Helen Foster Snow:Enigmatic Heroine

Teachers in China:Much More ThanEnglish

Tracing History inArabian Bountiful

B R I D G E SFALL 2000 ANNUAL REPORT

B R I G H A M Y O U N G U N I V E R S I T Y • D A V I D M . K E N N E D Y C E N T E R F O R I N T E R N A T I O N A L S T U D I E S

COMMUNITIES

23 Campus

27 Alumni

29 World

4 Helen Foster Snow—Enigmatic HeroineRevered in China for meticulously recording the political climate ofthe 1930’s, at her death in 1997, eighty-nine year-old Helen FosterSnow was memorialized at the Great Hall of the People.—by J. Lee Simons

14 Teachers in China: Much More Than EnglishTeaching is more than “going by the book”—using overheads andtextbook demonstrations—and, in this case, more than teachingEnglish. It is sharing hope and imparting skills which open the doorof opportunity to many who may not have otherwise entered it.—by Andrea K. Harker

18 Tracing History in Arabian BountifulTwenty-six hundred years ago, a brisk trade in frankincense put car-avans on the desert and ships on the sea…. In 1998, another, muchsmaller group traveled east to cross the desert. “I wanted to write abook, but I could not write from the Biblical perspective. I began toread and learn about ancient Arabia,” explained S. Kent Brown.—by J. Lee Simons

1 9 9 9 - 2 0 0 0 A N N U A L R E P O R T I S S U E

2 Director’s Message

3 Financial Report

Donald B. Holsinger, PUBLISHER

Jeffrey F. Ringer, MANAGING EDITOR

J. Lee Simons, EDITOR

Andrea K. Harker, ASSISTANT EDITOR

Robert H. Boden, DESIGNER

Published by the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, Brigham Young University, Provo,Utah. Copyright 2000 by Brigham Young University. All rights reserved. All communications should besent to Bridges, 237 HRCB, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602. Phone: (801) 378-2652 E-mail: kennedy_publications@byu.edu

FEATURES

B R I D G E S

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Greetings to our many alumni, friends, students, and enthusiastic facultysupporters. Welcome to the first print issue of Bridges magazine. TheKennedy Center is on the move—receiving support for change andprogress. Let me mention five priorities we are working on for the 2000–01academic year.

1. Change in name. We have proposed that the center be renamed theDavid M. Kennedy School of International Studies. As an independ-ent “college” already, the name change would more accurately reflectour status. We’ll keep you posted.

2. Create a journal of international studies. We’ve all enjoyed BYUStudies for many years; now is the time for a journal of internationalstudies! A name will be selected, pending final approval, but we areoptimistic and believe the time is right for an LDS view on pressinginternational issues.

3. Establish an International Advisory Committee (IAC). Differentfrom our Campus Advisory Council, which draws on BYU deans formembership, the IAC would be composed of distinguished interna-tionalists and be charged with review of our international curriculadevelopment and with fund raising. We contemplate a $25 millioncapital campaign and think we have the right people in mind toassist us.

4. Improve employment prospects for our graduates. Our majors enjoygrowing popularity among BYU students, and we believe we owethem the very best career advisement, planning, and placement effortwe are capable of. Our plan would tackle those problems and assureour 800 or so students the best employment and career planningassistance available anywhere on campus.

5. Develop a program of area studies certificates. This program wouldbe available to all BYU and non-BYU (e.g., spring/summer non-matriculated students from other universities) to earn an area studiescertificate upon completion of a carefully selected subset of coursesfrom our regular programs. These would include both language andarea courses. Proficiency levels in each would be monitored,described, and, if possible, measured with the results appearing onthe certificate.

Check back for reports on these and other ongoing activities of the center.There has never been a better time for international studies, and we arepleased to be a part of the progress at the Kennedy Center.

Director’s Message

Donald B. Holsinger, director

EndowmentsCURRENT ADDITIONAL PROPOSED

FUNDING LEVEL FUNDING REQUIRED LEVEL

David M. Kennedy Center Endowment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,979,600 $21,020,40 $25,000,000

International Study Programs EndowmentsMae Covey GardnerEuropean programs scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677,600 n/a n/a

Lucille Covey RichardsPerforming groups and general scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144,600 n/a n/a

Howard B. and Mary D. NelsonFrance, Italy, and Spain scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,400 n/a n/a

Study Abroad EndowmentAsia, Latin America, Africa, Middle East scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338,300 4,661,700 5,000,000

Subtotal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,232,900 4,661,700 5,000,000

Other Endowments

Chen Fu Koo—Asian Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127,300 n/a n/a

Palmer—Korean Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,900 437,100 500,000

Asael E. Palmer—Canadian Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,100 n/a n/a

Asian Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,900 981,100 1,000,000

Subtotal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245,200 1,418,200 1,500,000

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,457,700 $27,100,300 $31,500,000

Current Operations 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000

Endowment Earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $226,565 $272,403 $327,462

Interest and Other Revenue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79,600 86,400 105,600

Gifts/Grants—Working Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452,006 487,418 565,700

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $758,171 $846,221 $998,762

Summary of Cash Inflow

3BRIDGES • FALL 2000

Financial Report andStudent Demographics

University Budget 57%

Gifts and Grants 24%

Endowment 14%

Interest & Other Revenue 5%

Student Demographics

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .529

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204

Single . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .650

Graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Undergraduate . . . . . . . . .817

Total Students . . . . . . . . . .854

Non-USA . . . . . . . . . . . . .11%

USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89%

Average Age . . . . . . . . . .22.65

Minimum . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Maximum . . . . . . . . . . . .56

AverageCumulative GPA . . . . . . . .3.33

1999–2000

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5

HHeelleenn FFoosstteerr SSnnoowwEEnniiggmmaattiicc HHeerrooiinnee

HHeelleenn FFoosstteerr SSnnoowwEEnniiggmmaattiicc HHeerrooiinnee

by J. Lee Simons, Bridges editor

evered in China for meticulously

recording the political climate of the 1930s, at her death in 1997,

eighty-nine year-old Helen Foster Snow was memorialized at the

Great Hall of the People. The Communist Eighth Route Army

Museum in Xi’an boasts the Helen Foster Snow wing. There is a

Helen Foster Snow Society in Beijing, and across China there are

hospitals and schools bearing her name. An eyewitness to pivotal

political changes within China, her journalistic record is a pri-

mary source on the Communist revolution of the 1930s.

R

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Although well-known by theChinese, many people in the

West may be entirely unaware ofthis historical legacy. How shecame to be there and how her life was affected is the topic ofHelen Foster Snow: Witness toRevolution (working title), a filmscheduled to be premiered 26–27 October at the Helen FosterSnow Symposium on BrighamYoung University’s campus.

“I didn’t know who Helen FosterSnow was, I knew the name EdgarSnow, and I could assume, but Ididn’t know her. I had to be edu-cated,” revealed Dodge Billingsley,producer and director of thefilm. He began to read, andalthough he did not have aChina-area specialty, associ-ate producer Eric Hyer did.Hyer, associate professor ofpolitical science at BYU, andBillingsley both attendedColumbia University in NewYork in the 1980s; thoughthey attended the sameward, they did not knoweach other well. Time andcircumstances reunited them.

They teamed up with cam-eraman and cinematographerRod Lamborn, a BYU filmgraduate Billingsley had pre-viously worked with on proj-ects in Chechnya and theMiddle East. In April 1999,the three men took their first recon-naissance trip to China. Hyerproved to be an invaluable guide—having an extensive background inChina.

Scouting out sites was essentialto saving dollars. Billingsleyexplained, “When you’re shootingvideo, you don’t really have to dothat—tape is cheap. You can figureit out when you get there. A filmshoot is very expensive comparedto a video shoot. It requires a fullcrew, and the film itself is astro-nomically expensive compared tovideo tape.”

On that first trip, they met witha few Chinese who had knownSnow and with government offi-cials who would be critical in

Dodge BillingsleyDodge Billingsley’s specialty is

defense analysis in the Caucasus—from the Black Sea to the CaspianSea. Covering regional security

topics with VERTIC, athink tank inLondon, by thesummer of1995 Billingsleymade a dozentrips into theCaucasus todifferent warzones to ana-

lyze guerrilla warfare and strate-gies. Eventually his work expandedto Central Asia and the MiddleEast—much of it being Moslemrelated.

In 1995, he returned toNew York to “try somethingdifferent”—making documen-taries for Video Ordnance. Heassociate-produced DesertStorm: Desert Victory, a three-part Gulf War series aired bythe History Channel, and heproduced Firepower 2000, athree-part series on militarytechnology going into thetwenty-first century.

Billingsley was offered thechance to produce a filmabout Chechnya. His expert-ise in the Caucasus was a nat-ural fit, so he left New Yorkand his job to spend twoyears filming the documen-tary Immortal Fortress. Hebrought his film to Utah,

where post-production was done atKBYU. While he was wrapping thatfilm, Sterling Van Wagenen, ofKBYU–TV at that time, asked himif he would be interested in doing afilm about China—more specifical-ly, about Helen Foster Snow.Billingsley soon became familiarwith Snow’s life—especially thepivotal nine-year period spent inChina. He teamed up with EricHyer, political science professor atBYU to produce Helen Foster Snow:Witness to Revolution (working title).

Billingsley attended ColumbiaUniversity, where he received hisundergraduate degree in peacestudies [war studies]. He received amaster’s degree in war studiesfrom King’s College Department ofWar Studies at the University ofLondon.

In early October, he will bespeaking and showing ImmortalFortress, his film on Chechnya, at aconference in London.

Check for updates on HelenFoster Snow: Witness to Revolution athttp://www.combatfilms.com.

receiving necessary permissions.They also traveled to specific loca-tions that had been key duringSnow’s eight years in China. “It’sinteresting, we were stopped on astreet by a policeman when webegan filming, asking ‘Hey, whatare you doing.’ Hyer just said,‘We’re doing something on HelenFoster Snow.’ ‘Oh, Helen Snow, ofcourse, go ahead.’ I was surprisedthat a random policeman knew ofher. They were fine with us; wedidn’t show them any papers.They knew immediately whoHelen Foster Snow was,”Billingsley offered.

“Working in China is always dif-ficult, but this is a sensitive topic tothem,” Hyer explained. He stayedin China working on negotiations,while the other two returnedhome. Based on their expedition,they teamed up with scriptwriterSue Bergin and began to draft ascript in preparation for a returntrip and film shoot in August.

Acquiring the ArchivesSnow’s family donated her vast

collection of papers and photo-graphs to BYU in 1997. Once theimport of her archive was evaluat-ed, there was significant interest totell her story. Special interestgroups and members of the gov-ernment in China applauded the

Film crew at the Great Wall of China, left to right: Doug Chamberlain,first assistant cameraman; Rodney Lamborn, cinematographer; Joe Pia,unit production manager; Dodge Billingsley, producer/director; Eric Hyer, associate producer; and Travis Allen, sound.

7BRIDGES • FALL 2000

effort to bring this historical periodto film.

Cheryl Brown, then an associateacademic vice president at BYU,and Hyer traveled to China to rep-resent the university at Snow’smemorial. During the long flightthey discussed the collection andwhat could be done with it. Hyerformulated three core ideas revolv-ing around Snow’s life: (1) herstory was interesting—one thatwould be good for the universityto tell; (2) a film could be pro-duced; and (3) a translation ofessays written in Chinese aboutSnow could be published. On theirreturn, Brown passed a copy of My China Years, Snow’s autobiog-raphy of those turbulent years, toSterling Van Wagenen, then adirector of film projects at KBYU.He ultimately approachedBillingsley, who was finishinganother project at KBYU.

“The coup for BYU, in my opin-ion, was that they owned the pho-tographic part of the archives,because Helen’s written worksare also at the Hoover Institutionon Stanford University’s cam-pus,” said Billingsley.

Harvard Heath, curator ofTwentieth Century Westernand Mormon Americana atBYU, has been responsible forcataloguing the Snow Collection.The photo collection alone hasbeen appraised at over $350,000.Rare, one-of-a-kind photos like theones of Mao Zedong (Tse-tung),Communist leader of the People’sRepublic of China (PRC) 1949–76,put her photos in a class all theirown. Billingsley remarked that“she was among the first journal-ists to use hand-held cameras, andin a way she was a pioneer of pho-tojournalism.” The archive is slatedto be on display during the sympo-sium in October.

Filming in ChinaThe most difficult obstacle in the

project was the passage of time. Bythe time Snow passed away at aripe old age, many of her friends,who were high-ranking officials in

the Communist Party, were alsogone. “We interviewed, or met, tenor fifteen people in April 1999, andthree or four had passed away byAugust. Had we wanted to inter-view them, it became irrelevant,”said Billingsley. “This should havebeen done twenty years ago.”

