STATEMENT OF GRANT PURPOSE

Alex Chace, The Netherlands, ETA

Three months, two lovers, a country holding societal origins yet to be opened up to the
world. An art made of trust and vulnerability whose purpose is to not only cross walls but break
through them. These forces brought together by the Dutch Ministry of Culture demonstrates
international relationships are made through a multitude of mediums. The Dutch’s sponsorship
of Marina Abramović and Ulay’s performance “Lovers” featured the first foreigners to walk the
Great Wall of China. Previously from the outside, there was a limited perception of the Wall
because of the metaphorical one China surrounded itself with. Through the Dutch and artists’
diplomatic efforts with China a global culture converged to see historical tradition in a new light.
The Dutch’s commitment to the advancement of art is what inspired Marina Abramović
to choose Amsterdam as her long-time base residence. Being able to attend an exhibition of
Abramović’s “The Cleaner,” I had the opportunity to immerse myself in that she developed in
the Netherlands. This was my inspiration in pursuing my Bryant University honors thesis titled,
“The Intersectionality of Mindfulness and Performance Art of Marina Abramović.” For me, this
Fulbright has an emotional connection as it is the next step in my life’s work. This is why I am
pursuing the Netherlands: to be able to expand on my research in the steps of Abramović and
share my cross-cultural analysis with the Dutch who brought this transcending art to the world.
An element of Abramović’s method is she takes abstract concepts and relates them to
universal ideas. As a scholar of intercultural communication, I plan on doing the same inside the
classroom as an ETA and in the Netherlands as a cultural ambassador of the United States.
Specifically, my vision is to develop a program where students learn and apply Dutch social
psychologist Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory. Hofstede framed his paradigm and
mathematically scored particular countries based on their views of certain cultural values making
up the six dimensions: Power Distance Index, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity
versus Feminity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Long Term Orientation versus Short Term
Normative Orientation, and Indulgence versus Restraint. As the students’ American guide, I will
take them on a journey of exploring the Netherlands and the United States using Hofstede’s
model. I will actively engage them in critical thinking by having them draw examples from their
own lives as Dutch citizens and from their perceptions of life in the United States. In doing so,
we will be coming together to understand more than just dialect in learning a new language. We
will be sharing history, customs, traditions, and beliefs, everything that makes up a culture.
Through my extensive experience working in higher education I have come to realize that
our styles of learning and relating to one another should be tailored to the needs of each person’s
cognition. In my tenure of serving as a student consultant for disability services, I conceived and
spearheaded a peer mentoring program titled “PAWS Mentoring.” Its acronym stands for
“Promoting Access Wellness and Success.” I developed the program’s counseling component
alongside a graduate education student. I also drew upon my time interning on-unit at Butler
Psychiatric Hospital. There, I gained insight to theories of developmental psychology applying
them to my direct interaction with patients. Moreover, I assisted in founding the first chapter of
Delta Alpha Pi in the State of Rhode Island, an international honor society recognizing high-
achieving college students with disability. This experience has brought me to the understanding
that through contextualizing our teaching methods, we gain a mindful awareness of ourselves in
relation to those in the environment around us. When feeling indicates change is needed, our
attention to consciousness guides us through ‘in-flight’ changes, keeping us intact.