{"id":49814,"date":"2022-09-08T12:12:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T16:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=49814"},"modified":"2022-09-15T16:38:03","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T20:38:03","slug":"timeline-of-cross-cultural-milestones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2022\/timeline-of-cross-cultural-milestones\/","title":{"rendered":"A (*Fairly Comprehensive) Timeline of EMU Intercultural\/Cross-cultural Program milestones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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First published in 2017, portions of this timeline has been updated through 2022.<\/em> We thought it was a fun read, so are republishing it now.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Remember reading the Bible along the Sea of Galilee, or finding a new \u201cbrother\u201d or \u201csister\u201d when you stayed in a mud-brick dwelling, or doing research at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C.?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those and many more like them are the experiences at the heart of Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s intercultural program<\/a>, which has been part of the core required curriculum for more than 30 years and has taken students all over the world, often led by faculty who lived and served in those locations and return with students time and time again. (For more about faculty repeat and multiple trips, look below to the final section of this post.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Al Keim in 1997, three years before his retirement from EMU.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1955<\/strong> \u2013 At age 20, to-be cross-cultural visionary Al Keim is drafted. A conscientious objector, Keim is able to satisfy the draft board by doing two years of service as a volunteer with Mennonite Central Committee, helping refugees in war-devastated Europe. This period overseas, which included a month on a kibbutz in Israel, changed his life path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Summer 1971<\/strong>: French professor Emery Yoder<\/strong> led a group to Quebec City, Quebec, for a French immersion experience that included classroom study at Universite Laval (Yoder taught French-Canadian history) and sightseeing.  (Contributed by Dorothy Jean Weaver<\/strong>, emeritus professor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1972: <\/strong>Education professor Esther K. Lehman<\/strong> led a group of four education students to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she supervised them as they did their student teaching at the Good Shepherd School with children of missionaries. (Contributed by Dorothy Jean Weaver<\/strong>, emeritus professor)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1972<\/strong> \u2013 Al and Leanna Keim lead EMU\u2019s first overseas trip, to the regions in Switzerland and Germany that were the headwaters of the Mennonite stream of Christianity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1972<\/strong> \u2013 From 1972 until 1982, cross-cultural program visionary, history professor, and former dean Al Keim and other faculty members lead 10 optional trips to Europe and the Middle East, laying the groundwork for the cross-cultural program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1976<\/strong> \u2013 Washington Community Scholars\u2019 Center, then called Washington Study Service Year or WSSY, begins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1981<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to New York City<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spain, 1978<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1982<\/strong> \u2013 Faculty-guided study in a culture different from one\u2019s own becomes mandatory for undergraduate students<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1982<\/strong> \u2013 A semester-long trip led by Sharon Hostetler of nine students to Costa Rica and Mexico marks the first study-tour that is part of the general education program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1982<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Costa Rica\/Mexico<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1984<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Mississippi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1984<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Mennonite World Conference in Strasbourg, France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1984<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Middle East<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1984<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Mexico<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1985<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Arizona\/Navajo Nation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1985<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Germany<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1985<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to London<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1986<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to China<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1986<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Alaska<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1986<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to England<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1987<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1987<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Kentucky\/Appalachia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1987<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Quebec<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1987<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Northern Ireland and\/or Rep. of Ireland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1987<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Central\/Latin America<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1988<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Los Angeles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1988<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Southern Africa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Latin America, 1989<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1989<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Oklahoma\/Native American peoples<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1989<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to France<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1989<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Bolivia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1989<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Jamaica<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1990<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Japan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1990<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Navajo\/Pueblo Peoples<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1990<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Soviet Union<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1990<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Chile<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1992<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Navajo\/Hopi Nations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Washington, DC, 1989<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1992<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to New Orleans<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1992<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to the British Isles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1992<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to France\/Ivory Coast<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1992<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Russia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1992<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Ivory Coast\/France<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1992<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Kenya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1993<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to the Del-Mar-Va Peninsula<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1993<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Washington, DC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1994<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Spain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1995<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Montana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1996<\/strong> \u2013 First seminary cross-cultural to Croatia and Bosnia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1996<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Netherlands<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chile, 