Majida Bargach - French

Our students are more and more eager to learn about the world.

Since the summer 2002 I have the tremendous opportunity to direct the UVa Program in Morocco. There, the students take classes of Literature, Civilization, attend lectures and conferences where they learn as much as possible about the country. They also take trips around the country. But in their view point that I share, the most valuable experience is meeting with local people from different backgrounds.

My dream idea would be to take my students around the world … in Charlottesville. How?

Our University town is the most incredible place I have ever seen. Each year, the city welcomes families from all over the world. I met people from countries I never had the chance to visit like Congo, Afghanistan, Burma, Sudan, Argentina, Pakistan, Bosnia, Russia and Somalia, and I learned so much from refugees or just new immigrants.

I would love to organize a tour of the world with my students in town. Once a month the students and I would spend a day with a family. The students will be asked to prepare their meeting by learning about the country of the family they will meet: its geography, history, ethnic components, political and social situation and all the elements that will allow them to connect with our hosts and be prepared to learn more about them.

This exciting activity will involve a double exposure. Exposing the students to people they have never had the opportunity to meet is, and, at the same time, exposing our hosts and their kids to our great students they would never have the chance to gather with. Each one can learn from the other and our students will especially be role models for the young ones. The kids could find mentors among the group or at least be exposed to the diversity of our student, because I would like the group to be as divers as possible.

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Provisional Budget: $250 X 8 monthly meetings.

Students in the Department of Religious Studies are often driven by a powerful interest in public service, as well as a deep curiosity about religion and its presence in peoples' and societies' lives. Yet the work we do on religion rarely gives students the opportunity to understand how they might combine their training in religion with public service--both to bring their education to bear on public service, and to enrich their studies by an appreciation of how expertise in religion may be enriched and shaped by public service. I propose to help a group of students learn that, by leading them on a "field trip" across the landscape of think tanks, media outlets, political actors, and government agencies in Washington DC, all of whom are vitally concerned with understanding religion and its manifold impact on our world today.

I would like to organize a two or three-day "field trip" to observe several dimensions of work in the capital that involves religious studies. I was on leave in Washington DC in the Fall of 2006, and thus have a number of relevant contacts who would be available for such a visit.

I would like to include visits to several think tanks, such as the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, possibly the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the Center for American Progress, and the Brookings Institution; a visit with members of the Legislative Branch who have interest in the role of religion in domestic and foreign policy (possibly Representative David Price of North Carolina); a visit with a church lobbying group in Washington; visits with several offices in the Executive Branch who have interest in religion (possibly the State Department's Religious Freedom branch, the Office of Faith-Based Opportunities, and perhaps some members of the CIA's analysis division); a visit with a major media figure, in this case Amy Sullivan, the National Politics Editor of Time magazine (and a specialist in religion and politics); and possibly a visit with a political consulting firm, such as Common Good Strategies, which helps politicians engage with the faith communities in their electoral regions, as well as (ideally) a visit with the American Civil Liberties Union, or Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The point would be in several days to acquaint the students both with the range of opportunities in Washington DC to bring their education to bear on major issues, both globally and domestically, today, as well as to show them the various ways (especially but not exclusively in an election year) in which religion is a topic of urgent concern and vigorous debate in many different ways, for many different people across the political spectrum today.

The "field trip" would not be a stand-alone event. I would plan on running a reading group before we went, during which the students would read some classic texts on the relation between religion and politics in the United States, from excerpts of Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, possibly Walter Lippmann, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Martin Luther King, to some more recent work done on the "profile" of religion in the capital--the various ways it is part of public life there, from analysts of religious issues, lobbyists for religious causes, as well as participants in various governmental offices dealing with religious matters.

What best endures from transformational experiences are the relationships formed among friends and colleagues. Through trial and growth and the sharing of ourselves the times that bring change do so through the voices and faces of those around us. Colleges and universities commonly structure educational experiences so as to build these relationships among students, but, for many reasons, strong relationships among students and faculty are now rather rare. Rich relationships between students and their professors were once the norm and were certainly a pillar of Mr. Jefferson’s views on education at the University of Virginia. Regrettably, the incentives for professors to build learning relationships have grown weak amid other pressures. Thankfully, generous and genuine believers in the value of student-faculty educational relationships have provided resources to continue in the traditions of the Academical Village at the Darden School.

