Meet with representative from the International Sustainable Development Institute (ISDSI) that provides field-based environmental study abroad program for undergraduates. Study sustainable agriculture in the lowlands, forest ecology in the uplands, and coastal ecology in the south. Great for many CALS majors. Students from other colleges may apply, not approved for A&S.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program supports U.S. citizens to study, conduct research in any field, or teach English in more than 150 countries. Students who wish to begin the program immediately after graduation are encouraged to start the process in their junior year. Recent graduates are welcome to apply through Cornell.

The Fulbright program at Cornell is administered by the Mario Einaudi Center for International studies. Applicants are supported through all stages of the application and are encouraged to start early by contacting fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu.

Register for the virtual session.

Can’t attend? Contact fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides full funding for graduate and professional students conducting research in any field or teaching in more than 150 countries. Open to U.S. citizens only. The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program supports doctoral students conducting research in modern languages or area studies for six to 12 months.

Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the United States. Travel to Western European countries is not eligible.

Register for the virtual session.

Can’t attend? Contact fulbright@einaudi.cornell.edu.

"Collaborative Curriculum Design in LCTLs: Student-Centered Multimodal Approaches Using Authentic Media"
Oya Topçuoğlu Judd
Associate Professor of Instruction in Turkish, Northwestern University

As LCTL instructors, we frequently face the challenge of sourcing high-quality, engaging teaching materials that transcend the limitations of traditional textbooks and rely on technology-mediated, multimodal language learning practices and methodology. This is one aspect of language instruction in LCTLs, and especially in single-instructor LCTL programs, where collaboration can be vital. Working together with colleagues, leveraging shared resources, and pooling expertise can significantly enhance the quality and impact of language instruction, both for students and instructors.

At Northwestern University’s Turkish Language Program, we have addressed this issue by collaborating across languages and institutions to develop innovative courses that integrate authentic media and cultural content to enhance language learning and cultural competence in our students. In this talk, I will discuss these collaborative efforts and present two courses that resulted from these collaborations: our first-year course Elementary Turkish through TV Shows and Istanbul: Gateway Between the East and the West, the capstone course of our two-year program.

Our elementary-level course utilizes Turkish TV shows as a core component of the curriculum to promote active engagement and cultural competence. Turkish TV shows, which reach 750 million people across 152 countries, offer enormous potential as authentic teaching materials, providing real-world language exposure and connecting students with engaging, culturally relevant content. In this talk, I will discuss the process of selecting and incorporating TV shows into our existing curriculum, the technological challenges we faced, and share examples of our teaching materials. My goal is to provide concrete tools and strategies for collaborative curriculum design within and across languages, and share materials that can be easily adapted to different skill levels and contexts.

Our capstone course, Istanbul: Gateway Between the East and West, is designed as a content-based, proficiency-oriented course aimed at Intermediate Mid-level learners. This thematic course offers a deep, multifaceted exploration of Istanbul, covering a wide array of topics, from the history and monuments of the city to its representation in modern literature and the challenges of everyday life. By focusing on these diverse subjects, the course encourages students to engage with broader cultural, political, and social issues within the context of the city. I will outline our efforts to create this innovative course content through reverse design, source authentic materials, design proficiency-oriented tasks, and adopt online and interactive tools to enhance student participation and learning.

Bio: Oya Topçuoğlu Judd is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Middle East and North African Languages Program at Northwestern University. Dr. Topçuoğlu Judd teaches on a range of subjects, including modern Turkish language and culture, and the history and archaeology of the Middle East. She holds a Ph.D. in the Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Ottoman History from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Dr. Topçuoğlu Judd is an archaeologist by training, who specializes in the art, archaeology, and history of ancient Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Her research addresses issues of social identity and cultural exchange, and the effects of political change and ideology on the material record of the ancient Middle East. In addition to her work on iconography and symbolism, Dr. Topçuoğlu Judd studies the looting and illegal trafficking of antiquities from Iraq and Syria, the political uses of the ancient past, and its role in the formation of national identities in the modern Middle East. She is particularly interested in the history of archaeology and museums, and cultural heritage preservation in her native Turkey.

This event will be held in person in the Kaufmann Auditorium (G64 Goldwin Smith) and will also be streamed live over Zoom (registration required).

Co-sponsored by the Southeast Asia Program and the Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC) conference.

The event is free and open to the public.

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies funds international graduate student research!

Research travel grants provide international travel support for graduate and professional students to conduct short-term research or fieldwork outside the United States.

Global PhD Research Awards fund fieldwork for 9 to 12 months of dissertation research.

Register for the virtual session.

Can’t attend? Contact einaudi_center@einaudi.cornell.edu.

