From print to practice: Using your major to better the world
This seminar is designed to help students understand how their major/interests can be utilized to improve social conditions around the world. Students will research and discuss their major/interests, careers associated with these disciplines, and how they can link the two in order to alleviate social injustices around the world. Emphasis will be placed on developing long and short-term goals for achieving these objectives. This seminar also will include instruction on how to utilize campus resources to best achieve these goals.
A World of Difference: Race, Gender and Social Change
In a world increasingly interconnected in a global way, the United States is also becoming more diverse in its population. Differences in experiences by race, gender, ethnicity, and other social experiences shape our social interactions and our social institutions. Under these changing circumstances, how can people learn and work together to make diversity - at home and abroad - a positive part of our society and environment? What difference will diversity make in your life as you encounter new environments where many people might be different from you?
Moving Toward a Healthy Future: Issues in Women’s and Children’s Health
Healthy children are the key to our future. And healthy children depend on mothers who are healthy physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. Using Three Cups of Tea as a starting point, this seminar will address factors affecting health and well-being of women and children in the United States and around the world. Health and societal issues such as nutrition, family planning, disease control, and educational opportunities as well as ideas for affecting change will be explored.
The Global Circus Known as the Modern Olympic Games
Very few global events attract as much attention as the circus known as the Olympic Games. Hundreds of thousand spectators, athletes, coaches, IOC/NOC/International Amateur Sport Federation officials, media personnel, political leaders, and others vie every four years for seats in the stadiums, arenas, swimming pools, gymnasiums, velodromes, and other sites of competition. Another several billion people follow the games on their television screens. From Athens (1896) to Athens (2004) and beyond, the summer games are far more then simple contests played between athletes representing over 203 countries. Politics has always been an integral part of the Olympics that involves far more than the occasional boycott, protest, or acts of terrorism. This seminar will explore the actual meaning and global implications of the modern Olympic Games.
The Magic of Observation
How do explorers learn from details observed in the everyday world around them? Discovery. The theme of environmental awareness will be interwoven with the development of keen observational skills to help you make the most of your college years at the University of Delaware and initiate your quest for environmentally conscious citizenship. Three Cups of Tea, Outside Lies Magic and your freshman year at UD share a theme of discovery. Texts will include excerpts from Three Cups of Tea providing insight into the power of the individual and Harvard professor, John Stilgoe‟s book, Outside Lies Magic explaining the benefits of a keen sense of observation.
Individuals’ Links to a Global World
Each of us confronts private troubles and personal choices. How are those individual experiences connected to larger institutions (such as the university), and to the larger world?
Education on the Front Lines
We're all veterans of schooling, if for no other reason than we've all spent thousands of hours as students. But education can take so many different forms, and looking at some of those can take us far beyond the familiar. Mortenson's efforts in Pakistan give us one compelling example of education under difficult circumstances "on the front lines." There are many other examples though, and many different kinds of "front lines." In this seminar, we'll focus on educational experiences that in various ways challenge us to go beyond the ordinary.
Surviving and Thriving at UD
Students will examine and explore such topics as leadership, personal development, and self-exploration. In addition students will be exposed to opportunities at UD and learn some basic college survival skills. This seminar will be participatory in nature and is intended for the first year student who would like to be a truly involved member of the UD community.
Religion, Public Policy, and Conflicting Values
Debate and discussion about issues in the news, with a view to how people with deeply-held and opposing convictions can or do co-exist. Issues such as the following: offensive depictions of religion in the media; censorship vs. free speech; a 'pro-choice' President as commencement speaker at Notre Dame; religious objections to gay marriage and gay clergy; mandated teaching of 'creationism' in public school science classes; religious symbols (crèches, ten commandments, etc.) displayed in public places; illegal social practices (such as polygamy) vs. religious freedom; elected officials and political candidates supporting positions opposed to those of the religious groups to which they belong.
Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk: Experiencing the Creative Campus
From football to Falstaff, this seminar will focus on experiencing events offered or hosted by a broad range of UD departments and/or organizations. Weekly discussions will explore the merits of these offerings as they relate to the themes of Three Cups of Tea and to the over-arching goals of intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, free exchange of ideas, social and intellectual diversity, and global citizenship. Field trips to Music, Art, and Theatre events are planned along with some special behind-the-scenes observations into the making of REP/PTTP Theatre events. Independent field trips by groups of students in this seminar are also strongly encouraged.
The Bridge to Korphe: An Exploration of Influence
When Greg Mortenson promised the inhabitants of Korphe that he would build them a school, he didn‟t realize that he would also need to build them a bridge to transport building supplies to the remote village. After deciding to build the bridge, he pondered the consequences of his actions. What impact would the new bridge have on the lives of the Korphe people? Based on the major themes presented in Three Cups of Tea, we will explore the power of „impact,‟ specifically how one personal action, decision, and/or indecision can affect family, community, environment, and culture.
Technology and Global Poverty
Does modern technology really lead us toward greater social progress, or does it tend to move us backward as a result of negative impact on the global environment and increasing disparities between rich and poor? Is there a correlation between wealth and technological advancement? How can we use modern technology in the pursuit of improved health and prosperity for impoverished elements of society? These questions and other related issues will be the subject of discussion in this FYE seminar.
“Never again!” Were we just kidding?
This seminar will examine, through critical discussion and reflection, the responsibility of the international community to stop the abominable crime of genocide. More than sixty years ago, in the wake of the Holocaust, the nations of the world adopted a treaty designating genocide the worst crime punishable under international law and they solemnly pledged to use the world‟s combined power to prevent genocide from ever happening again, or punish it if prevention failed. Since then, the world has witnessed genocide perpetrated with apparent impunity in Bosnia and Rwanda in the mid-1990s, and currently in Darfur, Sudan. So what happened to the law prohibiting genocide? Were our political leaders insincere when they adopted the Genocide Convention in 1948? Are we, today, just posturing when we say “Never again!”? How can we explain this ignominious lack of “political will” to stop contemporary genocide?
One Quest at a Time
Three Cups of Tea is a narrative journey of cultural history and social change. Mortenson‟s mission to promote peace one school at a time is told within a book.As diverse readers we engage his story and the book with varying perspectives and responses. We‟ll explore our connections to Mortenson‟s sojourns in the context of global journeys. We‟ll also consider our own associated moments of travel and relay our stories in reflective journals which we create and hand craft in assorted book formats.
Skin in the game: the need for an educated world populace to support a globalized economy
On July 12, 1880, James Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, said “Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained”. This seminar will highlight the effects of education on sustainable justice and freedom in both the so-called developed world as well as in developing countries. In this global economy it is in the United States‟ best interest to educate members of our own population as well as those of poorer nations. How do we implement that idea on a personal basis? How can each of us “make a difference”? What are our social justice life goals? We‟ll start our seminar with an interesting writing proposition: What do I want my obituary to say?
G2 - Be Green AND Global
This seminar looks at the tourism, travel and hospitality industry relative to global/international expansion and the impact on the environment. The professor will weave in his international student study abroad program experiences including Study @ Sea and the Olympics with how the travel related industries align with sustainability goals. Various environmental metric models and audits will be shared. Students will scan the environment and bring in materials relevant to the seminar themes to share with the class each week.
Globalization and Sport: Has Sport Shrunk the World?
Sport and recreation are two of the most widely recognized activities in the world. This seminar will address sport and its ability to bring together people from different nations and cultures. Additionally, the effect of aspects of globalization such as increased technology will be studied to analyze their influence on how people around the world engage in sport and recreational activities.
Families and Differences in 21st Century America
Families and American Society in general are becoming increasingly diverse, racially, culturally, and how they are formed. People with disabilities, long hidden, are now a large part of families and communities. We will discuss the diverse and changing family and their implications for the future. We will explore differing family forms, the impact of diversity, disability, globalization, immigration, and communications technology on families. We will discuss changes in American families and compare to family changes across the globe.
