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Study in China this Summer. Get VU credit.
1. Professor Jan Westrick (Department
of Education)
Bio: Professor Jan Westrick spent half her life living and working
in Hong Kong in international education prior to joining VU as
chair of the Department of Education in 2004. She has traveled
in China countless times and has been reading about and exploring
this fascinating country and its culture for over 25 years. She
moved to Hong Kong in 1978 after the Cultural Revolution ended,
witnessed the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Future of
Hong Kong by Margaret Thatcher and Deng Hsio-ping, celebrated
the Handback of Hong Kong to China in 1997, and is looking forward
to seeing China's final preparations for the Olympics in Hangzhou
and Shanghai next summer. She speaks a little Cantonese and Mandarin,
knows the tastiest dishes to order in China, and is a fairly accomplished
bargainer of Chinese antiques and goods.
Professor Westrick's research focuses on intercultural sensitivity
within educational institutions and she is passionate about helping
people learn more about their own cultural backgrounds, the cultures
of others, and how to think and act effectively in our increasingly
diverse world.
She has written extensively and led numerous workshops on international
education, leading educational change, the school as a learning
organization, principals as leaders of learning, intercultural
sensitivity, and service-learning. She has worked on projects
with Miske Witt & Associates since 2004 on projects for UNICEF
and UNESCO. In 2007 she was lead trainer and workshop developer
of leadership training for selected secondary principals for Oman's
Ministry of Education.
Course Description: ED 490 - Current Problems in Education:
Dimensions of Culture: The Theoretical Frameworks and Practice
of Intercultural Effectiveness (3 cr.,)
Intercultural effectiveness in our increasingly diverse world
depends upon both experiences of difference and understandings
derived from those experiences. Building upon the group's experiences
in China, this course will present research and theoretical frameworks
to help students develop deeper understanding of cultural differences
and their own cultural identities. Students' intercultural awareness
and effectiveness will also be developed through the application
of results from the Learning Style Survey, the Language Strategy
Use Inventory, the Culture-Learning Strategies Inventory, and
the Intercultural Development Inventory. Strategies for effective
interaction in the Chinese culture will be emphasized. Course
projects will link students' experiences in China to the frameworks
presented. This course meets the Education Department's requirement
for diversity and is cross-listed as CC300, COMM490, SOC390, SOCW
391, and EAST30. Students interested in doing an internship including
regular visits to a local school can do so by intensifying the
courses by adding 1-2 credits.
2. Professor Paul Trapp (College of Business Administration)
Bio: Prof. Trapp's desire to work with the VU Summer Program
in Hangzhou can be traced back to his earliest days as a military
brat of a career Air Force officer. Having been born in London
and living a mobile lifestyle, he has continually interacted with
a wide variety of people, cultures, and places. Most recently,
he served as Resident Director of Valparaiso University's Study
Center in Reutlingen, Germany (2002-2004).
He is very excited about being able to return to Hangzhou, a
place he visited in the past to give seminars on globalization
and international business to Chinese students, governmental officials,
and businesspeople. An old Chinese saying goes, "In heaven
there is paradise, on earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou." (This
saying can be traced back to the visit of Marco Polo and it still
holds truth today.) A saying of Prof. Trapp is, "To enter
the heart and soul of a country, one must pass through the kitchen
door." The kitchen of Hangzhou is a wonderful place, especially
with its connections with the beauty and serenity of West Lake.
Prof. Trapp's current research is focused on brand eco-systems
and co-branding, with recent publications concerning cotton and
textiles from the Aegean region of Turkey. For many years, he
has been interested in the integration of the humanities with
professional studies. Currently, he is also involved with a multi-year
program to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in students in the
College of Engineering.
Personal passions of Prof. Trapp's include travel (of course!),
reading (Patricia Hampl and Arnaldur Indridason at this moment),
art (Matisse, Hopper, Turner in particular), sailing (much like
life and vice-versa), and espresso (Segafredo, Illy).
Course Description: MGT390: Globalization: Challenges and
Promises (3 cr.,)
A survey of globalization, focusing on its roots, challenges,
and promises. The main objective of the course will be to increase
our understanding of globalization through the synthesis of its
cultural, economic, political, and technological dimensions. While
Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat (2007, Picador) and Pico Iyer's
The Global Soul (2001, Vintage) will serve as our foundation,
much of our work will be on the street directly observing globalization
and its effects as played out on the Chinese stage. By the end
of your stay, you will have produced an electronic portfolio presenting
your understanding through various reflective writing assignments,
as well as a written journal. This course is cross-listed as EAST390,
POLS490, ECON290, and ICP690. It is open business majors with
junior standing or above and non-business majors as well.
NOTE: More than likely I will use Iyer, although I may use one
of the following instead.
Café Europa (1999, Penguin) - Slavenka Drakuli?
The Elephant and the Dragon (2007, Norton) - Robyn Meredith
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