As an international communications trainer and consultant, Dr. Sam Swan travels at least once a month to a developing country, teaching how to operate a TV or radio station. Since 1992, Swan has conducted over 125 broadcast workshops in 26 countries. Although his primary focus is Eastern Europe, Swan has also held workshops throughout Africa and Asia.
As a expert in communications, Swan advises developing newspapers, television and radio stations on how media outlets work. Many developing countries are still learning about the implications of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, uncensored broadcasting and advertising. Some of these countries still struggle with journalist bribery, government corruption and misleading news reporting. Swan’s work helps to eliminate these barriers and promote free speech.
Swan’s aspiration to promote free speech began as a result of a year-long study abroad experience in Sri Lanka as an undergraduate. With his broadcasting experience from the University of Missouri, Swan created a radio program to improve farming techniques in rural Sri Lanka. The program was sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture. The radio show was a huge success. It featured game shows with rewards such as farming equipment and a national competition.
According to Swan, this event was the best thing he ever did. “It made me an international person,” and he says “It makes you see the world in a different light.” Ever since his time in Sri Lanka, Swan has been working for international cooperation and understanding.
Swan is an international communications consultant through assignments from the US Department of State. With the help of government funding, Swan is able to teach TV and radio operation to various stations in developing countries around the world. He also teaches fundamental broadcasting skills to new journalists that are not advanced in media production due to lack of exposure.
“They want to learn, that’s refreshing” Swan says.
For example, eight years ago Swan started working in Bulgaria to aid in the deveopment of the country’s first private television station. The station faced stiff competition from the only station in the country, which was run by the government. Despite these obstacles, the station became number one in the country within two years and is still broadcasting today.
Swan also works as the Director of Internationalization and Outreach for the College of Communication and Information. Because he believes that international study is crucial to college education, Swan’s goal is to give every student in the college an international experience.
“You’re not fully educated until you look at yourself and your country from the eyes of another country,” Swan explains.
According to Swan, stereotypes, images from the media, and government policies all get in the way of true international understanding. Swan says, “If American young people interact in those countries, this world would be a much better place.”
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
I-House hosts African Culture Night
Students and faculty paid three dollars for entrance to the African Culture night, held the I-House Great Room. A group of traditionally dressed African students crowded the entrance, while loud drum music played inside.
Students waited in line for their share of African cuisine. The menu included a variety of chicken and beef soups to pour over white or brown rice. In addition, less recognizable food items included injera, a grey sour-tasting pancake, and fufu, a thick paste made by boiling starchy root vegetables.
"Do the right thing because it's the right thing, not because you expect something in return." African fableThe speaker welcomed everyone to the event and introduced the participants in the fashion show.
African students modeled traditional African garments from their native country. Each model introduced themselves and told the audience about their garment.
Next, four African students read a poem named "I Am an African" by Wayne Visser." Then, four female African students performed a traditional African dance.
The highlight of the night was an African fable told by one of the founders of the African Student Association. The story was about a boy and a crocodile who tried to trick the boy and eat him. The boy escaped and through a twist in the story had a chance to eat the crocodile. The boy chose not to eat the crocodile because he would not have liked to be eaten.
The moral of the story is to "Do the right thing because it's the right thing, not because you expect something in return," explains the storyteller. The night concluded with audience members dancing to African drum music.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Speaker addresses American misconceptions of China
Jeff Wasserstrom, a professor and Chinese scholar from the University of California-Irvine gave a presentation at UT's International House on Feb. 11 that explained how and why the Western media misrepresents the "real" China to the American public.
Wasserstrom starts by explaining the dilemma. The truth is that most people don't know what to think about China because there is no clear prediction about the future of the superpower. Consequently, we get mixed messages from the media about the overall condition of the Chinese state.
For example, in 2001 an American spy plane crashed on Chinese soil, and the crew was detained for 10 days. The American public began to speculate about China's threat to the United States. In contrast, leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, there is a sentiment of good feeling toward the Chinese and high hopes that they are making progress toward freedom and democracy.
The American media simplifies Chinese current events to answer the bottom line question: can China become as wealthy, prosperous and free as the United States? Or, will China forever remain a country full of government corruption, human rights violations and censorship? Jeff Wasserstrom
Wasserstrom illustrates the current climate of Chinese portrayal. The American media simplifies Chinese current events to answer the bottom line question: can China become as wealthy, prosperous and free as the United States? Or, will China forever remain a country full of government corruption, human rights violations and censorship? Clearly this is a false dilemma, but what can be done to correct people's misconceptions?
Wasserstrom has made it his mission to educate the public about the "real" China, not the China portrayed in the media. He published the book, "China's Brave New World: And Other Tales for Global Times" to address the current uncertainty of the Chinese future.
