Yosef Lapid, head of the New Mexico State University Department of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences, has a rich past – a past that initiated his career in international relations and created his passion for understanding collective identities.

“In a way, my biography prepared me for that type of interest,” Lapid says.

Lapid was born in Romania and eventually moved to Israel where he attended school at Hebrew University. He soon made the trans-Atlantic journey to the U.S., where he received his master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University. His teaching career spans the world from Israel to Canada and finally to NMSU, where he has been teaching for 16 years.

With Lapid’s expertise in the Middle East, he encourages students to think about alternative methods in approaching international relations. Lapid says this is especially important today as many students fear cultures that are different.

“We are living in an era of transformation,” he explains. “Mobility, fluidity and change define our age. And yet, we are still learning how to deal with diversity, how to deal with the ‘other.’”

He says modern society needs to change some long-held beliefs about cultural identities.

When he began studying international relations, Lapid says, the consensus was that identities were static, monolithic and mutually exclusive.

“You were either an American or a Mexican, a Romanian or a Jew,” he explains. “Now we recognize that most people have more than one collective identity. Identities are far more fluid and dynamic and multicultural than we once thought.”

Lapid says the U.S. needs to restore its emphasis on its ideals of personal freedom, equality under the rule of law and economic opportunity, which are the source of its “soft power.” He explains that the government could begin by de-emphasizing its focus on military power as a primary tool of foreign diplomacy and engaging multilaterally.

“The U.S. needs to be perceived as being ethically on a moral high ground,” he says. Although historically other cultures have been attracted to and respected American political ideals, he says recently America “has suffered a decline in international stature.”

With the change in understanding cultural identities, Lapid stresses the importance of how teachers present information to students.

“I strongly believe we should make our teaching relevant to contemporary issues,” he says.

In fact, Lapid says teaching has changed dramatically since Sept. 11. Before the terrorist attacks, he says, students had a naïve notion that everyone was similar to the U.S., or striving to be. Today, he explains, students are more aware of differences in cultures, but says the pedagogical challenge is in removing their fear of other cultures.

“Pluralism in itself does not cause violence,” he says.

In his classes, Lapid creates simulations, or role-playing activities, where students research different countries and eventually have to create public policy as a collective group.

“It gives them a sense of how difficult it is to get a consensus at the international level,” he says. “And it creates a sense of competency and literacy in international affairs.”

Lapid also hopes to strengthen knowledge of cultural diversity in the department by extending the international relations program. The university recently approved a graduate minor in security and intelligence studies and eventually hopes to offer it as a doctorate.

The Department of Government already sponsors the Model United Nations, a program where students receive hands-on experience in formulating United Nations public policy. Last year, the NMSU group attended the yearly conference as the Arab League. The students spent an entire year researching their topic and won many awards, becoming one of the best Model United Nations programs in the country.

The department also is working with the University of New Mexico and the University of Texas at El Paso in developing a summer camp to prepare minorities for the entry exam for the State Department. The Camino Real Institute for International Service would provide intense instruction in international affairs and assist students in obtaining public service internships nationally and abroad.

In fact, Lapid says, many students in the government program are already involved in a variety of internships locally and internationally.

“I feel fortunate to have the privilege to serve in this academic institution,” Lapid says. “I work with capable, gifted and prominent scholars who are excellent and caring teachers. And we have wonderful students.”