On Wednesday, May 9, the Fulbright Educational Advising Center hosted a cultural event as part of the Pacific American Heritage Month. The event opened with a screening of the indie film The Motel, directed by Michael Kang, which tells the story of a young boy going through the pains of growing-up, trying out different identities. The screening was followed by a discussion led by our guest speaker, Chealin Won, Fulbright ETA. After engaging the audience – mainly university and high school students – in a short interactive exercise, meant to settle some of the identity and heritage themes explored by the film, Chealin shared her personal perspective on Korean-American identity, touching upon issues such as growing up in two worlds, navigating cultures and negotiating culture-specific norms, models of masculinity-femininity across cultures, class differences, (inter)ethnic stereotypes. Chealin also talked about ethnic identity in the academia, the hits and misses of living inside a new language, and the role and impact one’s own ethnic community has in helping the individual adjust to new norms and customs.

Many thanks to Chealin Won for a fruitful and lively discussion, and for joining us in this event!

Dr. Diana Benea, Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University of Bucharest and current Fulbright Scholar grantee at the City University of New York – The Graduate Center, presented a paper at the Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium, held at Villanova University, PA, on May 3-4, 2018, under the general theme Community Outreach and the Arts. Dr. Benea’s presentation addressed the ethical and political stakes of oral history performance in community-based settings, with a focus on processes of production and reception. More details about the symposium: http://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/theatre/ResearchandScholarship/symposium.html

Bridget Kelly, ETA Fulbright Student at the University of Bucharest, recently met “Grigore Moisil” High School students and gave a talk about Cinco de Mayo and Latino Culture in America. The event, organized by the U.S. Embassy, was highly informative and enjoyable for the students. See more at:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XpsuZFBwdwZuMCuUWkbLtC7GfVaDRzVXRwK8X6Xa0zw

Professor Brooke Reavey, U.S. Fulbright Scholar affiliated with the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest, traveled to Cluj-Napoca last week and met with undergraduate marketing students from the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (FSEGA), Babeș-Bolyai University. She gave several lectures about the cultural differences between the U.S. and Romania. She also met with the faculty and talked about future collaborations between her home university (Brennan School of Business, Dominican University) and FSEGA. The visit coincided with the international education week, so the students had a chance to hear about the U.S. higher education system.