Tag Archives: humanities

Best Countries For Post Covid Study Abroad Programs

As more students are heading towards graduation each year, the struggle to get a graduate job is becoming more difficult, and students have to ensure strong CVs in order to stand out from the crowd.  The Covid pandemic has put a halt to students having options in countries other than their own. However, with a bit of luck, the pandemic will continue to end and travel restrictions will be eased. When that happens, international students will finally be allowed to return to studying abroad, learning new skills and experiencing new cultures.

Although this may be seen as one long holiday to those not in the know, those that study abroad will, in fact, have a higher starting salary, earning an extra 5% more than those who don’t. On average, this could amount to an extra £75,000 ($126,709 CDN at time of this article)  over a career.

Study Abroad Graduates

Not only will they earn more, they are also almost ¼ less likely to be unemployed after graduation. So although all study abroad programs come with a cost, with readily available bursaries, this opportunity is accessible to any student who is hoping to boost their employ-ability and is an opportunity that should be taken.

Business and Finance Students – China: As the second largest economy in the world, China offers endless business opportunities, whilst encouraging students to learn the most widely spoken language in the world, Mandarin.

Business and Finance Studies in China

Medical Students – South Africa: Of the 234 million surgical procedures made every year, just 4% of these happen in the poorest third of the global population. When medical students choose to volunteer in South Africa, they will gain experience in a different medical setting, and all whilst giving back.

Medical Student study in South Africa

Education Students – Australia: As an English-speaking country, Australia is the perfect study abroad opportunity for future teachers. With the average UK class size standing at 30 pupils, the Australian’s average size of 16 will be a lot easier to manage. Plus for those who decide to stay in Australia long-term, new teachers can expect to earn £40,000+ ($67,572 CDN) compared to the £22,000 ($37,164 CDN) starting salary in the UK.

Education studies in Australia

Conservation – Madagascar: Conservation is a growing industry as concern grows for animals and the environment. As the fourth largest island in the world, and as home to species not found anywhere else, Madagascar is the perfect opportunity for a once in a lifetime opportunity for conservation enthusiasts.

Conservation Studies in Madagascar

Art & Design Students – Italy: From ancient and classic sculpture to modern day art, Italy is the perfect place to learn and gain an even greater passion for art history.

Art and Design Studies in Italy

Humanities Students – USA: With three of the top five humanities universities based in the USA, America offers a vast array of historical and literary studying options. This time abroad will open up options for students who are wanting to work in academia, journalism or teaching.

Humanities Studies in the United States
For the Silo, Bekki Ramsay/storageworld.

Archaeology Pioneers Of The Americas

The tradition of archaeology in the Americas (both North and South America) is defined by cross-cultural comparative research that draws heavily on an innovative tradition of regional-scale fieldwork.

Many early archaeo-pioneers worked in multiple culture areas of the Americas, seeking direct connections between the archaeological record and living or historical indigenous peoples, and fostering close ties with the related field of anthropology as a result.

WPA trowel men at work,Thompson Village Site,Tennessee. Image courtesy of the Frank H. McClung Museum, University of Tennessee (62HY5[B]
This brief overview covers seminal developments in stratigraphic excavation (the idea that time deposits artifacts in successive layers- the lower the layer, the older the artifact), regional survey, and other field methods within their historical and geographic context.

Such pioneering archaeological efforts across the globe are often lauded for their early attention to stratigraphy and the association of geological or cultural strata with change in human societies over time. In the Americas, as in other parts of the globe, such attention was often the result of non-systematic excavations into mounds of anthropomorphic origin. In other words- ‘grave robbers’. Continue reading by clicking here. For the Silo, David M. Carballo /academia.edu / Department of Archaeology, Boston University/ Jarrod Barker. 

Featured image- Archaeological Pioneers Of The Americas Gordon Willey Tula Mexico

Cahokia – Kunnemann Group submitted by durhamnature. Excavation of Kunnemann Mound, one of 6-11, from “Cahokia Mounds” via Archive.org

Supplemental- Cahokia: Ancient Village in the Great Lakes 

Fascinating Diversity In Committee’s Worldwide Cultural Heritage Safeguarding List

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Saturday ended its 14th session recently which took place in the Colombian capital under the Chair María Claudia López Sorzano. The Committee adopted guidelines for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in emergency situations such as conflict and disaster (both natural and human-induced).

The guidelines build on the research and experience acquired by UNESCO in recent years, including among Syrian refugees, internally displaced populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and disaster risk reduction strategies in the Pacific Islands.

During the last day of the session, the Committee decided that its 15th session was to be held in Kingston under the chair of Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange this month.

The Committee also inscribed five elements on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and 35 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Committee also added two projects to the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices and allotted US$387,770 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund to the Burkina Faso’s Capacity building for stakeholders involved in safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage in Burkina Faso.

