UNC professor continues to facilitate cross-cultural exchange after 9/11
While the Sept. 11 attacks fostered national unity and some support from abroad, they also propelled certain divisions fueled by racism and Islamophobia. To this day, many are continuing work to create more unity on an international level.
As a result of the attacks, University of Northern Colorado anthropology professor Mike Kimball has worked with more than 200 of his students since 2008 on an online “cross-cultural exchange” that connects students from Muslim countries with their peers from non-Muslim countries.
Kimball, who was working in the University of Maine system in 2001, teamed up with a colleague there to partner with Soliya, a nonprofit in a field called virtual exchange. Virtual exchange is a “high-impact and cross-cultural education facilitated through digital technology,” according to the organization’s website.
Kimball and his former colleague came up with class material, and working with the Soliya program, used video conferencing for small groups to interact with students who appeared to be very different.