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University of Indianapolis celebrates International Education Month

30th annual Celebration of the Flags (file photo)

The fifth annual International Education Month gets underway from mid-October to mid-November, with a variety of performing arts, film, lectures, and interactive events designed to showcase international, indigenous, and migrant cultures at the University of Indianapolis and the rich benefits of intercultural exchange.

Highlights include the 33rd Annual Celebration of the Flags on Oct. 14, 2-3 p.m. Modeled after the Olympic-style opening ceremony, the event is held outdoors on Smith Mall (rain location: The Arc) with international students, faculty, and staff carrying the flags representing the many nations of the University of Indianapolis community. 

Immediately following the Celebration of the Flags, students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to visit the International Exposition in the Atrium, Engagement Area, and Lawn of Schwitzer Student Center from 3-5 p.m. The Expo will feature interactive displays hosted by campus offices, departments, and student groups, including Study Abroad; Global Languages and Cross-Cultural Studies; the Writing Lab; International Relations; and Burmese, Nepali, Indian, and LatinX students, among others.  The Expo also features interactive activities such as henna tattoos, calligraphy, traditional artifacts, clothing displays, and coupons for discounted U.S. passport photos. Participants receive a “UIndy Passport” to be stamped by interacting with cultural presenters and table hosts for L/P credit. 

International Education Month Events

Oct. 11, Dining Services International Night #1, Schwitzer Student Center Cafeteria, $

Tonight’s menu features Asian cuisine.

Oct. 11, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Faculty Artist Concert Series: “Music from The World”, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center/Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Free admission, L/P Credit

A concert featuring UIndy international faculty and works. 

Oct. 13, 7:30-10:30 p.m., University of Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Concert, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center/Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Free admission, L/P Credit

A concert featuring UIndy students and international works. 

Oct. 14, 2-3 p.m.: 33rd Annual Celebration of the Flags, Smith Mall, Free admission, L/P Credit

Join in the University of Indianapolis tradition of the Celebration of the Flags, representing the many nationalities of our UIndy community. Modeled after the Olympic-style opening ceremony, flag bearers feature the national colors and dress of their country.

Oct. 14, 3-5 p.m.: International Expo, Schwitzer Atrium, Schwitzer Engagement Area, and Schwitzer Lawn, 3-5 p.m., Free admission, L/P Credit

Immediately following the Celebration of the Flags, visit the International Exposition in the Atrium of Schwitzer Student Center. The Expo offers opportunities to engage with cultures represented at UIndy.

Oct. 14, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center/Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Free admission, L/P Credit

A concert featuring international works. 

Oct. 18, Dining Services International Night #2, Schwitzer Student Center Cafeteria, $

Tonight’s menu features Irish cuisine.

Oct. 22, 6:30-9 p.m., Film: “Missing in Brooks County,” Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Christel De Haan Fine Arts Center, Free admission, L/P Credit 

Missing in Brooks County follows as “two families search for their loved ones who went missing in the fields of Brooks County,

Texas after crossing from Mexico and find a sobering truth: the deadliest part of the journey is far from the border.  It also features how law enforcement, volunteers and forensic scientists seek to search, recover and identify the bodies of the missing and the challenges they face. Co-Producers and Directors Jeff Bemiss and Lisa Molomot will introduce the film. After the film the audience will be introduced to a panel of four people who are either featured in the film or do work related to the film, and will be able to ask questions.  This includes members of the University of Indianapolis Beyond Borders Humanitarian Forensic Science Team, volunteers at the South Texas Human Rights Center and Co-Founder of the local advocacy group Indiana AID, which provides support to immigrants who have been detained by ICE here in Indiana.

Oct. 25, Dining Services International Night #3, Schwitzer Student Center Cafeteria, $

Tonight’s menu features Greek cuisine.

Oct. 25, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Ryan Behan, piano: Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage: Suisse (“Years of Pilgrimage: Switzerland”), Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center/Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Free admission, L/P Credit
Franz Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage (“Years of Pilgrimage”), widely considered one of his greatest works, was composed and reworked over the course of his life, and combines the freshness of the young composer with the clarity and meticulous fine-tuning of his Weimar period, unfolding into the mysterious and fragmentary brevity of his late style.  Alfred Brendel writes of these suites that they “draw for their inspiration on a reservoir of diverse impressions—nature and musical folklore, art and religion, craving for freedom; above all, on poetry and literature…The First Year of Pilgrimage—Switzerland—deals with nature in a twofold sense: as nature around us, and as nature within.”  Join faculty pianist Ryan Behan in a complete performance of this first part of Années de Pèlerinage.

Oct. 27, 6-8 p.m.:  Global Languages and Cultural Studies International Film Night presents “The Lives of Others” (Das Leben der Anderen), German with English subtitles:  HEAL 138, Free admission, L/P Credit

Join us for a screening of this international film followed by discussion. 