The Ministry of Culture chargesfilm crews a per person, per dayfee, which can mount up fast. TheBYU crew managed to negotiatethe fee down, but it still amountedto thousands of dollars for theprivilege of shooting in China.“Dealing with the Chinese is reallyinteresting. When you’re a tourist

Clockwise from top left: A young Mao Zedong (Tse-tung)—future communist leader of the People’s Republic ofChina 1949–76; Rebel Red Army leaders Po Ku,Chou En-lai, Chu The, and Mao Zedong; (Left to right) Labeled by Helen as the “ThreeMusketeers”: Sung Ming-jiu, Ying Teh-t’ien,Mao Feng-shan; Mass meeting at Yun-yang;Helen was traveling from Xi’an to Yan’an.“Person to person in the villages the Red Armysoldiers are telling all about the Red Army. The villager will then tell all his neighbors. That is how the revolution came in China, word of mouth” (Helen’s comments from MyChina Years).

8

Eric A. HyerEric A. Hyer’s interest in

Chinese foreign relations is theresult of early influence by hisfather, emeritus professor of history

with a Chinafocus at BYU,and by earlyexperienceswhile still ayoung man.Fresh out ofhigh school,Hyer spent thesummer of1971 studying

intensive Chinese at BYU, then con-tinued studying at Taiwan NormalUniversity’s Mandarin Center.Following a two-month break back-packing around the world, East toWest, he returned to Taiwan andserved a two-year mission for TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 1979, diplomatic relationswere established between the U.S.and China, and in 1980 Hyerbecame one of the first Americanstudents to study in mainlandChina. He studied at the BeijingLanguage Institute, where his fel-low students were Czechs, EastGermans, Palestinians,Cambodians, and North Koreans.

His interest in Asia took him tothe continent regularly—literallytraveling the width and breadth ofChina, often backpacking. In 1996,along with family members, hebackpacked in Tibet and over theKarakoram Mountains to Pakistan.

Hyer said he likes to “stay onthe fringes,” meaning the borders.He believes “borders are wherethings happen, where cultures andcountries confront and often con-flict with one another.” Hyer saidthe fascinating part is the “multi-cultural cooperation” that devel-ops along political and culturalboundaries.

Hyer is an associate professor ofpolitical science at BYU, where hereceived his BA degree. He receivedhis MA, PhD, and certificate inAsian Studies from ColumbiaUniversity.

He and his family lived in China while he taught at ForeignAffairs College in Beijing as aFulbright scholar.

its great. Once you bring a filmcrew in, it’s a little more complicat-ed,” revealed Billingsley. Theyfinally arrived and filmed during

1–23 August 1999.The cost was notwithout reward;there was muchfor the film crewto shoot aboutSnow.

Hauling equip-ment from site-to-site, unloadingand reloading it,was daunting initself. Havingsigned papersfrom the Ministryof Culture did notalleviate the need

for new deals at every location thecrew went to for a film shoot. Thatrequired tedious and often vigor-ous confrontations with localauthorities in order gain permis-sion to film. Those irritations didnot prevent the film crew fromaccomplishing what might havebeen deemed an impossible task.The completed documentary con-tains color footage shot on location,interviews (six hours with two-thirds in Chinese that must betranslated), and re-enactments ofsome events (using Chinese actorsin period clothing); documentaryblack and white footage from theU.S. National Archives; and manystill photos from Snow’s collectionthat have never been seen by thegeneral public.

Telling the StoryAlthough Snow’s chronicling of

a turbulent period in recentChinese history may be construedby some as controversial, she intro-duced Mao when he was littlemore than a rebel in the northwestterritories in and around Yan’anand Bao’an. A new order of thingswas forming in China for all futureleaders and for all people ofChina—for years to come.

“There was no flow of informa-tion; communists were labeled asbandits, and the fact was, no one

knew who the communists were.Were they good, were they bad,who were they, and what werethey doing. People like Edgar andHelen Snow, and a few others, all of maybe four or five others,went into these areas during thattime, and brought out the onlyknown accounts,” Billingsleyexplained. “The Chinese have actually used Snow’s, and theother Western writer’s, records tosupplement their own recollectionsof childhood in the communistbase camps.”

Born Helen Foster on 21 Sep-tember 1907 in Cedar City, Utah,Snow received training as a secre-tary and was working in Salt LakeCity prior to leaving for China in1931. Chinese citizenry were starv-ing to death under Imperial rulewhen Snow arrived. Billingsley set the scene. “Japan was rapingand pillaging in the north, thenationalists were dealing with the communists and their prob-lems by mass-executions, and a lot of other less-than-reasonableactivities.”

By contrast, Hyer described avery different lifestyle for Snowand her continental friends. A con-temporary with Bertrand Russell,who was also in China, Snow asso-ciated with a tight enclave of fiftyor so people, whose income went along way on China’s 1930s econo-my. “Europeans controlledShanghai—not the Chinese. Snow’scircle of friends had status andlived a very cosmopolitan life ofprivilege,” according to Hyer.

“Reading her journals you seeshe was just herself. And then youtry to give people a chance to seethis story, but set it in the frame-work of the time. We look at thecommunists now, and we knowabout the 20–50 million people thatstarved to death during the eco-nomic upheavals and resultingfamine—all the crazy things in cul-tural revolutions. One China experttold us, ‘You have to try and putthe story into the 1930s frame-work.’ The communists were dirtpoor agrarians trying to liberate

Having signedpapers from theMinistry ofCulture did notalleviate the needfor new deals atevery location thecrew went for afilm shoot.

9BRIDGES • FALL 2000

the common people, and youcouldn’t corrupt a communist,because they had nothing to cor-rupt. They were not the wealthy, or

the in-powergroup. And laterthe communistswere totally dif-ferent, and shemissed all ofthat. She wasostracized hereduring theMcCarthy peri-od, and she did-n’t have anywindows intoChina after sheleft,” Billingsleysummarized.

Snow wrote ofher new circum-stances, “None of

this fits in with my Pollyanna psy-chology. I may decide to leaveChina sooner than expected.” Shemet and married Edgar Snow, ajournalist posted to China, on 25December 1932. Her stay lingeredfor eight years. And in spite of heraccess to leisure, Snow involvedherself in such a way as to rivalany modern-day activist. “In 1935,she was on the streets protestingwith students and hiding themfrom the authorities. Atthat time it was illegal topublish any informationabout the communists, butshe was writing for the for-eign press—not theChinese,” said Hyer.

Billingsley added, “Snowbecame such an activist shecould never just be a jour-nalist; she always gotinvolved. She was youngand related to the studentmovement. Many in thestudent union becamecommunists later—com-munist leaders. There are

A contemporarywith BertrandRussell, who wasalso in China, Snowassociated with atight enclave offifty or so people,whose incomewent a long wayon China’s 1930seconomy.

Left: Helen as a child in Cedar City, Utah,where she was born 21 September 1907.

Center: Helen at WestHigh School in SaltLake City.

Right: A thoroughlymodern Helen in SaltLake City before depart-ing for China.

Edgar Snow, journalist andhusband of Helen Foster.

10

a lot of people we met that said‘she came in and rescued me fromprison,’ ‘I was a prisoner in nation-alist China, and at the time it couldhave meant at least torture, proba-bly death.’

“Snow and others came and, asforeigners, had the power to takesome of the students out, and thosestudents remember and love her. Infact, two of them also became partof the power base in PRC. Shewrote the biographies on all themen and women who wouldbecome the leaders of the PRC.”

“As an academic, this is an exer-cise in revisionist history,” saidHyer. “Snow did not get recogni-tion for her historical contribu-tions—written and photographic.She was there when history wasbeing made. As a scholar that’show I see it.”

Scriptwriter Bergin was facedwith the Herculean task of sortingthrough books and newspaper arti-cles to begin to form a picture of

Snow’s enigmatic per-sonality. The produc-ers handed her arough outline fromwhich she produced adraft script. Billingsleyand Hyer thenreworked the script tobring it up to histori-cally accurate academ-ic standards and handit back to Bergin forfinal drafting.

Billingsley elaborat-ed on the process. “Onone level, this is a doc-ument from the uni-versity that no one isgoing to be able to say‘well, that’s not right,historically.’ We kindof went over the topon that, and it becamethe primary story.Now we’ve got tobring it back, becauseit’s Helen’s story, inChina. It’s not a histo-ry story; any universi-ty could do a story onChinese history. Andwe realize that wehave two sub-themesrolling through thisfilm, we need to putHelen back on top. It

M. Sue BerginEight years ago, Sue Bergin was

approached by a friend to do ascreenplay for a feature film aboutHelen Foster Snow for Sony

Pictures.Would she beinterested? Yes,but the rightswere notobtained andtime passed. Inthe interim,Bergin hadopportunitiesto work withSterling Van

Wagenen (previously at KBYU) andJim Bell (former editor of BYUMagazine and currently at KBYU).These contacts put her in placewhen the second offer came towork on a Helen Foster Snowscript. They asked, and the answerwas still “yes.”

Bergin received her BA degreefrom BYU in university studies(emphases in English, music,Spanish) and a master’s degree injournalism from Northwestern. Sheworked as a reporter for the OgdenStandard-Examiner, then as nationalnews editor for BYU PublicCommunications, a features writeron science research at BYU.

Four years later, she determinedto pursue screen writing in LosAngeles. For eleven years she expe-rienced the typical Hollywoodroller coaster ride. While there, sheobtained an MFA in screen writingfrom UCLA. In 1988, she returnedto Utah to be closer to her family(parents, six of eight siblings, ninenieces and nephews). Since thenshe has been involved with free-lance projects, writing regularly forBYU Magazine, editing for theFoundation for Ancient Researchand Mormon Studies, and last yearshe launched an Internet business.She has been working on the Snowproject for the past year.

Left: Helenand Ed in theearly years.

Right: Ed andHelen in1943; theydivorced in1949, and shenever remar-ried. Ed livedin exile inSwitzerlandfor theremainder ofhis life.

11BRIDGES • FALL 2000

plex person,” elab-orated Billingsley.

Bergin’s chal-lenge was to cap-ture that complexi-ty through thescript. A majorsource of referencewas Kelly AnnLong, assistantprofessor of histo-ry at ColoradoState University.Her doctoral dis-sertation is basedon personal inter-views with Snowin the six yearsprior to her death.Billingsley com-mented, “Therewere experts onHelen Foster in hergeneration, andher family mem-bers are certainlyexperts, but Longis an outsider. Shecould see thingsindependent ofSnow’s family. Shewas interviewedfor the film, and

works now, because we know thatthe document is sound academical-ly. Someone reviewed the film, andsaid, “Wow, this is the first time Ihave understood the Xi’an inci-dent.”

According to Hyer, NationalistChinese leader Chiang Kai-Shekhad correctly identified the com-munists as the enemy to fear.However, patriotic students sawthe Japanese encroachment ontoChinese soil as an affront anddemonstrated their displeasure,convincing Marshall Zhang inXi’an to oppose Chiang. In October1936, Snow attempted to be smug-gled north to Yan’an, the commu-nist hide out. She was delayedtwelve days. While in Xi’an, shemanaged to interview Zhang, whotold her he was planning a coupd’etat against Chiang. Snow imme-diately sent this news to London.On 12 December 1936, Zhangmade good on his intentions, cap-turing Chiang and forcing him toband with the communists againstthe Japanese.

“As the filmmaker you hope thestory is done well enough thateveryone recognizes the value init. When you do a historical doc-

umentary, I don’t think it’s everpossible that everyone enjoys it,because history is always told witha bias. We bring up issues. Somepeople will say Snow had socialistleanings. Others say ‘No, no, shedidn’t believe in any ideology, shejust believed in the individual.’Many of her Chinese friends werecommunists.

“What’s also a challenge for auniversity like BYU, that is knownas a very conservative school, ishow do you portray a woman whowas inactive in the faith fromwhich the university was foundedand who was very liberal in herpolitical thinking? How do youexplore those things, do justice tohistory, but at the same time notput a label on it? Its like the film isright in the middle of a circle, andhow far to the edge can you takethe film and make it a crediblefilm, accurate to history, but not goover the lines? People as interest-ing as Snow are often very muchan enigma. She was a very com-

From left to right:Helen at her type-writer in herConnecticut home.

A middle-agedHelen with her cat,Mao—Chinese forcat.

Helen prior to herdeath at age eighty-nine 11 January1997.

it, no matter what the stories are,everybody likes a story aboutthemselves, and this, in a way, is a

story about theChinese aswell as HelenFoster Snow.We haveChinese whoknew Helendisagreeing oncamera aboutthe exact sametopic, butthat’s okay,they saw it dif-ferently.”

The film wasmade possiblein part byfunds from

Brigham Young University’sSpecial Country Focus Fund, theHarold B. Lee Library, the DavidM. Kennedy Center forInternational Studies, the Women’sResearch Institute, Family Homeand Social Sciences, College ofHumanities, George S. and DoloresDorÈ Eccles Foundation, UtahHumanities Council, and the UtahCouncil for the Arts. ➪➶

12

she will be coming to the confer-ence to present a paper.”

The script is set now, and thefilm is in the final stages of techni-cal editing. “We’re bringing thefilm to what’s known as ‘picturelock.’ From there, we do a lot oftechnical editing, but the contentdoesn’t really change, we’re notbuilding the story anymore. It’sjust the technical areas that go intomaking a film broadcast quality,”Billingsley said. These steps to thefinal version will take place prima-rily at LDS Motion Picture Studio,where the facilities are among thebest in the West for sound mix anddigital video editing.

