Letters et cetera

Bob Swap received a number of responses to his “Food for Thought” column in Arts & Sciences and an article on his Africa programs in the Virginia magazine. These two letters are a sample.

I tried to complete the metaphor to balance out the “Food for Thought” article that struck me both in the gut and in my mind. As a U.Va. graduate with a stint in the Peace Corps-Nepal and living in South Asia on and off through ’78, the multiple issues and immersions retold in your “Last Look” piece resurfaced many of my own recollections and current guiding principles.

Optimistically speaking, the importance of directed cross-cultural learning in higher education is making a significant inroad into programs and plans across our nation. It is heartening to hear about such programs as you have directed, and the disconnects related in fact are to be expected and even welcomed. Cross-cultural learning in the mid-’60s for all-male U.Va. undergrads was a road trip to a women’s college. How far we have come since then! It is staggering to try to comprehend the minutiae of cross-cultural learning, much less understanding, and to reckon the consequences when one gets it wrong or right. As an educator I am humbled to realize that we do not even have many useful frameworks to assess cultural awareness, understanding, ability to anticipate. … The food incident does serve to demonstrate to all how interconnected cultural learning is to other aspects of the social milieu and psychological state one finds oneself in at the time. … I am sure you are busy enough in the physical realm of environmental sciences. But much support and thanks are due you and your staff for taking on this difficult realm of adjunct learning. In the meantime, cross-cultural learning and opportunities will be ever more important in a post-9/11 interconnected world; it will and should be part of college studies across all disciplines.

Lon R. Davis
(College ’70, MEd, Social Foundations of Education ’75)
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

I just finished reading your “Last Look” article in the recent Arts & Sciences magazine. At first reading the article I was anxious to learn a bit about the frequently praised study-abroad program you reference, which I had heard about too late in my studies. I was happily surprised to learn about the self-reflection that occurred on this particular trip. It is not often that we can be self-critical and then share this with others. Thank you for your eloquent and honest portrayal of a self-deprecating story which has so much to teach all Americans.

Although I graduated in May, my studies are not over. I am embarking on my own “study abroad” in just two weeks to South Asia till May. I do not plan to conduct any formal study except in the form of self-reflection as you described in your article. Your article was a perfect reminder of just the sort of cultural sensitivity that cannot be read about, taught or foreseen. I hope that I may draw such important lessons over my upcoming travels.

Thank you for the insight and your contributions to education beyond the Grounds.

Suzanne Pinckney
(Environmental Thought and Practice, Religious Studies ’06)
Richmond, Va.

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Arts & Sciences welcomes letters from readers, via e-mail at or by U.S. Mail at P.O. Box 400804, Charlottesville, Va. 22904. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style and appropriateness.

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