The Center for International Understanding

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For students, understanding current world events is paramount for success in today’s global economy. Many faculty members have participated in grant-funded professional development workshops around the world, bringing back knowledge that is then integrated into several course areas. The College also offers study abroad opportunities for students each year, allowing them to study a foreign language, explore historical sites and experience another country and culture firsthand. The Center for International Understanding provides a structural framework upon which the College can further its achievements in promoting international understanding. 
 

Mission

Community College of Philadelphia’s Center for International Understanding promotes knowledge and appreciation of a diverse and interdependent world. The Center encourages and supports the integration of international content into courses and curricula, as well as student and faculty experiential learning abroad. To foster student achievement and enrichment, the Center supports faculty development and research. Drawing upon rich resources within the College and among outside organizations, businesses and individuals, the Center initiates and sustains projects to benefit the entire College community and to serve local, national and international needs.

 

40th Annual International Festival

March 31 – April 10, 2025

Events started by Dr. Pairat Sethbhakdi of the English department in 1983 evolved into the College’s annual International Festival, which is proud to celebrate its 4oth year with the theme Building Bridges Across the Globe.

Join us for student panels, guest speakers, performances and information sessions focused on global issues and the benefits of multicultural learning.

Monday, March 31

 

Keynote Address—Building Virtual Bridges: The Role of COIL in Internationalizing Curriculum and Campus

Dr. Stephanie Doscher, University of Minnesota
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Room C2-28 or join us on Zoom

Discover how Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) transforms the way we think about internationalization and what, how, and with whom we teach and learn.

 

International Student Panel: Global Student Perspectives on Global Issues

1 – 3 p.m., Bonnell Lobby

Hear from CCP students and students from North West Regional College in Northern Ireland, as they share their perspectives on global topics.

 

Wednesday, April 2

 

Cuisine From Around the World

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Klein Cube, Pavilion Building

Enjoy international cuisine from Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management students and faculty. We’ll also award winners of our International Essay Contest. The cost is $12 per person (Lion Card only). Email cahm@ccp.edu before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2, to secure your spot.

 

Learn About Studying at Temple University Japan in Tokyo or Kyoto

2 – 3 p.m. on Zoom

Attend a virtual information session to learn about opportunities to study abroad, as well as transfer and scholarship opportunities.

 

Thursday, April 3

 

Student International Scholarships for Language Study and Study Abroad

11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m., Room C2-28 or join us on Zoom
David Prejsnar, Assistant Professor, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies

Learn about upcoming scholarship opportunities to study abroad and to study critical need languages. Over the past five years, some CCP scholarship winners have studied in Taiwan and Costa Rica, and studied Arabic and Chinese languages. 

 

Thursday, April 10, 2025

 

Diane C. Freedman Memorial Lecture 

A Digital Bargain: Media, Technology and Citizenship in India

11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m., Room C2-05 or join us on Zoom
Dr. Aswin Punathambekar, University of Pennsylvania

Explore how the phenomenal expansion of mobile and digital media infrastructures and platforms since the early 2000s has transformed Indian society, culture, and politics with Dr. Aswin Punathambekar from the University of Pennsylvania. Focusing on key zones of contestation including food, language, and history, Prof. Punathambekar will outline ways to develop a critical framework for understanding the unfolding impact of technological change in India and other postcolonial contexts. 

Dr. Aswin Punathambekar is a professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, and director of the Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication (CARGC). His work explores media and cultural change in postcolonial and diasporic contexts, with a focus on media industries and institutions, formations of audiences and publics, and cultural identity and politics. He takes cultural and historical approaches to studying global media and communication with focus on South Asia, the U.S., and the U.K. He has authored and edited several books, including "A Mobile Popular: Media, Culture, and Politics in Digital India" (forthcoming, NYU Press), "Planet Digital" (co-edited with Adrienne Shaw and Jonathan Gray, forthcoming from NYU Press), and "Media Industry Studies" (Polity). 

Dr. Punathambekar’s talk and the 2024-2025 Strengthening South Asian Studies at Community College of Philadelphia Curriculum/Faculty Development Project is made possible through generous funding from the United States Department of Education (Title VI Program) and the South Asia Center University of Pennsylvania, a National Resource Center for South Asian Studies. 

The Diane C. Freedman Memorial Lecture is presented during the Community College of Philadelphia’s International Festival in memory of Prof. Diane C. Freedman who was a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Social Sciences.