What if your personal history could shape not just your life but your entire career? Join us as we uncover the remarkable journey of Dr. Joyce Pittman whose experiences growing up in the segregated South profoundly influenced her perspective and research focus. From a family that cherished education to owning land, a church, and a school in rural Arkansas, Dr. Pittman's upbringing is a powerful testament to the impact of personal background on academic pursuits. We explore the importance of building rapport in research interviews, much like the casual warm-up conversations in TV interviews, to draw parallels and enhance understanding.

The episode takes a deeper dive into Dr. Pittman's early education and the pivotal role of mentorship. Hear firsthand accounts of her mother’s activism in the civil rights movement and the unique perspectives gained from frequent relocations due to her father's military service. These experiences, coupled with the guidance of a district director of education who ignited her love for reading, shaped her ambitions in education, entrepreneurship, and politics. This enlightening episode shines a light on how personal history and mentorship can profoundly influence one's life and career, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersections of identity, education, and societal change.

You can conveniently order Dr. Joyce Pittman's Memoir, Against All Odds: I Did It! through the online bookstore at Xlibris Bookstore https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore

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It’s 2024, and after a long pandemic break, we’re gearing up for an exciting relaunch in 2025!

We invite you to join us on this journey by catching up with our latest content and revisiting past episodes in this thought-provoking series. In the very first episode, Dr. Joyce Pittman introduces "Educating for Intercultural Understanding and Anti-Racism", a powerful podcast series that dives deep into the pressing issues brought to the forefront by the pandemic.

This 10-part series tackles the social, educational, and economic challenges we now face on a global scale. Beyond the devastating loss of life due to the pandemic, war, and ongoing conflicts, we’ll be addressing the rise in racially motivated violence, particularly against people of color—violations of civil and human rights that demand urgent attention and cultural humility.

Developing and improving peaceful relations with other cultures and races will require we respect and honor those laws, practices and traditions that help us value their contributions and presence in the world.  This is a primary mission and vision of Black History Month and other cultural celebrations by different groups around the world. 

Intercultural and racial relations are facing an unprecedented crisis in worldwide as we face a resurgence of problems surrounding racism and intercultural disconnects with each other as human beings, which did not happen without years of warning. What we did not predict is that given the advances in recognizing growing diversity in education, research, science, technology and human development that we would see such cruelty in our society.

This situation is causing many persons to fear what will come next during this uncertain time of intercultural and racial unrest, especially in the United States of America. However, America is not alone in experiencing this problem.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in a transformative conversation about building a more just and compassionate world. Subscribe now and join us in creating change!

Upcoming Conference new for The Global Teach Connect Summit - a gathering of teachers, students, educators from around the world, November 19, 2024 during International Education Week!

Copy/paste Link:
https://drexel.edu/soe/research/research-initiatives/global-teach-connection/GTC-Summit/

Audience: Those who are concerned with global learning, sustainability, intercultural relations, curriculum and instruction in schools, colleges, universities and community agencies or organizations such as teachers, instructors/professors, administrators, directors, supervisors, curriculum theorists, scholars and researchers, students, parents and community leaders. 

You can conveniently order Dr. Joyce Pittman's Memoir, Against All Odds: I Did It! through the online bookstore at Xlibris Bookstore https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore

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 Matin Royeen, PhD Chicago, Illinois, USA is an Afghan American educator who has lived in the United States during the past fifty years. He completed his Ph.D. in an interdisciplinary program incorporating psychology, counseling, multicultural and global education from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1980. He has a professional degree in Occupational Therapy in the health sciences profession. In the past 40 years, Dr. Royeen has taught in different universities and served as Dean of Student Affairs in a College of Health Sciences in Virginia, USA. He has been intimately involved in diversity training, race relations in the USA, team building, group work, psychosocial training, counseling, stress management, disabilities, peace education, and reconciliation. Dr. Royeen speaks to us on the subject related to  the special issue newsletter theme Educating and Collaborating for a Safe and Peaceful World edited by Dr. Joyce Pittman, WCCI USA Chapter President. WCCI’s Executive Director, Sonja Arnak describes Dr. Royeen’s brilliant contribution capturing his reflections on this topic. “Dr. Matin  shares his thoughts on Afghanistan from September 11th to the recent US withdrawal. His succinct account and concluding thoughts leave us anxious to see what is going to happen next, as he shares the following hopeful thought, “We live in the 21st century and incorporating Islamic values of tolerance, reconciliation, respect for human rights and peace building in the context of the Afghan culture can be compatible in today’s world.” The conversation stimulates the need for an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for a safe and peaceful world. 