Global Citizenship in Class, On-line, and "Out There"
What does it mean to be a cosmo-politan, a citizen of the world? How can we use the opportunities available to us at UD to better understand our world and connect to those who are different than us to become a better student, a better American, and a better human being?
Making a Difference Through Serving and Learning in Barbados and South Africa
The focus of this seminar will be to enhance students‟ understanding of “service-learning” by sharing the experiences of students who have travelled to Barbados and South Africa. More than just “volunteerism,” service-learning emphasizes the value of doing for others (service) within a frame of cultural competence (learning). Another key component of “service-learning” is reciprocity, where both the provider and recipient of the service benefit from the experience. Through class discussions, readings and written reflections, students will gain a better sense of the value of helping—for the recipient as well as the provider.
What Revolution Looks Like: Cuban Art as a Tool for Change Fifty years after the Cuban revolution, visual art and graphics are still used extensively as a forum for political ideas. We will look at contemporary Cuban visual culture to explore how art becomes activism-used to both support and protest existing social systems. Instead of being seen as elitist or frivolous, the arts are an essential part of Cuban culture and are used effectively as tools of social transformation.
Coffee, Tea, or Lassi: Choices in Roles, Abilities, and Opportunities Around the World While we are all human, we are all born with and develop different abilities. Where we are born and where we live have a great impact on how we can use these abilities, the opportunities available to us and the roles that are open to us. Explore what it means to be male or female, rich or poor, a person with a disability, or a person of native origin or immigrate status throughout the world. We will look at these issues in six locations: Ghana, West Africa; Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Kathmandu, Nepal; Bangkok, Thailand; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Wilmington, Delaware.
Blue Hens are "Eggstra" Special, and "Eggsrta" Successful!
This seminar will focus on the fundamental skills and resources you have or will gain to become the scholar, community member, and Blue Hen alumni that you dream to be. Make the most out of the change you can make in the Hen House. Through "eggsposure", "eggsperience", and with reflection and discussion, participants will learn how to make their first year transition as smooth as possible and what to do when you think your eggs might crack!
Self and Others
What does it mean to be a good citizen? Does being a good family member conflict with being a good member of one‟s local community, with being a good citizen of one‟s country, with being a good global citizen? Is it possible to live simply as a good person, without fulfilling obligations to other people or to a community at-large? These are the sorts of questions to be explored in this seminar through reading the book Three Cups of Tea and other short readings; viewing one film together; writing and revising one paper; and weekly class discussions.
Developing Healthy Relationships and Happiness
The focus of this first year experience will be to examine how students can develop healthy relationships and increase their happiness while at the University of Delaware. Three Cups of Tea teaches us the importance of developing these relationships and how these relationships and actions can impact on the happiness of others and ultimately our own.
The Global, The Local, and The Glocal: New Paradigms for World Citizenship
This seminar addresses the complex articulations between global and local movements around the world, and their implications for the construction of the concept of „world citizen.‟ Discussions, activities, and projects will center on investigating specific global movements (such as the World Social Forum, Via Campesina, among others), local movements (such as Quito‟s urban group Zapatistas), as well as the glocal movement. In addition, we will explore world collectives and Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZ) in order to tease out the multiple ways in which the world is connected in the twenty-first century.
Good Leaders Can Be Made, And You Can be One Too!
Who are your role models? Who are the leaders you admire? Can you ever be like them? This seminar explores the key characteristics and skills that effective leaders possess and starts you on your way to developing these habits of leadership. UD alumni will also stop by to discuss their leadership journeys from their first semester in college to where they are today.
Discovering Your Own Inspiration
Three Cups of Tea shares the story of how Greg Mortenson found his inspiration and navigated the challenges of developing schools in Afghanistan. This seminar‟s discussions and activities are designed to help you discover your own inspiration as we draw parallels between Mortenson's experiences in a new culture and your experiences getting to know the University of Delaware.
