E. Sweet,Y. Dous
Omsk

CEP AN INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM IN OMSK

    Civic Education Project (CEP) is a non-profit organization based in the United States and Hungary. Its goal is to "strengthen Democracy through Education". Its two main programs are to support Visiting Lectures and Eastern Scholars. Visiting Lectures are professors from the "West" who spend a minimum of one academic year teaching in a country that is going through the transition from a communist/socialist planned economy to open market economy. The Eastern Scholars program supports faculty in these countries in an effort to reverse the "brain drain" that has persisted since the break up off the Soviet Union.
    CEP has Visiting Lectures and Eastern Scholars in 23 countries Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia, (Kosovo, Montenegro). The largest of these programs is in Russian. CEP’s first lecturers came to Russia in 1994. This year we have 23 Eastern Scholars in Universities from St. Petersburg to Sakhalin and 10 Visiting Lecturers 4 in the European part of Russia and 6 in Siberia.
    The goal of these Lectures and Scholars is to promote academic excellence both through teaching and out reach projects. Eastern Scholars have access to curriculum development workshops and other programs at the Central European University in Budapest. Out reach projects range from a Summer school on gender and education to writing and publication of new textbooks and journals. Visiting Lectures engage in teaching and in some cases individual research projects as well as promoting and facilitating student participation in CEP student conferences.
    CEP’s first Lecturer in Omsk was Marak Joshec from the Chech Republic who taught business finance and financial management in 1998-1999. In the academic year 1999-2000 we were lucky enough to have two CEP lectures here in the International Business Department. Elizabeth Eberly, a lawyer from the United States, taught International Economic Law as well as coach a mute court team. Michael Deaver, also from the United States, taught international relations and economic terminology. Currently Elizabeth Sweet from the United States is teaching in our department. She describes her contributions and experiences as follows.
    "In general I think I have learned a lot more then I have taught here in Omsk. I also believe in learning, while teaching is a pillar of my teaching style and that the process of education should be a process of creating knowledge not just transferring it. To that end critical thinking and analysis are key components of my classes here at FMB. The first semester I taught "International Economic Development Theory and Practice." We read a lot of material about international development and then critically analyzed it in class. Reading lectures was not a part of this seminar. We tried to find the strong and week parts of the theories and then examined them in the context of case studies both in Russia and other parts of the world."
    "The most challenging part of the course was the section where we discussed issues of gender in economic development. There was strong resistance on the part of many students to the idea that gender is a legitimate area of inquire in relation to economics and business. The stereotypes of "western feminism" strongly out weighed scholarly examination of gender differences in the minds of some students. However, I think some exposure, for the first time, to issues of gender and economics was a spark that I hope will influence positively the issues of economic development in the development process of my students."
    "There was some evidence of this in my second semester course "Qualitative Methods in Economic Analysis." In this class we examined different ways of collecting qualitative data and interpreting that data including, oral histories, focus groups, participant observation and case studies. Each student was required to develop a research plan, collect data based on the plan, and then write a report analyzing the data collected. One of my male students who was one of the most skeptical about the necessity to examine issues of gender and economic development during the first semester decided to do oral histories with women in business in Omsk for his project. He sought help from the Sociology department and is planning to continue his research and possibly use it as a basis for his diploma work in his final year."
    "One of the other tendencies that I encountered in teaching these classes was the students’ general reluctance, especially at first, to express their opinions and believe in themselves as competent analytic interpreters. The idea that their ideas were important and that I, as a teacher, wanted to hear about them took a while to sink in. One reaction was a very bright student who continuously wrote sarcastic comments and jokes in his homework assignments. After several confrontations where I had to lay down the law his homework became very thoughtful and inspired. Another student kept saying that she was not a specialist and that no one would allow her to interview them for her project but after trying and being successful at interviewing she was amazingly transformed and confident."
    "My confidence as an interview was also tested throughout my stay in Omsk. I embarked on an investigation about the gender issues associated with transition in Omsk. I decided to conduct oral history interviews and focus groups with women about their experiences during transition. I worked with Elena Ronina in the philology department at Omsk State University. We conducted the interviews in Russian and Spanish and then I translated them into English. The kindness and inspiration I experienced during the interviewing process was phenomenal. In most cases the women were open and informative. Their generosity and expressiveness were also amazing. I felt that even though the goal was for me to interview them that at the end we had exchanges at some points where they were in fact interviewing me. We were mutually gaining information and exchanging ideas. I was forced to think about and convey who I was as a female outsider - it was a challenging but gratifying experience."
    The International Business Department (FMB) at Omsk State University, by its nature, is global in its perspective. Despite the economic problems facing most universities, making it financially impossible to invite and support international faculty, programs like CEP enable us to continue our international mission. The kind of work that the students do with the CEP lectures and the other programs at FMB, such as student exchanges with Methodist College and the State University of New York in the US, and Kent Institute and Melbourne University in Australia are all ways of connecting, learning, and creating knowledge in an international context. These programs and experience help us to heighten our knowledge of one another and create solutions to the economic problems facing many of the world’s people.