David Stoloff and Mark Fabrizi of the Department of Education at Eastern Connecticut State University presented at the two-day virtual international conference “Literature and Language: A Panacea of the Pandemic.” Hosted by Thiagarajar College in Madurai, India, the conference took place on Sept. 8 and 9 and invited educators and students from around the globe to watch and participate. 

Participation in this conference is also part of Stoloff’s initiative to make connections with international universities and colleagues. The project is known as “Intercultural Connections among Universities” (ICUs) and can be found at https://interconescu.wordpress.com/.

Stoloff’s presentation was titled “LOCAL <GLOCAL> GLOBAL: Intercultural Connections among Universities – ICUs for a Troubled World.” “I started with describing our local area and New England—its geography, special features and literature,” said Stoloff. “My presentation was designed to make intercultural connections with the 200+ students from colleges in the Madurai region of Tamil Ndu in southern India.”

Fabrizi’s presentation was titled "Confronting Tolkien and Rowling: A Critical approach to fantasy literature in the classroom." “My presentation focused on a pedagogical approach that promoted using fantasy literature in secondary classrooms as a vehicle to teach critical literacy skills,” said Fabrizi. “This topic was also the subject of my PhD research.”

Stoloff has a teaching interest and history of focusing on comparative and international education, education and society, and international and cross-cultural education. His international studies have been a big part of his education journey. In 2018 he and fellow colleagues attended the annual International Society for Technology in Education.

Fabrizi’s main teaching interests are fantasy literature and English methods. His publications include “Horror Literature and Dark Fantasy: Challenging Genres,” “Fantasy in the Classroom” and more. In the past, Fabrizi has presented in Russia, Poland and Canada. Collaborating with international colleagues in the United Kingdom, Fabrizi is currently working on a new edition of the book “Writing a Watertight Thesis: A Guide to Successful Structure and Defense.”

“I invite my colleagues and students to consider participating in these Intercultural Connections among Universities,” said Stoloff. “We are planning for classroom connections and small group discussions with Colorado State University, Colorado Springs, Ecuador, Taiwan, Pakistan, India and Kenya.”

The mission of the Education Department is to prepare reflective, responsive professional educators with evidence-based teaching skills and strategies to support P-12 students in their learning and development in a global community, and to advocate for best practices for all students in diverse educational environments.