Clayton Welwood
Class of 2002 (General B.A.– IDS & Social Anthropology)
"The IDS program was the main factor in my decision to move from Vancouver to Peterborough and take up studies at Trent. I really liked the wide scope of the program and being able to take a variety of courses that reflected my interest in the environment, social justice, cultural diversity, geography, history, etc. The faculty did wonderful job of showing the students the big picture of development and also the up-close, human side. I learned as much from my fellow students as from my professors; their interest in and knowledge of issues at hand a real vibrancy both inside and outside the classroom.
My studies in IDS, particularly the classes in cultural anthropology, prepared me well for my move to Taiwan two years ago. Nothing can totally prepare someone for the changes involved in living in a new culture and learning a new language, but there are fewer shocks if you know (if only theoretically) that your native culture s way of seeing the world is no more objectively right than your new culture s perspective.
Living in Asia is proving to be a huge learning experience for me. My studies in IDS gave me a critical eye for the drawbacks of development and industrialization, some of which are very evident here (in Yale s review of environmental sustainability Taiwan ranked 145 out of 146 countries). But the somewhat surprising thing that I ve noticed since being here is that Taiwan (and probably Japan, Malaysia and other Asia countries) might have lessons to teach the west about development in areas such as health care, distribution of wealth, status and relations with aboriginal people, urban living and public transportation. Taiwan is also a culturally exciting place to live, not only because of the depth of Chinese culture and mix of historical influences on this island, but also because east Asia is such a vibrant and interesting part of the world.
So I'd be happy to stay in this area for while."
-Clayton Welwood
Taipei, Republic of China
March 2005