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Millikin Quarterly Feature
Dr. Guillory Returns From Gabon:
Teaching in Africa Alters Perspective
 by
Barbara Redford
"The experience made me re-examine everything I do in my
life." That's how Dr. Dan Guillory, professor of English,
describes his one-year teaching experience in Gabon, Africa. He
was there on a Fulbright Scholar Grant, the first Millikin professor
to teach abroad for a full academic year through the prestigious
program.
Dr. Guillory can quantify his experience: In addition to teaching
three courses, he helped build two libraries, traveled 25,000
miles and visited nine different countries, served on the board
of the American International School, spoke to groups of varying
sizes on various subjects, and was interviewed a number of times
on radio and television.
But he prefers to talk about the deeper experiences, the changes
which took place in his own self-awareness and understanding,
as an individual and as a citizen of the United States.
Living in another culture made him re-examine attitudes taken
for granted and rarely even thought about, he says. The process
continues since his return. "First of all, getting plugged
back in to life in Central Illinois was the most difficult thing
I've ever done," he says. Having accommodated and changed
his life style to conform to his host country, he says it was
not an easy adjustment to return to the "busyness" and
more frantic pace of the United States.
The process of re-examination goes on. "I find myself examining
my attitudes toward all cultures now," he says. In Gabon,
he had an opportunity to view the African culture and the influence
of the French who settled there. French is the language of Gabon,
a language in which Dr. Guillory is fluent as a result of growing
up in a French-speaking family in New Orleans. He joined the Millikin
faculty in 1972 andwas named Millikin's first Hardy Professor
of English in 1984. He is an author and poet and has held residencies
in elementary and secondary schools. He thought often about American
students while he was in Gabon. What he concluded, he says, is
that as individuals and as a nation we need to recognized that
the United States is not at the center of the world.
"Reading news about the U. S. from a foreign viewpoint is
eye-opening," he says. "We need to get rid of some of
our cockiness and the chip on our shoulder. Not everybody needs
to think our way."
Since his return he has been struck by how isolated American
students are. "There's a big world out there," he says.
"I'd like to see our students become more knowledgeable and
more tolerant."
Dr. Guillory is helping by teaching a course in Third World Literature.
"Teaching this class is very different from teaching about
European culture and literature," he says. "The students
come with so little background."
He believes such studies lead not only to awareness of other
cultures, but a different perspective of our own culture. "The
more you study the problems and defects in other cultures, the
more glaring our own problems seem," he says.
He recalls discussing fiscal responsibility with a class in Gabon
and finding himself reminded of our own savings and loan fiasco,
or talking about ecology and recognizing how slow the United States
has been in responding to environmental responsibilities. "I
found myself saying, 'Don't follow our example-rather, learn from
our errors,"' he says.
On the other hand, Dr. Guillory hopes he introduced some American
values to his African students and colleagues. "The students
need to take more personal control of their education," he
says. "They found open assignments intimidating." Their
culture, however, is much more relaxed on the whole, he
noted. "I think everyone could do a little more work."
He also noted the lack of opportunities for student expression.
"There were no extracurricular activities," he says.
"I appreciated the U.S. flair for organizing people."
What does he have to suggest to his teaching colleagues? "I
think we need to do some global consciousness-raising," he
says. "For instance, we can make our students aware of global
contributors to the various disciplines. Global awareness is an
attitude, a way of thinking. It has to be consciously developed.
Teachers have to make students feel a need to understand, or else
that understanding will not be deep."
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