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C2N, or Colony to Nationhood, is among the most challenging assignments assigned throughout the Global Perspectives program. Students are assigned a country, as the name should suggest, that has gained its independence from colonial rule. Students are tasked with transforming portable 11 into their respective countries and culminating a presentation outlining the history, culture (including literature), politics, religion, and issues resulting from decolonization or independence efforts.
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Honduras by Abigail, Ciaran, Paige and Taylor
For our C2N assignment, we represented the beautiful country, Honduras. In our presentation, we transformed the portable into four different rooms, each symbolizing a significant portion of Honduras. This included the balance between beautiful landscape and culture and the ongoing political crisis in the country. One section aimed to demonstrate the tourist and foreign view of Honduras. The second section incorporated the landscape and natural produce of Honduras through the setting of a jungle. A market was used to explain the economical and political situation of Honduras for the third section. Lastly, the fourth section represented the Honduran culture on an individual level. Overall, the project encompassed the positive aspects of Honduras as well as the unfortunate realities faced by many Honduran people.
Lebanon by Chase, Korol, Rachel and Myla
Lebanon is a complex country both politically and culturally, a consequence of its centuries long history. To provide an insight into all the aspects that make the country unique, we brought everyone on a journey highlighting the fusion of tradition and modernity. Starting in the streets of Beirut, visitors encountered both a street vendor and performer before participating in the country’s national dance, however the livelihood was soon interrupted by a protester storming down the street. Visitors then boarded a bus where they saw many notable locations throughout the drive while learning about the colonization of the country. The journey finally came to an end in the forest of the Cedars of God where a special presentation was given by a Lebanese elder on the country prior to the French colonization as well as the literature of the area. At the end, we all left with a deeper understanding of the country of Lebanon, and all that makes it unique in ways both positive and negative.
Liberia by Drew, Brooke, Emily T and Hannah
For C2N, our group had the privilege of representing Liberia. In doing this, we dove into the deep issue on why Liberia has an abundance of natural resources, yet a very poor economy. We had a blast diving into the history and culture of Liberia. We connected with a man from Liberia living in Hamilton who taught us more than the internet ever could. We eventually decided to decorate the portable into two rooms. One, representing the natural world of Liberia, showcasing the rich resources the rain forest had to offer. While the other room displayed city life in Liberia showing the busy, random markets. A highlight of our project was getting the teacher's to solve out their differences under a Palava Hut. Through this project we learned so much about a nation and creativity. Practically living with each other for a week we also discovered teamwork, cooperation and we became even closer friends.
Mozambique by Abby, Ashley, Zarah and Robert
Mozambique is a tropical country located on the eastern coast of Africa, west of Madagascar. This country is full of an engaging culture and rich history. During this project, we were able to take the class on a journey through Mozambique, introducing every aspect of the unique country. On March 4th, 2019, Mozambique faced one of Africa’s largest natural disasters, Cyclone Idai. This added a very recent but serious component to our adventure. We were able to teach the many sides of Mozambique including the positive and devastating aspects of the country. Starting along the beautiful coast, to one of Mozambique’s agricultural prides, a deeper understanding was gained in the setting of a traditional Mozambican hut and market. The visitors were able to experience Mozambique’s newfound independence through an educational journey from colony to nationhood. Despite C2N’s challenges, it is one of the most rewarding projects. This assignment provides you the essential teamwork, creativity, and problem solving skills in order to overcome several obstacles faced. We were able to encounter a whole new perspective of a South African country.
North Korea by Emma, Jack, Jakob and Tristan
For C2N, our group had the challenging task of representing North Korea. North Korea has a variety of assumptions about the country through interactions, movies and news coverage. We had a variety of challenges throughout our journey in bringing together North Korea's cultural elements. We got into contact with experts and used a variety of articles in order to fully capture North Korea. Through teamwork and working together cohesively we were able to turn our portable into North Korea's past and present. Learning about North Korea challenged our group to work together and break past stigmas surrounding the country. We were able to divide all our our work evenly and lead everyone to contribute equally in all aspects of script work, building props and set up. Teaching the class about North Korea was challenging but overall had a large pay off because of the hard work that was put forward by our group.
Singapore by Brady, Erica, Griffin and Jade
Singapore is a small island, north of Malaysia. It is one of the largest commercial centers in Asia, which is reflected through it’s high GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita and HDI (or human development index). In our C2N presentation, we brought the class through both pre-colonial Singapore, featuring forests and a hut, and through the massive city-state Singapore has transformed into since colonialism. The class experienced the food, the culture, and the geographical features of the small island nation. We specifically covered the impacts, both positive and negative, left by the British colonial rule. Through this assignment and our study of Singapore, we learned vital academic skills such as how to ‘divide and conquer’ assignments, how to communicate, and how to resolve conflict when working as a team.
Venezuela by Dylan, Emily D, Jaden and Meaghan
For C2N, we had the task of representing Venezuela. Venezuela is currently experiencing difficult human rights and political issues. We were challenged with capturing that aspect of the country, while still encompassing the rich and diverse culture and history. To ensure we were accurately showcasing the country, we went and visited a family from Venezuela. Their kindness, hospitality and knowledge greatly helped us understand the area and how to represent the country respectfully. We made the portable into a home, and created a mural of brightly coloured houses to show the vibrancy. Our group divided the work evenly, and the contributions put forth led to us having a greater understanding of Venezuela, as well as having the opportunity to teach the class.