Back from my writing break. I have been experiencing this seminar from several different perspectives. I am a student attempting to learn about the history of South Africa. I am a teaching assistant and fellow learning about the logistics and planning that goes into leading a global seminar in the hopes that one day I will instruct my own. I am also a social scientist interested in group dynamics and how groups and communities construct themselves. We have an incredibly dynamic and diverse global seminar community. It has been a joy thus far observing, engaging and developing with this amazing group of students.
I have had several conversations with multiple sub-groups about their interpretations on how small groups within the big group are established. Here we are in South Africa where racial segregation has been a significant part of their history in policy and practice. We are a small diverse group of college students from the U.S. as a part of a global seminar community, but given the choice still manage to experience segregation. We wonder how does this work? Is it more natural to gravitate to those that are more like us? If so, to what degree would that "more like us" look like? Race, gender, age, and/or status/position. Could it happen by majors, fields of study or classmanship? I don't know of any solid answers to these questions, but just thought I would throw it out there to possibly engage some dialogue around segregation and similarities.
