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 Fulbright
Scholar Melinda Hickman says that her teaching experience in Belarus
helped her develop "a less U.S. egocentric vision of education,
business and law." This view, she adds, will help her to
give her American students a better opportunity to "develop
the skills necessary to participate in the world community."
Hickman, former dean of administration and finance at Ilisagyik
College in Alaska, spent two years chiefly at Belarusian State
Economics University (BSEU) in Minsk, where she lectured on international
business law. In addition, she taught related courses at Belarusian
State University (BSU) and the European Humanities University
(EHU). She also taught graduate-level courses in management at
the Management Technology Institute (MTI).
The Kansas native lectured in BSEU's Department of Law where
she offered courses in international business and trade law. She
also worked with the newly formed Department of Foreign Languages
for Specific Purposes. The aim of this department, created in
the spring of 1999, is to provide courses in a particular field
in any one of the department's several languages. When teaching
a foreign language, teachers emphasize terminology and jargon
commonly heard in the field. For instance, Hickman taught English-language
courses on banking, finance, international business law and international
private law. Not only did she help students improve their English
skills, but she also provided them with the opportunity to increase
their knowledge of technical terms.
Hickman also gave guest lectures at the American Faculty of Law.
In one lecture, she discussed the fundamental differences between
American common law and Belarus' system of civil law. Hickman
found that many of her Belarusian students had some difficulty
understanding the U.S. legal system of precedent and statutes,
reported Belarus Today, a weekly periodical based in Minsk. She
also prepared teams of students for two annual International Moot
Court competitions. One of her main contributions was to prepare
students for the International Moot Court competitions held annually.
In addition to her Fulbright objectives, Hickman came up with
a number of personal objectives for her study in Belarus. First,
she wanted to give students and colleagues the chance to practice
and improve their English language skills by interacting with
a native speaker. Her second objective was to give her university
community an opportunity to learn about American culture. Hickman's
final objective was to provide her peers and students with an
occasion to study international business law from a non-Belarusian
viewpoint.
Visiting Belarus gave Hickman a new perspective and more insight
into a country that is rarely studied or visited by Americans.
As a result of her experience, she now tries to educate Americans
on the former Soviet country by speaking to various groups in
the U.S. Hickman's teaching experience broadened her vision for
curriculum development. "I believe that I can design better
courses with more international aspects incorporated into them,
thereby giving U.S. students more opportunity to develop the skills
necessary to participate in the world community.
"When you are willing to sit down and exchange questions
and answers, make comparisons of what is important, and laugh
about the things that just do not translate and never will…you
find out all kinds of wonderful things," she says.
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