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Editorials
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U.S. Reputation Abroad
by Kerala Goodkin :: 09/01/2002
"We say we need to improve our [the American] image," says a senior U.S. diplomat in the Middle East, in reaction to a U.S. policy that indefinitely delays the process of obtaining a U.S. visa for men from the Middle-East, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. He continues, "To do that people need to understand us. To do that we need more exchange programs."
Read: September 2002 Editorial (1 photos)
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Newest Articles
Glimpse Goes Behind the News
by Michelle Gil-Montero :: 05/01/2002
A willingness to reflect upon and be held accountable for the values, tactics, and goals of the mainstream press assures us that constructive, informative dialogue is still possible, despite today’s preponderance communication that is often evasive, circuitous, sensationalist and worst of all, a vacuous mixture of all three.
Read: May 2002 Editorial
Valuing Dissent
by Kerala Goodkin :: 01/01/2002
January 2002.When the United States condemns totalitarian regimes for their repression, their censorship, and the tight reigns they hold over popular opinion, we hold up our own ideals of free press and free speech as shining counter-examples. Such ideals are, after all, the fundamentals of a Jeffersonian democracy. We don’t censor; we value the right to personal opinion. We don’t repress; we welcome dissent, we emphasize critical thought.
Read: January 2002 Editorial
The Great Outdoors
by Kerala Goodkin :: 02/01/2006
“You'd damn well be ready to drink,” student Michael Marsch was told before leaving to study abroad in Australia. “You also better know how to surf, fight, swear and play sports. Oh, and everything there can kill you.”
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Spring 2006
Cultural Mingling
by Kerala Goodkin :: 12/01/2005
Here in the United States, we know a thing or two about the challenges that can arise when culturally distinct groups of people try to share the same space. As much as we might like to glorify our “melting pot” legacy, there are two facts we cannot deny: 1) since the arrival of Europeans, there has always been a “dominant” culture, and 2) our history is filled with brutal acts of oppression toward those who aren’t a part of it.
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Winter 2005
A Balancing Act
by Kerala Goodkin :: 09/01/2005
Contrary to what many people think, progress is not about forging ahead; rather, it is about striking a delicate balance between what our world can improve upon and what is worth preserving.
Read: September 2005 Editorial
No Trespassing (Help Wanted)
by Kerala Goodkin :: 08/15/2005
Here’s a riddle for you: what happens when you take two culturally divergent countries with unequal economies and place them right next to each other? Here in the United States, we don’t need to look too far for the answer. But this is no “Ms.-Scarlet-killed-Professor-Plum-in-the-library-with-a-wrench” type of riddle: the relationship between the United States and Mexico is infinitely complex and reaches far back into the folds of history.
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Fall 2005
In the Shadows
by Kerala Goodkin :: 08/02/2005
In nearly every country, a segment of the population is rendered powerless by official repression and neglect. These people want to communicate their hardships, but rarely does anyone take the time to listen. This month, Glimpse’s featured articles spotlight those people whom society has shoved into the shadows.
Read: August 2005 Editorial
Here to There
by Kerala Goodkin :: 07/01/2005
There are few better ways to get to know a foreign place than by partaking in the local forms of transport. Public transportation is one theme that surfaces again and again in Glimpse articles, from navigating the system to observing typical patterns of conduct to interacting with fellow passengers. And the modes of transportation are as varied as the experiences themselves, encompassing bicycles, rickshaws, buses, shared taxis, pick-up trucks and subways, to name a few.
Read: July 2005 Editorial
Cultural Lenses
by Kerala Goodkin :: 06/01/2005
Patience may be a virtue, but not one that is particularly appreciated here in the United States. After all, in the eyes of the rest of the world, we Americans are known as a rather demanding bunch. It’s no surprise, really, considering the high value our country places on efficiency and speed. Urban America is a culture of coffee-drinkers and multi-taskers, where “success” revolves around cramming the most you can into each day and competing your way to the top.
