Bluffton University will offer a unique opportunity for students this upcoming spring semester.
Led by Paul Neufeld Weaver, professor of education and Spanish and director of global education, and Tareq Abuhalima of Palestine, EDU 299 Partnering with Palestinians will allow Bluffton students to connect with students from the Gaza Strip.
The class was designed after a previous class Neufeld Weaver had in 2020 when COVID-19 led to the cancellation of cross-cultural opportunities for students to travel internationally. In the original class, Bluffton students spoke with other students from multiple different countries.
“About six months ago, Tareq, who’s the person I worked with, contacted me and said the organization Youth Vision Society was applying for a grant from the US State Department for a new partnership program they wanted to set up and was wondering if Bluffton wanted to get involved,” said Neufeld Weaver.
Professor of education and Spanish and director of global education, Paul Neufeld Weaver. Photo by Olivia Daugherty.
The class is one credit hour and starts Mar. 1 and runs through May 5, though students can take the course without receiving credit if they choose. It consists of a two-hour-long orientation session and two three-hour-long workshops to prepare students to speak with the Palestinians. The class will also have eight one-on-one sessions with the partners.
“For the interchange between the students, we are not setting a meeting time,” said Neufeld Weaver. “Each student will work out with their assigned person what time they will do the interchange.”
While the course may be listed under the education department, students of any major are encouraged to investigate the course. Deborah Yoder is a junior English major and peace and conflict studies minor who is taking the course to connect with people who live in Palestine.
Deborah Yoder, a junior English major and peace and conflict minor. Photo by Olivia Daugherty.
“I really wanted to take the Israel-Palestine cross-cultural but that was canceled due to COVID restrictions being too strict in the country,” said Yoder. “I wanted to go to Israel-Palestine because of the conflicts that have been happening there and I wanted to learn more about them, so this offered an opportunity to kind of connect with people who live there.”
Neufeld Weaver foresees multiple benefits of participating in this course for both the Palestinian and Bluffton students.
“There’s a lot of people in different parts of the world who want to learn English and who want to learn about the US,” said Neufeld Weaver. “I think they [cultural exchange courses] are great for Bluffton students particularly because it reenforces Bluffton’s goal of learning about the world.”
Yoder said she thinks the class will help her in the future with her minor and can see benefits from speaking with students from other cultures.
“I just think cross-cultural experiences and talking to different people is helpful in general in life,” said Yoder. “I think this will be a valuable class to have taken.”
For students who are interested in the course, they can register via myBluffton and can contact Neufeld Weaver for more information or sign up for the non-credit option by emailing him at weaverpn[at]bluffton.edu.