In recognition of the objectives and ambitions of the Mead-Colley Funds I propose to engage students of the Darden School in the aid of entrepreneurs in low-income, developing nations. Our continuing project may be thought of as a cross between ‘micro-venture capital’ and consulting. Darden students and I will literally lend our skills in countries such as Nicaragua in an effort to better the business models and bring smart finance to entrepreneurs. As part of this process, we will engage deeply in the economic lives of entrepreneurs in developing nations as they work to bring ethical commerce and reduce poverty through the investments of new firms. This year 16 Darden students allocated nearly 2000 hours towards the betterment of business ideas and financial needs of entrepreneurs in Nicaragua. With the assistance of the Mead-Colley Award, I will continue the delivery of Darden’s intellectual resources to entrepreneurs in low-income nations while traveling with and engaging students in many one-on-one and group discussions of the role of business in the process of economic development. No other activity could be closer to my aims as an educator and a professional economist.

I am an experimental physicist; a researcher in medium energy particle physics. I conduct my research at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) located in Newport News, Virginia. At Jefferson lab basic research is conducted to understand the quark sub-structure of nuclei, protons neutrons and other sub-atomic particles. I first got started in Jefferson lab research when I was still an undergraduate in early nineties. One main reason that attracted me to Jefferson lab research was that while it was cutting edge world class research, much of the technology and concepts behind the workings of the lab were closely related to intriguing new concepts I was studying in my undergraduate physics courses. For example, elementary particles are routinely accelerated to speeds very close to the speed to light at Jefferson lab. At these speeds the particles behave exactly as prescribed by the theory of relativity; like "speeding things age less". I was so amazed and intrigued to see that an unstable particle that has a very short life time when it is stationary, lives much longer when it is moving close to the speed of light, and that this could be readily demonstrated using a simple experiment. Another example was the "wave-particle duality'': that any moving particle also has wave behavior while a wave, like a ray of light or a radio wave, also behaves like a bunch of particles. This of course sounds strange when applied to day to day objects like tennis balls or cars. However, it becomes very clear whenone enters the world of elementary particles. Actually I was excited to understand, based on the wave-particle duality, that Jefferson lab is really a giant electron microscope, working with a beam of ``electron waves'' , similar in principle to a regular optical microscope (but operating at a much smaller wave length to explore MUCH smaller objects and costing about a billion dollars).

One of the experiments I am working on with my colleagues at Jefferson lab will take place next Spring and Summer, in this experiment we plan to study the properties of the proton with unprecedented precision; it is kind of like taking a very high resolution snap-shot of the proton. One of my dreams have been to give the opportunity of participating in a Jefferson lab experiment to at least a few undergraduate physics majors. A one week stay in Newport news cost about $ 600. So I would like to organize a competition among physics majors next Spring where they will write a short research paper on the way a modern physics topic of their choice has been used at Jefferson lab. Then I would like to take the three top winners of this competition to Jefferson lab in the Summer where they will stay for a week and participate in the running of the proton experiment and get a chance to see the workings of this world class lab for themselves.

AFRICAN MUSIC "FRIDAY SOCIETY"

OUTLINE

My project will provide an opportunity for current students and alumni to come together to play African music, dance, and discuss local and global issues on a weekly basis (Friday afternoons for about two hours). Once each semester, this group will also host an open party/performance that centers around advanced repertoire and sociability.

BACKGROUND AND EXPLANATION

The music that I teach inextricably links social life and music/dance practice. My "dream project" will further develop this sociomusical link outside of the classroom.

Since 1996 I have directed the UVA African Music and Dance Ensemble, (MUEN 369), concentrating on repertoire from two regions: Ghana/Togo (Ewe), and Central African Republic (BaAka "pygmies"). The course is open to all students in any major (by audition, no experience expected). Typically, a core group of students stays in the ensemble for several years, teaching new students the basics, and often returning after graduation for rehearsals, jams, and concerts (several have also traveled to Africa on their own). Some have met with me, ad hoc, outside of class to learn the lead drumming in the Ewe repertoire, or to learn the steps for Elamba, a special BaAka women’s dance. Over the years these core students have requested regular extra meetings outside of class so that advanced players and dancers might refine what they know and bring it to a more intense sociomusical level. For these students, involvement has often gone considerably beyond the music/dance practice itself, affecting their diverse paths in medicine, law, teaching, as professional musicians, or in paths to various graduate programs. The proposed project will solidify that process and offer a concrete context to fortify it.

MEMBERSHIP

Members of the Friday Society will be mostly current students and alumni who have been enrolled in the MUEN369 ensemble for at least one previous semester. New people (current MUEN369 students, or others from the UVA and Charlottesville community) may be invited to join the sessions if they show unusual promise and dedication. Faculty and staff with relevant experience (such as Scott DeVeaux or I-Jen Fang) may also participate in the Friday Society. I expect the group to range between ten and twenty members. The Friday Society will normally meet in room 107 Old Cabell Hall, but may occasionally meet at a member’s house.

OUTREACH TO LOCAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY

There has recently been an initiative among core students to collaborate with local African immigrants from the culture groups we study. Many Ewe and Ge (from Ghana and Togo) are employed by UVA (classified staff), and we have created some occasions to come together with them. This project will provide a forum for more such musical get-togethers that reach across class and culture. As in Africa, such a group might also lend social support to members who may experience a life crisis or transition (such as death or illness in the family).