Read: June 2005 Editorial
Opening Our Eyes
by Kerala Goodkin :: 05/01/2005
“I was shocked at my ignorance and lack of awareness about such an important event.” This is what Glimpse contributor Anna Wexler writes in her article, “Eight Thousand Skulls” (featured on our website), upon learning about the details of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Summer 2005
Feminism Without Borders
by Kerala Goodkin :: 04/01/2005
While visiting Ghana a few years ago, I remember meeting two young, bright, well-intentioned American females, who had traveled to West Africa to educate the region about “women's rights.” Later, I crossed paths with a busload of teen missionaries from Iowa, who sought to educate the country about Jesus Christ. I had to wonder, was there a substantial difference between these two undertakings?
Read: April 2005 Editorial
Take It To the Streets
by Kerala Goodkin :: 03/01/2005
Throughout history, the protest march has proved an effective means for “the people” to be heard. No matter the country or the cause, when large numbers of ordinary civilians want to express a shared opinion, the obvious action is to take to the streets and shout it out.
Read: March 2005 Editorial
Slow Food
by Kerala Goodkin :: 02/01/2005
Americans, it must be said, are somewhat obsessed with food. And yet, our attitudes governing the preparation and consumption of meals hinge on almost joyless efficiency. Whenever possible, we prefer convenient shortcuts to circumnavigate the hassles of preparing anything from scratch. If time is too short for a shortcut, there's always fast food or a meal “to go.”
Read: February 2005 Editorial
Harmless Fun?
by :: 01/15/2005
As spring break approaches, thousands of students are poring over brochures and websites that promise fun-filled, sun-filled vacations in exotic locales. The words “paradise” and “beach” are bound to crop up at least once in these promotional materials, as will “party,” “drink” and “tan.”
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Spring 2005
Seeking Asylum Outside the U.S.
by Kerala Goodkin :: 01/01/2005
Long famous for being a “country of immigrants,” the United States is intimately familiar with the challenge of border control and the problems inherent in the allure of the “American Dream.” The hopes of better providing for one's family or escaping political persecution drive foreigners to American soil–and if legal channels have been unsuccessfully exhausted, many will pursue illegal means. Our economy relies on the cheap labor of undocumented immigrants from poorer countries; at the same time, we invest millions of dollars into protecting our borders from these same immigrants.
Read: January 2005 Editorial
Preconceived Notions
by Kerala Goodkin :: 12/01/2004
In his Glimpse article “Beguiling Familiarity,” Michael Marsch quotes one of his professors as saying: “The funny thing about stereotypes is that sometimes they're true.” I agree with the professor's general sentiment, though I would modify the wording a bit. Stereotypes are rarely true across the board (that's why they're called stereotypes), but there is almost always truth in stereotypes. Our task, then, is to explore the complexities that stereotypes gloss over and to fill in the parts of the picture that they miss entirely.
Read: December 2004 Editorial
Freedom’s Burden
by Kerala Goodkin :: 12/01/2004
Here in the United States, we love to talk about freedom. But for a country with a long history of authoritarian control, what exactly does “freedom” mean? Does it mean liberation or chaos? Progress or decline? Happiness or affliction?
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Winter 2004
Freedom on the Ground
by Kerala Goodkin :: 11/01/2004
Here in the United States, we love to talk about freedom. But for a country with a long history of authoritarian control, what exactly does “freedom” mean? Does it mean liberation or chaos? Progress or decline? Happiness or affliction?
Read: November 2004 Editorial
In Focus
by Kerala Goodkin :: 10/01/2004
We're all well aware of the “American tourist” prototype: loud, rude, monolingual … the list goes on and on. There may be some variations on this prototype's physical appearance, but no matter how sunburned his neck is or what color his Bermuda shorts are, one thing remains certain: he always has the tell-tale camera hanging around his neck.
Read: October 2004 Editorial
Get Out the Vote
by Kerala Goodkin :: 09/01/2004
U.S. leaders are quite fond of boasting about our democracy and equally fond of asserting that other countries should emulate our democratic ideals. As we struggle to establish a working version of democracy in Iraq and we approach our own presidential elections, it seems reasonable to pause and ask ourselves, “How well does our democracy work?”
