Students in the Social Justice Literature class at Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH) had the opportunity to learn from Nigerian visitor Mr. Tomisin Ogunbawo this week. Mr. Ogunbawo shared his insights about the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, as well as his own experiences living in Nigeria and Vietnam.
“Having Mr. Ogunbawo come as a guest speaker was an incredible experience,” said Mettel (G12). “I was glad to hear a firsthand account from someone who was able to use his traditions and culture – specifically music – as a medium to integrate with an unfamiliar culture surrounded by unfamiliar people. His insights about his life in Nigeria and his journey of adapting to the Hanoi lifestyle added a valuable global dimension to our discussion in class, and I appreciated that he answered our questions thoughtfully, and even brought in a traditional Nigerian musical instrument to engage us even more.”
The class also helped students to expand their understanding of social justice. “I’ve learned about issues like ageism and classism and the idea of meritocracy in society,” said Quang (G12). “It helped me realize that social injustice isn’t just labeled into one thing, and how people can still be discriminated against for the smallest things, for things that we can’t even imagine.”
Jinseo (G12) appreciated the opportunity to learn about different cultures through the class. “I feel that this class is really valuable because many people are ignorant about the cultural richness of other parts of the world,” she said. “Particularly in Africa, people categorize the entire continent as one, but through reading ‘Things Fall Apart’ I’ve discovered the depth and diversity of different cultures within Africa. It has made me realize we should pay more attention to cultures other than the European colonizers or the cultures like Greece and Rome with which we are more familiar.”
Erin (G11) enjoyed the overall experience of the class. “This is like an English class, except all the books are focused on social justice,” she said. “We have many meaningful conversations about the world, politics, and issues like that in class. And I thought the visitor coming over was very cool.”
