It is well known among us, media scholars and journalists, that identities are constructed in relation to others. “My others” are the 17 different countries from SUSI Scholars and also the USA. So, in the past two weeks, I have…
Road Trip Musings
Yesterday marked the end of the first week for the Study of the United States Institute (SUSI) 2024 Scholars and it was such a delight for those of us at the Arizona State University’s (ASU) Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and…
Experiences on Flights to the Gateway of Knowledge
I am a special scholar among the 18 SUSI 2024 fellowship recipients, one who does not have a graduate degree in journalism and media. Nearly all of the scholars are journalism lecturers, journalists, researchers, and professors from eighteen different countries gathering…
Visiting the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is one of the most exquisite, explicit and accurate museums about Black history & culture. Standing in line to visit this huge brown building evoked all kinds of expectations. “This will be…
“Imagine all the people, sharing all the world…”
There could not have been a better excursion than this for the 2023 SUSI scholars visiting Arizona’s Valley of the Sun, before their departure in three days for Los Angeles. The scholars stood before a harsh political reality on the…
From Takeo to Arizona: Discovering Khmer and World Instruments at the Musical Instrument Museum
During our SUSI Scholars visit to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix on Saturday, I had an impressive moment when I spotted a musical instrument from my hometown. The museum houses a vast collection of musical instruments from around…
Take Us Out to the Ballgame!
June 14th was a busy day. Felicity wrote about our first technology sessions with Retha Hill; now, let’s delve into the evening activities of the scholars. While Felicity was back in Gordon Commons drafting her blog post, 16 other scholars…
We Can Do Better Together
Two days left for the SUSI for Scholars 2022 participants to return to their respective countries after five weeks of undergoing various activities at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism of Arizona State University. We started this final week with…
Remember us the SUSI way!
The past four weeks were very productive, indeed! The melodramas ingrained with action, comedy, thriller, romance, and suspense made every session and activity colorful and exciting. It is no accident that we, the 15 scholars coming from around the world,…
It’s a Party in the USA
Let me just say that I am not a sports person. I thought I should lead off this blog post with that statement. But I also think that this statement is for me first and foremost, and not so much…