Queens University Professor Leads Group Of Students To Cyprus
For Varvara Pasiali, Ph.D., MT-BC, leading a group abroad to the country where she was born and raised was the fulfillment of a long-held dream. In June, Pasiali and Jeffrey Thomas, Ph.D., led a group of students to Cyprus as an extension of the semester-long course they taught on campus. Short-term, faculty-led programs are the most popular type of study abroad program at Queens. For about two weeks, students have the opportunity to diversify their classroom education with international exploration all while building meaningful connections with their peers and professors.
“Cyprus has a rich historical tradition and is an island that has been conquered multiple times throughout history given its geopolitical location,” Pasiali explained. “The topic of the course and trip centered around the juxtaposition of cultural pulls and threads that shaped the island’s history with sociohistorical elements of power, oppression, identity, gender, class, and cultural change.”