Hundreds attend first Global Neighborhood House Dinner of 2014-15

Hundreds of students joined 30 faculty and staff members in Lakeside Dining Hall on Sept. 2 to explore gender stereotypes in advertising across cultures.

<em>Dr. de Lama leads students in a discussion at the Global Neighborhood House Dinner.</em>
More than 400 residents of the Global Neighborhood came together in Lakeside Dining Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 2, to share a meal and animated conversation. 

Faculty members Shereeen Elgamal and Mayte de Lama from the Department of World Languages and Cultures led a discussion on stereotypes in advertising across cultures. Elgamal, a lecturer in Arabic, presented an English-language advertisement geared toward Muslim women in the United States that prompted discussion around gender roles among Muslims as well as cultural practices and norms.

De Lama, an associate professor of Spanish, presented a controversial soft drink commercial from Mexico which explored notions of machismo in Mexican culture.  Faculty and staff discussants from across campus facilitated small-group conversations around these topics at their tables.

In its second year, the Global Neighborhood House Dinners are the signature event that brings students, faculty and staff together for intellectual discussions around a globally themed meal. This year’s theme for the neighborhood is Gender and Sexuality Across Cultures, and all six dinners and other neighborhood events will engage with this topic from various disciplinary viewpoints.

Upcoming dinners include presenters from the School of Communications, the Department of History and Geography, the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center and the School of Law.