Each semester at each campus, symposia specializing in the discussion and review of a critical issue related to globalization are held. The Interrogating Boundaries symposia are well underway, and the Global Leadership series will soon announce its schedule.

Interrogating Boundaries

The first Interrogating Boundaries symposium speaker this semester was Bino Realuyo, Filipino novelist, poet, community organizer and adult educator and a Global Virtual Faculty member in FDU’s MFA program. He spoke on “Owning English: Filipinos, the Colonized Tongue and Globalization.” The talk interrogated the boundaries of language, of national identity and of labor politics.

“Bino’s fascinating talk explored the complex consequences of multiple occupations of the Philippines,” said Elise Salem, associate provost for global learning. With the U.S. purchase of the Philippines from Spain, for example, the English language became the lingua franca of almost 8,000 islands with 800 languages and dialects. Realuyo has made it his business to “own English” and give it a “Filipino flavor.” His acclaimed 1999 novel, The Umbrella Country, was included in Booklist’s Top 10 First Novels of 1999. Poems from his collection, The Gods We Worship Live Next Door, have appeared in numerous prestigious journals and anthologies.

The next symposium this semester will focus on “Liberation Theology’s Critique of Globalization” at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, in Hartman Lounge, the Mansion, College at Florham. Paul Sigmund, professor of politics at Princeton University, will be the speaker.

The Office of Global Learning has partnered with the English, communication and philosophy department at the College at Florham to deliver the series in an informal luncheon setting at the College at Florham. Seminars are open only to FDU full-time and adjunct faculty and students.

Reservations are required for the events, as seating is limited. For questions or to be included on the invitation list, contact either Patricia Dell Bene-O’Mara, English/communication/philosophy (Flor), at patricia_dell_bene-omara@fdu.edu or 973-443-8710; or Nandita Ghosh, English (Flor), at nghosh@fdu.edu.

Global Leadership

The Global Leadership Seminar series started as a development opportunity for faculty and a forum for the discussion of important global issues. Each seminar focuses on a specific topic in several areas — including business and economics, human rights, and health and the environment — and is facilitated by an outside speaker specializing in the discussion area. The events are structured as informal luncheons and are limited in the number of attendees, so as to foster easy dialogue among participants.

Seminars are open to FDU full-time and adjunct faculty. Reservations are required. To receive an invitation to the next event, contact Diana Cvitan, manager, global learning (Metro), dcvitan@fdu.edu or 201-692-7161.

October 2005

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Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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