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Carl Conradi
"You are good when you are one with yourself. Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil. For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house." --Khalil Gibran
Despite having to switch to an Honors political science program in my fourth year, I have continued to pursue a certificate within the Middle Eastern and African Studies program, as the politics of these two divided and often misunderstood regions are of paramount interest to me.
Over the course of my undergraduate career, I have studied and traveled extensively in both Africa and the Middle East. During the summer of 2005 I participated in a Great Lakes peace and conflict symposium, which brought me to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Congo and Burundi. I concluded my travels by spending two weeks volunteering at a rehabilitation centre for child soldiers in Northern Uganda. During the summer of 2006 I participated in a Middle Eastern mediation symposium, which was held in the contested capital of Nicosia, Cyprus. Afterwards, I traveled to Lebanon, unaware of the fact that only three days later, war would erupt. After bearing witness to almost two weeks of conflict, I was evacuated to Turkey.
Undoubtedly, these first hand experiences have radically shaped the way I view politics in specific, and humanity in general. However, if it were not for the spectacular guidance afforded to me by my MEAS professors, I would be completely unable to process my thoughts and my memories in a powerful, academic way. MEAS has given a voice to my experiences and direction to my passions, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in these fascinating parts of the world. Indeed, I would even recommend pursuing the Honors program, which should be ready to go for the Fall 2007 term. I certainly would have done so myself, had the opportunity presented itself earlier!
Lastly, you should know that I am one of the undergraduate representatives on the MEAS Executive Committee. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding the organization of the department, feel free to contact me at cconradi@ualberta.ca. Thanks!
*Articles by Carl Conradi:
http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/arts/news.cfmstory=40634
http://www.vueweekly.com/articles/default.aspx?i=4399