Pack Your Bags for International Education Week

The world is coming to your doorstep next week, when Emerson once again celebrates International Education Week (IEW) Nov. 18-22 with food, film, art, discussions, and info sessions on ways to take your education abroad.

IEW is an initiative of the U.S. State and Education departments, and was created to encourage students to explore programs and fellowships that allow them to study internationally. Emerson takes it even further.

“International Education Week is one of my favorite events of the year,” said Vice Provost for Internationalization & Equity Anthony Pinder. “It is a time when I get to see the staff within my division flourish as they collaborate with other campus partners, student groups, faculty, and alumni in ways that serve our purpose at Emerson, which is to educate and inspire the community around topics at the intersection of global engagement and equity, access and social justice.”

The week will feature live events in Boston and Los Angeles, as well as several virtual options.

On Tuesday, November 19, at 5:30 pm in the Bordy Theater (Boston), visiting artist Alicia Martinez Alvarez will present …In the Land of Masks. Alvarez, a stage creator and teacher at the National School of Theater Art in Mexico City and founder of the Laboratorio de la Máscara, will present some of her handmade masks and discuss her artistic approach, in an evening moderated and translated by Performing Arts Assistant Professor Indira Salinas.

“I inherit a long chain of knowledge and feelings from the references of my history and my country; the teachings of teachers and mentors from different parts of the world and listening to students from different schools and universities,” Alvarez says in her artist’s statement. “From there comes the reflection that I now share: The mask that is inhabited from a firm heart and a wise body will boldly embody our complex humanity.”

Take a look at writer James Baldwin’s lesser-known time in Istanbul, Turkey, with a screening of the documentary From Another Place by Baldwin’s friend, the late Sedat Pakay, and a talkback with members of the Pakay family, moderated by Writing, Literature and Publishing Professor and Interim Graduate Studies Dean Kim McLarin. In this James Baldwin Centennial Celebration, happening Wednesday, November 20, 1:30 pm, also in Boston’s Bordy, Emerson looks at the life of the African-American author and civil rights activist through an international lens.

“James Baldwin referred to himself as a ‘transAtlantic commuter,’ never remaining for long in America, but never leaving it permanently,” McLarin said. “He deeply valued the liberatory aspect of international travel, the way leaving home can shift one’s thinking, challenge one’s perspective, and alter one’s understanding of both self and the world.  The film is called From Another Place because Baldwin knew that to see America clearly, it helps to look at it from another place.”

On Thursday, November 21, 1:00 pm, in the Beard Room (Piano Row), attorney Richard Iandoli of Boston-based immigration law firm Iandoli, Desai & Cronin, P.C., will discuss U.S. Immigration Policy Towards LGBTQIA+ Migrants. In conversation with Vice Provost for Internationalization & Equity Anthony Pinder, Iandoli will offer a historical arc of how U.S. immigration policy has impacted — for better or for worse — the queer international community.

Among and between these three events will be international food festivals in both Boston and LA, info sessions on the Fulbright program (for students) and teaching abroad (for faculty), a virtual panel with Emerson alums living abroad, a screening of international student films, and more.

“Every year, I am blown away by the talent and global interconnectedness displayed between our students, faculty, and staff,” Corey Blackmar, Director of Global Partnerships & Internationalization, said. “The week is a testament to what we can learn about the world from those simply sitting beside us!”

Find a complete schedule of IEW events on the International Education Week webpage or EmConnect.