Public ResponseIn addition to a nationwide call

for papers from scholars, Hyer hasbeen working to bring a Chinesedelegation to the October confer-ence. In May, he and Billingsleymade a trip to China to meet possible Chinese organizationsthat will act as venues for the film. “To do that, we need to premierthe program in certain markets—Beijing, Xi’an, and Yan’an—thatare the three key areas of Snow’sstory. We’ve been considering

SymposiumThe symposium to premier Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution is scheduled forThursday and Friday, 26–27 October 2000. A fourteen-member delegation from China,including reporters, will be present. Scholars from U.S. and China as well as others interested in or having knowledge of Snow will be selected to present papers. Thursday will include a morning sneak preview of the movie, followed that evening by an invitation-only banquet and formal premier. Sessions will continue on Friday, and visiting delegates will be treated to travel and tourism on Saturday. Arrangements may also be made for a trip to Sunday morning’s Music and the Spoken Word with theMormon Tabernacle Choir.

Shanghai as well,” remarkedBillingsley.

Hyer reported that many of theorganizations contacted are inter-ested in the movie, including U.Scorporations with outlets in China.The Asia Society in New York alsoexpressed interest in premieringthe film. The team hopes to sellthe film to a national PBS audi-ence as well.

This endeavor will assuredlyadd to the already cordial relationsthe university has with China. The1979 Young Ambassadors tour waswell-received and has beenrebroadcast on a regular basis. Inthe intervening years, twenty ofthe university’s performing groupshave toured in China. Most recent-ly the ballroom dance companyreturned from a successful five-week tour that included four stopsin China. The university has select-ed China as one of its “specialfocus” countries. Hyer explainedthat focus then paved the way forprojects concerning China to be eli-gible for additional funding.

When questioned about theinfluence the film might have onU.S.–China relations, Billingsleyreplied, “It can be a tool. Let’s face

Rare, one-of-a-kindphotos like the ones ofMao Zedong (Tse-tung), Communistleader of the People’sRepublic of China(PRC) 1949–76, puther photos in a classall their own.

13BRIDGES • FALL 2000

Nym WalesMy first introduction to “Nym Wales” (Helen Foster Snow) came in 1990, when I took a

book off a library shelf at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. I was participating in aseminar on Writers of Social Protest in Modern China, designed for high school teachers, andsponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I was also researching the lifeand writing of Ding Ling and found a cross reference to Inside Red China and Women inModern China.

After reading about Ding Ling, I asked one of the program directors who Nym Waleswas, and he told me that she was Helen Foster Snow. Furthermore, she was still alive andliving in Madison, Connecticut, not a long drive from Hartford.

I became more interested in Helen Snow’s American perspective of 1930s China andread more of her work after returning home. I introduced myself to her by letter andphone in fall 1990, and made a trip in October for my first in-person meeting. Helen bothstartled me and engaged my curiosity during that introduction. She could be abrasive andscolding at moments, shouting out corrections if I had something wrong in my account ofan event or her role in it, and at other times, she could be vulnerable, warm, nostalgic, andinsightful. I sensed in her an earnestness and longing to be recognized, and heard herinsistence that she had been slighted in the historical record.

As a high school teacher, and a student of history, I was familiar with the stories offamous men, and the typical references to the good women who stood behind them.Something about Helen captured my interest, and I began looking closer at the story ofEdgar and Helen Snow to learn more about the woman behind the scenes, to understandwhat it was like to be married to a famous man—from her point of view, and attempt tounderstand how she might have been misrepresented, or under-acknowledged, for herown merit and contributions. Having taught high school for many years, I knew thatwomen were under-represented in history textbooks, which fueled my interest in learningmore about a unique American woman.

Over the next five years I called Helen often, visited her on three occasions, and collect-ed correspondence and over thirty hours of tape-recordings of phone or in-person inter-views. In the summer of 1991, I traveled to China as part of a Fulbright-Hayes summerseminar program. While in Xi’an, I had the chance to meet and interview An Wei, aChinese scholar who focuses on Helen Snow and who had spent a year in Hartford inter-viewing and working on translations of Helen Snow’s work.

During 1992–93, I received a National Endowment for the Humanities-Dewitt WallaceTeacher-Scholar Award, which provided a one-year sabbatical from my teaching responsi-bilities. I researched the lives of three American women involved in U.S.–China relations—Agnes Smedley, Anna Louise Strong, and Helen Foster Snow.

I wrote a paper about Snow, Portrait of a Solitary Soul: The Contributions of Helen FosterSnow to Sino–American Relations, and presented it at the Western Conference of theAssociation of Asian Studies. It was positively received by the audience and selected forpublication in the Selected Papers in Asian Studies New Series #41, spring 1993. Thatreception encouraged me to continue my research into the life of Snow, and in 1993, I pre-sented When Helen Snow Went Gung Ho, at an International Conference in Baoji, China.

I entered the PhD program at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and received adegree in modern U.S. history with a comparative field in U.S.–China relations. It seemednatural to make Helen Snow the topic of my dissertation.

In spring 1998 I graduated, and taught for the summer institute at Madonna University,in Michigan. I was hired in mid-summer to fill a vacancy at Colorado State University forthe 1998–99 academic year while the history department conducted a search to replacetheir Asian historian. I taught courses in Asian Civilizations and two upper division cours-es in Chinese history. Pleased with my work, the department offered me a tenure-trackappointment that draws upon my background and interests in American Studies and U.S.–China relations and also allows me to con-tinue outreach to K-12 schools.

Because of these great opportunities to teach, I put my work on revising the dissertation on hold for some time. Fall 1999, I madea series of revisions, and I am currently undertaking more sweeping revisions to the manuscript and will begin the process of seek-ing a publisher this summer.

by Kelly Ann Long

Kelly Ann LongLong grew up along the front range of

Colorado and, except for periods of exten-sive travel, spent her life there. She taught

high school from 1980until 1998, beforemoving to ColoradoState University. AtPoudre High Schoolin Fort Collins,Colorado, Longtaught English, APhumanities (historyand English), Asianhumanities; and in the

International Baccalaureate Program, jun-ior and senior English and junior U.S.History. She has completed her first year,tenure-track appointment at CSU. In addi-tion to teaching, Long is active in the fieldof educational outreach as a member ofthe editorial staff for Education About Asiamagazine.

In the summer of 1999, she participatedin a Council For International EducationalExchange summer seminar that visited theThree Gorges Project on the Yangtze River.Summer 2000, she will participate in afive-week institute Religions, Philosophies,and Culture in India, a joint program of theUniversity of Hawaii and the East–WestCenter in Honolulu, Hawaii, funded bythe National Endowment for theHumanities.

She has participated in several NationalEndowment for the Humanities institutesand seminars for school teachers, includ-ing the Writer as Social Critic in ModernChina, Institute for Teachers of Chinese(enabling her Chinese study and improv-ing her language skills), and The AmericanScene: Texts of the Depression Era.

Her Fulbright studies took her to Chinain 1991, and she has since traveled andstudied in China in 1993, 1995, and 1999.

Long has also served as a consultantand presenter for groups of educatorsthrough programs arranged by the SocialScience Consortium, the American Councilof Learned Societies, and the Asia Society.

14

Teaching is more than “goingby the book”—using over-

heads and textbook demonstra-tions—and, in this case, more thanteaching English. It is sharing hopeand imparting skills which openthe door of opportunity to manywho may not have otherwiseentered it. Participants of a uniqueproject teach Chinese students byincorporating innovative learningtechniques and valuable life skillsinto their classes. Their desire toextend quality learning does notstop once the school bell rings. Onthe contrary, many volunteers goout of their way to “teach” out-side of the classroom.Dedicated China Teachersbecome involved in the wel-fare of not only their students,but the community as a whole.

A few qualifiers ensure aconsistent standard for volun-teers in the Kennedy Center’s

China Teachers Program. Partici-pants must be active members ofThe Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints under seventyyears old, who hold bachelor’sdegrees or higher (in any disci-pline), and are in stable financialcondition. Each year (the programruns from September to July)dozens of qualified, inspiringteachers volunteer. Two such cou-ples from this year’s teaching poolare the Seables and the Banfields.

Stephan and Kathleen Seable

Stephan and Kathleen Seableapplied for teaching in China

after reading about the program inthe Church News. Kathleen statesthat “for some reason that adver-tisement jumped out at us. Wenever considered doing such athing before, but the Spirit startedworking on us.”

The influence was enough thatthey sold their home, which theyhad lived in for twenty-two yearsin Concord, California, and boughtproperty in Oregon with theirdaughter’s family. Their move

The Seables visited theMing Tombs with Davie,one of their students.

Teachers in

China:Much More than Englishby Andrea K. Harker, Bridges assistant editor

15BRIDGES • FALL 2000

allowed them opportunity formore service. Although this mayseem drastic, Kathleen asserted,“We have not regretted our deci-sion. Our experience teaching inChina has been very rewardingand enjoyable.”

The Seable’s teach oral and writ-ten English at the Foreign AffairsCollege in Beijing to a variety ofstudents. Stephan and Kathleen donot restrict their interaction to theclassroom, however. “They come toour home where we have discus-sions, play games, and showvideos; we invite them to be ourtour guides; and with some, weexchange e-mail messages. Wehave helped with resume writing,job hunting skills, and filling outapplication forms.” The Seablesalso provide special tutoring andfriendly advice.

The volunteer couple participateextensively in the community aswell. One of the programs theywork on together is the “EnglishCorner” at the Chaoyang CulturalPalace, where locals practice speak-ing English. The Seables also par-ticipated together on a Beijing talkshow where they discussed parent-child relationships.

The teaching couple have beenworking on solo projects as well.Recently, Universal StudiosExperience in Beijing hired

Kathleen to co-host an EnglishSalon every week for students andbusiness people. She provides abrief presentation with handouts,open discussion, and feedback.Kathleen records tapes that accom-pany English textbooks, too.

As for Stephan, during theSpring Festival he was invited toparticipate in a nationally televisedactivity at the Cultural Palace,where he painted a dragon banneralongside one of Kathleen’s artisti-cally gifted students, Yuan Yuan(Eva is her English name).Stephan’s Western-style dragonand Yuan Yuan’s Chinese dragonmet in the middle of a large (14m x1m) cloth mural in friendship andharmony in front of an enthusiasticand supportive crowd of ChineseNew Year celebrants.

Stephan has since made arrange-ments to paint a permanent muralin a housing building on-campuswith the help of some local stu-dents, is finishing up a mural atthe American Embassy, and hasalso used his artistic ability to cre-ate gifts for various Chinesefriends and Waiban (ForeignAffairs Office) officials.

The Seables have made severalfriends from the communitythrough tutoring, chatting in themarketplace, and helping with var-ious English-speaking needs.

During Spring Festival break,Stephan and Kathleen met withseveral of these friends in southernChina to celebrate the ChineseNew Year. In May, the Seables werealso hosted by the mayor and gov-ernment officials in Sichuanprovince, and traveled to manybeautiful points of interest in thesurrounding area.

Their experience in China hasbeen rich and diverse. So much so,in fact, that the Seables’ daughterand son joined them for the experi-ence. The Seables said, “We would

recommendthis experi-ence to anywho enjoychallenges,adventure,and theopportunity towork with avariety of tal-ented andinterestingpeople. Wehave grown tolove theChinese peo-ple we have

met, and we feel that our liveshave been greatly blessed by leav-ing our ‘comfort zone’ and riskingchange.” They returned home thissummer.

“We have not

regretted

our decision.

Our experi-

ence teaching

in China has

been very

rewarding and

enjoyable.”

Stephan painted the muralwith a student, Yuan Yuan.Fred Seng, a young memberof Stephan’s primary class,also helped with the project.

Top: Kathleen, with some of her freshmen students.

Bottom: Stephan sketches at the Beijing zoo with some students.

16

Frank and Kim Banfield

China is also a long way fromhome for Frank and Kim Banfield,who joined the China Teachers pro-gram all the way from Montreal,Quebec, Canada. But the Banfieldssaid that “like many of our col-leagues we felt called to join.”

During Frank’s first year in theBSW (Bachelor of Social Work) pro-gram at McGill University, he andhis wife attended a wedding in theToronto Temple. While waiting tocongratulate the bride, Frank said,“The still small voice told me threetimes: ‘Linguistic mission.’ I hur-ried to tell Kim about my experi-ence. At that moment, a friend wastelling her about the ChinaTeachers program. The next daywe went to a ward conference inToronto. The stake presidency allspoke about China. We knew thenthat we were to go to China.”

The community surroundingHefei United University in China iscertainly not complaining. Frank, asocial worker, and Kim, a teacherand educational interpreter, haveset up a unique practicum forEnglish majors there. This innova-tive program gives students theopportunity of teaching English to

blind children at the Hefei Schoolfor the Deaf and Blind.

The Banfields accomplished sev-eral other projects before this onecame about—this is their third andfinal year in China. They organizedrecording sessions and distributed“talking books” of Chinese storiesto various schools in the province;they worked with two hearing-impaired children in their home;they put on a workshop for the special needs schools in Anhuiprovince; and they proved to gov-ernment officials that hearing-impaired children could learn a sec-ond language.

As a result of this exposure, afriend from Save the ChildrenFund invited them to visit one ofthe special needs schools in Hefei,where the headmaster invitedthem to teach the vision-impairedchildren. Their new program beganin March. Tentatively titled“Bridges,” it is fairly straightfor-ward. English majors of all levelsvolunteer for the experience. Theyare then required to attend a halfhour training session each weekand, by the third week, submittheir own lesson plan.

An interactive program,“Bridges” involves primarily one-

on-one instructionbetween the English

teaching assistantsand vision-

impaired children agesseven toeighteen.The curric-ulum cov-ers skills inoral con-versation as well as

English in Braille. Activities includeconversation about everyday thingssuch as the weather, clothing, andgetting to know each other. Alongwith formal learning, the studentsalso sing active songs such as“Head, Shoulders, Knees, andToes” and, because the Banfieldsenlisted a sports therapist (a formerprovincial track coach), the specialneeds children also receive instruc-tion on running skills and sports,such as football.

The Banfields’ program has beena great success, mainly because itserves the needsof several dif-ferent groups.It helps Englishmajors gainself-confidencein their chosenarea of exper-tise whilesimultaneouslygiving themvaluable practi-cal experiencethat appears as“work experi-ence” on schoolrecords.

It serves thespecial-needs

Frank demonstrateshow to use the “talking books.”

“The com-munityhas beenable tobenefitfrom a programthatwould nototherwiseexist...”

BRIDGES • FALL 2000 17

students by supplying them withEnglish skills necessary to obtainmassage therapy jobs with five-starhotels—almost the only professionopen to the blind in this area—aswell as providing them with a valu-able arena for physical exercise.

Their program has also served toheighten student body awareness.“Bridges” has received essentialmedia coverage for special needs,and through this coverage volun-teers have been attracted from thecommunity at large. The communi-ty has been able to benefit from aprogram that would not otherwiseexist, because Frank and Kim notonly organized but funded this pro-gram—recognizing that Hefei is inone of the poorest provinces inChina.

In their first year, Frank and Kimset two goals: to provide a qualityprogram for the students at theuniversity; and to serve the Hefeispecial needs community.

Although they left their friends inChina with some regret, they areconfident they accomplished bothof their goals. The Banfieldsreturned to Montreal this summer,where they presented their projectat a conference in July, and are cur-

rently working on a book abouttheir unique experiences inHefei. Before their departure,the Banfields organized a stu-

dent committee to oversee the pro-gram, to serve those who are onthe two-page waiting list, and toprepare for others who will comein the future. The people of Hefeialso hope to expand the project toinclude students at the Oral Schoolfor the Deaf.

Below: This “work experience” is more fulfillingfor many of the English majors than regular col-lege credit.

Right, top: Frank helps a student get set for anoutdoor activity.

Right, bottom: The staff and students work close-ly together.

The China Teachers Program isadministrated by Jeffrey F. Ringer,associate director of the KennedyCenter. Ringer is assisted in theseefforts each year by a senior missionary couple, currentlyMorris and Donna Petersen. Those interested in obtaining in-formation about China Teachersmay phone (801) 378–5321, e-mailchina-teach@email.byu.edu, or visitonline at http://kennedy.byu.edu/chinateachers.html. ➪➶

TTrraacciinngg HHiissttoorryy iinnAArraabbiiaannBBoouunnttiiffuull

by J. Lee Simons, Bridges editor

18

wenty-six hundred years ago, a brisk trade in frankin-

cense put caravans on the desertand ships on the sea. Seagoing ves-sels sailed within sight of land inthe Sea of Arabia, making nightlyportal for safety along the easterncoast of Arabia. After a lengthyjourney along the caravan routesfrom Jerusalem, a family complet-ed the last leg of their Arabian trekthrough the Dhofar, a mountainousregion in the south of the modern-day Sultanate of Oman. Theyarrived at a coastal plain made ver-dant by monsoon rains blowing offthe African coast from southwestto northeast. The family’s arrivalwas not unusual amid the constantflux of travelers in the region.

In 1998, another, much smallergroup traveled east to cross thedesert. “I wanted to write a book,but I could not write from theBiblical perspective. I began to

read and learn about ancientArabia,” explained S. Kent Brown,ancient studies director at theReligious Studies Center and pro-fessor of ancient scripture atBrigham Young University. Heassembled researchers to con-tribute from the extraordinary poolof talent at BYU. Accompanyinghim on that first trip were W.Revell Phillips, emeritus professorof geology and minerals specialist;Terry B. Ball, associate professor ofancient scripture and archaeo-botanist; David J. Johnson, associ-ate professor of anthropology andarchaeologist; and Arnold H.Green, professor of history andMiddle East specialist who speaksArabic and acted as historian.

Their interest in the fifty milelong and ten mile wide strip ofOmani territory was not the first.Others had also ventured into thisregion in search of secrets from

600 B.C. Team-leader Brown’sobjectives were two-fold: (1) De-velop long-term cooperativeresearch with academics and buildrelationships with governmentofficials; (2) Produce a clear pic-ture of that 600 B.C. world:plants—what they were and howthey were used; people—how they lived and worked; and howthe frankincense trade influencedthe area.

CCooaassttaall OOaassiissA third, parallel goal for Brown’s

team: See what evidence mightindeed corroborate the hiatus ofthat family so long ago. Lehi, patri-arch of the family, left an accountof their journey across Arabia—including the geographic keys anddirections they took from eachpoint. On the basis of their ancientrecord, three geographical markerswere certain: Jerusalem, the Red

T

TTrraacciinngg HHiissttoorryy iinnAArraabbiiaannBBoouunnttiiffuull

by J. Lee Simons, Bridges editor

19BRIDGES • FALL 2000

Sea, and another sea theyapproached from the southwest—aland they referred to as Bountiful.Brown summarized, “The onlyplace with honey, fruit, and tim-bers is the Dhofar—it works.”

Lehi’s family would need a boatfor the remainder of their journey.The now mostly deforested moun-tains would easily have suppliedthe necessary timber. Brown said,“We expect Lehi’s family left noth-ing behind. In the best of all cir-cumstances, an inscription wouldprove conclusively that a peoplehad formerly inhabited a region.

“Text writing on metal arrow-heads and amulets was known in

Jerusalem contemporary with Lehi.They passed through Arabia wherewriting on plates and stone wasaccepted practice. Lehi’s son Jacobexplained, “We know that thethings which we write upon platesmust remain; But whatsoeverthings we write upon anythingsave it be upon plates must perishand vanish away” (Jacob 4:1–2,Book of Mormon). Archaeologistsmay not find specific traces ofLehi’s stay in the Dhofar, but thereare sure to be noteworthy findsnonetheless when the team beginsto excavate in winter 2001 while theweather is cooler and vegetationhas died back. They see “real poten-

tial for serious work” said Brown,and they are hoping in time to con-tribute their geological knowledgeof mineral deposits to Oman’s gov-ernment, recognizing that in antiq-uity, large quantities of copper weremined in northern Oman.

DDeesseerrtt IIrroonnA point often questioned

revolves around statements thatLehi’s son Nephi made concerningore he used to build a ship.Professor Revell Phillips formed ageological team consisting of JeffKeith, professor of geology, andRon Harris, associate professor ofgeology—both at BYU. Phillips

enlisted GeneClark, a graduateof BYU, whoteaches atMountain ViewHigh School, andJason Aase, agraduate studentat BYU. Clarkhad the advan-tage of havingspent a numberof years in Omanworking for Esso.

While inOman, the teamexperienced afalse start work-ing with theiracademic coun-terpart fromSultan QaboosUniversity

(SQU). The dean arranged for themto work with a graduate student.“Talal Al Hosni, we were told, wasthe best student in ten years ormore. He went with us for the lastweek, and he was a great deal ofhelp,” noted Phillips.

For two weeks in February 2000,the team worked in the Salalaharea. They found iron ore nearthere and at Wadi Sayk to the weston the border. Phillips pointed out,“And Khor Rori is a perfectly goodsite, but we found iron ore nearboth of those sites. Nephi couldhave built a ship in either place.Land Bountiful is a land; it isn’t a

TTradition claims the incense trailoriginated in Oman—the ancient

land called Sheba [saba]—remem-bered in scripture for its queen’s[Bilqis] dealings with King Solomon.Biblical references place Sheba inYemen, but the use of frankincense inancient society is a matter of histori-cal record. Once used in ceremonialrites, the aroma of frankincense isknown to fumigate rooms and fresh-en clothes, while its medicinal proper-ties were lauded in ancient societies.Also used as an ingredient forembalming, frankincense was foundat the site of Solomon’s temple, and itwas used for embalming andEgyptian temple rituals. It wasburned on the funeral pyre, andBrown noted “Nero burned enoughfor all the temples in Rome for oneyear when his paramour died.” TheHoly Bible records that it was one ofthe three treasures transported acrossthe desert by magi as a gift for theChrist child.

Johnson and Brown scout-ing at Wadi Sayk.

Johnson under frankincense tree.

Phillips looking for magnetite.

Ball photographs a snake plant.

20

specific spot. Undoubtedly, it wasalong the southern coast. Butwherever it was along that coast,iron ore was available, within amatter of a few miles.”

Brown added, “Khor Rori has aninlet bay more than sufficient tobuild and launch a ship. Wadi Saykand Salalah are both now silted in.Typhoon rains periodically scoopthem out as the rain comes out ofthe canyons. The ore is very nearthe coast.” Oman has no iron indus-try, in fact Brown indicated there isno metal mining at all. Phillipsmaintained, “Nephi didn’t need acommercial iron deposit with tonsof ore at various places, he certainlyhad an adequate source.”

Not only was there a source, butthe iron ore was of good quality.“We brought some back to BYU,and they have smelted it at tem-peratures considerably lower thanwelding. Iron melts at 1600degrees, but Nephi didn’t need tomelt the ore. He simply needed toreduce it, to take the oxygen orefrom it, and he could do that in apit furnace with just charcoal woodin a pit. When forged it is calledwrought iron.

“And the fact is, all of the ironproduced in the Western world upto the time of the IndustrialRevolution, up to the 18th centurywas wrought iron. Iron was notmelted prior to that. Nephi had allthe technology available to black-smiths in the American West,”Phillips explained.

He elaborated, “Virtually thewhole Dhofar is covered by creta-ceous and tertiary limestone. Inone area to the east of Salalah andMirbat, where the limestone haseroded away, we exposed base-ment rock, a very old pre-Cambrian intruded by granite. Wereasoned that any significantdeposit of metallic ore should beassociated with this basementexposure. And it is—a number ofsmall veins, or dikes, largely calci-um-carbonate, but it’s immaculate;it was molten. Carbonatites are rel-atively rare anywhere in the world.Some of these iron-rich carbon-atites are associated with a largediatreme near Mirbat.”

The geology team will present apaper on their Oman findings at aJanuary conference in Muscat.Keith and Harris are applying forgrants with the National ScienceFoundation to continue their workin Oman.

FFlloorraa SSiiggnnaattuurreess For U.S.-based botanists interest-

ed in Arabian Peninsula research,the nearest representative herbari-um collections have been locatedin London and Edinburgh. TheMonte L. Bean museum is estab-lishing one here at BYU with vege-tation collected from Oman. “Thiswill be the most complete collec-tion from this area of Oman in allthe U.S. It will serve as a referencecollection,” remarked Terry Ball,botany team leader. “The botanicalteam is also making a collection ofplant microfossils produced byflora of the region. These microfos-sils are called phytoliths and are

made of the same mineral as opal.”Phytolith analysis is a relatively

new discipline that Ball indicated“holds great promise as a sourcefor data in archaeobotanical, envi-ronmental, and ethnobotanicalresearch.” Phytoliths can be collect-ed from rocks, soil, ceramics, orteeth of herbivores.

Amina al Farsi, curator at SQU,worked closely with Ball andProfessors Gary Baird and LoreenWolstenhulme of BYU, and Profes-sor Shahina Ghazanfar from theUniversity of South Pacific in Fiji.Together, over a two week period,they gathered samples from nearly500 of the 750 contemporaryspecies in the Dhofar region. Theteam will return in fall 2001 to tryand collect the additional specieswhile they are in fruit or flower.

As part of the ongoing exchangewith SQU, Farsi visited the BYUcampus this summer to learn howto use a sophisticated ScanningElectron Microscope. She has alsobeen invited to attend BYU fordoctoral studies.

Ball is a member of the Societyof American Archaeologists andthe Society for PhytologicalResearch, which meets annually inthe U.S. and alternate years inter-nationally.

NNeeww WWoorrlldd MMaappScott R. Woodward, professor of

biology and relative newcomer tothe team, is intent on mapping theworld. Not in the traditionalsense—he is pushing the fringes ofnew frontiers. Woodward’s goalsare straightforward and in no waylimited to Oman. He simply wantsto know “What is the geneticmakeup of the world population?”His objective is to reconstruct thegenealogy of the world throughDNA. Lofty as that may seem, ifever there was a man with therequired understanding, the driveto accomplish the goal, and thespiritual center to persevere—Woodward is the man.

His part in this project is toattempt to reconstruct the genea-logy of the ancient Near East.

Seed head of einkorn wheatfrom neolithic times.

21BRIDGES • FALL 2000

“People in Oman are interested inwho they are. The spirit of Elijah isvery strong,” Woodward reportedof his visit.

Professor Aisha al Kahyat atSultan Qaboos University inMuscat, Oman, was Woodward’slocal contact. They and two gradu-ate students collected hair samplesfrom residents of the Dhofar region.Although blood samples yield thou-sands of analyses compared to thedozens available from hair, the stor-age, transport, and processing madeblood samples impractical.

Woodward explained that it ispossible to reconstruct the currentgene pool and identify the ancientpool by building backwards on theinterweaving of inherited charac-teristics of mitochondrial DNA[mother], y-chromosome DNA[father], and ultimately the nuclearDNA half of which comes from thefather and half from the mother.

The team successfully gatheredfour generations of tribal affilia-tions, with 300 samples fromDhofar near Salalah. He will contin-ue on the western coast by the RedSea, into Sinai and Palestine, Egypt,Jordan, the United Arab Emirates,and Qutar and Kuwait on the

Arabian Peninsula. He hopes toshow how Bedouin tribes are relat-ed to each other. One graduate stu-dent prepared a master’s thesis onBedouins in Palestine and the otheris working on the genetics of Oman.

Collaboration is ongoing, andthey will return in the fall for moresamples. They are currentlyextracting raw data on120 of the300 Oman samples. It will take ayear to see the whole picture.

Daily they are extracting1,300–1,500 bits of genetic dataanalyses on the samples from thelarger study being conducted herein Provo. Their goals are in place:4,000 samples by the end of August2000; 10,000 samples by the end ofDecember 2000; and 100,000 sam-ples in six years. In addition,Woodward has two students at theUniversity of Phillippines in LosBanos collecting samples as well.

PERU 6,500 B.C.

Woodward is looking at themodern and comparingwith the ancient in Peru,where he is extracting tissuefrom the Chachapoya. Hehopes to establish a geneticlink between current resi-dents and the mummiesfound in the cloud-encasedmountains of the region.He recently demonstratedthat low birth weights andhigh infant mortality in thearea is related to certaingene types that do better inhigh altitude over othergene types. His paper waspublished in June in theAmerican Journal of Obstet-rics and Gynecology. A BBCdocumentary will air in the fall. You can learn moreabout his work at http://molecular-genealogy.byu.edu.

Woodward participated in a conference last winter todiscuss his work. Following the conference, he wasapproached by Hamdi al Barwani, a mathematician,who told Woodward he did not usually attend biologyconferences, but the title of his talk had intrigued him.Barwani said he had a gift to give Woodward, becausehe felt Woodward would know what to do with his fam-ily treasure—this hand drawn pedigree chart preserv-ing eighteen generations of Barwani’s male lineage.Each leaf contains an Arabic name. The original hangsframed in Woodward’s home; a copy hangs in his office.

DDeesseerrtt RReeppoossiittoorryyAlthough investigative work

was completed in 1998, the archae-ological team will not begin theirdig until December 2000. ProfessorDavid J. Johnson’s team will bethere for three weeks digging testtrenches at two sites. The first siteis at Mughsail; other digs beganthere in the 1950s. The second siteis at Wadi Sayk—a brand new area.

“Our purpose is to understandchanges in culture over time. Forinstance, historic documents showthe long distance trade in frankin-cense and myrrh went from thisarea by ship to Yemen. Trade isknown to exist from 6th centuryB.C. to the Islamic period 700 A.D.Traders established stopping pointsat sites on the coast and used stor-age chambers when they dockednightly,” Johnson explained.

Phillips remarked that it was“Johnson and the other archaeolo-gists who had the greatest difficul-ty in getting permission” for theirprojects. “Permission to excavateis a difficult thing to attain,” he

added.Johnson is no rookie excavator.

He has been and continues to beinvolved in archaeological digs inother areas as well. In Yemen,neighbor to Oman, the AmericanFoundation for the Study of Manbegan original American researchin a 1950s excavation. Near thecapital city Ma’rib is Awam Bilqis.Awam means sanctuary or temple;Bilqis is the Queen of Sheba [saba]of King Solomon’s record.

This sanctuary was built to themoon god and functioned as a pil-grimage site. The round, circularstructure is 350 foot in diameterwith walls 30–40 feet high. “Thereare thousands of dedicatoryinscriptions on the wall. Each blockis one and a half feet tall. Theinscriptions primarily tell that acertain king built this section of thewall and dedicated it to the god[moon]. We don’t know muchabout their rituals. We do knowanimals were sacrificed. A piece ofthe text we uncovered on the last

22

trip states that if an individual’sanimal wandered into the temple,they would be fined one out ofnine of their animals,” relatedJohnson. He said the Koran men-tions that in the 5th century A.D. adam broke in the area and manytribes left.

In1998, the excavation beganagain, and Johnson becameinvolved through a prior associa-tion. In 1977, he was a student withthe man he now works with on asite in Petra, Jordan. For the lasttwenty-five years, BYU has had itsown project there at Wadi Matahthat dates to 10,000 B.C. Johnson’sand his friend, now a professor atthe University of Arizona, work onthe Temple of the Winged Lion atPetra. Now they work together onthe project in Ma’rib, too.

The trail of Lehi’s family makesits way through this region beforereaching the Dhofar coast inOman. A French archaeologist iscredited with locating the town ofNahum. If traveling south fromJerusalem, Nahum is a naturalplace to turn east toward Ma’riband then from there northeast toOman. The ancient record men-tions a stop the family made in“Nahom,” where they buried oneof their party. Perhaps there will bea connecting link between Yemenand Oman.

AAmmeerriiccaann AAssssiissttaannccee

Brown was quick to attributeany success this venture has had ormay have to Rod and RosaleaMcIntire, their American contactsin Oman and members of TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “They were wonderfulto work with,” Brown added.Employed with Esso, McIntire wasalso the branch president inMuscat. The McIntire’s arrangedmeetings with government author-ities and professors at SQU inMuscat, for Brown’s team. Theydiscovered that BYU was known toacademics at the university, butless well known in government cir-cles. They did meet a governmentofficial who was a University ofUtah graduate, and they laterencountered a Fresno State gradu-ate in an Omani village.

Phillips also remarked on theefforts extended by the McIntire’s.“Rosalea was so organized.” Afterthat first visit, McIntire’s refinerywas purchased and he found him-self out of a job, but ready forretirement. He and his family relo-cated to Provo, Utah. It was notlong before he was contacted to setup an oil refinery in Dubai. At first,he was not interested. Phillipsreported, “Eventually he agreed todirect the start up and then turn it

Left: Copper toe found at Awam Bilqis.Top: Temple wall inscriptions also found atAwam Bilqis.

C

over to someone else.”Regardless of where they trav-

eled, Brown related, “We were verywarmly received. They were won-derfully open to our interests andasked only that we keep theminformed of our research.”

The proposed title of S. KentBrown’s book is The End of Lehi’sTrail. “We see this as looking atmore than Lehi’s experience. In theend, for Oman and Latter-daySaints, we would like to publish abook about 6th century B.C. andsay something about the peopleand their circumstances.” ➪➶

This project has been funded in part by theReligious Studies Center, FARMS, and theDavid M. Kennedy Center for InternationalStudies.

Additional ReadingAston, Warren P. “The Arabian

Bountiful Discovered.” Journal ofBook of Mormon Studies, Vol. 7,Number 1, February 1998.

Interview with original Omanteam. “Planning Research onOman.” Journal of Book of MormonStudies, Vol. 7, Number 1, February1998.

Hilton, Lynn M. and Hope. InSearch of Lehi’s Trail, Deseret Book,1976. Journal of Book of MormonStudies.

23BRIDGES • FALL 2000

Endowments—Benefits that Growfrom Giving

The world has its Habitat forHumanity International, the nationhas its Points of Light Foundation,and Oprah Winfrey has her AngelNetwork. A common thread in each of these, and many other commend-able efforts, is the principle of giving.Every year Kennedy Center endow-ment funds are awarded to benefitindividual academic endeavors,including scholarly research. It is a principle in action—providing academic enrichment on an interna-tional scale.

One Makes a Difference

In 1986, following the death of herhusband Colonel Howard B. Nelson(retired USAF), Mary D. Nelson cameto BYU to fund a Study Abroadscholarship. Her visit took her toOrrin Olsen, of the LDS Foundation.She specifically wanted to know“how much a scholarship in perpetu-

ity would need to produce enoughrevenue to help.” Olsen concludedthat such a scholarship wouldrequire about $50,000.

Nelson was not wealthy, but shebelieved her house in Vienna,Virginia, was “worth that much andperhaps more. If I am not able to dothis in my remaining years, our hon-orable son will see that the scholar-ship will be fully funded after the saleof my house.” Fortunately, she did nothave to use all her resourcesto fund the scholarship.

The seed for this venturewas planted years ago, whenthe Nelsons first recognizedthe impact of overseas experi-ences in the lives of peoplethey met. Nelson explained,“My husband and I observedthat Latter-day Saints whohad served in the militaryduring and after World War IIand Korea grew in patriotism and

love for their nation, but they alsobecame better members of theChurch, more tolerant and respectfulof other languages and cultures.

“At the end of World War II,Colonel Nelson was in Calcutta,India, where he observed a povertyhe could never have imagined. AnAmerican general (not a Latter-daySaint) remarked, ‘Nelson, what thiscountry needs is 30,000 Mormon mis-sionaries.’”

The KennedyCenter has madesome notablechanges to itsprograms anddepartments over

the last year. These modifications areoutlined below:August–December 1999

Culturegrams, previously theKennedy Center Publications primaryoutput, was licensed to the MillenialStar Network (MStar.net) 1 August1999. Under the direction of Jeffrey F.Ringer, associate director of the center,the publications department conse-quently broadened its focus to pro-vide brochures, flyers, magazines, andonline media with current informa-tion to campus, alumni, and interna-tional contacts.

These ongoing projects are due tothe combined efforts of J. Lee Simons,publications coordinator, who trans-ferred from Alumni Relations at theMarriot School; Bob Boden, graphicdesigner, who had worked withCultureGrams and has remained at thecenter; Devin Christensen, computersupport and web master, and AndreaK. Harker, student editor.February

The center expanded theirInternational Study Programs (ISP)office. Formerly Study Abroad, thename change now accurately reflectsthe scope of programs coordinated bythe ISP office.March

The International Society appoint-ed Paul Hyer, emeritus political sci-ence professor at Brigham Young

University, as their new execu-tive director.May

The center reorganized its adminis-trative structure, making Rodney S.Boynton and Jeffrey F. Ringer associ-ate directors of the center. The centeralso released two new publications:the Discussion Paper Series

(http://kennedy.byu.edu/papers.html) and a second edition ofInternational Opportunities: A Career

Guide for Students. June

The center’s first online publica-tion, Bridges, was made available tothe public. This summer issue may beaccessed at:kennedy.byu.edu/bridges.

C a m p u s

Mary D. Nelson at home in Missouri with hercompanion Prince Moses.

C a m p u sC a m p u s

FFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuuss

If youask me what are

the two mostimportant develop-ments in MiddleEast politics (inter-national relationsand comparativepolitics) during thelast quarter century,I would say they arethe initiation of thepeace process basedon the realizationthat there is no . . .purely militarysolution to the con-flict, and the growthof the activism ofIslamist move-ments. I cannotthink of anothermajor developmentthat would bypassin terms of impor-tance . . . these twothings.

Ibrahim Karawan,associate professorof political science,University of Utah

The Road toJerusalem: Egypt’sDisengagement fromthe Arab–IsraeliConflict

International Forum Series13 October 1999

“

”

Center Changes

24

Since then, Nelson said, “I havekept promises made to my husbandto write a memoir, Motivating With

Love, published by Scholarly Publi-cations senior editor Howard A.Christy,” who knew her teaching rep-utation in Virginia.

Motivating With Love was self-pro-moted through a flyer designed bytwo of Nelson’s granddaughters. Shesaid, “I produced them by the thou-sands. I also purchased 10,000 namesfrom the American Association ofTeachers of French and thousands ofother names from a company thatresearched the names and buyinghabits of teachers and professors oflanguages.

“During the first two or threeyears 20,000 to 30,000 flyers weresent to universities, junior colleges,and high schools in the UnitedStates. CultureGrams editor GrantSkabelund asked if he could send

promotional flyers for CultureGrams

and split the mailing cost. Motivating

With Love went into a third printing,and CultureGrams witnessed anexplosion of sales.” (CultureGrams islicensed to Millenial Star Network[MStar.net], a nonprofit companyowned by The Church of Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints.)

In 2000, Nelson completed Madame

Nelson’s French Verb Book with All the

Answers, published by the KennedyCenter. “I wrote the two books to helpFrench teachers, all my former stu-dents, and returned missionaries ofFrancophone nations. They need toprepare to be mission presidents ofthe future. They will need to ‘brushup’ their verbal ability,” Nelsonexplained.

The Howard B. and Mary D.Nelson Endowment was initiatedwith a stock donation valued at $5,400in 1986. Though not yet fully funded

in 1989, the first scholarship wasawarded in the amount of $1,500 andhas now grown to $72,000. The annu-al 5 percent allowable disbursementresulted in $3,600 being given to eightstudy abroad students in the1999–2000 academic year. Annualdonations from the proceeds of herbooks continue to feed the endow-ment.

Nelson is currently busy writingher memoirs, a collection of her year-end letters she has written since 1954.“More people could fund scholar-ships,” she remarked, “if they under-stood that a beginning scholarshipdoes not require great wealth, justthe decision to do it and then give alittle every year.

“I was blessed to have spent threeyears in France learning in Frenchclassrooms, then to return for sum-mers for a stage pedagogy. My yearsteaching French in Virginia allowed

Atotal of nine endowments help tofund academic opportunities at theKennedy Center. “The largest is the

David M. Kennedy Center Endowmentwhich funds special projects, such as annualfaculty research in the amount of $100,000;the graduate program; conferences (i.e. theWorld Family Policy Forum, the RomneyInstitute’s Microcredit Conference, and theReligious Liberties Conference); and alsoscholarships or research assistantships,” saidAllen Arnoldsen, accountant for the center.“The university allows us to spend the earn-ings on the endowments up to 5 percent. Anyadditional earnings are fed back into the fundto maintain its purchasing power.”

Study Abroad Programs have specificendowments allotted to them. InternationalInternships, Field Studies, and Volunteersstudents receive scholarship monies fromInternational Study Programs (ISP) and theJacobsen Center for Service and Learning.

Financial need, academic standing (GPA 3.0or higher), time in school, cost of program,and personal essay are used in a point systemto weigh student applications—each case islooked at individually. “It takes a lot of timeevaluating the individual cases.” remarkedKeri Probst, program assistant for ISP. “Thefocus is student-centered. Every effort is madeto make it possible for more people to partici-

pate. There are always some students whocould not participate without the funding theyreceive.”

“Scholarship money does not exist for stu-dents desiring international study on thesame scale as music, business, or other sectorson campus,” added Probst. Remarkably, vir-tually all students accepted into an interna-tional study program who need help receivesome level of assistance. The fact remains thatit is difficult for all students who would liketo participate to do so.

“Scholarship funds show the value somepeople have placed on the international studyexperience for students—more and more stu-dents want to have an international studyexperience, but they don’t have the resourcesto fund their program,” said Probst.

On average, a student may receive $500toward program costs, but the amount may beas small as $75. One fourth of the accepted stu-dents receive no funding, having demonstrat-ed an ability to pay for the program on theirown and/or with parental support. Personalpreparation is a key factor. Identi-fying inter-national study as an available option as afreshman or sophomore, in addition to work-ing and saving, is critical.

The Lucille Covey Richards endowment issplit with 75 percent being used for perform-ing group trips ($7–8,000 in 1999–2000) and

25 percent going to regular Study Abroadscholarships ($3,000 in 1999–2000). Arnoldsenexplained that “earnings [from the Richardsendowment] are used for programs withoutother sources of funding.”

The Mae Covey Gardner endowmentbegan in 1981–82 with $300,000 and a second$320,000 in 1989–90. In 1999–2000, earnings of$34,000 funded sixty-eight scholarships aver-aging $500 each.

The Howard B. and Mary D. Nelsonscholarships go exclusively to European lan-guage study in France, Italy, and Spain. “Hergenerosity has meant so much to studentsover the years,” reflected Probst. Nelson notonly funds students, she corresponds withthem, too, and enjoys their continued use offoreign language.

Academic endowments may also be estab-lished by individuals for specific areas ofstudy: Korean Studies, Spencer J. Palmer, fac-ulty; Asian Studies, various donors; ChineseStudies, Chen Fu Koo, Chinese national; andCanadian Studies, Asael E. Palmer, family.Other areas of need include African Studies,Latin American Studies, American Studies,European Studies, and International Devel-opment Studies.

[See the Financial Report on page three forexact figures on each endowment.]

David M. Kennedy Center Endowments

“More people

could fund schol-

arships,” she

remarked, “if they

understood that a

beginning scholar-

ship does not

require great

wealth, just the

decision to do

it and then give a

little every year.”

Seventy Recognized for ServiceElder James O. Mason, a member of the Second Quorum

of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints, was honored at the Kennedy Center’s convocationexercises 21 April. He received the center’s DistinguishedInternational Service Award for his work in public health.

Currently second counselor in the North America EastArea Presidency and assistant executive director of theTemple Department, Mason was called as a member ofthe seventy on 2 April 1994. A native of Salt Lake City, heholds bachelor’s and medical degrees from the Universityof Utah, and master’s and doctorate degrees in publichealth from Harvard University. He is retired from the U.S. Public HealthService, which he headed from 1989 to 1993. Earlier he was director of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention and the administrator of the Agencyfor Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in Atlanta, Georgia.

Prior to working for the federal government, Mason was executive director ofthe Utah Department of Health and served the Church as commissioner ofHealth Services. He has served the Church as a missionary, bishop, stake presi-dent, and Regional Representative. Elder Mason was a member of the NationalScouting Committee of the Boy Scouts of America while concurrently serving onthe Young Men General Board. Prior to his present assignment, he served severalyears in Africa, most recently as president of the Africa West Area.

Elder Mason and his wife, Marie Smith Mason, are parents of seven childrenand twenty-one grandchildren.

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25BRIDGES • FALL 2000

me to grow in knowledge and love ofthe language.

“My students have blessed my lifein my advanced years. Some stillwrite to me to tell me that they areusing their French. One is a vicepresident for Merck. She goes toEurope several times a year to conferwith foreign colleagues who speakFrench. She writes French, sends e-mails in French, and can eventranslate jokes in French to English.

“Another former student joinedthe Peace Corps and spent two yearsin French Africa. Both of these stu-dents followed scientific studies atuniversity and had no more Frenchexcept their high school years.”

Nelson was born in 1913 and nowlives in Washington, Missouri, nearher son Howard T. Nelson, his wife,Elna, and many of her thirteen grand-children. Her books are available onthe Creative Works web site and dis-tributed through BYU bookstorehttp://creativeworks.byu.edu.

WorldFamilyPolicyForum

The WorldFamily Policy Center’s (WFPC) sec-ond annual World Family PolicyForum (WFPF) was held 10–12 Julyon Brigham Young University’s cam-pus. World Congress of Families’General Secretary Richard G. Wilkinsand WFPC Executive DirectorKatherine Balmforth, directed thethree-day event.

Termed “a United Nations inProvo,” by Cory Leonard, associatedirector of WFPC, the forum was amosaic of serious international debate.Over 300 people participated, includ-ing delegates (diplomatic, academic,and opinion leaders) from more thantwenty countries, nongovernmentalorganization (NGO) representatives,and Church and campus personnel.The purpose of the conference,according to Leonard, was to “allowdiplomats from throughout the worldthe opportunity to share their person-al experience and professional observations about international

family policy issues at the UnitedNations.” Presentations were givenfrom distinguished international legaland family scholars including: Dr. Jeremy A. Rabkin, Cornell Univer-sity; Professor Raisal O.M. Al-Rfouh,Amman Jordan; Professor AkiroMorita, Tokyo University; and Dr. David Blankenhorm, Institute for American Values.

The WFPC was organized byWilkins, professor of law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School, after hereturned from an eye-opening experi-ence at the United Nations’ Habitat IIconference, June 1996. Having previ-ously enlisted the Kennedy Centerfor backing, Wilkins returned tosearch for personnel interested inassisting his group, then called NGO Voice.

Leonard, who teaches a ModelUN class, was one of the first to vol-unteer. He said he offered his assis-tance because, along with his dedica-tion to preserving the “natural” fami-ly—defined as an equal partnershipbetween husband and wife, “I alwayswondered how what we did in ModelUN related to what goes on in theUN.” Bill Perry, Leonard’s teaching

assistant, and Carrie Taylor, a third-year law student, also joined them.Other students and faculty soon fol-lowed, including Terry Olsen, also anassistant director with the WFPC,who is internationally known for hiswork as a family science professorand consultant on family, genera-tional, marriage, and diversity issues.

Though the group has often metwith resistance and persecution,including Perry being immobilizedby serious illness at one juncture,they have made significant headwayin their battle for the family and havecontinued to laud its merits in suchventures as the WFPF.

For more information on theforum, the center, or family concernsin general, go to:http://www.NGOFamilyVoice.org;http://www.kennedy.byu.edu;http://www.WorldCongress.org.

Those interested in a personalaccount of Wilkins’ “eye-opening”experience at the UN, may readabout it at: http://marriottschool.byu.edu/exchange/archives/online/summer99/feature/html/wilkins.html

WO

RL

DF

AM

ILY

PO

LICY CENTER BRIGHAM

YOU

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UN

IVE

RSIT

Y

The peacewhich we want is . .. not from a peacetreaty signed andput in safes. Wewant peace which isgoing to be thepeace of the people,where the borderswill be open, wherethe people will dealwith each other,travel in eachother’s countries,trade with eachother, and live asafe and peacefullife. We think theonly answer to thequestions and theworries and con-cerns of security isto have this kind ofpeace, where not thearmies and the arse-nals will protect usfrom each other, butour willingness tolive and exist witheach other.

Hasan Abu-Nimah,Jordanian ambassa-dor to U.S.

Middle East PeaceProcess

International Forum Series22 March 2000

“

”

Alan L. Wilkins, aca-demic vice president,left, presents ElderJames O. Mason withthe DistinguishedService Award.

26

Reaching Out with Culture

Every year students present overfifteen hundred original, multimediapresentations at local schools. Each

student personally developstheir presentation about acountry they have lived in(for at least three months)and delivers it fifteen totwenty times. The demon-strations have more impactthan many teaching tech-niques because, as CoryLeonard, student programscoordinator, pointed out,“Rather than just give a

presentation that is nice, factual, andencyclopedic, our students presentthe culture from a more personalstandpoint.”

These exercises are the foundationof the International Outreach class,offered by the Kennedy Center.While students are preparing theirlectures, they also polish them forpossible publication. Outreach

encapsulates student experiences in“CultureGuides,” resource units that

provide access to their insights longafter the presentations are over. Eachpacket is reviewed by a committee ofcultural and educational experts toensure accuracy and quality beforepublication.

CultureGuides are designed for useby any person in the community—from junior high students supple-menting class projects to teaching pro-fessionals who implement them asvaluable aids. “There is a hugedemand,” stated Leonard. “The teach-ers continue to request us becausethey know our students are reliableand will do a good job.” Leonard alsoexplained, “Our philosophy is thatoutreach is a service for society, basedon the concept of sharing culturalunderstanding. Everyone should havethe opportunity to learn from our stu-dents—we want to make the materialaccessible to everyone who is interest-ed in it.”

The first four resource units maybe purchased this fall, with an esti-mate of over forty-five more becom-

ing available by the end of the year.Unlike other programs, such as theStanford Program of InterCulturalEducation (SPICE), the KennedyCenter’s CultureGuides are not produced for profit. The cost will be nominal (approximately five to fifteen dollars), varying only slightlydepending on the different media(slides, video, etc.) included in each package.

Leonard is currently researchingefficient methods of distribution,including online download prospects.Teachers interested in participating ina focus group may contact Leonardat (801) 378-2980 or by e-mail atCory_Leonard@byu.edu.

For more information aboutInternational Outreach, includinghow to schedule presentations andpurchase upcoming teaching units,go to: http://kennedy.byu.edu/IOabout.html, call InternationalOutreach at (801) 378-3040, orCultureGuides at (801) 378-3723.

Going HungryAttending the Hunger Banquet is

a bit of a gamble. Although allpatrons pay the same fee to attend,they are not all guaranteed the samemeal. While a few diners receive asizeable entree with plenty to drink,the majority of the guests onlyreceive meager offerings of beans,rice, or tortillas, and water.

The Hunger Banquet is a way toexpose participants to the harsh dis-parities which exist between coun-tries of different economic status. Themost successful fund-raiser put on byStudents for InternationalDevelopment (SID), a KennedyCenter-sponsored club, this jarringdining experience gives participantsan “awareness about the world’s sit-uation,” as Dave Shuler, field studiescoordinator, explained, “Especially ifthey take it seriously and apply itpersonally, thinking ‘I live in thisworld, and I’m a human being—don’t I deserve something more?’”

This year’s banquet was a greatsuccess, attended by approximately800 people who contributed over$6000. These funds enabled SID todistribute nine awards both locally,to Habitat for Humanity in UtahCounty, and farther afield for suchthings as medical supplies in Mexico,aid for widows in Rwanda, and aidfor orphans in Uganda.

SID selects recipients from propos-als submitted by individuals andnongovernmental organizations(NGOs) from around the globe.Though difficult, the selectionprocess is a valuable experience forstudents, as Shuler related, “The edu-cational value—for students to taketheir education into their own handsand work with real-life problems andsituations—has been really mar-velous, because they get the satisfac-tion of seeing what happens, butthey also go through the anguish oftrying to decide between worthy

causes. For example, they might ask,‘Are we going to do anything for thisorphanage or is this clinic in greaterneed?’”

Instituted ten years ago, the ban-quet is an effort to raise money whilesimultaneously increasing publicawareness of global injustice. Heldannually, for the past two years it hascoincided with the RomneyInstitute’s Microcredit Conference inMarch. Those interested in volunteer-ing for the cause may become amember of SID and attend theirmeetings, held every Tuesday nightat 7:00 in Room 257 of the KennedyCenter (HRCB). Those interested infurther information on the HungerBanquet or other SID ventures, visittheir web site at:http://kennedy.byu.edu/student_programs/sid or call Joanna Ekenes,co-president, at (801) 378-3377 or(801) 371-9168.

INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH

CULTUREGUIDE

JapanSeries 1 Secondary (7-12)

Our hope isthat we can unifythe country in duecourse of time, andshow to the worldthat even in themidst of largerneighbors, you canbuild a prosperouscountry, whichcould practicedemocracy, protecthuman rights, andat the same time,create a prosperouseconomy which willguarantee a welfare,quality of life for allthe people. . . . And Ithink that a contin-ued friendshipbetween the UnitedStates and Korea isessential to achievethese ends because .. . for the last fiftyyears the U.S. hasbeen our closest allyand friend, and wealways count onthat friendship.

Hong Koo Lee,Korean Ambassadorto U.S.

U.S.–KoreanRelations

InternationalForum Series21 October 1999

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A l u m n i

27BRIDGES • FALL 2000

Daniel L. NielsonDaniel L. Nielson obtained his BA degree in international relations from BYU August 1988, receiving the distinctions of

magna cum laude and university honors. He received his PhD degree in international affairs at the University of California,San Diego (UCSD), in 1997.

“I would say that most of my career has been related to my undergraduate degree,” Nielson stated, includ-ing his current position as assistant professor of political science at BYU. Other relevant projects he has pur-sued include: establishing the Journal of Environment & Development, a precedent publication; working as aresearch assistant; speaking as a visiting lecturer/scholar to universities in the United States and Mexico; andacting as an associate of international relations at the UCSD. Nielson has also received several academic hon-ors and awards, and has authored and co-authored various publications.

Nielson’s research interests include international political economy and developing countries. These inter-ests are evidenced in his current publication projects, which include books addressing: changes in the world

bank related to the environment; trade in North America, mainly focused on the North American Free Trade Agreement; andincumbency in legislatures throughout the world.

Nielson stated that he has had several lasting experiences through his association with the Kennedy Center, during bothhis time as a student to his present research projects as an assistant professor. He was especially quick to cite examples ofexemplary professors he learned “how to really think” from—naming Lamond Tullis, Ladd Hollist, and David Magleby.“These three professors opened my eyes to the different possibilities of learning and studying,”Nielson explained. In fact,Nielson’s occupational future was changed because of them. Nielson said, “I had never really considered academics as acareer until I experienced their classes.”

Nielson is grateful for his experiences at the Kennedy Center. He has enjoyed the opportunity to return to BYU as a pro-fessor and plans to continue his work and research here in the future.

Tiffany IvinsTiffany Ivins graduated from BYU April 1999 with a minor in international development (literacy emphasis). She

acquired additional skills at the Kennedy Center as a field facilitator for International Study Programs (formerly Interna-tional Field Studies and Internships) students in South Africa and East London and conducted research in the Philippines.

Her current position as an international programs officer for Laubach Literacy International was obtained inpart because of her overseas experience. “My supervisor tells me that my two internships in Africa have qual-ified me beyond many degree-holding people in this NGO office. I never would have experienced that with-out the international programs.”

Ivins also said her “studies at BYU helped me significantly because I was afforded ‘in-the-field’ experienceat a very pivotal point in my studies. Professors and programs in the Kennedy Center were great forums forme to explore my previous experiences and to prepare for future adventures. There is nothing like a hands-onexperience guided by professors who believe in the students. I am appreciative for committed faculty and staffwho fight to make available the interdisciplinary program at the Kennedy Center, and I hope these programs

continue and expand.”Ivins still has contact with many Kennedy Center alumni and teachers and said, “I certainly remember many fond hours

passed in the Kennedy Center—philosophical conversations about how we could change the world, resolve conflicts, or initi-ate revolutions. Although a mere building, I think the Kennedy Center will always be a place I remember as a communalrespite to recharge my spirit. The torch is passed, but my flame still burns.”

Laubach Literacy International has already given Ivins the opportunity to conduct field visits to Nepal and Thailand, andshe implemented research on “Affects of Maternal Education on Children’s Health” in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nepal, andBangladesh this summer.

Ivins plans to continue her studies by beginning a master’s degree program in International and Comparative Education atthe University of Oxford in October.

A l u m n iA l u m n i

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28

L. Gordon FlakeL. Gordon Flake was appointed executive director of the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs in February 1999. Prior to his

appointment, he was a senior fellow and associate director of the program on conflict resolution at The Atlantic Council of theUnited States, and he served as director for research and academic affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America.

“My graduate experience at the David M. Kennedy Center helped solidify my inclination to pursue a careerin the international arena. My professors and the various guest speakers [International Forum Series and inclasses] brought in to address the combined class came from a variety of fields and further opened a window ofperspective and potential.” He also recalls personal moments at “weekly meetings in the ‘war room’ (theKennedy Center Conference room, where we actually moved beyond trying to apply that week’s episode ofStar Trek the Next Generation to international relations); small group discussions of the books we had read thatweek; the struggle to understand Bruce Bueno DeMesquita’s The War Trap; and hours burrowed in the carrelsdownstairs. My time in the program was a time of immense intellectual, personal, and spiritual growth.”

Flake travels frequently to Japan, Korea, China, and other countries in Asia as a conference participant andlecturer [he was in Rome while transmitting this by e-mail]. He is a regular contributor on Korean issues in the U.S. and Asianpress. He has published extensively on policy issues in Asia and is currently working on a book tentatively entitled Korea 2010.

Born in Rehobeth, New Mexico, he received his BA degree in Korean from BYU, with a minor in international relations. Healso completed his MA at the Kennedy Center . His master’s thesis focused on the economic reforms in Laos.

He lived in Korea for a number of years and speaks both fluent Korean and Laotian. He has four young daughters and ismarried to Pakayvanh Sisoutham of Vientiane, Laos.

Bethany BradyBethany Brady, a native of Bountiful, Utah, graduated cum laude in international relations, with an emphasis in interna-

tional development from BYU in December 1998. Brady was a member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, a recipientof BYU academic scholarships, and received the Brigham Service Award in 1998.

During her last semester, she completed an internship/field study in South Africa. While there, she wasintroduced to the NGO, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) in Arlington, Virginia, where she is cur-rently employed as senior program assistant. Brady is currently working on “Drug Management forChildhood Illness,” a joint project between MSH, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Agency forInternational Development.

The project seeks to make life-saving resources more available in health facilities and to ensure that bothhealth-workers and caregivers of children are using medicine correctly. In conjunction with this project, Bradytraveled to Uganda in February, where she collaborated with the Ministry of Health to improve the availabili-ty, affordability, and use of essential drugs and vaccines in four districts in the country.

Brady acknowledged Dave Shuler, Valerie Hudson, and Donna Lee Bowen for the influence their classes have had, andher field study, in her position with MSH. She also noted the flexibility and encouragement of Chad Emmett, internationalstudies advisor.

She has been accepted to the Master’s of International Health at Johns Hopkins University and the Master’s of PublicHealth for Developing Countries at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine—it remains for her to choosewhich program will best suit her career goals.

Keep in TouchKennedy Center alumni, please take a moment to update your recordsand classmates. Share your relocations, promotions, additional degrees,awards, and other noteworthy items. Submit names for the AlumniProfile section or share information about a classmate’s newsworthyattainment. Alumni Update Form: http://kennedy.byu.edu/alumniform.html.Attach photos to e-mail: kennedy_publications@byu.edu

29BRIDGES • FALL 2000

From Peru to Zanzibar,students in Kennedy CenterInternational StudyPrograms (ISP) not onlystudy, but also enjoy theopportunity to serve theirglobal neighbors and learntheir culture. Other BYUstudents, who are mem-bers of Students forInternational Develop-ment (SID), have found

different programs inwhich to offer their service during thespring/summer break.

GuatemalaAlisa Allred, co-presi-

dent of SID during the1999–2000 school year and a sen-

ior from Danville, California, is in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan,

Guatemala, researching thesocial effects of relocationon a Mayan community.

“Community amongthe Maya is key. Thissense of community isalso connected to the landthey live on,” said Allred.

“The majority of the Mayaare subsistence farmers,and their land is also theland of their ancestors.”

According to Allred, thisconnection with ancestors is

what has kept the Maya a sep-arate and distinct peoplethrough years of oppression

and invasion beginningwith that of the Spanish.

South AfricaKathryn Gourley, a stu-

dent facilitator for the ISPoffice, is falling in love with

South Africa. “The students are alldoing great and having some goodexperiences,” Gourley said. She hasfound her own project to work on inan organization that works withstreet kids. “It can be challenging,but I love the kids. The organizationis hoping to open a half-way home,but they are waiting for funding,”Gourley said. “On Friday we went toa birthday party in the Transkei.Nelson Mandela was there and spokeabout AIDS and the challenges thatSouth Africa is facing.”

ThailandBlaine Johnson, India program

facilitator, is now in Bangkok after aweek in Bangladesh. “I’m trying toget in touch with an organizationthat has created what they call a ‘jun-gle university’ for Burmeserefugees,” Johnson said.

TongaSuzanne McNairy reported that

focus is on education. “The studentteachers are all doing great andseem to be enjoying the teachingexperience.”

United StatesAt home in the United States, SID

alumni Jana Prins and SuzanneJarvis, Kennedy Center graduates,and Dan Nelson, co-president of SIDfor the 1999–2000 school year, are allspending this summer completinginternships with nongovernmentalorganizations in Washington, D.C.

ZanzibarFrom the village of Matemwe,

Zanzibar, Suvi Hynynen reported,“I’ve been back in Matemwe for aweek now, and it has been so nice toget back to the fairly simple, calm lifein the village,” Hynynen said. “I have

begun my research. I had some reallygood interviews and have some excel-lent leads on education of females andsocial stigmas in the village.”

W o r l dW o r l dW o r l d

The ques-tion was always,‘what will happenafter Mandela?’ Wejokingly termed thisthe ‘when factor.’This anxiety wethink had to dowith the mistakennotion that the so-called miracle (tran-sition fromapartheid to democ-racy) would crumblewith the departureof our formerbeloved presidentMandela from thepolitical scene. Andthat there would benot a good succes-sor. Again the anxi-ety was based onlack of informa-tion—ignorance.Nonetheless, it wasunfounded and itwas wrong, becausenot only was thetransition fromMandela to Mbekismooth, and with-out incident, it wasin fact predictable,planned, and had apredictable out-come.

Her ExcellencySheila Violet MakateSisulu, South AfricanAmbassador to U.S.

U.S.–South AfricaRelations

International Forum Series29 March 2000

FFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuussFFoorruumm FFooccuuss

“

”

ClubInformation

Although many SIDmembers are internationalstudies majors or minors,the club is open to studentsfrom all departments oncampus who are interestedin international develop-ment. The club meetsweekly to provide a forumfor discussion on a broadrange of issues, from glob-alization to microentrepre-neurship to third worldhealth care.

Anyone interested inbecoming involved withSID—a Kennedy Center-sponsored club—may con-tact Joanna Ekenes, co-president for the 2000–2001school year, at (801) 371-9168, and check out theSID website:http//:kennedy.byu.edu/student_ programs/sid

SID events may befound on the KennedyCenter’s online calendar athttp//:kennedy.byu.edu/calendar.html.

by Joanna Ekenes,

2000–2001 co-president

of SID

Global Report

30

Learning throughService

Most people are aware of StudyAbroad, International Internships, oreven International Field Studies, butmany may not have heard of Interna-tional Volunteers. Putting classroomtheory into action is the thrust behindthis newly-created, fourth optionwithin International Study Programs(ISP) at the Kennedy Center.

“The notion of service and learningprograms happened as it did for tworeasons: (1) Don Holsinger [KennedyCenter Director] envisioned studentvolunteers with onsite faculty incor-porating service as the emphasis inacademic programs. (2) Many existinginternational study programs were

becomingincreasinglyservice orient-ed,” explainedShahramPaksima, coor-dinator forInternationalVolunteers.

After speak-ing with various faculty, departmentchairs, and administrators, a consen-sus was formed that this type of expe-rience was “unique enough for a sep-arate emphasis to be warranted,”Paksima added. “Departments andfaculty members agreed that servicecould provide a direct application ofthe academic curriculum. Previously,service rendered was viewed as sim-ply giving something back to thecommunities where the academicstook place—now it is twenty hoursper week interwoven with the aca-demics.”

Initially, seven programs wereestablished for 2000—three in spring:Guadalajara, Mexico, a Spanish pro-gram with the Spanish and Portu-guese Department; Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic, with the HealthScience Department; and Uganda,with the Educational Leadership andFoundations Department. Addition-ally, four programs were set for sum-mer: Mozambique, a Portuguese program with the Spanish and Portu-guese Department; Ukraine, a joint

venture with the Kennedy Center’sEuropean Studies and Health ScienceDepartment; Romania, with theRecreation Management and YouthLeadership Department; and MexicoCity, with the CommunicationsDepartment.