Article Synopsis: An Afghan American Educator’s Reflection on 9/11 and Beyond Introduction. The Trauma of September 11, 2001 is still alive in the minds and hearts of those who witnessed this horrific attack of American soil with global implications. Due to our unconditional love for Afghanistan, our feelings and emotions are intrinsically tied to the politics of the moment. I believe the biggest challenge for all is how to establish a balance between our mind and heart while offering realistic solutions that could bring stability, peace and prosperity towards a dignified life for our sisters and brothers in Afghanistan.
My Presentation on Afghanistan: Ironically, on September 11, 2001, I was attending an international conference in Madrid, Spain. My presentation focused on victims of the violent conflict in my home country of Afghanistan as a result of 21 years of political upheaval.
Post 9/11 Period in Afghanistan: Since the 2001 US and allies invasion of Afghanistan, considerable progress has been made in education both for boys and girls, delivery of health services improved and the foundation of a democratic Afghanistan had been set up. Unfortunately, rampant corruption, political infighting, poor governance and disappointment of the public from their leaders created a crisis of confidence that contributed to the most recent reemergence of the Taliban fighters to power on August 15, 2021.

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You can conveniently order Dr. Joyce Pittman's Memoir, Against All Odds: I Did It! through the online bookstore at Xlibris Bookstore https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore

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Racism and the Identity of Blackness in America

Author Interviews with

Emmanuel Sogah and Genevieve Balance Kupang

The authors published their full paper in the WCCI Newsletter Spring 2021 issue, which can be found on this Website: https://wcci-international.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Spring-2021-Newsletter.pdf

Read more about WCCI by following additional links on the site above.

Overview

In this episode the authors reflect on their paper and experiences as they attempt to provide a deconstructive, anti-racial, and mindset-shifting education for appropriate anthropological understanding of human identity, dignity, and ethnicity. It describes clearly and movingly an African’s experience of systemic racism in America and makes the argument against the racialization of people of African descent (PAD) as "black" — a globally adopted and imposed color-labelled identity of Africans in general.

Giving a historical background of European explorers’ first encounter with the Afris on the African continent in the late 1500s, the paper poignantly highlights the explorers’ color-labeling description of, and racial "prejudication" against, Africans as inferior humans, leading to their subsequent kidnapping and enslavement, which drew the Catholic Church’s mediocre efforts against slavery.

Dr. Genevieve Balance Kupang (Genie) is an anthropologist, consultant, researcher, and advisor to individuals and organizations engaged in working for justice, peace, integrity of creation, the indigenous peoples, and societal transformation processes. She is a peace educator, an interreligious dialogue practitioner, author with a career in the academe and NGO. She was the SIG Coordinator for Peace Education in the Taiwan (2012) and San Diego Conference. Currently the Chair of WCCI SIG.https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7wx7t7t9vdbpoc/podcastEpisode2-Sogahkupangzoom.mov?dl=0

Dr. Emmanuel Sogah, an AFRICAN native of Ghana and US citizen, is a catholic theologian and a non-ordained missionary with the Johannine Missions, USA. He has travelled extensively across the globe engaging in cross-cultural Catholic evangelization, educational seminars, and mission research. He is also a consultant, a mentor, keynote speaker, and program facilitator for ministry leadership, governance, and professional development, and has served the Catholic Church for the past 35 years in various ministry capacities in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. He holds a doctorate in Theological Education, a Masters in Systematic Theology, and a Baccalaureate in Philosophy and Anthropology.

A quiet musician, a great cook, a spiritual counselor, and an avid public speaker and teacher. Dr. Sogah enjoys playing the piano, composing worship music, spending quiet time in prayer and reflections, and serving at his parish. He does gardening during the spring and summer, and goes on missionary and research travels; researching, and engaging in informal practical Christian life formation. Besides English, he speaks a few other languages, including Akan (Ghanaian) Chinese, French, Hausa, and some Spanish, some Swahili, and some Tagalog.  

Link to Zoom Video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7wx7t7t9vdbpoc/podcastEpisode2-Sogahkupangzoom.mov?dl=0

You can conveniently order Dr. Joyce Pittman's Memoir, Against All Odds: I Did It! through the online bookstore at Xlibris Bookstore https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore

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