Nov. 1, Dining Services International Night #4, Schwitzer Student Center Cafeteria, $

Tonight’s menu features Indian cuisine.

Nov. 1, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Faculty Artist Concert Series: Music and Poetry from Around the World, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center/Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Free admission, L/P Credit

Joana Genova, violin; Haruka Ostojic, piano.  Poetry and music from  Bulgaria, Japan, Russia, India, France, Germany, Holland, North America, and South America with UIndy faculty Jyotika Saksena, Gerburg Garmann, Aksana Waskosky, Joana Genova, Haruka Ostojic, Ana Maria Ferreira, and Eileen Mah.

Nov. 3, 4-5 p.m. International Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities, Virtual event, L/P Credit pending

Dr. Karen Newman, UIndy English professor and Honors College Assistant Director for Fellowships, hosts an information session on international scholarship and fellowship opportunities available to ALL UIndy students for undergraduate and post-graduation work and/or study, with specific information and application tips for the federally-funded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, the Fulbright Program, and Marshall Scholarships. Join us to learn more about free money to make your international aspirations a reality! L/P Credit

Nov. 8, Dining Services International Night #5, Schwitzer Student Center Cafeteria, $

Tonight’s menu features Latin-themed cuisine.

November 8, 7-8:30 p.m.: Peace Corps Panel, virtual event, L/P Credit

Former Peace Corps volunteers, including UIndy alums and members of the local Indianapolis community, share stories about their assignments and experiences in a variety of countries via a synchronous Zoom presentation. Panelists will address each of the six sectors of work available to Peace Corps volunteers (Agriculture, Community Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health and Youth in Development), plus information for potential applicants and strategies for successful applications. 

Nov. 9, 4-5 p.m.: “Candyland: An Afternoon of International Candy and Culture,”  Schwitzer Engagement Area, Free admission, L/P Credit approved

Candylan features samples of free, pre-packaged, popular candy from around the world, plus information on the various countries represented by the candy. Participants at the event visit booths hosted by international student representatives and the event organizers and help themselves to candy goodie bags to sample some of the world’s most popular sweets. The event also features a written trivia contest in which students identify the culture, language, and history of countries represented by the candy at the event. Winners will receive a basket of globally unique candy. The objective is for students to be educated, immersed, and gain awareness for cultures, global issues, and languages, through representative sweets.

Nov. 10, 7:30-9 p.m., Kellogg Writers Series: Fiction Reading with Lysley Tenorio, UIndy Hall A, Schwitzer Student Center and via Zoom, L/P Credit

Lysley Tenorio is the author of the novel The Son of Good Fortune and the story collection Monstress, which was named a book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, a Whiting Award, a Stegner fellowship, the Edmund White Award, and the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Ploughshares, and have been adapted for the stage by The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and the Ma-Yi Theater in New York City.  Born in the Philippines, he lives in San Francisco, and is a professor at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Nov. 13, 7-8 p.m., Study Abroad in Asia/Pacific Region: APIEA, virtual event, L/P Credit

Hosted by the Center for Global Engagement, this event features study abroad information for students interested in studying in Asia.  

Nov. 13, 7:30-10:30 p.m., University of Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Concert, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center/Ruth Lilly Performance Hall,  Free admission, L/P Credit

A concert featuring UIndy students, faculty, and international works. 

Nov. 15, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Faculty Artist Concert Series: The Indianapolis Quartet Peforms Beethoven and Janáček, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center/Ruth Lilly Performance Hall and live-streamed, Free admission, L/P Credit

Zach DePue, violin; Joana Genova, violin; Michael Strauss, viola; Austin Huntington, cello. The concert features two masterworks of the string quartet repertoire: Beethoven’s glorious Tenth Quartet, filled with vitality, heart, invention, and accessibility, which earned its nickname “The Harp” from the first movement’s elegant pizzicato sections, and Janáček’s Intimate Letters, referring to hundreds of letters that he wrote over many years, expressing his love to a young, married woman.  Janáček described his second string quartet as “beautiful, strange, unrestrained, inspired, a composition beyond all the usual conventions.”

Nov. 16, 2-3 p.m.: “A Taste of Home,” UIndy Hall A, Free admission, L/P Credit

This student-hosted event features a video screening of UIndy international students discussing foodways and favorite foods from their home countries, plus an interactive discussion following the video, where participants learn more about the relationship of food and culture.  Free food and prize giveaways round out this cross-cultural experience.  

Nov. 17, 6-8 p.m.: Global Languages and Cultural Studies International Film Night presents “The Painting” (Le Tableau), French with English subtitles:  HEAL 138, Free admission, L/P Credit

Join us for a screening of this international film followed by discussion. 

Upcoming Events (details to follow):

Fulbright Program for UIndy Faculty, Virtual event, Time and date TBA

Join a guest Fulbright faculty ambassador who will share information for UIndy faculty about applying to the Fulbright Program for scholars and educators.