With a total commitment of $34,000, Penn State College of the Liberal Arts alumna Cassandra Matos has supported a program that played a fundamental role in shaping her experience as a student and future professional. Her gift to World in Conversation (WinC) will help the program to engage the Penn State community in honest conversations on difficult topics through facilitated dialogues across the University and beyond.
Published October 9, 2024
Momen Muhanned, a student at University of Mosul in Iraq, is a former World in Conversation (WinC) facilitator who participated in all of our classes voluntarily when COVID-19 sent all of our work online. This led him to playing a key role as a “citizen diplomat” in support of Azmat Khan, a Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist for the New York Times.
Published September 18, 2024
Some of our colleagues recently traveled to Penn State University from around the world to attend a conference hosted by World in Conversation. Learn how they make it possible for us to serve people and communities with needs, interests, and risk factors that may be vastly different from one another.
Published September 9, 2024
Titled “Sociology and Culture in Korea,” the program, led by Samuel Richards, teaching professor of sociology at University Park, Ben Park, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State Brandywine, and Laurie Mulvey, associate clinical professor of sociology and director of World in Conversation at Penn State, provided students with a cross-cultural immersion study experience that paired them with students from Seoul’s Konkuk University.
Published June 6, 2023
Over the last three years, military personnel from Allied nations and civilians from Afghanistan have been involved in a direct dialogue meant to facilitate communication between people from differing cultural backgrounds. This project was financed through the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme (SPS) and ended in December 2017.
Published February 1, 2018
“I want the conversations that are sparked in this class to go beyond the classroom,” Richards said. “A subject like race and ethnic relations is a national and global issue. To be successful, we have to bring many different voices and perspectives into the conversation. We can do that with the live stream.”
Published January 25, 2017
Two WPSU Penn State productions have been honored with prestigious Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards. The regional Emmys were presented Saturday, Sept. 24 in Philadelphia during the 34th annual awards ceremony of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Mid-Atlantic chapter.
Published September 26, 2016
Few universities have adopted formal policies on trigger warnings, but these days, at the discretion of professors, the range of topics that warrant alerts have broadened to include, the U.S. Constitution, Black Lives Matter on down to Pokemon Go and discussions on police.
Published September 14, 2016
The World in Conversation Center (WinC) staff members Trent Hall, Jenny Beben and Shannon Howley recently met with students, faculty and staff of the Wuhan Institute of Technology (WIT) in China. The relationships fostered by the trip will increase the number of meaningful virtual dialogues to transpire between Penn State and WIT students, as the center continues to expand the scope of its global dialogue.
Published May 5, 2015
Eden Araya, a junior BBH student, presented “Conversations that Matter,” about her work at World in Conversation (WinC) at Penn State, where she is a facilitator on the global dialogues team connecting people in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Poland, the Netherlands, China and other places.
Published November 21, 2014
Throughout the semester, students use videoconferencing technologies to connect with people who live in the conflict zone or who have experienced conflict in another part of the world. This fall, they’ve spoken with individuals living in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem and Northern Ireland.
Published November 10, 2014
Penn State’s Sam Richards, senior lecturer in sociology, and Laurie Mulvey, lecturer in sociology, along with a contingent from their World In Conversation Project (WinC), will travel to Doha, Qatar, to participate in the UN Alliance of Civilization’s Youth Day forum on Dec. 10. The event is expected to attract more than 250 youth from around the world.
Published December 8, 2011