This book contains personal stories and lessons from Wasserstrom's visits to China, so that people would have a more accurate picture of Chinese society. With this book, he presents scholarly insight through colorful stories that people will enjoy reading, while learning more about Chinese society.
In his lecture, Wasserstrom explained the cultural roots of America-Chinese misconception. In 1899, a group of peasants called the Boxers led an anti-American attack against American railroad workers and Christian missionaries. This movement, called the Boxer Rebellion, was a reaction against American imperialism and influence in Chinese culture. Isolated events like the Boxer Rebellion have perpetuated a mistrust of the Chinese that is still present today, no matter how outdated the notion is.
Today, Wasserstrom urges Americans not to look at China as a homogenous country of over 1.3 billion people, but instead to look at the country as a collection of individual people and local cultures each with a unique identity.
He suggests trying to compare New York to China. New York City culture and attitudes are very different from the culture of Los Angeles, which are very different from Knoxville culture. The same applies to China. The residents of political center, Beijing, have an entirely different attitude and culture than the financial capital, Shanghai, both of which contrast very sharply with rural China. Only with this basis of understanding can Americans start to understand the real China.
While Wasserstrom was hesitant to make strong predictions about the future of China, he did touch on some important thoughts. He said that if China continues to develop as projected, the global community would face a "moral quandary" like nothing else in history.
Most Americans hope that China will develop into a fully capitalistic, consumer-driven and modernized nation like the United States. However, the reality is that there are not enough resources on the planet to support two superpowers who guzzle gasoline and pollute the air like the U.S. and China.
We are either going to have to institute careful and deliberate worldwide environmental and economic regulations, or the U.S. and China are going to deplete the world's resources in an instant without ever knowing what happened.
Wasserstrom starts by explaining the dilemma. The truth is that most people don't know what to think about China because there is no clear prediction about the future of the superpower. Consequently, we get mixed messages from the media about the overall condition of the Chinese state.
For example, in 2001 an American spy plane crashed on Chinese soil, and the crew was detained for 10 days. The American public began to speculate about China's threat to the United States. In contrast, leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, there is a sentiment of good feeling toward the Chinese and high hopes that they are making progress toward freedom and democracy.
The American media simplifies Chinese current events to answer the bottom line question: can China become as wealthy, prosperous and free as the United States? Or, will China forever remain a country full of government corruption, human rights violations and censorship? Jeff Wasserstrom
Wasserstrom illustrates the current climate of Chinese portrayal. The American media simplifies Chinese current events to answer the bottom line question: can China become as wealthy, prosperous and free as the United States? Or, will China forever remain a country full of government corruption, human rights violations and censorship? Clearly this is a false dilemma, but what can be done to correct people's misconceptions?
Wasserstrom has made it his mission to educate the public about the "real" China, not the China portrayed in the media. He published the book, "China's Brave New World: And Other Tales for Global Times" to address the current uncertainty of the Chinese future.
This book contains personal stories and lessons from Wasserstrom's visits to China, so that people would have a more accurate picture of Chinese society. With this book, he presents scholarly insight through colorful stories that people will enjoy reading, while learning more about Chinese society.
In his lecture, Wasserstrom explained the cultural roots of America-Chinese misconception. In 1899, a group of peasants called the Boxers led an anti-American attack against American railroad workers and Christian missionaries. This movement, called the Boxer Rebellion, was a reaction against American imperialism and influence in Chinese culture. Isolated events like the Boxer Rebellion have perpetuated a mistrust of the Chinese that is still present today, no matter how outdated the notion is.
Today, Wasserstrom urges Americans not to look at China as a homogenous country of over 1.3 billion people, but instead to look at the country as a collection of individual people and local cultures each with a unique identity.
He suggests trying to compare New York to China. New York City culture and attitudes are very different from the culture of Los Angeles, which are very different from Knoxville culture. The same applies to China. The residents of political center, Beijing, have an entirely different attitude and culture than the financial capital, Shanghai, both of which contrast very sharply with rural China. Only with this basis of understanding can Americans start to understand the real China.
While Wasserstrom was hesitant to make strong predictions about the future of China, he did touch on some important thoughts. He said that if China continues to develop as projected, the global community would face a "moral quandary" like nothing else in history.
Most Americans hope that China will develop into a fully capitalistic, consumer-driven and modernized nation like the United States. However, the reality is that there are not enough resources on the planet to support two superpowers who guzzle gasoline and pollute the air like the U.S. and China.
We are either going to have to institute careful and deliberate worldwide environmental and economic regulations, or the U.S. and China are going to deplete the world's resources in an instant without ever knowing what happened.
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