Altai Cultural Study Topics

We can't learn everything about this ancient region in 5 weeks, but we can have fun trying!!!

Some of us were specifically told to narrow down our focus, others of us have been allowed to let our minds roam FREE!!! 

I love learning with no boundaries.

but...

 A little structure might help me transform my learning into a sharable fund of knowledge.

Most evenings on this exchange we have guest lecturers coming to an open salon where we can discuss these topics. We are encouraged to practice Russian, but translators will be part of our daily routine.

1.  Joan: Education - structure and more:  How do they educate?  What is the importance of education in Russian (Siberian) society and culture?  How do they prioritize and allocate available resources in their society, given their geographic location?  Is education compulsory and if so, thru what grade level?  What is their curriculum - civics?  civilian responsibility?  ethics class?  comparative governance?  history?  If so, at what grade levels are these topics covered?  How does Russian (Siberian) education differ from American education?  What role, if any, does the Orthodox Church play?  Testing prevalence?  Alternative education efforts?  Is study abroad encouraged?  At university level?  To Cambridge and Oxford, Harvard or Stanford, or to Bejing (Peking)/China?  How do they work in extracurricular programs - athletics, the arts - ?  Teacher prep and perspective…  What do teachers see as top concerns?  Education as common denominator in culture of diverse people…
2. Alex: food traditional meals
3. Alison: sustainability in daily life/habits
4. Madeline: fashion( women’s), statues, art (more specific), tourism
5. Jordyn: the role and status of women in Russian (Siberian) society and culture - traditions, norms, etc.
6. Natalie: food and drink, street food, contem popular music, US influence Russian/American fast food, drinking habits, smoking habits, exercise habit
7. Christine: Nature, American cultural impact in Siberia
8. Jonathan: Museum Design
9. Jenna: teaching of other languages at the primary level, school meals, prevalence of outdoor/active play during the school day
10. Ryan - Advertising practices in Russia; print and digital.
11. Kristine- Russian folk music and instruments vs Altai regional folk music; Traditional herbal medicine and healing; Indigenous peoples of the Altai and influence in local Russian culture; gardening and herbs for cooking, healing, and survival; English teaching, texts, and testing in Russia, new regulations and teacher perspectives; any visible artifacts of gulags or Solzhenitsyn.  Shamanism and the Shambhala myth in Altai.
12. Sebastien: water systems, mountain ranges; geography and culture.
13. Jim: soviet remnants in the Altai Krai
14. Tonya: how Russian children spend their time (cultural games, pastimes, school life, home life, etc…) especially in regards to children/people with disabilities