For the first time, the Intergovernmental Committee removed one element from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The session which brought together more than 1,000 participants was opened on 9 December by President Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

Additions to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding:

Spring rite of Juraŭski Karahod, Belarus
Seperu folkdance and associated practices, Botswana
Rituals and practices associated with Kit Mikayi shrine, Kenya
Sega tambour Chagos, Mauritius,
Buklog, thanksgiving ritual system of the Subanen, Philippines

A group of ritual specialists gather at the special offering altar while a member of the community places an offering in the ‘sangat’
© National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines, 2018

The List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding features elements of living heritage whose viability is under threat. It mobilizes international cooperation and assistance to strengthen the transmission of these cultural practices, in agreement with the concerned communities.

Additions to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:

Armenian letter art and its cultural expressionsArmenia
Transhumance, the seasonal droving of livestock along migratory routes in the Mediterranean and in the AlpsAustria, Greece, Italy
Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Ommegang of Brussels, an annual historical procession and popular festival, Belgium
The festival of the Santísima Trinidad del Señor Jesús del Gran Poder in the city of La PazBolivia (Plurinational State of)
Cultural Complex of Bumba-meu-boi from Maranhão, Brazil
Morna, musical practice of Cabo Verde, Cabo Verde
Byzantine chant, Cyprus, Greece
Music and dance of Dominican Bachata, Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
Ethiopian epiphany, Ethiopia
Alpinism, France; Italy, Switzerland
Traditions of Pencak Silat, Indonesia
Provision of services and hospitality during the Arba’in visitation, Iraq
Irish harping, Ireland
Celestinian forgiveness celebration, Italy
Ak-kalpak craftsmanship, traditional knowledge and skills in making and wearing Kyrgyz men’s headwear, Kyrgyzstan
Traditional skills of crafting and playing Dotār, Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Artisanal talavera of Puebla and Tlaxcala (Mexico) and ceramics of Talavera de la Reina and El Puente del Arzobispo (Spain) making process, Mexico, Spain
Silat, Malaysia
Traditional technique of making Airag in Khokhuur and its associated customsMongolia
Gnawa, Morocco
Kwagh-Hir theatrical performance, Nigeria
Practice of traditional music and dance in Setesdal, playing, dancing and singing (stev/stevjing), Norway
‘Hatajo de Negritos’ and ‘Hatajo de Pallitas’ from the Peruvian south-central coastline, Peru
Winter festivities, Carnival of Podence, Portugal
‘Ie Samoa, fine mat and its cultural value, Samoa
Drotárstvo, wire craft and art, Slovakia
Holy Week processions in Mendrisio, Switzerland
Nuad Thai, traditional Thai massage, Thailand
Traditional Turkish archery, Turkey
Practices and craftsmanship associated with the Damascene rose in Al-Mrah, Syrian Arab Republic
Traditional turkmen carpet making art in Turkmenistan, Turkmenistan
Tradition of Kosiv painted ceramics, Ukraine
Khorazm dance, Lazgi, Uzbekistan
Practices of Then by Tày, Nùng and Thái ethnic groups in Viet Nam,Viet Nam
 

All together now: National Harp Day with Clodagh, Oisín and Alva at y=the Lexicon Cultural Centre, Dún Laoghaire. Co Dublin
© Tom Honan Photography, 2017

The Representative List seeks to enhance visibility for the traditional practices and know-how of communities.

Additions to the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices:

Safeguarding strategy of traditional crafts for peace building, Colombia
Biocultural programme for the safeguarding of the tradition of the Blessed Palm in Venezuela, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
 

The Register of Good Safeguarding Practices allows States Parties, communities and other stakeholders to share successful safeguarding experiences and examples of how they surmounted challenges faced in the transmission of their living heritage, its knowledge and practice to the future generation. These methods and approaches should be useful as lessons and models that can be adapted to other circumstances, including those in developing countries.

Featured images- Jacques Perler,2017 Fondazione Processione Storiche di Mendrisio, 2008

Thoughts On Rejection And Concept Of Groundlessness

Rejection. “We lived in Northern New Mexico. I was standing in front of our house drinking a cup of tea. I heard the car drive up and the door bang shut. Then he walked around the corner, and without warning, he told me he was having an affair and he wanted a divorce. I remember the sky and how huge it was. I remember the sound of the river and the steam rising up from my tea. There was no time, no thought, there was nothing–just the light and a profound, limitless stillness. Then I regrouped and picked up a stone and threw it at him.” -Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart

This quote, about the moment Pema Chodron’s life began to change, the moment she experienced true groundlessness, applies to so many circumstances in life. Whether we are experiencing the rejection of a lover or spouse, or rejection from a gallery, grant application, art school, the list goes on and on, it is not uncommon for it to feel like the ground has slipped from beneath your feet. When the floor opens up and swallows you whole, it is human instinct to close up, distract, do whatever it takes to make the feeling go away. These are the moments when we must strive the hardest to open up and soften, allow whatever we are feeling to wash over us, and let that be okay.