CALENDAR PLAN

During the Fall semester of the Endowment year, the weekly Friday Society meetings will emphasize advanced Ewe (West African) drumming and dancing. In December the group will host an open party/performance, with special invitations to the local Ewe community and to out-of-town alumni.

Meetings in the Spring semester will center around the BaAka women’s dance, Elamba. The focus will be on intensified interlocked, improvised singing and on refining the dance for those who have been inducted (I was given the authority in Africa to induct others. Note: Both men and women will be welcome to participate -- there are roles for all within this tradition). The Elamba open party/performance in the Spring will also be a send-off event for graduating students, and a "home coming" opportunity for out of town alumni.

A CORE PERFORMING GROUP, and POSSIBLE LASTING EFFECTS

I envision that this group will become a core performing group that responds to the many requests I receive every semester to perform at University and community charitable and educational events. The group may offer outreach programs to local schools. I expect the Friday Society will also provide a context for discussions about race and culture on grounds. There are other possible lasting outgrowths of this project, such as eventually establishing regular connections with "sister" music societies (clubs) in Ghana/Togo and in Central African Republic (I will research this possibility this summer while in Africa). I imagine the project might also provide the seed for developing a study abroad, J-term, or alumni service/music-culture trip to Africa.

USE OF FUNDS

I envision approximately half of the Meade Endowment funds supporting light refreshments for some Friday sessions, sponsoring the two party/performances (food, possibly rental fee for a space, some publicity), and occasionally defraying transportation costs to a local performance event.

The other half of the funds might support a fee for a visiting African artist to join the group for a short residency. Normally we will borrow my own instruments and those owned by the McIntire Dept. of Music, but Endowment funds can also support the replacement of some of the small (more breakable) instruments such as shakers, iron bells, or drum sticks, and cover limited instrument repair materials (drum heads and pegs) and labor as needed. Cloth for simple Friday Society performance attire might also be purchased with the funds.

If any funds remain unspent at the end of the year, they could either be used as seed money for an eventual scholarship prize competition for a member’s study abroad in Africa. Alternately, those funds could seed an ongoing self-sustaining general Friday Society fund beyond 07-08. A decision as to how best to use any possible remaining funds would be made in consultation with members of the Friday Society at the end of the year.

"THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKING":

PILGRIMAGE AND THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

Heather Warren’s Dream Idea

For thousands of years people have walked long distances through wild terrains to gain inner clarity and meet their God at holy places, usually on mountain tops or at other remote locations. Such trips included an extended period of spiritual, mental, and physical preparation. In the western world these journeys became known as pilgrimages and those who undertook them as pilgrims. These pilgrims experienced transformation, as much along the way as at their destinations. Like pilgrims of old, Appalachian Trail hikers—whether thru-hikers who cover the trail in one year or section hikers who piece their journey together over several years—undertake their trip as a pilgrimage or have it turn into a pilgrimage along the way.

In 2005, I completed the Appalachian Trail ending a 15-year pilgrimage, and for over a decade I have helped maintain the trail along the Blue Ridge. My dream idea fuses my passion for the Appalachian Trail (AT) with a love for leading others in theological reflection (a practice I incorporate in my undergraduate autobiography course and teach to chaplain interns at the UVA Health Sciences Center). I would delight in offering a 4 credit-hour seminar for six third-year students that teaches them theological reflection through the combination of an academic examination of pilgrimage, supervised community service ("hospitality" plays a significant role in pilgrimages), and hiking 56 miles of the AT, culminating atop Mount Katahdin in Maine, the AT’s northern terminus. Students would be chosen based on a personal statement and an interview.

In the course of a semester, the students and I will examine secondary sources and memoirs as part of our multi-faith inquiry into pilgrimage—e.g., Belden Lane’s Landscapes of the Sacred, Conrad Rudolph’s Pilgrimage to the End of the World: The Road to Santiago de Compostella, Roger Kamentez’s "Jewish Writing and the Spiritual Journey," and a few AT hikers’ narratives. We will also study the history of central Maine to learn about the Penobscot and Abnaki Native Americans who held Katahdin in respectful awe, the logging industry and its camp life, and more recent eco-tourism. Guest speakers will enrich these academic explorations. For their part, students will submit expository and reflective essays based on the readings and discussion.

Preparation for our hike in Maine will involve more than books. Students must commit themselves to a weekly regimen of exercise (determined for each participant by a trainer at the AFC), 2 hours of community service work per week, and several hikes in the Charlottesville area. A warm-up backpacking trip in May will take us along the AT near Roanoke over Tinker Mountain. We will read Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (the trail crosses the creek) as part of this adventure. The students must keep a journal and reserve a week of their summer—late July or early August—for the trip to Maine. Afterwards we will meet to "debrief" (decompress?) and evaluate as a group.