Visual Impact and Action
We will explore how visual information is designed and interpreted globally. We will learn about the power of images and how every day situations are impacted. Most importantly, we will plan actions that can bring about positive change.
Exploring Differences and Building Community: Understanding Race and Class
As a sociologist, I think about the meaning and significance of group membership for different people. This seminar will use the book, Three Cups of Tea, and campus experiences to think about the meaning of race and class both within our nation and in global perspective. We will have many discussions about how our own lives have been shaped by racial group membership and social class position, sharing insights about our new learning on the campus.
Comforting the Afflicted and Afflicting the Comfortable: Learning to See Global Conflict With the Eyes of a Journalist
In this seminar we will learn to see (and write about) global conflict the way journalists do: with deep awareness of broad historical, political and cultural contexts, and with compassion for specific suffering people. Students will research regional conflicts of their choice, and write weekly journals about the journalism and humanitarian relief efforts they discover there. Goals will be a stronger understanding of the roots of these issues, and sharper writing skills needed to explicate them.
Education: Odysseys and Opportunities
None of you has walked for two days, had your father hang a pouch containing two gold coins around your neck and send you down a raging river on a raft made of goat bladders to get an education like Mohammed Aslam Khan. Nonetheless you are embarking on your own education odyssey. In this seminar we will explore the lives of a select number of individuals who have had extraordinary educational odysseys or who have been pioneers of educational opportunity. We will also discuss issues related to the contemporary state of educational opportunity in the United States and around the world. Finally, we will reflect on our own educational odysseys.
Diversity is the New Black: Challenging Issues in the Science and Application of Diversity
Racism has been historically linked to White oppression of Blacks. Diversity is now a “compelling interest” of universities as enunciated by Justice Sandra Day O‟Connor in affirmative action case Grutter v. Bollinger (2006). Racism was manifest in nearly every aspect of American life and was attacked broadside in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), and the Civil and Voting Rights Acts of 1964, 1965. How is “diversity” different from anti-racism? What does it really mean and what data can we bring to bear in unraveling its complexities? Whereas racism was about “right vs. wrong”, diversity may reflect a more nuanced argument about competing “rights.” Who is included and who excluded in the diversity agenda? This seminar will examine the challenging issues of diversity theory, application and policy. Students will also attend lectures, exhibitions, and keep a diary of experiences with and thoughts about diversity in their everyday life.
What We Owe to Each Other
We will explore what morality requires regarding the welfare of those close to us (whether closeness in kind, geography, or time) and those far from us (whether distant in kind, geography, or time). Does morality require that we engage in chartable actions? Is it immoral to live a comfortable life while others do not? We‟ll employ the memoir Three Cups of Tea and an essay by Peter Singer as our readings.
Communicating Globally - How do you get your message across?
You've probably all played the 'telephone' game where someone thinks of something and whispers it to their neighbor - the message is passed around the room that way until it reaches the last person who divulges a very garbled version of the original message. Imagine now that you add to the process different cultures and even different languages! In this seminar we will discuss the difficulties of communicating and the extra concerns with communicating globally; we will relate this to Greg Mortenson and see how he was able to communicate his vision to a broad spectrum of people across a wide range of cultures: from donators in the US to political leaders to the families in Pakistan. We will also focus on specific examples of issues that might arise in the various disciplines - as the people in those disciplines interact within society.
Power to Make Change: Transformation, Community, and Service
Whether we want to change ourselves or change the world, college presents us with an abundance of opportunities. Using the book, Three Cups of Tea, and exploring the possibilities present in the college experience, this seminar will ask participants to spend an hour each week thinking about the world and our place it in. What does it mean to be a member of a community? How will we accomplish our goals, our dreams? How will college change us and how do we want to have an impact on the people around us?
Three Cups of Tea – Don’t judge a book by its cover
People everywhere have dreams and goals. How do we set goals? How do we overcome obstacles and set backs? Team building, tolerance and societal differences will be some of the discussion utilizing the award winning book Three Cups of Tea.
