Middle East Studies

Sarah Tobin takes students to Jordan with GELT Grant

January 30, 2015

In an article on the second inaugural Global Experiential Learning and Teaching (GELT) grants, the Brown Daily Herald featured Sarah Tobin, associate director of Middle East Studies and adjunct assistant professor of anthropology. Over the past year, Dr. Tobin conducted research on early marriage, security and resilience, as well as the neo-liberalization of the refugee experience in Syrian refugee camps. In 2015-2016, she and a dozen students will travel to Jordan to learn about refugee life through a phase one GELT grant.

Sarah Tobin calls the trip an “unprecedented experience” and a “unique opportunity” and encourages interested students to contact her early and attend related events this semester. She adds, “The difference between learning about refugee camps in the classroom and visiting them is like trying to tell someone who has never seen the ocean what it’s like. The longer you’re there, the deeper the ocean gets.”

A total of seven 2015 GELT Grants were awarded by the Office of Global Engagement, allowing faculty members to develop a course and take up to 12 students abroad for a course-related experience.

Click here to read the entire article.