The Mead Endowment grant would cover the costs of travel, a session with a trainer, and outfitting the students. The manager at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports has assured me that he will work with us to outfit the students for under $2,000 (this includes boots that are truly made for walking!—the most important piece of equipment).

I would be honored to receive funding from the Mead Endowment for this pilgrimage in reflective education. I believe that the student-faculty interaction on our journey from classroom to summit will provide us with abundant opportunity for transformation—physical, mental, intellectual, and spiritual.

My proposal to the Endowment grows out of the experience of teaching my Political & Social Thought seminar over the past ten years, and follows a suggestion from the students themselves. On many occasions we would be discussing a book or an historical event, and I’d say something like "this reminds me of the scene from Casablanca," or I’d ask if anyone had seen a classic anti-war film like The Grand Illusion or a classic political thriller like Z or the original Manchurian Candidate. I used to try to convey Kant’s idea of history from a "cosmopolitan point of view" by referring to the scene in The African Queen in which the grumbling and leech-covered Humphrey Bogart, exhausted from pulling his boat bearing missionary Katherine Hepburn through thicker and thicker mud and marsh grass just about gives up. Then we get a very long, slow-tracking camera shot that gradually expands the perspective—until we see that the boat is just about 20 yards from the open water of Lake Tanganyika. This broader view, I would explain, can be a metaphor for the way Kant wants us to understand history: not the view of those pushing through the mud and reeds, but the longer view that shows us the patterns and destinations. But then I realized that virtually no student has seen The African Queen, so the image did not help. And almost invariably, when I mentioned "classic films" I would get blank stares or a bemused reply along the lines of "the movies you mention are always so ancient!" In a post-class discussion I had with some students this past spring , the idea of an informal "classic and political film night" emerged. Though they could, these students, did not really want to take a full cinema class (and in any case the films I would mention would not always be ones treated in such a class) but they were interested in seeing, and discussing together in a relaxed non-class setting, a range of such films. They also thought I could invite some faculty friends to join in.

So this, in a nutshell, is my idea: a series of about 16-18 films over the course of next year that I could show with a small (perhaps 8-12) group of students in a comfortable place with media capability like the Kaleidoscope Lounge in Newcomb Hall. Everyone thought we should offer pizza and soda (or similarly easy and deliverable food) and pick a night (Wednesday or Thursday) on a fairly regular basis, commencing after the early term rush and ending before exam crunch. Students from PST and my other human rights seminar (this is a group of about 60 students)

would provide a core from which a varying group could attend. We could widen the net to friends and the broader affinity groups among the many organizations these students belong to. What films would we watch? I have a broad group in mind, but would keep things open. The magnificent Robertson Library in Clemons has most of what I’d like to show, and the few it doesn’t either I own personally or can be ordered. I list possibilities here, among which I would choose in consultation with the students. Part of the fun would be choosing which films to show! "Art House" Classics: Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Grand Illusion, Rules of the Game, 400 Blows, Selections from "The Decalogue," 81/2 Hollywood Classics All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Casablanca, The African Queen, Paths of Glory, The Thirty-nine Steps, North by Northwest, Patton, Dr Strangelove. Political Thrillers or "Message Movies" Z, State of Siege, The Battle of Algiers, La Guerre est finie, East-West, The Last Metro, Europa-europa, The Lost Honor of Katherina Blum Dystopian Visions 1984, Gattaca, Minority Report, A Clockwork Orange, Brazil, Solaris Classic (and ‘screwball’) Comedies Bringing up Baby, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Man in the White Suit, The Mouse that Roared, Being There As is evident, even this preliminary list is about double what could be shown in a year—but I hope it gives a flavor of what I have in mind. It seems to me noteworthy that our media-soaked students generally have so little experience of films like these, which, in the days before DVDs, used to be shown in earnest college Film Societies. My idea is to strike a modest blow for cultural literacy while enjoying some rich and informal discussion with our students about films I loved and found influential. These films could occasion some wonderful interaction with students, very much in the tradition of Professor Mead.

Cost: In my experience of holding gatherings at my home, enough pizza and soft drinks for about 20 students, delivered, runs to about $100. So for 16-18 meeting the total would amount to $1600-1800 , with perhaps the balance reserve for purchasing the occasional DVD not owned, or immediately able to be acquired, by Clemons. So the whole program should be quite possible to achieve for a cost under $2,000.00. Thank you for honoring me as a Mead Fellow, and for offering the opportunity to pursue greater and richer interaction with my students.

Yours sincerely, Michael Joseph Smith, Sorensen Professor of Political & Social Thought