Videos Chats by Dean Brackley, S.J., of the UCA in San Salvador

I'm sorry for the limited postings of late but I spent the weekend in Massachusetts celebrating Mother's Day and my father-in-law's birthday. I'm lucky. During my first year in graduate school, one of my professors asked where I would like to work when I completed my doctorate. I said that I was interested in working on the East Coast or the West Coast. She said that I was being too restrictive. Fortunately, there were a number of east and west coast universities hiring IR / Comparative political scientists with regional interests in Latin America when I was on the market in 2005.

I can't say that Scranton, Pennsylvania is close enough to the coast for me but it is within driving distance of my family in New York and New Jersey and my wife's family outside Boston. I don't get the impression that most faculty live within driving distance of family which is a really major drawback to our profession.

In the meantime and while I catch up on work (this is our last week of classes), I wanted to draw your attention to a number of short video clips made by Dean Brackley, S.J. of the UCA. Dean passed away in 2011. The video chats were recorded at the Universidad Centroamericana  (UCA)  in El Salvador (each approx. 12 min.) and were produced by Marie Karam, University of Scranton Bridges to El Salvador.

Please note:  Link here provides easy access to this video series on youtube:

1.  OVERALL INTRODUCTION

Universidad Centroamericana / UCA- El Salvador (9 min.); Unique aspects of this young Jesuit University explained including legacy of UCA martyrs killed in 1989

“Greetings from El Salvador and the community of the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) your sister-university in the global Jesuit education network.  Thanks for friends at the University of Scranton these brief video messages provide an overview of the reality of El Salvador and summary accounts of two dramatic issues, Religion in El Salvador and Migration.  We hope that these snapshots can help our friends in the U.S. learn more about this reality, with characteristics, in some ways, so typical of most countries in the world.  We also hope in this way to strengthen even more the ties that bind us in the work to build a more human world.”

2.  COUNTRY OVERVIEW:  EL SALVADOR

“This video provides an overview of the social, economic, political and cultural reality of the Central American country of El Salvador, which is in many ways “average and “typical” among poor countries. On the other hand, the country is characterized by extraordinary injustice, as well as the extraordinary faith, hope and generosity of many inspiring people.”

3.  RELIGION:  EL SALVADOR

“This video provides a summary description of the religious drama of El Salvador, a country where everyone believes in God, but where ideas of God and faith clash dramatically.  El Salvador is justly famous for the many heroic Christians who spoke out in defense of the poor and who even paid with their lives for their commitment.”

4.  MIGRATION:  EL SALVADOR TO U.S.

“This video summarizes the extraordinary drama of migration from El Salvador to the United States.  It explains why people leave and how very many are being deported back.”

We all miss Dean.