Students discuss lessons from Cyprus

Chadbourne Residential College (CRC) will host a presentation by nine UW–Madison students who traveled together to the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus over the summer.

The three-week international summer seminar on social justice, “Mapping a Diverse Cyprus: Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Religion,” was conducted by Mary Layoun, professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and CRC faculty director.

The students will share their stories and the lessons they learned from participating in the seminar and from their interactions with Cypriots and non-Cypriots on Wednesday, Oct. 13, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Main Lounge of Chadbourne, 420 N. Park St.

Layoun says Cyprus and its residents welcomed the seminar participants and offered their stories and perspectives to the group as they moved back and forth across the divided island and its capital city of Lefkosia. The seminar sought to understand issues of diversity and difference, of division, re-unification and community, as Cypriots and other residents of Cyprus confront and respond to those issues today. Students met with diverse residents and citizens of Cyprus: writers, teachers, journalists, politicians, community organizers, and activists.

In learning about diversity, division, and community in Cyprus, students also gained a clearer comparative understanding of race, gender, and religion in the United States. The students pledged to return to Madison and to share their experiences with local communities – to “bring it home.”

The presentation, “What Matters to Us and Why: Lessons from Cyprus,” will be an evening of inspiring stories, music, and refreshments in tribute to the students’ engaged efforts to understand evolving international concepts of social justice in democratic societies.

The evening is hosted by Chadbourne Residential College and by the students, faculty, and staff who made this exploration in international learning possible. The Cyprus International Seminar was supported and made possible by the Evjue Foundation, Chadbourne Residential College, the Office of International Academic Programs, the Department of Comparative Literature, and the College of Letters and Science.