Fulbright scholars go abroad
January 7, 2008 -- SF State faculty Trevor Getz, Ali Borjian and Sarah Soh have been awarded Fulbright Scholar grants enabling them to teach and conduct research abroad during 2008.
SF State faculty Trevor Getz, Ali Borjian and Sarah Soh have been awarded Fulbright Scholar grants enabling them to teach and conduct research abroad during 2008.
Trevor Getz
Assistant Professor of History Trevor Getz departs for South Africa in January to spend a year working on his African World Histories project. According to Getz, South Africans have long been left out of the sub-discipline of world history, and he aims to address this imbalance. "For me, this Fulbright is truly about listening to how South Africans present their pasts to us, rather than how we represent their pasts as part of our conception of World History," said Getz, who was born in South Africa and spent his early childhood there.
Getz will work with students and colleagues at the University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Western Cape. His collaborative research with local faculty will culminate in the publication of an anthology. "The published volumes will reflect the wealth of South African understandings of global history," Getz said.
Ali Borjian
Later in 2008, Ali Borjian, assistant professor of elementary education, will spend four months as a visiting professor at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. Borjian, who trains teachers in California, is interested in how Mexican immigrant pupils can receive better support as they transition to U.S. schools.
"I am looking forward to collaborating with Mexican colleagues on educational issues that are close to our hearts," Borjian said. He will focus on helping establish a bachelor’s degree program in Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) for elementary school teachers in Mexico. He will also explore how teachers and teacher educators from both countries can achieve a better understanding of each other's education systems.
From February through June, Professor of Anthropology Sarah Soh will research women in politics in her native Korea. She specializes in such issues as women, gender, sexuality and social and cultural change.
Sarah Soh
"I will examine the development in women’s representation and leadership roles in national and local politics since 1993," Soh said. At Ewha Women's University in Seoul, she will conduct ethnographic field work, interviews and library research and will update and expand her earlier published work on female members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.
Getz, Borjian and Soh are among 800 faculty and professionals from across the United States who were chosen to take part in the prestigious Fulbright program in 2007-2008. Recipients are selected on the basis of professional achievement and demonstrated leadership in their fields.
The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international education exchange program, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
-- Elaine Bible
Share this story:
