{"id":3146,"date":"2010-10-06T07:08:20","date_gmt":"2010-10-06T14:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=3146"},"modified":"2010-10-14T15:03:26","modified_gmt":"2010-10-14T22:03:26","slug":"fulbright-experience-a-love-affair-for-communications-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=3146","title":{"rendered":"Fulbright experience a love affair for communication studies professor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A view of Buenos Aires, including the Plaza de la Rep\u00fablica and the Obelisk. Photo (c) Alberto Carvalho.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After John C. Pollock<\/strong>, professor and chair of communication studies, returned from four months of teaching and conducting research in Argentina, he was surprised to receive emails in English from people he had met. Previously, they interacted with him in Spanish.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody stayed in Spanish and they knew I wanted to do my lectures in Spanish,\u201d Pollock recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea. And their English, of course, was far, far better than my Spanish.\u2026 But they had been too polite, their manners were so beautiful, that they sort of didn\u2019t let me know that. They stayed in Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such experiences explain why Pollock was mesmerized by Argentinian people and culture while he spent March to June in Buenos Aires as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Belgrano. Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided grants to almost 300,000 national or foreign participants\u2014chosen for their academic merit and leadership skills\u2014with the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad, and to increase a mutual understanding between people of different countries. The U.S. Department of State funds the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stretches you as a teacher and a colleague and as a scholar in multiple ways,\u201d said Morton Winston<\/strong>, professor and chair of philosophy and religion, who was on Fulbright grants in South Africa in 1991, Thailand in 1999\u20132000, and Denmark in 2007.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally speaking, Fulbrighters do teaching at the host institution, they may develop some new courses or curriculum for their host institution,\u201d Winston said. \u201cThey usually give a number of public lectures or workshops in their area at the host institution, and they serve as sort of cultural ambassadors for the United States. The idea of the Fulbright program, of course, is person-to-person diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his time in Argentina, Pollock taught and researched society\u2019s impact on media, linking social inequality in demographic structures of cities or nation-states to coverage of critical issues. He taught Argentinian students, many of whom are part time, to write professional-level papers and conduct cross-national research. Topics included media coverage of how water is stored and allocated, and how minors who have immunity from prosecution get recruited by drug lords.<\/p>\n

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John C. Pollock, professor and chair of communication studies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI call it a community structure approach,\u201d said Pollock, who joined TCNJ\u2019s faculty in 1992. \u201cInstead of asking the traditional questions about the impact of media on society, I asked questions about the impact of society on media.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pollock discussed his theories of community structure on an Argentinian television program and was videotaped so other teachers and students could learn his approaches. He also co-authored three papers in journals.<\/p>\n

Accustomed to treating students like colleagues, which he learned from professors as an undergraduate at Swarthmore College and during his doctoral studies at Stanford University, Pollock has a personal style of teaching. “I will go into dance routines; I will sing; I will do what it takes to bring something alive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pollock, whose original field was Latin American politics and previously conducted research in Colombia, was concerned he might encounter anti-Americanism in Argentina. Ironically, he wound up feeling more respected than ever before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually found a great deal of admiration (from people),\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the things that they admire about us is apparently our ability \u2026 to disagree, but then at the end of the day, compromise and work in teams to actually accomplish substantial things.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to his work as a scholar, Pollock embraced the salubrious rhythm of Argentian life. It is more relaxed and oriented around family and friends than that in the United States. And the steaks, wine, and coffee\u2014oh, how he still savors the steaks, wine, and coffee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I like to think about Argentina, and particularly Buenos Aires, it has the architecture of Paris, it has the climate of California, it has the cuisine of Italy and Spain, and the prices of South Dakota,\u201d Pollock said with a smile.<\/p>\n

After returning to TCNJ, Pollock\u2019s best lecture materials were in Spanish, so he had to translate them back into English. He quickly learned through e-mails that some new friends could have read either version.<\/p>\n

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