Learn, Teach, Achieve
Never wanted to be a teacher? Within our society we are all learners and teachers. We can define ourselves by our individual strengths to grow as learners to achieve. In that achievement, we have a responsibility to share our wealth of knowledge to help others achieve as well…therefore we all have a responsibility to teach. This seminar will explore common individuals who have developed their role as a learner and as a teacher to impact the community in which they serve. We will have the opportunity to explore our innate qualities that will make us productive learners and teachers in a global society.
Making Change: One Cup at a Time
In this seminar we will explore what it means to be a global citizen in the 21st century. How can we, as “ordinary” people, relate to Greg Mortenson and his extraordinary activities? How do we make change and engage with the world around us in a meaningful way?
Coloring Outside the Lines: Art and Identity in Global Perspective
At any given time, humans around the world engage in the creative process to express their opinions, beliefs, passions, anxieties, and individualities. The range and variety of this artistic output reflect humanity‟s inherent diversity while highlighting some common values and aspirations. This seminar will consider various modes of visual discourse including art, performance, fashion, and hairstyles and look at how our visual construction of self and identity on the East Coast of the US is influenced by international trends reflecting traditions and innovations originating around the world.
Perspectives from Psychological Science on "Three Cups of Tea"
Three Cups of Tea (3CT) is a narrative documentary of Greg Mortenson and his transformational pursuit of a life mission. What insights from psychological science are highlighted in 3CT about identifying and living a meaningful and purposeful life? Through thoughtful discussion, experiential exercises, and self-discovery students will explore what lessons can be learned from 3CT about not only surviving but thriving in college and in life. What are some of the intended and unintended consequences of Greg Mortenson's decisions in pursuing his life mission? How does cultural context influence interpersonal interactions both between members from different cultures as well as between members from the same culture?
Coloring Outside the Lines: Art and Identity in Global Perspective
At any given time, humans around the world engage in the creative process to express their opinions, beliefs, passions, anxieties, and individualities. The range and variety of this artistic output reflect humanity’s inherent diversity while highlighting some common values and aspirations. This seminar will consider various modes of visual discourse including art, performance, fashion, and hairstyles and look at how our visual construction of self and identity on the East Coast of the US is influenced by international trends reflecting traditions and innovations originating around the world.
Paths to Peace
In this seminar we will explore how we learn about paths to peace, either through war (specifically the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), through humanitarian aid, as exemplified by Greg Mortenson in Three Cups of Tea, or through diplomacy. We will then analyze how the previous twenty-one American Nobel Peace Prize winners negotiated these paths successfully. By the end of the seminar, we will determine the qualities of character that these exceptional, diverse individuals possess or possessed, and, in the process, better understand ourselves and the expectations that are placed on us by our culture.
The Green University: Promoting Environmental Awareness and Stewardship
An aspect of UD‟s Initiative for the Planet is to make environmental awareness and stewardship an integral part of the educational experience. This seminar explores the University‟s environmental setting and examines ways in which students might become involved in developing a sustainable University of Delaware.
Imagine a Better World
Imagine a world in which every newborn baby is provided all that parents, society, and government can give to assure that he or she reaches his or her natural potential. Picture all the creativity, ingenuity, inventions, and developments in science, art, music, or any dimension of human existence. Every society in every country would be that much richer in these many ways. This is one “utopia” that is actually possible, but humanity is very far from that constructed reality. Why? What stands in the way? These questions provide the theme or principal topic of this seminar. Making a better world, or even a better USA, requires a concerted effort by both civil society and government—as we will explore and discuss this semester.
Summer Vacation: Exploring International Politics, Pakistan, and Human Agency
Using the book Three Cups of Tea as a foundation, this seminar will explore and discuss the prospects and perils of westerners in non western communities, changing political landscapes, and the benefits and sometimes costs, for individuals and for society, in trying to make a difference.
