Darcie Vandegrift, Drake University associate professor of sociology, will give a lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 6, based on her experiences as a Fulbright scholar teaching in Venezuela during the 2008-09 academic year.
The talk, “Venezuela From the Inside: The Chavez Era as Seen by it’s Citizens,” is free and open to the public and will take place at 1 p.m. at the Greater Des Moines Partnership office, located at 700 Locust Street.
The Fulbright program provides grants for scholars to teach and conduct research in other countries in an attempt to build mutual understanding between the United States and other nations.
Vandegrift taught at the University of the Andes in Merida, Venezuela. While there, she completed a research project examining how young adults view politics and society in their country.
Through interviews across the social stratum, observations in traditional and populist universities and media analysis, Vandegrift investigated the diverse citizen views towards the Chavez government.
Vandegrift is currently working on two book projects based on her research. The first book compares the global perspectives of young adults in Venezuela and two other countries. The second book will compare world views of pro- and anti-Chavez Venezuelans.
This lecture is sponsored by Drake University’s Center on Global Citizenship, Pioneer Hi-Bred and the Iowa Council for International Understanding.
For more information on this lecture and other upcoming events, visit the Drake Center on Global Citizenship’s Web site at https://wwww.drake.edu/international/cgc/ or call 515-271-2117.