If you are an artist, you may have tried applying for a grant. You may have given up after a rejection letter or two. But do you know that for every twenty grant applications you complete, you might receive one or two. Might. There are absolutely no guarantees, and the grant writing field is highly competitive. It is important to understand this going in and to have not only a system to keep churning out applications (because, after all this is an important part of many artists’ income and should be treated as such) it is also absolutely critical that you have your head firmly on your shoulders prepared to deal with the pain of rejection.

Let’s face it, rejection always feels personal. You put a piece of yourself out into the world only to have someone tell you it isn’t what they’re looking for. This hurts. And again, that’s OK.

What is important is that you never let the hurt get the best of you. Do not internalize rejection. Remind yourself that you are one of many. You are relying on the subjectivity of a person or group of people, and just because you do not win favor does not mean your art isn’t any good. Rather, it means your art wasn’t what they were looking for on that day for that particular thing. Accept this and move along.

Often, rejection has nothing at all to do with you. This is very difficult to get the mind around. Very often rejection is about the unspoken details being sought that someone else might happen to present.

Buddhist thought teaches us to accept groundlessness, work with it, allow ourselves to sit with it. We are all in the habit of glossing difficult emotions. We self-medicate sometimes with substances, or by tuning out and not letting the hard stuff in. Begin to notice when you start to check out and see how it feels to just be still with the difficult stuff.

Learning to deal with rejection will serve you in many ways. You will find the strength to continue your mission no matter what happens, and you will do so with grace. You will learn that just because you are not chosen one time doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again. Often, grants and galleries invite those who are not chosen in one round to apply again. And again. The people who run things like this understand what you must begin to internalize–that it really isn’t about you.

If you begin to incorporate these things into your consciousness, eventually they will become part of the fabric. You will begin to live by the new way of thinking you have cultivated. A mindset that puts rejection into perspective and allows you to pursue your forward momentum no matter what.

Brainard Carey

Life is full of rejection, big and small. Hiding away won’t get you far. Choosing the path of least resistance may seem like the easy way but it is a road to nowhere. Remember, if you are an Artist choosing to make your art into a career, it means putting the most intimate pieces of yourself out into the world for all to see. It is a warrior’s path and requires a warrior spirit. For the Silo, Brainard Carey.

Brainard  is currently giving free webinars on how to write a better Artist bio and statement and how to get a show in a gallery – you can register for that live webinar and ask questions live by clicking here.

Featured image- entrepreneur.com

WW2 Smartphone Graphic Novel Katusha

KATUSHA VOLUME ONE: EDGE OF DARKNESS, the first of a three volume graphic novel series by historical graphic novelist Wayne Vansant, is now available exclusively in digital format from digital publishing imprint Grand Design Communications.

The painting Kateryna by the Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861)influenced Katusha. Kateryna tells the story of a Ukrainian country girl who is seduced and abandoned by a Russian cavalry officer.

KATUSHA is a coming-of-age story set in the Eastern Front of World War II, following the life of a Ukrainian farm girl Ekaterina Tymoshenko, nicknamed Katusha, starting with the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany in 1941. The three-volume graphic novel, which when finished will total 540 pages, follows her journey from farm girl to partisan fighter to tank commander in the Red Army, along the way participating in the Battles of Stalingrad and Berlin, among others.

During the second world war, hundreds of thousands of Soviet women served in the Red Army as pilots, snipers, tank drivers and other essential roles. Although KATUSHA is a work of fiction, Vansant based his story on interviews he conducted with living veterans in Ukraine and extensive research. He will return for another trip this fall, to conduct more interviews and do research on locations.

Lviv, Ukraine, 26 October 2010 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is joined by Ukrainian officials as he pays tribute to Ukrainian poet, artist, and humanist Taras Shevchenko.

KATUSHA VOLUME ONE: EDGE OF DARKNESS, the first of three volumes, is out now exclusively in digital format for iPhone, iPad, Android, and in-browser reading. It is available in two formats – as six separate chapters priced at $.99usd each and as a single one hundred eighty page edition priced at $4.99usd, and can be purchased through iVerse’s ComicsPlus app and from Grand Design’s electronic storefront on iVerse’s website.

A native of Marbleton, Georgia, writer/artist Wayne Vansant has created many historical graphic novels – both fiction and non-fiction – in a career spanning more than twenty five years. His non-fiction graphic novel about the Allied invasion of Europe in World War II, NORMANDY, were be published in September by Zenith Press.

His recent collaboration with writer Dwight Jon Zimmerman, THE HAMMER AND THE ANVIL (2012), a graphic novel about Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and the end of slavery in America was published by Hill and Wang, and Vansant was the primary artist for Marvel’s The ‘Nam for more than five years.

His other non-fiction graphic novels on military history include DAYS OF DARKNESS, ANTIETAM: THE FIERY TRIAL (with the United States National Park Service), BLOCKADE: THE CIVIL WAR AT SEA, and THE VIETNAM WAR: A GRAPHIC HISTORY.