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John Clark (left), associate professor of international
relations at Florida International University, conducts
an interview as part of his research project at Makerere
University in Kampala, Uganda. He is investigating Uganda's
role in the politics of Africa's "Great Lake" region, and
is also is assisting with the university's teaching development
program.
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John Clark, a 1999-2000 political science grantee, conducted
research and lectured at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
A specialist in international relations with a focus on African
politics, Clark commented that he thrives on the opportunity to
live in and adapt to unfamiliar cultures through intensive interaction
with host country nationals. He also noted that being an associate
professor at Florida International University in Miami requires
cultural sensitivity and the ability to teach students who do
not speak English as their first language. Thus, his usual teaching
duties actually helped to prepare him for the cross-cultural and
linguistic challenges he faced during his Fulbright grant.
In Uganda, Clark taught courses on foreign policy analysis, international
ethics and theories of international politics and helped launch
the political science department's master's program in international
relations. Having been a key player in the planning and implementation
of a new doctoral program in the same field at Florida International
University, the scholar had valuable insight to offer his host
institution.
The research component of Clark's grant focused on examining
the way in which the Ugandan government became involved in the
recent political crises in Rwanda and Congo as well as the motives
for its involvement. He carried out research to identify the issues
of increased importance to Uganda as it develops its foreign policy
toward neighboring countries. With his research and continued
interest in African politics, Clark wishes to fill a void in international
relations theory, which generally does not take experiences in
Africa into account. He has submitted a paper based on his Fulbright
research to a major journal of African politics.
The high point of Clark's year in Uganda came during July 2000,
when he organized a three-day conference entitled "Conflict
and Peace-Making in the Great Lakes Region," funded by the
American Center of Kampala. This conference brought together some
35 presenters and 50 observers from 10 different African countries.
It featured lectures by such prominent Africanists as Crawford
Young and Mamhood Mamdani, as well as former State Department
official John Stremlau.
The scholar's Fulbright grant also provided Clark with insight
into African politics that will strengthen the courses he teaches
at FIU. He hopes to develop a new course that focuses on third
world politics and plans to use specific cases from Africa to
reinforce lectures on international relations theory.
Of his experience, the scholar says, "I am hugely grateful
to Fulbright and Makerere for the wonderful experience they gave
me. I will remain a student of Ugandan politics, culture, and
foreign policy for the remainder of my career, and I expect to
return to the country many times to conduct research."
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