Journal of International Social Studies  

http://www.iajiss.org 

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Volume 2 Number 1 2 Spring/Summer 2012 

 

 

                                                     Editor’s Message 

 

   Welcome to the third issue of the Journal of International Social Studies. We have three 

articles that address major concerns in a global society. Di Ryter considers how the United States 

can work to improve the participation of diverse cultural and ethnic groups in a democratic 

society by using a cosmopolitan approach to citizenship.  In this approach the acknowledgement 

of the individual cultural and ethnic identities of immigrants and minority groups can establish a 

sense of inclusion into the national society. Jim Martin Weiler and Cassandra Juanita Martin-

Weiler study university students in Ghana to measure their attitudes towards the teaching of 

HIV-AIDS in the schools of that country. They find that the students do have the knowledge, 

confidence, and willingness to address the HIV/AIDS problem, yet they do not.  The reason, they 

argue, is that teachers do not have much incentive to address contentious issues in the classroom. 

In the final article, David H. Lindquist evaluates the coverage of the destruction of the 

Armenians in world history textbooks in the United States.  This destruction at the end of the 

nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century established that the 20th century 

would be known as “the age of genocide.”  Lindquist critiques the coverage, identifying the 

overall flow of the information that is presented while noting several instances in which 

information is presented in an underdeveloped, confusing, or contradictory manner. 

   In the media review section Amy Killbridge describes the books and poems of Naomi Shihab-

Nye, an Arab-American author, who advocates for more understanding between diverse cultural 

groups and for peace in the Middle East.  In the IA Perspectives section editor Gloria Alter 

interviews Joshia Tlou, a member of our honorary editorial board, about his extensive work in 

international education and development in Africa. 

   It is with mixed emotions that I say farewell to my position as founding editor of the Journal of 

International Social Studies. As of September 2012, I will be stepping down and Ruth Reynolds 

of the University of Newcastle in Australia will be assuming the editorship.  We welcome Ruth 

and look forward to her leadership in continuing the work of the journal. 

   Establishing the journal and setting it on a scholarly course has been both a challenging and 

exhilarating experience.  Many people have supported me in this endeavor including the 

leadership of the International Assembly and the journal’s honorary board. Gloria Alter of 

DePaul University, Carolyn O’Mahony of Oakland University and my colleague Sunghee Shin 

of Queens College/CUNY have offered valuable assistance.  I owe the greatest debt, however, to 

my colleague Michelle Fraboni, who did the initial research to find a platform for the journal and 

recommended the Open Forum System maintained by Simon Fraser University.  Thank you, 

Michelle, the journal wouldn’t have happened without your research and diligence. 

Beverly Milner (Lee) Bisland, Editor 

Journal of International Social Studies