Testimonies of Migration: International Studies Summer Institute 2023

Registration for this event is now closed. You can ask to be put on the waitlist be emailing SBP84@Cornell.edu

The 2023 International Studies Summer Institute (ISSI) will explore testimonies of migration. The ISSI is a professional development workshop for practicing and pre-service K–12 educators hosted annually by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, in collaboration with the South Asia Center at Syracuse University. 

During this cross-curriculum conference, educators will engage in discussions, workshops, and lectures that explore and amplify personal narratives of migration. Professors, postdoctoral fellows and other scholars from Cornell University and Syracuse University will share their cutting-edge research on migrant experiences from across different regions of the world, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Speakers will focus on individual narratives, as well as systemic reasons for migration, such as politics, conflict, and climate change. 

Sessions will also explore culturally responsive practices when working with migrant students and discussing migrant narratives. Teachers will gain tools for leading conversations and developing projects with their students about migrant experiences. 

Teachers will leave the conference with concrete resources to use in their classrooms, a deeper awareness of how to enter into conversation with students about their own and others’ migration experiences, and an understanding of contemporary migrant experiences from across the world. 

The 2023 ISSI will be applicable for elementary, middle, and high school educators from all subject areas. Participating teachers will have the option to complete a lesson plan for PD credit that incorporates content from the workshop, with the support and guidance of our outreach staff. 

Conference Schedule:

8:45-9:00 Breakfast and check-in

9:00-9:15  Introductory Remarks by Rachel Beatty Riedl  

9:15-10:20 Panel: "Ethical and culturally responsive engagement with migrant narratives" 

Panelists: Farah Bakaari, Juhwan Seo, Rose Anderson 

Moderator: Shannon Gleeson 

10:20-10:30 Break   

10:30-11:30 Workshop with Mary Jo Dudley, “Supporting Immigrant Families in Schools” 

11:30-12:00 Networking and reflection activity 

12:00-1:00 Lunch 

1:00-1:45 Breakout Sessions

Focus: Project-based learning around themes of migration (same sessions offered twice) 

• Option 1: Nicole Thuzar Tu-Maung, “Photovoice Methodology” 
• Option 2: Maria Gimma, “Understanding the Global Phenomenon of Migration, a Project-Based Curriculum” 
• Option 3: Nausheen Husain, “Storytelling With Data” 

1:45-1:50 Break 

1:50-2:35 Breakout Sessions, repetition of above options 

2:35-3:00 Break / walk to Johnson Art Museum 

3:00-4:00 Workshop with Carol Hockett and Maryterese Pasquale-Bowen, “How the Light Gets In: Contemporary Art and Migration” 

4:00-4:20 Introduction to Einaudi Resources with Sarah Plotkin 

4:20-4:30 Closing remarks with Sarah Pattison 

Sponsored by: Syracuse University, Moynihan Institute for Global Affairs, South Asia Center, Cornell University’s Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Southeast Asia Program, South Asia Program, Institute for African Development, East Asia Program, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Institute for European Studies, Migrations Initiative, TST-BOCES, U.S. Department of Education Title VI Program