Many University of Memphis professors and students would like to have the option of going abroad for a semester to learn and teach. For Jane Henrici, anthropology professor, that chance will arrive in the Spring 2006.
“I think all for us should take as many opportunities as possible to travel abroad,” Henrici said.
She is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Grant and will be living in Lima, Peru, beginning in March and will return in July. She is one of 800 faculty and professors chosen nationwide. All her expenses will be paid for by the grant.
While in Peru, she will be studying the plight of Peruvian women in association with the world economy at Pontifica Universidad Catolica del Peru (Catholic University of Peru).
“I want to examine what effects free agreements between Peru and other nations. I want to work to help women in Peru,” Henrici said.
The Fulbright was named after late Arkansas senator J. William Fulbright and was established to build a bridge between the U.S. and other countries.
“I think it is important for me to help the women there,” she said.
However, this will not be Henrici’s first time in Peru. Peru was her first choice location for her research project.
“I was given that option,” she said.
Since 1988, she has spent a total of three years in Peru. The longest stretch of time was a year and a half when she was working on her doctorate at the University of Texas.
She said that an anthropology class she took as an art history major is what struck her interest in the subject. “It fascinated me,” Henrici said.
In her studies she has combined art history, anthropology, philosophy, as well as economic anthropology.
“When I first began my research in Peru, I realized that I needed my doctorate,” she said.
She is fluent in Spanish; one of the qualifications to become a scholar is being proficient in a foreign language.
Some U of M students believe the University does not put enough emphasis on going abroad.
“The only thing I have heard about it and seen about it is a little flyer in the orientation guide,” said Markewa Blair, freshman biology pre-med major. “We hear more about the daily events than that.”
Chantel Cohen, also a freshman biology pre-med student, agreed.
“I think if it pertains to your major, it would provide students with better opportunities,” she said.
