Intercultural Learning in Syracuse

Somali Bantu woman and honors studentOn Saturday, Oct. 29th Honors students (from left to right) Maria Kontos, Amanda Lickfield, Feifei Zhu, Meng Meng, Arianna Brown, and Lauren Deyo visited Habiba Hassan, a traditional basket weaver, and Halima, her daughter, a master jewelry maker in their home in Syracuse’s Somali Bantu refugee community. During the fall semester the students have been researching the folk arts of the Somali Bantus, an oral culture about which little has been written. The goal of this intercultural exchange was to learn about the unique traditions of Somali Bantu people while providing opportunities for the women to become proficient in English conversation. During the visit, Honors students Meng Meng and Feifei learn traditional weaving techniques (photo 2) and Suldana Ibrahim showed Maria the beautiful henna motifs traditionally painted on the hands and feet of brides.

Congratulations Alaina Mallette

Adrienee Mallette shown teaching student how to test water

Adrienne Mallette shown in a boat with kids in the Dominican Republic


 

Congratulations to Honors student Alaina Mallette, who was invited to the 2011 Geological Society of America annual meeting to present a poster about the work she did last summer in the Dominican Republic. Alaina is heavily involved in the DREAM project (Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring Project). More information on the DREAM project can be found here.

Read the full news release from the SU College of Arts & Sciences News page here.