Grant Helps UW Graduate Student Promote Multiculturalism

June 7, 2005 -- Diverse films depicting different cultures from around the world will be shown as part of a University of Wyoming doctoral degree student's Wyoming Council for the Humanities grant.

Sachin Jain of the UW Department of Counselor Education and Supervision, who completed his M.S. degree work in psychology in his home country of India, is organizing a free film and discussion series about multiculturalism. The series begins with a lunchtime orientation meeting Monday, June 20, in Room 44 of the College of Education's training clinic. Following that meeting, seven films in the series will be shown and discussed at noon each week, also in Room 44.

The seven films, each with a different cultural background, will be shown and discussed each Monday beginning June 27. The films are "Smoke Signals" (American Indian culture), June 27; "Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War" (Korean), date to be announced; Hotel Rwanda (Rwandan), July 11; "Bend It Like Beckham" (Indian), July 18; "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (Greek-American), July 25; "Iron and Silk" (Chinese), Aug. 1; and "A Day Without a Mexican" (Hispanic), Aug. 8.

Each participant for one week will be given a copy of the video to take home on a first-come, first-served basis. The film will be discussed the following week and a new movie distributed at the discussion. Pre-registration for the series is urged, Jain says.

"I hope this series will make the participants aware of diversity and help them to break the barriers between cultures," Jain says.

The project is funded by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities (WHC) through the "We the People Initiative" of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information about WCH grants or programs, call (307) 721-9243 or e-mail wych@uwyo.edu.

For more information about the film series, e-mail Jain at sachin@uwyo.edu.

Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005