Latest Global
Aug
05
OU Professor, Students Take “Experiential Learning” to England & France
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Dr. Jeffrey Collins,director of Oglethorpe’s Study Abroad programs, has been on the move this summer, leading a group of “extraordinary students” to Paris, London, and Oxford, England. He shares his experience with Oglethorpe Blog:
“I have not seen more willing, eager, and intrigued students. We have explored the Bodelain Library and were given a special exhibition of the Shakespeare Folio and other rare books, as well as being given a 16th century press demonstration. Then we punted down the Charwell River, toured all of the major colleges at Oxford, made a special stop at Corpus Christi, and spent hours at the new Ashmolean Musuem–a 100 million dollar renovation there– with some of the most important exhibits of all archaeological finds in the world.”
Dr. Collins' Class at Louvre: All of the students were absolutely a joy and a privilege to lead around…," Dr. Collins remarks. "Paris, London and Oxford, Stonehenge, Salibury Cathedral,Notre Dame, the museums, and--well, you name it, we did it. They moved with a precision of a well-trained army and absorbed and spoke and wrote about it all like poets."
Here the group poses at Stonehenge: "One of the students told me that this was the culmination of her OU career," recalls Dr. Collins. "Another said it was beyond all expectations and ten times worth the investment. That is heartening and can never be truly measured."
Dr. Collins and his students spent their morning hours taking classes on the world-renowned University of Oxford campus, and reserved the rest of the day for experiencing the unique culture of England. During the first week alone, Collins and his group took in Oxford’s campuses and its surrounding intrigues, including Stonehenge, Avebury Circle, and the Salisbury Cathedral. As part of their study aboad experience, the students researched their travels and presented reports to the group.
Dr. Collins couldn’t have been more thrilled, noting the emotional effect the trip was already having on his colleagues. “Today we gave reports at Stonehenge, Avebury Circle, and the Salisbury Cathedral,” writes Collins. “I heard Cleo [a student] say she will never forget her day out at Stonehenge, giving a report about it; Karly actually teared up seeing the Magna Carta in Salisbury; Josh told me this was just unbelievable as he has never been out of the country; it is so heart warming and enlightening to hear all of this. Not one complaint, and plenty of laughter and good fellowship. I want to clone this group.”
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Aug
03
From Tanzania to Indonesia: A World of Experiences
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Emily (far right, in green) with her team of Habitat volunteers for their training session in Chicago before heading to Indonesia.
After participating in Habitat International builds in Tanzania (2002), India (2005) and Romania (2009), Emily is now leading her first team of Habitat volunteers to Batam, Indonesia this summer. She attended a training in Chicago that outlined the responsibilities and procedures of being a team leader and recently arrived in Thailand to travel to the small community of Bua Yai where she lived and worked for the Peace Corps 2005-2007. Below is a sample of her experiences as related through her blog.
Emily Lawson in Romania on a Habitat for Humanity build in 2005.
Before departing from the U.S. I had an unfamiliar mix of excitement, anticipation and fear surrounding this trip. Would I be able to communicate? Would I feel totally out of place? How would my community (Bua Yai) react. I hardly slept the night before departure (which combined with 24 hrs of travel, time change and jet lag has left me feeling tired to my gut. Thank God for midwifery school’s lesson of function, participation and enjoyment on extremely minimal sleep!). So far, things are going great and my fears have been appeased. Here’s the story thus far… Read More→
Jul
30
Summer Break the OU Way: Educators’ Edition II
Posted by: | CommentsDr. Jay Lutz, Professor of French, visited the country of Senegal as part of the Intercultural Dimensions Program. He and two colleagues explored Senegal for three weeks, and stayed with the Diedhiou family in Sédhiou for a portion of their travels.
The group participated in all aspects of family life while staying in the compound, engaging in cultural activities that included a lesson in local agriculture. In preparation for one of their dinners, Dr. Lutz and the others pounded spices with a traditional upright African mortar and pestle. They also brought seeds with them, and together with the Diedhiou family, dug a vegetable garden in the compound.