Read: September 2004 Editorial
A Slippery Grip
by Kerala Goodkin :: 09/01/2004
Blend extraordinary poverty with high literacy rates, low mortality rates and environmentally sustainable practices, then throw in a pinch of democracy and another pinch of communism, and you’ll come up with the state of Kerala, India. Or, as author Bill McKibben puts it, “the oddest place on earth.”
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Fall 2004
India in the Modern World
by Kerala Goodkin :: 08/01/2004
Our upcoming Fall 2004 issue of Glimpse Quarterly, to be released later this month, focuses on the consequences of these globalizing forces and the classic tension between the “traditional” and the “modern.” In “A Day's Work,” Eron Sandler details the daily routine of a couple in rural Karnataka who farm for a living. Sudah and Hegde practice the same agricultural techniques as their forefathers, unlike the farmers Jane Hodge encounters in “Living with the Land,” who are slowly realizing the disastrous ecological effects of deforestation, pesticide use and monoculture.
Read: August 2004 Editorial
New Extreme Glimpse Turbo Blast!
by Kerala Goodkin :: 07/01/2004
Companies are forever screeching about their products and services being “new and improved,” but here at Glimpse we really mean it. Okay, maybe there is nothing particularly “crunchy” about the new Glimpse website that will be unveiled this month, but “new and improved” it most certainly is.
Read: July 2004 Editorial
Write Away
by Kerala Goodkin :: 06/01/2004
In first grade, I announced to my parents that I either wanted to be a writer or “one of those people who pushes the cash register buttons at the grocery store.” Alas, the magic of pushing buttons has gradually faded over the years, but my fascination with writing continues to hold strong.
Read: June 2004 Editorial
Small World
by Kerala Goodkin :: 05/01/2004
Let me run you through one of my typical days. After a brisk morning run, I shower and get dressed while catching up on international news from the BBC. Though I do most of my shopping at thrift stores, the outfit I choose will undoubtedly sport popular brand name labels—as well as less prominent labels declaring where these clothes were made: Indonesia, India, China and Malaysia, to name a few.
Read: May 2004 Editorial
Ireland's Ghosts
by Kerala Goodkin :: 04/01/2004
Our Spring 2004 issue of Glimpse Quarterly, to be released this month, will spotlight Ireland, focusing on the ways in which the country's recent past influences modern daily life. We all have our own ghosts to contend with: those events and people that helped to shape who we are today. So, too, do the nations and regions of our world, and Ireland is no exception.
Read: April 2004 Editorial
Pacifism vs. Passivity
by Kerala Goodkin :: 03/01/2004
As I was writing a grant application recently, I was flabbergasted to learn that the goal of promoting peace is widely considered among grant-makers to be “political,” and is therefore excluded from most funding areas. Since when, I wondered, did the basic desire to keep one person from killing another become a politicized issue?
Read: March 2004 Editorial
Spotlight on China
by Kerala Goodkin :: 02/01/2004
This month our members and subscribers are eagerly anticipating our Winter 2004 print issue, which spotlights “Sounds of Silence” in China today. Think “Chinese,” and many people in the United States will find themselves salivating at thoughts of chow mein and egg rolls. Americans tend to feel familiar with Chinese culture, especially those living in urban centers that boast “Chinatowns.” But while the China an ocean away has imported aesthetic and cultural trends to our own Chinatowns, we easily forget that it exists in an entirely different political context.
Read: February 2004 Editorial
Contending with Ghosts
by :: 01/15/2004
We all have our own ghosts to contend with: those events and people that helped to shape who we are today. So, too, do the nations and regions of our world, and Ireland is no exception. Its ghosts are many; according to one Irishman in this issue, being Irish means “being aware of a history of pain and dispossession.”
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Spring 2004
Pre-packaged Paradise
by Kerala Goodkin :: 01/01/2004
I didn’t spend my holidays by a fireplace, but rather on a beach under blazing sun. On December 25th, I was sipping margaritas in a city I once swore to myself I would never visit: Cancun, Mexico.
