By Boyce Lawton
VP for Academic Administration and Planning
I have watched more Argentinian movies in the last three months than I have American movies in the last thirty years.
And just ask me about the Spanish American independence movement, the role of farming and timber on the environment in Patagonia, Mothers in the Plaza de Mayo, or Borges' history of the Tango...
Did I mention that I am a mathematician by trade? Or that I am among the luckiest 13 people at Wofford College?
I am one of thirteen faculty and staff members who will be leaving this Sunday for two weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we will study the history, culture, economy, and environment of the second largest country in South America.
Thanks to Mr. Roger Milliken, every faculty member at the college will have the opportunity to study abroad for two weeks over the next five years. I am lucky to be part of the "inaugural class" of participants.
And while our group hasn't yet left Spartanburg, we have all been working toward this journey for months. We have each studied particular aspects of South America, the concept of "citizenship", and Argentina in particular. We have spent the last week sharing what we have learned with each other.
I have been humbled while listening to the different insights that my friends and colleagues have expressed. While we have often read the same texts, I have experienced a new perspective after hearing about the environmental impacts of agriculture from the eyes of a biologist. This morning I listened to an explanation of the atrocities of the Dirty War from a young English faculty member -- presented from a viewpoint of gender roles and gender identity. I was fascinated to hear an interpretation so different from my own.
Our sociologist has brought us insight on Latin American literacy, rituals, and gauchos. And I have learned that Wofford's "linguists" are teaching their students so much more than the rules of grammar.
I realized months ago that I was the recipient of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for study and travel... but I don't think I understood until this week that I was also receiving an equally amazing gift. I am experiencing my colleagues (my friends, many of whom I have eaten lunch with for the last twelve years) as their students experience them every day in the classroom. I am a college student again, and I am more excited than I have been in years.
We are learning from each other, motivating each other, and inspiring each other. I know that I will not return to my statistics classroom unchanged.
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Wofford faculty and staff attending the project:
Dr. Anne Catlla, Mathematics
Dr. Caroline Cunningham, Foreign Language
Dr. Natalie Grinnell, English
Dr. Boyce Lawton, VP for Academic Administration and Planning
Dr. John Miles, English
Dr. Phil Racine, History
Dr. Kimberly Rostan, English
Dr. Angela Shiflet, Computer Science
Dr. George Shiflet, Biology
Dr. Gerald Thurmond, Sociology
Dr. Ana Maria Wiseman, Dean of International Programs
Dr. Dennis Wiseman, Foreign Language
Dr. David Wood, Dean
