UAE women learn diversity through campus, Bay Area experiences

June 29, 2010 4:30pm

Six female students and alumni of the United Arab Emirates University in Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, are here through July 2 “Living and Learning in a Diverse Society.”

They are free to sample from several summer courses on history, communication, music, public policy/California politics, or parenting, take excursions to such places as San Francisco, Angel Island, Lake Merritt, and the UC Berkeley campus, and engage with people from different cultural, religious, and socio-economic identities.

Along the way, they converse with Communication Department graduate students – Mary Fitzgerald, Nizar Arif Gulahmhussein, Kalemba Kitzo, and Ashley Winston, under the guidance of Ishita Maheshwari – and keep journals of their findings and feelings.

At the conclusion of the program, the women will share their stories of living and learning in a diverse society with others. It is hoped that they will take home valuable insights on the similarities and differences of cultural values, beliefs, and culture’s historical and socio-political influences.

Gale Young, professor and interim chair of communication, and interim associate dean of the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences, is heading the project, along with James Mirrione of the UAEU. It was organized by the Division of Continuing and International Education.