Global Semester: Student Perspectives

Introduction: This was prepared by Stuart Edeal, as part of his Paracollege Senior Work.

Presentations

International Studies

International and Off-Campus Studies at St. Olaf began with departmentally sponsored language programs in Europe. It has expanded to over 500 students leaving campus yearly on semester, year, and January interim programs to study on our "Global Campus." More than 40 programs offer study opportunities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Russia. All of these programs add a cross-cultural dimension to St. Olaf's liberal arts education.

The first Director of International Studies was Reidar Dittmann. In 1964, he guided the first venture into the non-Western world with the Term in the Far East. The Global Semester program began in 1968 with Oliver Olson as Field Supervisor. It is still today, an important part of St. Olaf and it's liberal arts education.

Global Semester

The Global Semester is a five-month academic program offering five courses in different parts of the world under the supervision of St. Olaf faculty. In cooperation with academic institutions in four countries, courses are designed to enable students to develop windows on the world from distinct academic perspectives through class lectures, field trips, home visits, and other activities. The program aims to facilitate immersion in the daily life of each community and develop comparisons with American society. Students are encouraged to incorporate a global view in their liberal arts study of what it means to be a citizen of the world.

The itinerary takes the group around the world with visits to nations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Academic attention is focused on four countries where the group spends one month in residence. The countries selected figure prominently in the political and cultural life of the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. Direct academic involvement through lectures, discussion, field trips, reading and exams deepens each student's understanding of the prevailing issues and provides a total experience readily evaluated in terms of normal standards of academic measurement.