Visiting international academics to learn all things Canadian

Ten visiting academics begin an adventure in Canada at Trent University this week, through the Summer Explorations in Canadian Cultures (SECC) program.

Participants, a mix of professors, graduate students and teachers from Poland, England, the United Arab Emirates and Germany, will learn about Canada through lectures and visits to culturally significant sites.

According to Jennifer Allen, SECC program assistant, many of the participants study Canada in their home countries but have never visited before now.

Highlights of the program include a traditional native feast, trips to local museums and galleries, a visit to Petroglyphs Provincial Park and a weekend spent at Windy Pines in Haliburton.

“There is a lot of hands-on, experiential learning,” said Ms. Allen.

New this year, the program offers a credit component. The credit course is Teaching Canada, in which students learn how to teach about Canada.

The four Teaching Canada students, three from Trent and one from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, spent last week in the classroom and will this week join the SECC program to complete their course.

“This allows Canadian students to mingle with our international visitors, creating a whole different dynamic to SECC,” said Ms. Allen.

The SECC students stay at Traill College during their visit. They also have the opportunity to do some travelling outside of the Peterborough area. Visits to Niagara Falls and Toronto are on the agenda.

The SECC is an annual program, now in its 8th summer. It is a joint effort, hosted by Julian Blackburn College, the Canadian Studies Program, and the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Native Studies at Trent. Participants have the choice of taking a five-, seven- or 14-day course.

Topics covered during SECC include multiculturalism, immigration in Canada, Canadian and Quebec Nationalism, resource extraction, healthcare and welfare systems in Canada, community development, development issues in rural wilderness areas, Canadian literature and arts, Canadian law, Canadian foreign policy, Canadian art and architecture, free trade and globalization, aboriginal cultures, film broadcasting and new media.

The program will wrap up with a Community Night Square Dance on August 24 at Market Hall.

Photo 1: The Summer Explorations in Canadian Cultures group (l-r) Magdalena Butrymowycz of Poland, campus tour guide Richard Webster, SECC program assistant Melanie Sedge, Alexander McCarthy of England, SECC program assistant Ryan Metcalfe, SECC program assistant Jennifer Allen, Adrian Mucalov of Ontario, Mohammed Jassim Abdulla and Aziza Abdulla Ahmed of the United Arab Emirates.

Photo 2: The Summer Explorations in Canadian Cultures program participants took a campus tour Monday morning. (l-r) Melanie Sedge, Adrian Mucalov, Magdalena, Butrymowycz, Richard Webster and Alexander McCarthy.

Posted August 17, 2005