Delegation of Faculty at The College of Wooster Prepares for 'Discovery of India'

Professors will immerse themselves in the culture and then share their experience in the classroom

WOOSTER, Ohio - A delegation of faculty members from The College of Wooster will embark upon a trip to India this week as part of President Grant Cornwell's emphasis on diversity and global engagement. The two-week trip, supported through the Hales Presidential Discretionary Fund, will include stops in Delhi, Agra, Haridwar, Chennai, and elsewhere

Shila Garg, dean of faculty and professor of physics as well as a native of India, will lead the group, which consists of Peter Havholm from the department of English; Mark Weaver from political science; Shirley Huston-Findley from theatre; Mark Wilson from geology; Katie Holt, Greg Shaya, and Peter Pozefsky from history; and Henry Kreuzman, Lee McBride, John Rudisill and Elizabeth Schiltz from philosophy. The individuals were selected from a faculty reading group that met weekly during the past year at the President's home to discuss Martha Nussbaum's book The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future.

"India is the world's largest democracy," said Pozefsky. "Globalization has linked its economic future closely to our own. I think that all of the faculty participating in the trip believe that it's incredibly important for our students both to know something about India and to begin to understand the connections between India and their own communities."

The objective of the trip, according to Garg, is to enable the faculty members to interact with the people of India and immerse themselves in the culture so that they can incorporate what they have experienced into one of their classes. "Our goal is to enrich the curriculum and benefit the students in a global context," said Garg.

After arriving in Delhi, on May 16, the group will visit the internationally renowned Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), where it will meet with members of the humanities and social sciences departments. They will also sit in on lectures about the "Changing Role of Caste System" and "Religious Pluralism in India." A sightseeing excursion to Qutub Minar and Red Fort and a presentation about globalization from India's perspective will highlight activities on the second day. The group will also tour temples and ashrams in Haridwar, observe an evening ritual of 'aarti' in the Ganges, and go up the Himalayas to visit Devprayag where two rivers join to form the holy river Ganges. Other activities include a seminar with the history faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University, a peek at Indian performing arts, a tour of seashore temples and stone carvings from the 7th Century at Mahabalipuram, and discussions about HIV/AIDS, the political scene, and women's issues in India. The group hopes to conclude its journey with a stop in Wooster Nagar, the small coastal town in Tamil Nadu, which was destroyed by the tsunami in 2006 but rebuilt with support from the City of Wooster and The College of Wooster. They plan to deliver the Wooster bicentennial flag to the village during their visit.

Several members of the traveling party prepared for the trip by meeting with three College of Wooster students from India (Rashmi Ekka, Gitika Mohta, and Anoop Parik) in late April. The professors peppered the trio with questions about etiquette, dress, food, education, weather, and a range of other topics during the 90-minute session. The students, who responded with thoughtful advice that included what to wear, where to eat, and how to interact with others, wanted to call the faculty's attention to the country's vast religious and cultural diversity as well as the impact of globalization on the recent wave of development that has accentuated the already sharp contrasts between rich and poor.

Those interested in monitoring the journey can do so through a blog after May 16.