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Lutes chronicle worldly experiences online
January 12, 2007
From a safari in the African bush to exploring the ancient ruins of Greece and the lush Amazon Basin, PLU students are immersing themselves in the world and gaining valuable insight this J-Term.
More than 300 students are studying away this month. But those left behind in chilly Tacoma can live vicariously through the experiences of their fellow Lutes: six of the 19 classes currently spread across the globe are chronicling their academic and cultural experiences online in a blog.
This year’s bloggers have been asked to focus their posts on four specific questions about stereotypes, the daily life of people in their host country, whether people in the host country hold values similar to or different from those held by students, and how the experience has affected their worldview. This year’s study-away blog also allows visitors to post comments on entries made by students and faculty.
With all the trips underway, the blog site changes daily as students and faculty post their thoughts and upload photographs to the gallery. Blog posts can be sorted in several ways: by answers to the “big questions”; by study area; or by individual. Visit the blog at studyaway.plu.edu.
Each group of bloggers is studying on a separate continent:
At the conclusion of J-Term, all the insight gained from these diverse trips will coalesce with an event called World Conversations: Voices from Around the Globe.
Sponsored by the Wang Center for International Programs, the two-day event slated for Feb. 22-23 will feature presentations from faculty and students about their recent study, as well as celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Wang Center, welcome a contingent from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, and welcome the broader Parkland/Tacoma community to join students, faculty and staff in meaningful conversations about global issues.
“It's exciting to be holding an event that gives us the opportunity to mine the depths of international experience we have right here on campus,” said Neal Sobania, director of the Wang Center. “Our faculty, staff and students are excellent sources on so very many global issues because to a large extent, they've really been out in the world and know what they are talking about.”
Examples of topics already in the World Conversations lineup include a discussion of the impact of oil development on indigenous people in Ecuador and the role of journalists at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
The event will include food from around the world, dancers and music from Trinidad and beyond, and a series of interesting discussions on global topics. Also in line to kick things off on Feb. 22 is a speech by Ann Jones, whose work with nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan was the basis of her book, “Kabul in Winter.”
Additionally, former Vice President Walter Mondale will deliver a speech on global issues on Friday, Feb. 23 in Chris Knutzen Hall. The entire campus is welcome and encouraged to attend for this special guest.
To learn more about the study away opportunities at PLU and get more detail on the World Conversations schedule, visit the Wang Center’s Web site at www.plu.edu/wangcenter, or contact the center at ext. 7577 or wangctr@plu.edu.
This year’s bloggers have been asked to focus their posts on four specific questions about stereotypes, the daily life of people in their host country, whether people in the host country hold values similar to or different from those held by students, and how the experience has affected their worldview. This year’s study-away blog also allows visitors to post comments on entries made by students and faculty.
With all the trips underway, the blog site changes daily as students and faculty post their thoughts and upload photographs to the gallery. Blog posts can be sorted in several ways: by answers to the “big questions”; by study area; or by individual. Visit the blog at studyaway.plu.edu.
Each group of bloggers is studying on a separate continent:
- English professor Barbara Temple-Thurston is leading a group of students from Cape Town to Johannesburg , South Africa . There, the group will learn how four crucial social institutions – the courts, theater, churches and schools – work to promote peace, health and justice in post-apartheid society.
- In China , students will learn about Chinese and Tibetan art with music professor Gregory Youtz. Students will discuss the value of cultural traditions, the responsibility of individuals and government to keep these traditions alive and the effects of foreign influence on them.
- Philosophy professor Gregory Johnson and his students will travel through Western Europe to England, Germany and Greece. By experiencing the culture, history and society of the locations, students will better understand how some of the most influential philosophers developed their theories about morality.
- New Zealand culture and society are represented in the country's literature, and students traveling to this host country will uncover those connections. With education professors Cathy Yetter and Jan Lewis, the bloggers will also investigate issues of social justice and peace.
- Back on the North American continent, students will spend the month photographing the dynamic cultural environment of New York City with art professor Bea Geller. The group will experience the city's complexity through art, architecture and ethnic neighborhoods, as well as visits to major museums and theater performances.
- Finally, Wang Center student-faculty research grantees Rachel Esbjornsen, Kate Fontana and English professor Chuck Bergman are investigating the current state of oil development in the Amazon Basin of eastern Ecuador . They are focusing on the current environmental conditions of the Amazon River and the effects of contamination on life along the river.
At the conclusion of J-Term, all the insight gained from these diverse trips will coalesce with an event called World Conversations: Voices from Around the Globe.
Sponsored by the Wang Center for International Programs, the two-day event slated for Feb. 22-23 will feature presentations from faculty and students about their recent study, as well as celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Wang Center, welcome a contingent from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, and welcome the broader Parkland/Tacoma community to join students, faculty and staff in meaningful conversations about global issues.
“It's exciting to be holding an event that gives us the opportunity to mine the depths of international experience we have right here on campus,” said Neal Sobania, director of the Wang Center. “Our faculty, staff and students are excellent sources on so very many global issues because to a large extent, they've really been out in the world and know what they are talking about.”
Examples of topics already in the World Conversations lineup include a discussion of the impact of oil development on indigenous people in Ecuador and the role of journalists at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
The event will include food from around the world, dancers and music from Trinidad and beyond, and a series of interesting discussions on global topics. Also in line to kick things off on Feb. 22 is a speech by Ann Jones, whose work with nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan was the basis of her book, “Kabul in Winter.”
Additionally, former Vice President Walter Mondale will deliver a speech on global issues on Friday, Feb. 23 in Chris Knutzen Hall. The entire campus is welcome and encouraged to attend for this special guest.
To learn more about the study away opportunities at PLU and get more detail on the World Conversations schedule, visit the Wang Center’s Web site at www.plu.edu/wangcenter, or contact the center at ext. 7577 or wangctr@plu.edu.