Read: January 2004 Editorial
Like a Rolling Stone
by Kerala Goodkin :: 12/01/2003
In exchange for our fierce-minded independence, we in the States often sacrifice a sense of community. Our family ties stretch long distances, maintained through letters, emails, telephone conversations. Everything that immediately surrounds us lacks permanence. We don’t take the time to get to know our neighbors - we’ll probably move when our lease is up anyway. We often find ourselves in sterile work environments or workplaces where people come and go so quickly, we can barely keep track of who’s who. Our friendships, like our more intimate relationships, tend to fluctuate.
Read: December 2003 Editorial
Not So Cut and Dry
by Kerala Goodkin :: 12/01/2003
Think Chinese, and many people in the United States will find themselves salivating at thoughts of chow mein and egg rolls. Americans tend to feel familiar with Chinese culture, especially those living in urban centers that boast “Chinatowns.” But while the China an ocean away has imported aesthetic and cultural trends to our own Chinatowns, we easily forget that it exists in an entirely different political context.
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Winter 2003
Access to Information
by Kerala Goodkin :: 11/01/2003
Until recently, the U.S. news media never took much interest in Bolivia. Since living there for six months in the spring of 2001, I had been combing the international news section of my New York Times on an almost daily basis, trying to keep up with the current events in my home away from home.
Read: November 2003 Editorial
Criticism Where It Counts
by Kerala Goodkin :: 10/01/2003
Reinaldo Arenas, an exiled Cuban writer, said upon his arrival to the United States, “The difference between the capitalist system and the communist system is that while both give you a kick in the ass, in the capitalist system you can scream. And I came here to scream.”
Read: October 2003 Editorial
Many Faces
by Kerala Goodkin :: 09/01/2003
“Israel and the Palestinian territories?” a Glimpse contributor asked dubiously when informed of our Spotlight theme. “Good luck!” Why tackle such a complex and potentially divisive theme? Our primary goal here is to put human faces on issues that for many Americans remains in an abstract realm, characterized by distanced news reports and coldly calculated death tolls.
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Fall 2003
What the WTO Wants
by Kerala Goodkin :: 08/01/2003
In the second week of this coming September, Mexico's Cancun airport will find itself flooded with visitors. They won’t be your typical sun, sand and beer-seeking spring-breakers. No, these batch of visitors will be looking for something a bit more consequential - namely, a dismantling of the World Trade Organization’s ever-increasing power.
Read: August 2003 Editorial
Foreign Policy on the Rebound
by Kerala Goodkin :: 07/01/2003
As unforeseen challenges continue to surface in Iraq, many are wondering, “Who’s next?” Syria? Iran? North Korea? It’s hard to say how many of us actually believe that the United States will embark upon another military strike in the near future. But the question is being asked. And that it’s being asked at all indicates a significant – and recent – shift in our national attitude.
Read: July 2003 Editorial
Behind the News 2002
by Glimpse Editorial Staff :: 06/16/2003
The Glimpse Foundation hosted its first conference, “Behind the News: New Perspectives on the Future of International Journalism,” on April 12, 2002. Moderator, Nicholas Fitzhugh, President and Founder of The Glimpse Foundation, and panelists, Tom Carver, Sharon Tiller, Victor Simpson and Rick Macarthur, discussed the dilemmas that international journalists, as well as the U.S. public at large, currently face in a time of increasing globalization, heavy government censorship and concentrated corporate control.
Read: New Perspectives on the Future of International Journalism
In Living Color 2002
by Glimpse Editorial Staff :: 06/13/2003
The second-ever Glimpse conference, In Living Color: American Popular Culture Abroad, was held at Brown University on December 3, 2002. Paul Buhle, Lecturer in American Civilization at Brown University; Susan Morey, Senior Fulbright Specialist and Intercultural Consultant; and Jim Von Schilling, Area Chair of the American Culture Association discussed the ways in which American popular culture is "sold" to other countries abroad, the ways in which it helps to shape the "American image," as well as both the negative and positive potential of intercultural mixing.