Visions of Leadership
Twas the night before college
And all through your head
Wondering what will I be, with excitement and dread
How will I see others, how will they see me
A class of perspectives and "three cups of tea‟
Consider the world, future lessons embed
When visions of leadership dance through your head
The Global Tourist
Get your UD passport stamped as we explore the topics of culture, ethnocentricity, corporate social responsibility, ethics, global citizenship, and survival skills through the metaphor of a tourist. This seminar will guide you through important topics to discover and reflect upon; ensuring that you have a complete itinerary for your academic experience that will result in an enlightened, productive, and successful journey.
Global Connections: The Haves and Have Nots
In this seminar we will explore the world's connections through the Internet and information systems. Discussions will center on variations in Internet connectivity in the local area, the country, and the world, and how that impacts the ability to be educated. In addition, there will be discussion on the way the Internet and telecommunication can facilitate working from anywhere in the world and how that impacts employment closer to home.
UDecide: Expose, Explore and Engage UD’s Cultural Student Connections
This seminar will expose students to some of the many different cultural student groups at UD. What groups do we have on campus? What are their missions? Who do they serve? What are their campus affiliations? What are the benefits and challenges of being involved with these organizations? Through oral research, and attending cultural, service, and social events, students in this seminar will explore these organizations and the lived experiences of the student leaders. Students will use the information they gather to engage the campus community by helping to organize an event reflective of Greg Mortenson‟s ideals.
Travel Globally, Act Singularly
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one‟s lifetime.” This quotation from Mark Twain will inform our discussions of how to make the most of your University experience. We will use Three Cups of Tea to examine the power of the individual in the supposedly interconnected but often isolated and alienating global society, and share travel and other experiences to try and better understand some of the differences that the world in general and the new world of college life in particular.
Mozart in Baghdad
Music has consistently played a role in the meeting of western and Islamic cultures. From Crusader songs of the Middle Ages to Al-Qaeda rap, from music as part of peaceful cultural exchange to music as a method of torture, this seminar will explore how music has helped shape our interactions with the Islamic world.
Cultural Adaptations
This seminar explores how Greg Mortenson in his book Three Cups of Tea and incoming UD freshman are like anthropologists doing fieldwork in another culture. All have to find their way around new environments; adapt to new sets of cultural norms about how to behave and think; form new relationships; develop effective survival skills; overcome obstacles; deal with outside pressures ranging from familial to global; and stay at least moderately healthy, sane, and happy in the process. Together, students will participate in discussions and experiential learning exercises that address each of these tasks.
Beating the Elements to Build a Village: Natural Resources in Icy Landscapes
Given the availability of natural resources in the United States, it is often hard for us to imagine the difficulties endured in maintaining a community in isolated areas. Reading about Mortenson's quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan provides an excellent opportunity for us to better understand what natural resources are available in remote, icy landscapes and how they can be used to sustainably and efficiently meet the needs of existing and future communities.
Worlds of Transition: Changing Realities in the Age of Information
Focus on how we, as individuals, develop in relation to changing knowledge, feelings and experiences. This seminar will facilitate understanding the role of our own transitions in influencing interpersonal relationships and changes on a global level.
Global Health Initiatives
In much of the world, the very basic necessities of food, clean water, adequate shelter and education are lacking. Besides the direct effects of starvation and malnutrition, these inadequacies give rise to epidemic levels of disease in the most susceptible of populations. In addition to our curriculum of University Resources and Personal Development, we will discuss the effects of specific needs that contribute to disease transmission and impact. Students will learn about conditions affecting developing nations and what initiatives are in place to combat these problems. Students will learn about water-, insect- and mammal-borne diseases in South America, Indonesia, India, Africa and Asia with an emphasis on behavioral, medical and environmental interventions. Students will develop a service project with both local and international partners.
Path to Worldwide Computing: Where are we now and how can we proceed?
We will explore the challenges to providing worldwide computing, with a focus on the benefits and challenges of equal access across borders, cultures, languages, economies, and human physical abilities. We will also examine strategies and programs towards meeting these challenges.
