and also visit Dunkirk schools and meet Oaxacan families in the area during the university’s observance of International Education Week that begins Monday.
Two formal presentations, both open to the public, will be given by faculty from Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” (UABJO). Omar Nunez Méndez, director of the Cultural and Language Center at Ollin Tlahtoalli, a cultural and language center in Oaxaca, where six SUNY Fredonia students studied language, history, literature and film and taught English in an indigenous community this past summer, will also come to the campus during the Nov. 10-14 program.
“Anonymous Bilingual People: Indigenous People in Mexico and the USA” is the title of Mario López-Gopar’s presentation on Monday, 4 p.m., at 105 Fenton Hall. Two university colleagues, Angeles Clemente Olmos and Michael J. Higgins, will follow his talk with commentary from their ethnographic studies on bilingualism as it relates to identity, agency, gender and social class. Their research has been published in two books.
Mr. Méndez will address the topic, “Preserving Oral Traditions in Oaxacan Indigenous Communities: The Discovery of Indian Myths and Legends,” based on his project on indigenous language rescue, on Tuesday, 3:30 p.m., at W101 Thompson Hall.
Both sessions are open to the public. The International Education Center will serve light refreshments following each program.
In addition to sessions on campus, Oaxacan faculty will tour Dunkirk schools and the Agra-Business Child Development Center in the Migrant Workers Office in Fredonia to meet Oaxacan children and their families.
The Oaxaca Task Force, comprised of SUNY Fredonia faculty members Michele Bernatz, Joy Bilharz, Beth Huerta, Kate Mahoney, Eric Meringer, Carmen S. Rivera and Ivani Vassoler-Froelich, organized the four-day visit. Contributions were received from the Colleges of Arts and Humanities, Education and Natural and Social Sciences, as well as the International Education Center and the Office of Academic Affairs.
Dr. Rivera, who chairs the task force, hopes the visit will consolidate various programs for language study abroad and teacher training, encourage collaborative research among faculty and lead to better understanding and communication among cultures.
An agreement was signed in 2006 between SUNY Fredonia and UABJO to establish an exchange program for faculty and students and promote their humanitarian mission within their communities.