Read: American Popular Culture Abroad
Everyone is a Terrorist
by Kerala Goodkin :: 06/01/2003
In this era of increasing global challenges, "fear and loathing" - to borrow Hunter S. Thompson's favorite phrase - is spreading far beyond the city limits of Las Vegas. The U.S. Justice Department's inspector general, Glenn A. Fine, recently released an internal report criticizing the Department's tactics in pursuing terrorist suspects after Sept. 11. In the Justice Department's wide roundups of immigrants who had violated immigration laws, Fine says, there were "significant problems in the way that Sept. 11 detainees were treated."
Read: June 2003 Editorial
Glimpse Conference on U.S. Military
by Kerala Goodkin :: 05/01/2003
Our conference dealt with an issue that has become rather touchy as of late: namely, the role of the U.S. military. In light of our recent war in Iraq, this issue is not only touchy, it has become increasingly polarized as pro-war and anti-war factions shoot heated rhetoric at one another in a war of their own. Controversial issues naturally and, to an extent, necessarily give rise to such a polarization process but as each side’s convictions become more and more rigidified, we lose opportunities for meaningful exchange.
Read: May 2003 Editorial
Prime Time War Coverage
by Kerala Goodkin :: 04/01/2003
The war that the United States is currently waging has received the most thorough media coverage of any war in our history. As reporters rove the deserts of Iraq, media outlets piece their stories together in an effort to forge a coherent whole. Turn on the television, open a newspaper, tune in to the radio – we are inundated with talk of war.
Read: April 2003 Editorial
Think Small
by Kerala Goodkin :: 03/01/2003
Lately, we at Glimpse Magazine have not been receiving many submissions from Iraq. In fact, look at our entire Middle East section, and you will find it disappointingly sparse. The Middle East, described by so many as the “hotbed” of anti-Americanism, does not currently top the list of popular destinations for U.S. travelers.
Read: March 2003 Editorial
Politics: Not a Special Interest
by Kerala Goodkin :: 02/01/2003
"I'm not interested in politics" is a phrase I've heard on more than one occasion, sometimes in reaction to Glimpse pieces that focus on politically-charged issues. The reaction worries me, in part because it treats politics as a sort of "hobby," in the same realm as horseback riding or stamp collecting or interior decorating.
Read: February 2003 Editorial
Is the U.S. a Friendly Giant?
by Kerala Goodkin :: 01/01/2003
According to an extensive study recently conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 75% of Americans polled said that U.S. foreign policy is “considerate to others.” This perspective fails to coincide with the sharp criticisms toward our foreign policy from abroad, especially in the 20 of the 27 nations with discernable trends in opinion where unfavorable attitudes toward the United States are on the rise.
Read: January 2003 Editorial
Geography Matters
by Kerala Goodkin :: 12/01/2002
Jon Stewart, of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, recently prefaced a report on international news by saying that most Americans “don’t care” about what’s going on in the rest of world. He then added, smiling, “Oh no, they do care. They just care very little.”
Read: December 2002 Editorial
Peeling Layers
by Kerala Goodkin :: 02/01/2002
Where does Ecuador’s government stand in relation to its people? The consensus in this issue’s featured section seems to be, “Far away.” From Nathan Kraft’s humorous tales of working his way through the tangles of Ecuadorian government bureaucracies to Justin Ruben’s jarring account of government repression to Sebastian Moya’s poignant reflections on how the government can better serve his people and his land, we glimpse snapshots of a democracy that has, perhaps, failed to translate from theory to reality.
Read: Glimpse Quarterly Spring 2002
Blinded by Patriotism
by Kerala Goodkin :: 11/01/2001
Now that we have some distance from the events of September 11, reflection is key. While billowing flags and “Proud to be an American” paraphernalia superficially unite us, opinions about an appropriate national response to the tragedy illuminate deep divides. Some seek revenge and eye-for-eye punishment; others seek empathy and understanding.
Read: November 2001 Editorial
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