Paksima and Jan Van Orman, LatinAmerica projects coordinator for theuniversity, visited two spring pro-grams in June. Although a few adjust-ments will be made to future pro-grams, what they found exceededexpectations.

Guadalajara, MexicoThity-six students embarked to

study Spanish and teach English—primarily to Church members in threeof the eight Guadalajara stakes. Theywere led by Professors Dale Jarmanand Anna Maria Hawkins and gradu-ate student instructors EduardoAragon and Claudia Kechukerian.

“In addition to their Spanishimmersion, students took an activerole in planning and presenting les-sons in Spartan conditions, and theydid a phenomenal job developing cre-ative learning activities,” Paksimareported.

Students reported that in additionto building skills and ease with thelanguage, their personalities had beenchanged, testimonies strengthened,and bonds built with the membersthey resided with throughout theirstay. “It was a great experience to beimmersed in the culture. I learned somuch more from the service aspect,”said Jeff Honer.

“When I heard about the programin class, I said ‘I have to go; this isperfect for me.’ After Guadalajara, Inow have confidence to speak the lan-guage,” Rebecca Uda explained.

Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic

Professor Lynley Rowan, director,and Kristen Proctor, facilitator, andnine students set out to study interna-tional health issues and seek ways tohelp reduce infant and maternal mor-tality rates. Contacts gained throughthe Church’s Humanitarian Services

aided their efforts. They also hoped todevelop relationships for the PublicHealth Ministry and the Pan Ameri-can Health Organization with non-governmental organizations such asFUNDASEP and Project Hope.

“Students went there to adaptexisting health literacy manuals andsee what future steps could be taken.They also worked with the healthministry to have women fill outhealth surveys and offer pre-natalhealth education. The students reallypushed to increase their service capac-ity,” Paksima said.

A hostel for volunteer groupsbecame home for the tight-knit volun-teers team. Most surprising forPaksima was how well the studentsworked together and got along. Heattributes that to “having a greatgroup of participants as well as prop-er promotion and selection ahead oftime.” Out of the numerous qualifiedapplicants, fifty students were inter-viewed for the nine available slots.Paksima stressed that selection isalways a “rigorous process weighingthe individual strengths and responsi-bilities required. Proper selection andpreparation is critical to success in thefield for this type of program.”

The hands on approach definitelymade a difference for students. “Forthe first time I feel like my collegeeducation has really taught me some-thing,” said Spencer Hall. TeammateNicole Glavinic concurred, “I lovedteaching health topics to the elemen-tary children. The kids were so excit-ed to learn.”

“I knew the students and facultywould have good experiences, but itsurpassed my expectations. Dedicatedstudents made the programs hap-pen—not let the programs happen tothem. It is important that they notonly learn to serve in the Third World,but recognize they can also learn fromthe Third World,” Paksima concluded.

Paksima traveled to Ukraine andRomania in July after our publicationdeadline. Look for further InternationalVolunteers developments in future issuesof Bridges.

Top: Presentinghealth materials inSanta Domingo.

Bottom: MelbaJarman watchesweaver in LakeChapala.

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31BRIDGES • FALL 2000

Adolescence—Global Similarities

Politics brought Brian Barber toGaza—not out of a sense of politicalactivism but from his desire tounderstand the political and socialclimate’s impact on Palestinianyouth. His quest is an extension ofearlier and ongoing research on ado-lescents throughout the world. Bothsociological studies began with thebasics—gathering data.

Adolescents—Who are They?

In targeted areas, a classroomadministered, multicultural, twenty-five page survey lays the foundationfor broad spectrum analysis. “Welook at adolescent experiences in theirvaried social contexts—1,000 sur-veyed in each culture,” Barber sum-marized. The detailed questionnaireasks for feedback on interaction withfamily, teachers, peers, and communi-ty and religious leaders.

Following the initial survey,Barber personally interviews fiftystudents from each culture in smallfocus groups. “I ask them what it islike to experience adolescence, howthey feel they are different,”explained Barber. “I want to know‘When does culture matter and whendoesn’t it?’ ‘What things are commonamong adolescents and what arenot?’ ‘How are they affected by theirenvironment?’ The data is so richthere are scores of publication oppor-tunities.”

Their most revealing finding isthat “the relationship between par-ents and children is virtually thesame across cultures. This is a verycontroversial point with social scien-tists who believe we evolve, and,therefore, our culture or environmentis the primary means of shaping theindividual. In reality culture mattersonly in relatively narrow areas,”Barber concluded.

Adolescence and Political Violence

An outgrowth of his original inter-national study, Barber’s 1994 visit toGaza became a life altering experi-ence—taking his research in new andoften heart-wrenching directions.“What happens when adolescents

spend their formative years

immersed in the daily trauma of

war?” he asked. He and four col-

leagues focused on Palestinian youth

in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,

where they surveyed 7,000 families—

95 percent Muslim and 5 percent

Christian—to study how their envi-

ronment has affected their cultural

relationships and social structure.

By 1996, Barber moved completely

into their circle—living in refugee

camps, learning the language, cul-

ture, and ethnography as well as

researching the Intifada (uprising)

that lasted six years (1987–1993). “I

was accepted immediately, wel-

comed to their lives, and considered

a part of their family,” Barber said.

To date he has lived one and a half

years among the people.

“This experience has reshaped my

understanding of what an adolescent

is,” he reported. Additionally, Barber

restated the accepted conventional

wisdom definition of adolescents as

being:

1. Unpredictable

2. Reckless

3. Self-centered

4. Hard to get along with

However, his firsthand encounters

taught Barber that the profile is not

necessarily true. He found eleven

to eighteen year-olds who were

“intensely committed to the social

good, not in the least self-centered,

more than willing to sacrifice at great

personal risk, and able to withstand

trauma with little consequence.”

“This experience has clarified my

view of young human beings. It

demonstrated the human potential

and refuted commonly-held beliefs

about Palestinians. Young people,

like older people, have the potential

for competency. Their circumstances

seem to bring these qualities to the

surface. In the West, adolescents have

an abundance of unstructured, free

time and the economic and political

freedom to be self-centered. Without

it [freedom] you contribute.”

Barber continued, “The Intifada

produced a generation of adolescents

who witnessed the killings of family

members, the humiliation of their

fathers, beatings, arrests, persecu-

tion—is it any surprise that they

respond with stone-throwing?”

His study revealed the young

adults, in spite of the chaos and trau-

ma they lived through, were “no

more prone to deviant behavior than

before.” He discovered they were

“better Muslims, kept their cultural

norms, were respectful of authority,

gentle-natured, and contributed to

the family and society at large—even

while the occupation is still as heavy,

and the political and economic

restraints just as severe, as before the

1993 peace accord was signed.

“Their culture and religion, their

faith, teaches them to be kind and

forgive—God will judge.”

On this narrow strip, five miles

wide and twenty miles long, 1.2 mil-

lion Arabs live on 50 percent of the

land, 33 percent is occupied by 4,000

Israeli settlers. The circumstances in

which the Palestinians live “constant-

ly provokes dissatisfaction and leads

to frustrated violence,” explained

Barber. “For instance, no Arab can

dig a new well in the heavily agricul-

tural area. The pre-1967 wells are not

very deep.

“Since 1971, the Israelis have built

35–40 new, deeper wells. The com-

After theChernobyl catastro-phe, we were verysensitive to nuclearweapons, and theparliament ofUkraine proclaimedthe future Ukraineto be a nuclear-freecountry. In someparts of the world,and in the Ukraine,they mocked andasked, ‘Why?Having such power-ful weapons and togive it up?’ We didit. And by this wehave contributed tothe peace and sta-bility in Europe, andwe have contributedgreatly to the secu-rity of the UnitedStates, because noother nation can saythat it destroyedmore than 2000nuclear warheads,which were mainlytargeted at the citiesof the United States.

His Excellency AntonButeiko, UkrainianAmbassador to U.S.

Ukraine in theSystem of Europeanand World Security

International Forum Series1 December 1999

“

”

Left to right,clockwise:Adolescents inGaza; Bosnia;Barber withfamily inPalestine; andSouth Africanadolescents.

32

mon aquifer is so depleted that seawater is filling the aquifer from theupper level where the shallow Arabwells draw—while the deeper Israeliwells draw fresh water. Averagedaily water use for an Israeli is 125gallons, with twenty-four houraccess—some having automaticsprinklers on their yards. In contrast,the average Palestinian uses twenty-five gallons per day, with limitedaccess, and major sewage issues.”Adults and children alike suffer.

Inequities continue seven yearsinto the treaty. Barber sympatheticallyexclaims, “It is so unjust. The humanspirit says ‘I won’t take this anylonger.’” On his desk sit five volumesof transcripts of UN resolutions call-ing for sanctions against the Israelioccupation. Barber remarked,“Virtually all of the resolutions havebeen rendered impotent by U.S.vetoes. Meanwhile the ideology-basedconflict continues, and most of theworld remains unaware of the facts.”

Barber is replicating his study inBosnia and presented a paper at theEuropean Association of Research onAdolescence conference 3 June. Hewas recently appointed associate editor of the International Journal of

Behavioral Development.

Additional Reading

Snyder, John. “PalestinianParadox.” Brigham Young Magazine,Summer 2000.

What ramifications exist for a soci-ety with a surplus male population?Valerie Hudson, associate professorof political science at BYU, andAndrea M. Den Boer, now a doctoralstudent at the University of Kent(England), tackle this puzzling ques-tion in their manuscript, Bare

Branches: Cause and Consequences of

the Masculinization of Asia’s Sex Ratios.

Their findings support their thesis:The way in which a society views thefamily unit, and its individual mem-bers, is inextricably tied to that soci-ety’s national security.

As Hudson and Den Boer’s exten-sive research began, historical—andrecent—societal studies revealedalarming trends of violence, crime,and social instability in cultures thathad devalued the natural family unitthrough placing exaggerated worthon male offspring. When societyplaces more import on producingmale children than on producing afunctional family, Hudson asserts, itupsets the scales of nature, leadingto unbalanced communities wheremales grossly outnumber females. In regards to the natural balance ofmale to female births, Hudson stat-ed, “some natural phenomena arevery durable, so when they are vio-lated there are bound to be negativerepercussions.”

One impact is the well-known inci-dence of abortions and abandonmentof females in male-valued societies.Somewhat less advertised, however, isthat these societies often haveextremely high suicide rates. Thefemale suicide rate soars because,

Hudson believes, due to the severelack of females, many women leadhighly controlled lives. The futureoften seems bleak for the surplus menas well, who do not have the opportu-nity to live normal lives (withprospects of marriage or family). Theymay resort to drastic measures—including criminal activity, prostitu-tion, and other barbaric extremes,such as purchasing women capturedfrom other regions or countries ($250US on the black market in China).

Governments (primarily in Asia)perpetuating the male-valued societyare not unaware of the negative con-sequences. Historically, they havedownsized male surplus by sendingthese men to colonize, work on dan-gerous building projects, or to war.The current India-Pakistan borderconflict may be an example of howsome countries continue to use thesetactics. According to Hudson, ongo-ing battles such as this might beresolved sooner if it weren’t for theabundance of the relatively “expend-able” troops who seek glory on thebattlefield because they have no fam-ily to return to.

Overall, these familiar methods arebecoming inadequate controls of thegrowing male surplus. Perhaps recog-nizing this, China, for example, isexperimenting with their strict birthcontrol dictum to perhaps includetwo children per household, as longas they are spaced ten years apart.This attempt may have come too late.Abortion and infant female abandon-ment continue to abound. Althoughthe law has changed, cultural values

have not. Many of the people in thesesocieties still implicitly believe in andchoose male children.

And so the consequences contin-ue. Hudson estimates that by theyear 2020, there will be even largernumbers of surplus males in societiessuch as China (estimated 30–50 mil-lion, ages 15–34) and India (estimat-ed 30–35 million, ages 15–34).Bangladesh, Taiwan, and Pakistanare also estimated to have a rapidlyexpanding surplus.

Hudson has been labeled “hetero-sexist” and “anti-choice” by some,but she stands behind her research—the facts speak for themselves.“Unfettered abortion in societies withstrong son preference results in malesurplus and negative consequencesfor societies,” Hudson stated.Surplus in either gender is unfavor-able, but the current worldwidedeficit is women—about 100 million.

Hudson believes in order to curbanti-female tactics and balance outthese societies, governments mustsupply an economic advantage forfamilies who raise female children.Not all countries place a limit on thenumber of children allowed per fam-ily, and yet many continue to have asurplus male population. Hudsonbelieves the answer to restoring thenatural balance in society lies in plac-ing increased value on female life infamilies.

Hudson and Den Boer’s book is cur-

rently under publication review.

Surplus Males:The Need for Balance

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Permit No. 49

RRevered in China for metic-

ulously recording the

political climate of the

1930s, at her death in 1997,

eighty-nine year-old Helen

Foster Snow was memorialized

at the Great Hall of the People.

The Communist Eighth Route

Army Museum in Xi’an boasts

the Helen Foster Snow wing.

There is a Helen Foster Snow

Society in Beijing, and across

China there are hospitals and

schools bearing her name. An

eyewitness to pivotal political

changes within China, her jour-

nalistic record is a primary

source on the Communist revo-

lution of the 1930s.