WINTER 2012 - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and ...

Mohsin Bashir
research or training program. While the nondegree programs usually have
clear objectives in line with Fulbright’s mission and educational philosophy,
the Fulbright Scholars in degree programs do not come across experiences
much different from their peers funded through other scholarships. The third
distinction is of course between the American Fulbright Scholar going abroad
and the international Fulbright Scholars coming to the United States. There
exists a system of orientation and enrichment seminars that facilitates the
coordination and interaction between foreign Fulbright Scholars. On the other
hand, an official alumni association exists for the American Fulbright Scholars.
It was, however, interesting for me not to find any official platform where these
two groups can interact with each other. Although at least in Arizona, there
are some annual field trips organized by the Arizona Chapter of the Fulbright
Association that invites both foreign Fulbright students and American Fulbright
alumni to participate. I would like to see such initiatives be adopted officially
and systematically by the administrators and the recipients of the Fulbright
scholarship because these can be crucial for promoting the cultural and academic
exchange that is the hallmark of the Fulbright Program.
IMPACTS OF THE FULLBRIGHT PROGRAM
My experiences as a scholar of the FPFS are marked by cultural shocks and
realizations, both inside and outside the classroom. My reactions and adjustment
to those realizations constitute a set of changes in my personality and perception.
I consider the impacts of my Fulbright experience as those that cannot be
attributed to the intellectual development I went through due to the structured
study of literature in my doctoral coursework. In the following paragraphs, I will
discuss three cultural shocks or shocking observations that contributed the most
to these changes.
While I had attended a graduate school in Pakistan that incorporated
similar teaching mechanisms and identical syllabi to an American institute
of higher learning, the educational philosophy in the United States appeared
very different. My country of origin is a constitutional democracy with a state
religion. This coherence of religion and other matters of life are observable
in all walks of life, including secular social science education that, during my
previous degree programs, never felt at odds with religious thought. My first
cultural shock in American academics was the separation, and often conflict
between, what was secular and what was religious. In fact, with the unquestioned
faith in certain values and a sense of superiority over other belief systems, at
several points secularism appeared to me as just another religion, complete with
moderates, extremists, believers, and the questioning. This observation gave my
current worldview of religion and secularism its current shape. Instead of a divide
between the religious and nonreligious, I now see people as belonging to certain
belief systems, each of which contain their own sacred values, beliefs, and modes
234 Journal of Public Affairs Education