Justice and Citizenship in a Global Age
In this seminar we will first consider how globalization affects your roles in society as citizens, workers, and consumers. Then we will examine efforts to define and implement the "human rights" of global citizens, as well as the challenges posed by phenomena such as national sovereignty, religious differences, and alternative systems of law.
Promoting Global Citizenship, Cooperation, and Understanding Through Sport
Students will gain a global perspective through the lens of sport and specifically the Olympic movement. Students will also gain an appreciation of the potential of sport to promote cultural understanding and diplomacy; address social issues such as education, community development, AIDS Awareness, and drug deterrence around the globe. Finally, students will learn about a specific country, sport in that country through a relationship with a International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP) participant while on UD campus, and will gain an appreciation for the degree that sport reflects the values, customs, and culture of that country and how it differs and is similar to the United States society and sport culture.
Being Human: Species, Cultures and Individuals
In Three Cups of Tea, we see the striking range of how humans see each other from the totally alien to the completely familiar. This seminar explores the implications of species-wide commonalities shared by all members of the species Homo sapiens, the distinctive cultural patterns, specific to particular groups and the unique individuality of each of us. We consider the implications of these simultaneous ways of being human in dealings with others from around the world as well as across the residence hall hallway.
Barriers and Bridges: The Plight of Children Without Schools
Greg Mortenson‟s eloquent text, Three Cups of Tea, tells the amazing story of his effort to bring schools to the mountainous regions of Pakistan. It is a tale of his efforts to overcome not only poverty, but the cultural restrictions against educating girls in a strict, religiously conservative society. But what about the many other groups of children in the world who have limited access to schooling? This seminar will discuss other groups of children, such as the “tinker” or “Traveller” children of Ireland and the children of the South African “townships” who also have very few opportunities to attend school.
Combatting Social Problems at Home and Abroad
Many of the social problems confronting us in the United States are also shared by people of other cultures who sometimes respond to them differently. This seminar will examine four: achieving justice, combatting terrorism, providing health care, and controlling environmental degradation. Through readings, discussion, debate, and occasional guest speakers, students will examine the nature of these problems and how each of us can contribute to their solution. Several sessions will also be devoted to examining first year college experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Fine Art or Document? Photography's Role in the Formation of the Global Citizen
In this seminar we will consider the history of high art photography from its origins in the 19th century until today and its engagement with social, political, and cultural issues. A major theme will be the intersection of art and information, and the access that photography provides to global issues that would otherwise be invisible.
Your Role in the Financial World
We will explore a variety of topics. What do you need to know to manage personal finances and college life? How did the finance industry get itself in a position to have to be bailed out by the U.S. Government and what does that mean for the future? How are we interconnected internationally? Finally, what role should the U.S. play in the economy of a post-war Afghanistan? What are our internal and external responsibilities to those with fewer options and opportunities?
Sustainability and the Hospitality Industry: Why It Is a Necessary Marriage
These days, a lot is being said about the importance of sustainability in the hospitality industry and everyday life in general. Some sustainability efforts can be reduced to novelties but, most importantly, many are being put into viable and responsible uses that benefit both hospitality operations and the environment. This seminar will emphasize responsible sustainability efforts and how these large scale efforts can be used in one‟s personal day to day life. The same responsibility with sustainable efforts can be parlayed into personal responsibility daily basis.
Global Sustainable Energy Options
In times when the continuous availability of fossil fuels is questionable and the problems caused by the use of these fossil fuels are irrefutable, what options do we have? We will discuss the possible alternative energy schemes, sustainability issues with these schemes, comparative advantages and disadvantages, etc., all within the context of a global society.
The World of Artists: Global Visionaries or Self-Serving Misfits?
Artistic endeavors uniquely explore and express individual passion and personal meaning. However, does artistic pursuit nurture global citizenship, ethical thinking, understanding and tolerance? This seminar will examine how musicians, choreographers, visual artists, and others who work in relative isolation may or may not contribute to a more harmonious world.
