In his post, “It’s Never Too Late to Celebrate America,” Coffey talks about a common theme among our students serving abroad — learning from the juxtaposition of culture.
Coffey’s 4th of July involved eating Thai food and Tim Tams (an Australian cookie named after the winning horse at the 1958 Kentucky Derby) in an Australian office decorated with American flag printouts and red, white and blue streamers.
Against this multicultural backdrop, Coffey participated in a discussion of the history of racial discrimination in Australia.
“I did learn that it wasn’t until 1972 that the Department of Education was no longer allowed to refuse Aboriginal students entry into public schools!” Coffey wrote. “The presentation stimulated an interesting conversation about engaging history more critically in public health research and representing marginalized voices. The day offered a parallax view of the history and current practices of the U.S. that I was meant to be commemorating.”
*This post was written by international programs fellow James Mitchell.
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