1990<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1997<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Ghana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1998<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Hawaii<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1998<\/strong> \u2013 First seminary cross-cultural to Israel\/Palestine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1998<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Navajo Nation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1999<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Albania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1999<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Germany\/Austria\/Switzerland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1999<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Tanzania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2000<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Lesotho<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2001<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Civil Rights Trail<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2001<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Ojibwe\/Cree Nations<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2001<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to regional transcultural contexts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2001<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Austria\/Germany<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Middle East, 2002<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2002<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Austria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2002<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Lithuania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2002<\/strong> \u2013 Washington Study Service Year (WSSY) becomes the Washington Community Scholars\u2019 Center (WCSC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2003<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to South Africa\/Lesotho<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2003<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Zimbabwe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2003<\/strong> \u2013 Eastern Mennonite Seminary hosts the first Learning, Exploring, and Participating (LEAP) summer program, funded by a Lilly Grant. The program, for high-school-aged youth from diverse settings, continued through 2009. It included an orientation at EMS, followed by a cross-cultural experience and then ending with a debriefing time back at the seminary. Locations were Zimbabwe (Mennonite World Conference), 2003; Jamaica, 2004; Ghana, India and the Middle East, 2005; Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, 2006; Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad, 2007; Colombia, 2008; and New Orleans, 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2004<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Switzerland\/Italy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Fiji\/New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Harlem<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New Zealand, 2005<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2005<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to France\/Benin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Greece\/Turkey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Guatemala\/Bolivia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Peru<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005<\/strong> \u2013 The Washington Community Scholars\u2019 Center moves to the Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2006<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Argentina<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2006<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Guatemala\/Nicaragua<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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India, 2007<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2007<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to India<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2007<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Vietnam<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2007<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Mediterranean<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2007<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Spain\/Morocco<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2007<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Guatemala\/Mexico<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2008<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Newfoundland\/Labrador<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2009<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Nigeria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2009<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Paraguay<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2010<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Morocco<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South Africa, 2011<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2011<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Costa Rica\/Nicaragua<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2011<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Honduras<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2012<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to US\/Mexico border<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2012<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Bulgaria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2012<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Zambia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2013<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Honduras for the new MA in Biomedicine program<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2013<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to South Korea<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2014<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Iran<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2015<\/strong> \u2013 First Collaborative MBA cross-cultural to Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2016<\/strong> \u2013 First cross-cultural to Myanmar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2017<\/strong> \u2013 This year\u2019s Israel-Palestine trip is EMU\u2019s 25th semester program in the Middle East since 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Costa Rican inter-cultural will become a requirement for MBA students, and continue as an elective option for MAOL students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2020 \u2013<\/strong> The COVID pandemic brought the spring Guatemala cross-cultural to a standstill<\/a>. They returned home on a special flight after the borders closed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross-cultural program adapts to pandemic challenges.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021-22, the name of the cross-cultural program undergoes a change to intercultural program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Intercultural Program website: EMU\u2019s intercultural program is designed to develop cultural understanding and global awareness through an experience of living and learning in a different culture.  The focus of the program is to learn from and with others, which goes beyond and is more interactive than learning about others.  Across four decades of educational travel, how we understand what is required of individuals engaged in this multi-layered learning has moved from thinking about cross-cultural engagement to a more complex and mutual intercultural exchange that is relational, on-going learning that is integrated into our home identity and culture over time. Intercultural learning occurs in a dynamic and cyclical process of orientation, disorientation, reorientation and on again through disorientation, reorientation. The result is to see one\u2019s self and the world differently because of the relationships, awareness and understanding which develop through interaction in a different cultural context.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2021 \u2013<\/strong> Three Middle East cross-cultural groups from the ’90s gather for online reunions<\/a>. Their travels were life-changing, members said. (*the term cross-cultural is retained in this coverage as that was the name of the program at the time.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first intercultural group to travel since the pandemic visits Lithuania<\/a> with Professor Jerry Holsopple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faculty repeat and multiple trips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many faculty have led repeat and multiple cross-cultural trips. Some of the most-traveled include (details as of 2017<\/em>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n