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The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies hosts info sessions for graduate and for undergraduate students to learn more about funding opportunities, international travel, research, and internships. View the full calendar of fall semester sessions.

atty Lecture Series

Join us for a talk by Dr. Kathryn "Kitsie" Emerson from EKALAYA Arts Cente, who will discuss the social critique in Javanese wayang. Dr. Emerson obtained PhD from the Leiden Institute of Asian Studies at Leiden University. Currently, Dr. Emerson serves as the Director of Ekalaya Performing Arts Center in Central Java, Indonesia.

This Gatty Lecture will take place at the The Kahin Center, 640 Stewart Ave. Lunch will be served. For questions, contact seapgatty@cornell.edu.

About the Talk

Many foreign observers, scholars, and students of Javanese wayang kulit know that an important aspect of this complex performance art is social critique and commentary. But how exactly does the dhalang deliver such criticism? In this lecture, I will introduce participants to a wayang story (lakon) written by the legendary Ki Anom Soeroto in the 1970s, meant to be relevant to the times and to support a certain agenda, entitled Semar Mbangun Kahyangan (Semar Builds His Own Heavens). To this day, this lakon is one of the most popular stories performed in Java, but it turns out to also be flexible. Any dhalang can easily insert his/her own vision of utopia into the fabric of the tale. We will look at how the late Ki Mujoko Joko Raharjo adapted the lakon in the late 1980s, embedding a very different idealism and social commentary to Ki Anom Soeroto’s. We will also examine how Ki Purbo Asmoro recently (July 2024) took on the challenge, of reworking Semar Mbangun Kahyangan to reflect his own hopes and dreams for the Javanese people. By examining the nature of social critique in these three examples, participants will gain an understanding of how the role of the dhalang as a revered advisor works in current-day wayang performance practice.

About the Speaker

Kathryn “Kitsie” Emerson, an alumnus of Cornell’s Music Department (1983), is the director of Ekalaya, a performance-study institute in Java, Indonesia. She has been immersed in the study of gamelan and wayang performance practice for over 30 years in Java. In 2005 she pioneered—and continues to be the sole practitioner of—a unique method for translating wayang kulit performances for foreign audiences. Her technique allows for simultaneous interpretation while the performance is unfolding, respecting the need for spontaneity on the part of the dhalang. She has worked with over 60 different dhalang in this capacity, and across four continents—most recently on a six-week tour to Central Europe with the renowned Ki Purbo Asmoro. Her recent book: Innovation, Style and Spectacle in Wayang: Purbo Asmoro’s Evolution of an Indonesian Performing Art (NUS and University of Chicago Press, 2022), examines innovations in the dramatic structure of Solonese wayang from 1960 to 2020 and won the 2024 UNIMA USA Nancy Staub Award. Originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, she is married to master gamelan musician Wakidi Dwidjomartono of Solo, Central Java.

Gatty Lecture Series

Join us for a talk by Nielson Sophann Hul, PhD Candidate in the Department of Linguistics at Cornell University, who will discuss the implosives in Khmer.

This Gatty Lecture will take place at the The Kahin Center, 640 Stewart Ave. Lunch will be served. For questions, contact seapgatty@cornell.edu.

About the Talk

Implosives are a class of consonants characterized by their unique articulation and acoustic properties. Despite their linguistic significance, their detailed analysis in Khmer, a language with a notable presence of these sounds, remains underexplored. This study aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive analysis of implosive consonants in Khmer. The primary objective of this research is to analyze the acoustic properties of implosives in Khmer and to understand how these properties compare to those of other consonant types within the language. We also aim to explore how implosives interact with other phonetic variables. Acoustic data were collected from native Khmer speakers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Long Beach, California; and Seattle, Washington focusing on implosive consonants in various phonetic contexts. Using advanced acoustic analysis techniques, including spectral and temporal measurements, I examined the characteristics of implosives. The analysis revealed distinct acoustic signatures for Khmer implosives, including specific patterns in spectral frequency and temporal duration. Significant variations were observed based on phonetic context, with differences in implosive characteristics across word positions and speaking rates. These findings highlight the complexity of implosive articulation in Standard Khmer and its interaction with other phonetic features as well as that of the American diasporic varieties of Khmer. This research provides new insights into the acoustic properties of implosives in Khmer, contributing to a deeper understanding of their role in the language's phonetic inventory. The findings have implications for both theoretical phonetics and practical applications, such as speech synthesis and language teaching.

About the Speaker

Nielson Sophann Hul was born in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge period and escaped to the United States of America when he was very young. After High School, he joined the U.S. Army and deployed during OIF/OEF as a Combat Medic. During his breaks in service, Nielson graduated from UCLA with a BA in English Literature and the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa with an MA in Linguistics. He is currently working toward his PhD in Linguistics at Cornell and is interested in the acoustic phonetics of laryngeal sounds in Khmer.