All posts by Jean Kelly

Children and Inequality: A Socio-Cultural, Comparative Approach

Social Sciences, , ,

CUNY Class Information:

Instructor: Dr. Wendy Leynse
CUNY Campus: Queens College
Class Title: Topics in Cultural Anthropology: Ethnography of Childhood
Course number: ANTH239-01, Fall 2021, Tu/Th 10:45am-12pm [EST]
COIL module: 8-9 weeks
Mode of instructio: synchronous hybrid

International Class Information:

Instructor: Dr. Yasmine Ahmed
Partnership institution/ country: The American University in Cairo
Class title: Social Class and Inequality
Course number: SOC3304, Fall 2021, Mon/Th
Length of COIL Collaboration: 8-9 weeks
Mode of instruction: synchronous hybrid

Note: In Fall 2021, the Queens College course used synchronous online sessions via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, with two pre-scheduled virtual exchange Zoom sessions and a couple of in-person QC classroom days scheduled in advance. [This course could be run, also, totally in-person or online; however, in-person mode of instruction may facilitate group work and overall student engagement.]

GSACS COIL Project Description

This multi-week course module brings college students in Cairo and New York City together to explore the effects of inequalities on children, in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #10 which “calls for reducing inequalities in income as well as those based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status within a country.”

Online Platforms

Technology used for shared files: Google Drive or Microsoft Office OneDrive, depending on the universities’ platforms
Technology used by students in bi-national teams: Slack shared digital workspace; Flipgrid could be used for making and sharing short videos, but students preferred Slack (with both web and phone app versions, for added convenience); NOTE: Best practice is for instructors to manually enter students’ information to add them to the Slack workspace (instead of sharing a link), so as to limit access to enrolled students only!
Technology used for synchronous, virtual exchange sessions (both classes): Zoom, with waiting room, to be able to verify participants from classlists before entry.

Full Module

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Comparative Analysis of Cultural Difference (U.S. + Morocco)

Humanities, Social Sciences, , , ,

CUNY Class Information

Prof. Robin Hizme
Queens College, CUNY, New York, United States
Course Title: ENGL 157.W – 001 Readings in Global Literatures in English
3hr. 3 credit course; fifteen week semester (COIL project for five weeks)
Mode of instruction: In-Person
Length of COIL Collaboration: 5 weeks 

International Class Information

Prof. Abdelmajid EL SAYD
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Tangiers, Morocco
Course Title: Readings in Culture
Mode of instruction: In-Person

Project Description

Purpose / Goal: Students will engage in comparative cultural analysis to increase cross-cultural knowledge and develop international communication and collaboration skills.

After reading and analyzing late-twentieth century narratives by authors from Morocco and the United States, bi-national student teams will select topics (and questions) for comparative cultural analysis.

Collaborative project topics should arise from content in the literary texts, but the comparative exploration is not confined to discussion of the assigned readings; topics and questions may also address our contemporary cultural moment. Students should feel free and encouraged to engage in the comparative analysis with their own experiential knowledge as a starting point or as a unique lens to enhance other data and research resources. This comparative inquiry is aimed at developing and enhancing cross-cultural understanding and sensitivity.

(Possible topic examples: education, poverty / food insecurity, gender roles; social structures, customs of death and mourning, coming of age rituals, beliefs about (or access to) medical and health care, criminal justice, opportunity for social advancement, employment, modes of transportation, holidays and traditional rituals, et.al.)

Online Platforms

Google tools. We use Google Classroom to centralize the materials of the exchange, with student interaction via writing through questions / responses and on group Google docs and slides.
Student groups communicate via Google Meet, WhatsApp, and / or Discord.
Class-to-class synchronous sessions very challenging due to time-zones.

Full Module

Hizme_El-Sayd_COIL-OER-Module-Template_2024

Studies in the Comparative Economic and Social History of West Africa

Social Sciences, , , , ,

CUNY Class Information

Dr. Grace Davie
Associate Professor
Department of History
Queens College, CUNY, USA
History 111 [001 35343] History of Africa
Mon/Wed 10:45am-12:00pm

International Class Information

Dr. Tochukwu Okeke
Associate Professor
Department of History and Diplomatic Studies
University of Abuja, Nigeria
HIS 806 Comparative Economic
History of West Africa

Project Description

In this 10-week collaboration, 30 QC students and 30 UniAbuja students came together to explore the economic and social history of West Africa in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We began with icebreakers as a large group, followed by introductions and asynchronous team-building exercises. Next, each student submitted a 2-6 page paper responding to their team’s research prompt and readings. For the final project, all 10 teams produced 3-6 minute videos outlining their team’s findings, with one American and one Nigerian speaking for each group. Students also posted responses to the videos of other teams. Finally, students helped the instructors plan a virtual zoom class party to debrief and to celebrate their COIL experience. Overall, students overcame the 5-hour time difference and other challenges to complete their projects, discovering commonalities across cultures and forging new friendships.

Online Platforms

WhatsApp, Slack, Zoom, YouTube, and Blackboard

Full Module

COIL-Module-on-West-African-History.QC_.CUNY_.U.Abuja_.Spring.2024