Patricia Sloane-White, chairperson, Women & Gender Studies, was recently recognized when Dr. Sharon Wilson, assistant professor at University Tunku Abdul Rahman, in Malaysia, was awarded first prize in the International Communication Division (ICD) Teaching Contest in 2020 for their course on gender and race (UD course WOMS 322). Wilson is the first recipient of this prize from outside the United States.
Wilson and Sloane-White taught this cross-cultural video conference course designed to engage two groups of students in shared cultural explorations concerning contemporary culture and social values. It was traditionally taught in the Pearson Hall Classroom Learning Studios, with a live video connection to a similar technology classroom in Romania. Slone-White noted that they are offering this course again this fall fully online through Zoom and that, “although it will be a different experience for Sharon and I to not be meeting in person with our own students, we are confident that no matter how we bring our two groups of students together that our course will make a difference in their lives.”
Wilson, in an interview with The Sun Daily said, “We also shared ideas and trends about global cultural influences, the role, persistence and transformation of culture, beliefs, ethics, tradition and identity in both settings.”
“Sharon and I knew that our course was special–and the students certainly told us so—but to have Sharon recognized for her role with this award really let us know that we are on to something great,” Sloane-White said.