What Do We Mean By “Foreign” and Why Should It Matter?
What do we mean when we say something—or someone—is “foreign”? What emotions accompany the experience? Why do we sometimes respond with fear, at other times with excitement, oftentimes with both? What mixture of feelings do you have about entering the temporary foreignness of a college campus? Of encountering, perhaps, a roommate you don‟t know? Using Three Cups of Tea as our foundation, we‟ll investigate what such responses to the “foreign”-- whether we find it in encounters with another person or within ourselves, whether in a new job or a different country, whether in a new idea or work of literature-- suggest about ourselves and the “worlds” we live in. There will also be brief supplemental readings, but a main resource for our investigation will be our own experiences with foreignness, both geographical and psychological, both in and out of the classroom.
Knowing Makes Us Responsible (El Conocimiento Nos Hace Responsables)
Although this quote has been attributed to Che Guevara, it has been uttered by thousands of scholars worldwide who understand that change begins within. Let's use our seminar class time to discuss how people like Greg Mortensen effected change. How can we, as students and educators, play our part? Spending one year in Panama as a Fulbright scholar ('08-'09) has given me some answers that I would like to explore with you. I hope you accept the challenge.
Thriving During a Crisis: Human Response to Disaster Events
This seminar will highlight the resiliency of the human response during a disaster event. Through critical analyses of human activity during a disaster, we will examine the role of agency and collective efforts to survive and continue living even through great adversity. Hardships occur in life, and by using disaster response as a springboard, we will examine issues that surround meeting challenges and overcoming obstacles.
Confronting Social Reality
This seminar examines the social contract. The social contract is the basis of our society and social order. We will seek answers to the following questions: 1) How and why is social order maintained? 2) Given that we value individuality, why are we so much the same?
Life Comes at You Fast, So Be Ready to Duck!
There is no doubt college is a transformative and unique experience. College students are subjected to extensive and rigorous standards, and only about 1 in 4 Americans go on to earn a 4-year college degree. But, college students have the advantage of being afforded time to be highly introspective and thoughtful about the social world and all of its challenges. Many students seek some higher understanding of the world, but it can be argued that the ultimate challenge for a student is to understand one‟s self, one‟s own strengths and limitations. Perspective is the key. College students must constantly ask how is a current experience (such as a class, an assignment, or other situation) preparing “me” for the future; how am I changed by this event. In this seminar we will build on this central idea of “change.” In the book Three Cups of Tea we will explore how one man‟s life was changed by an experience, and how he in turn changed the lives of so many others. We will also explore our own life experiences and reflect on how they have changed who we are, and how we think about the world around us. The ultimate goal of this seminar is to develop some perspective about life, identify skills, and strategies for dealing with change.
First Step for UD Students on the Path to Becoming Contributing Global Citizens
An old environmental adage declares “think globally, act locally”. In this seminar we will “think globally” by listening to presentations you make on environmental topics and then discussing everybody’s opinion on each topic. We will “act locally” by going outdoors to explore the state of our environment for ourselves (you‟ll need some outdoor clothes). Our outdoor activities will include: 1) identification of indigenous flora and fauna, 2) exploring seasonal changes in the environment, 3) looking for signs of man‟s effect on the environment; and 4) last but not least, an environmental service project. In addition to these environmental activities we will explore your UD community including: 1) what career is best for me; 2) how does drop/add work and who can answer my questions; 3) what happens if I get sick; 4) how do I find out about clubs and activities at UD, etc.
The Way Up K2: Lessons in Management, Strategic Planning, Team-building, Cultural Competency, and the Pursuit of Dual Dreams
In 1993 the book‟s author drifted into a village in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan after a failed attempt at K2 and is doing so managed to reach new heights in humanitarianism. In this seminar we will explore various topics in organization, project management, team building, communications, goal setting, strategic planning and working in the global arena. Students will engage in discussion of these topics as well as participate in various hands-on activities designed to demonstrate the concepts.
