Faculty members and students attended a Fireside Chat last night to follow up on last month's debate between Political Science Professor Robert Devigne and Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) Director Sherman Teichman.
The chat was hosted by the Synaptic Scholars program, which is part of the IGL. The event encouraged students to think about the ethical choices they will face if they go abroad. There was a specific focus on studying in countries facing economic turmoil.
Associate Anthropology Professor Rosalind Shaw, Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser, Teichman and Associate Economics Professor Edward Kutsoati attended, as did a number of students.
Faculty members encouraged students to do service and research projects and underscored the importance of making a meaningful impact on host countries.
"Make sure you do no harm," Teichman said. "You'll learn significantly, but it must be done with humility and with a certain understanding."
Kutsoati, who headed the Ghana Gold study program last year, touched on the challenges that students face when they travel to areas marked by extreme poverty.
"There is a perception," he said, "that when foreigners come into a community, they're coming to solve [its] problems."
Kutsoati stressed that it is better if students introduce change into a foreign community and let its citizens carry through with it themselves.
Glaser lauded the university's study abroad programs. "Tufts is a magnet for students with vision, ambition and hunger," he said. "When I went to college, my peers didn't do what Tufts students are doing."