The group also stayed overnight in the remote Pulaar village of Temento Samba near the border of Guinea Bissau. There, they shared a traditional West African meal, while being entertained by drummers and chanters…Check out the sights and sounds of Senegal (and Dr. Lutz dancing!) below:
Associate Professor of Japanese Robert Steen spent a week at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the University of Minnesota, where he enjoyed the cool weather and studied the latest theories of second language acquisition with instructors from all over the world.
Dr. Daniel Schadler, Professor of Biology, attended the 19th National Meeting of the National Association of Advisors for the Health Profession, held in Atlanta last month. He was involved in local arrangements for the meeting, organizing and staging a silent auction that raised over $4000 for the Good Samaritan Health Center, a local clinic that provides medical care for un- and under-insured patients.
Dr. Brent Runnels, Professor of Music, has been spending his time on stage this summer. He conducted Jazz Orchestra Atlanta with special trumpeter Marcus Printup from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. The concert was featured on the front page of the Marietta Daily Journal newspaper: Read More→
Jul
14
Summer Break the OU Way: Educators’ Edition
Posted by: | CommentsEarlier in the summer, Dr. Joe Knippenberg, professor of politics, spent some time in Kurdistan (in the Middle East) as part of a site visit team for the American Academy of Liberal Education (www.aale.org). He sits on the Academy’s Council of Scholars. Knippenberg and the rest of the team visited the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani (www.auis.org), a brand new liberal arts university whose language of instruction is English.
“There are a few things someone from North America has to get used to. First, there are Pesh Merga (Kurdish militiamen) everywhere, and they carry AK47s. Second, there are almost no traffic lights, but lots of police officers attempting to direct traffic. Third, the whole city (and indeed the whole region) seems to be under construction. There are several explanations for this, among them that… in accordance with Islamic principles, money cannot be lent at interest, which means that lots of construction starts…and then stops…and then starts again, as revenue comes in and is spent.”
—Dr. Knippenberg about his experience in Kurdistan this summer
Next month Dr. Vicky Weiss, professor of English, will be heading to Washington D.C. to participate in a seminar on Greek literature at the Center for Hellenic Studies. The seminar “addresses the challenge of keeping alive in undergraduate education classical texts such as the Iliad, Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns, the poetry of Hesiod, and the Histories of Herodotus that a generation ago were read and understood by everyone.” Dr. Weiss was one of only 24 professors selected out of pool of almost 100 nominations. Having taken her class for CORE III, I think it’s safe to say that no one knows Herodotus better than Vicky Weiss.
Anne Salter, director of the Philip Weltner Library, is going to the University of Edinburgh this month to present a paper along with her colleague from Mercer University. Their paper concerns the use of e-books among academics. She says she’s “excited and nervous,” but we doubt there’s even a need to be. Good luck, Anne!
Alan Loehle's class in NY
“Our students had the good fortune to see the Whitney Biennial as well as the Christian Boltansky installation at the Armory, which was a highlight of the trip. In the performing arts, we were fortunate to see the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the plays Red (about the work of Mark Rothko) on Broadway and Gabriel off Broadway.”
—Alan Loehle, about the art class he taught in New York
Attention Faculty! We’d love to know what you’ve been up to this summer—let us know on our ‘Contact’ page at the top of your screen.
Jul
14
OU student finds herself…running with the bulls
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Clair Carter '12 after running with the bulls in Spain.
THE OFFICEApplying for an international internship is a gamble. Aside from the uncertainty of receiving the position, there is no guarantee that one´s workplace will be enjoyable. It was apparent on Wednesday when all of the students in the program reconvened for dinner after the first day of work that we were not all winners.
Some students were greeted with intricate ceremonies involving smearing tomatoes and oil and, of course, kissing more strangers than one cares to remember. Other students failed to comprehend their Spanish instructions and attempted to look as important and busy as possible while actually surfing Facebook for hours. One girl discovered that she was the star in a real life version of ¨The Devil Wears Prada¨when upon entering the office, she was bombarded with a list of tasks and no directions (or kisses for that matter). How does one obtain 50 clear umbrellas anyway?
