UDP Internacional

25 January 2023

Guided by Rodrigo Arias, an English Pedagogy academic, and Furaha Henry-Jones, an expert in Afro-American literature and an academic at Sinclair College, the student body reflected on identity and its heterogeneity.
In November 2022, 26 UDP students were part, through an American Corner subject, of a COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) project, an instance that connects students and academics from different cultures, with the aim of create collaborative learning.

On this occasion, the UDP student body participated, along with 22 North Americans, in a program led by Rodrigo Arias, an English Pedagogy academic at the School of Education, and Furaha Henry-Jones, a poet, expert in Afro-American literature and a Sinclair academic. College, Ohio.

This project arose during the first semester of 2022, from the dialogue established by the academics in charge of the program. Thus, Rodrigo Arias and Furaha Herny-Jones decided to take a course to address identity, but taking a specific text as a reference: the essay How it feels to be colored me (1928), by Zora Neale Hurston.

“The main objective had to do with being able to raise awareness about the notion of identity and our differences and similarities so that, regardless of our geographical locations, the students could recognize themselves as similar, but also different, because the difference was, indeed , the richness of this COIL experience”, said Professor Rodrigo Arias regarding the program.

“That great objective was fully achieved. The concept of identity is very complex, especially when it is related to the concept of identity culture or cultural identity. In addition, it is a process that is changing. So, we come to the notion that identity is a spectrum and not something static. We use that word that is associated with colors, because as there are colors, there are identities. The results were very good. The levels of reflection were profound and are projected over time”, added the academic.

Javiera Arias, an English Pedagogy student who participated in the project, stated that this was a “totally unforgettable experience.” “I left a municipal school, where English was something for the most ‘capos’ and where meeting people from abroad, going to the United States or any English-speaking country, meant that you had won the lottery. When I entered the university I realized that the panorama was not so different, ”she commented.

“Many of us loved English and wanted to teach it in the future, however, we hadn’t had the chance to use the language to communicate with native speakers. COIL made me live this experience. Knowing my classmates and being able to communicate with them gave me great confidence in my performance as a student,” she added.

For her part, Anoek van den Berg, director of the General Directorate of International Relations, appreciated the realization of this COIL project and stated that this type of instance allows “creating ties between UDP students and international students to facilitate the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experiences, while using a second language and applying linguistic knowledge in an atmosphere of trust and applied”.

“These instances contribute to the global training of the student body to develop skills that are relevant when looking for a job, such as teamwork with cultural, linguistic and disciplinary diversity. In this type of instances, an exchange is generated at different levels and ties are created that usually last beyond a semester or a subject (…). This allows students to be more flexible, know how to adapt in diverse environments and learn to develop interpersonal and communication skills”, she specified.

During this 2023, the University plans to carry out different related activities such as summer and winter schools for academics and officials. In addition, during this year, a competitive fund will be launched again to finance the design of a COIL project. This, to continue promoting the internationalization of the entire university community.