But I feel like the Goldilocks of the group. Although finding my office was difficult, acclimating to it has been anything but. I spent the first three days just learning my place here. I work for Manos Unidas, that´s Mans Unides in Catalan and United Hands in English. This non-profit NGO (non-governmental organization) is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Started by catholic women in the interest of women, Manos Unidas has expanded to help families and communities all over the world. They are devoted to ending hunger, improving health, sanitation, and education, promoting the rights of women–to sum it all up, world peace.
The discussions here flow smoothly from universal health care to burkas to diets to futbol to Avatar. For now, I am mostly a spectator. I understand what is being said over coffee, but my tongue and my brain have yet to synchronize. From time to time, I interject and everyone waits patiently as I search for words and proper conjugations, but mostly I just laugh at the way everyone teaches each other.
I feel as if by some bizarre turn of fate, I have ended up here just as I found myself at Oglethorpe. I did not realize how much I would connect with the purpose or the people of either of these two small places.
76 TROMBONESTo my dad and mom(s) and friends and boyfriend and grandmas everywhere, just go ahead and take a deep breath. This last weekend I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in what is quite possibly the most famous Spanish tradition.
I went to Pamplona to run with the bulls…
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Jul
01
OU student “aimed big” with CBS internship
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Matthew Claiborne, a junior at OU, has a right to be proud—really proud. This summer, Matthew is working in New York City as a production intern for CBS News Productions. It’s one of the more coveted national internships, and Matt was one of only 70 students out of a pool of hundreds to be chosen. He works on reality TV shows and documentaries, learning the “ins and outs” of television production. Matthew took time out of his busy schedule to tell us about his new-found responsibilities, grabbing a piece of the social scene, and living in New York on intern means.
On landing the internship:I knew I wanted to apply to a big internship this year because I thought I was ready to handle it…I got a call about a month later from the CBS News internship coordinator. Read More→
Jul
01
“Football” Fever!
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@Evan Britton ‘11:
“Absolutely. Argentina, Brazil and Chile were my teams but it’s down to just two of those now…Brazil and Argentina
”
@Kofi Nketiah ‘10:
“CHYEA!!!! MY BLACK STARS [GHANA] DID WORK!!! LET’S GO GHANA!!! SORRY USA”
@Dr. Herschler:
“Of course! My Dad grew up in Europe and he played soccer in the 1950’s…so I grew up around the sport. It’s kind of sad that Japan and the U.S. are out of the competition, but I’m still enjoying the game…”
@Julie Vaughan ‘09: “I think it’s going to be between Brazil and either Argentina or Germany.”
Are you watching the World Cup? Who are your favorite teams?
@Evan Britton ‘11:
“Absolutely. Argentina, Brazil and Chile were my teams but it’s down to just two of those now…Brazil and Argentina
”
@Kofi Nketiah ‘10:
“CHYEA!!!! MY BLACK STARS [GHANA] DID WORK!!! LET’S GO GHANA!!! SORRY USA”
@Dr. Herschler:
“Of course! My Dad grew up in Europe and he played soccer in the 1950’s…so I grew up around the sport. It’s kind of sad that Japan and the U.S. are out of the competition, but I’m still enjoying the game…”
@Julie Vaughan ‘09: “I think it’s going to be between Brazil and either Argentina or Germany.”
Jun
17
One Student’s (Front Row) Take on the World Cup
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I got here the first things I heard were vuvuzelas and yelling…there were people running in the street selling and waving flags and blowing their vuvuzelas and singing… I’m officially a bandwagon World Cup fan…lol.
Jun
04
OUr World: Alex van Zandt auf Deutsch
Posted by: | CommentsAlex is in Dortmund, Germany studying Psychology (or “psychologie,” as the Germans call it) at the University of Dortmund. Alex has been in Germany for two months as an exchange student. The program allows students to study abroad at partner schools without paying separate tuition to their host school. This means that people like Alex pay Oglethorpe tuition, using whatever financial aid and scholarships they already have—quite the bargain. The “exchange” happens when Oglethorpe takes in a student from Dortmund next semester.
Between his schoolwork, social life, and traveling throughout Europe, Alex set aside some time to answer a few of my questions… Read More→
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