Classes

Global Studies:

This class is required for all students. Many professors and life-long learners also attend. The purpose of global studies is to provide a base of knowledge about the different countries and cultures we are visiting. The theme of our voyage is sustainability. After learning about where the country is, and how it developed, we usually have a panel of inter-port experts and our professors who discuss the sustainable developments and issues we should be aware of.  Our textbook is a geography book. Recently we had our first exam during an especially rocky night. It focused a lot on what the panelists from our classes said and information from a world population data sheet. The reading for global studies, from the beginning of the trip to the first exam included 81 pages and extensive study of the population data sheet. In global studies we have split into groups of 6 to do our final project. The final project is to choose an aspect of sustainability and gain as much information as you can across six different countries, then put all the information in an easy to use bundle for a lessen plan.

 

International Management:

My international management class is pretty awesome. We have gone over basic corporate strategies and SWOT analysis. After Japan we are going to begin a business game called STRATEX. Mostly, I like this class because of my professor. Dr. Guenther is from Germany and has a lot of academic and practical experience with international management. He is an accountant, and builds his lectures in ways that I really enjoy. He shows and explains the parts of a concept, how they go together, and why. The 'why' part is particularly awesome because he takes case studies from actual companies to show the importance of each concept. I am greatly looking forward to doing some trips with Professor Guenther in Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Africa. My final project for this class is to take pictures in each country and apply theories of business that we are learning to one picture for each country,

 

Law and Liberty:

My law and liberty class is fun too (really they are all a blast!). Law and Liberty looks at the relationship between established law and the value of liberty. This is really neat as a comparison course; moving through different countries and noticing through their law and behaviors the different (and similar) values of ones liberty. The field component of this class is a journal focusing on one of four aspects of liberty: guns, sex, environment (the commons), and religion.

 

Global Perspectives of Work and Family:

This class ties all my other classes together with a humanities twist. There are so many ways to look at work-family conflict (or family-work conflict, or positive spillover of both). I can look at it as a liberty issue, a business issue, and by going around the world I am getting a global comparative view that is just amazing. Right now we have been looking toward Japan and realizing that some would say they are in the middle of a silent feminist movement; apparently many women in Japan have been joining the work force and liking their independence and single income. Because of this, many women in Japan are not marrying and having children. The social expectation of a married woman is to stop work, have children and raise the children. As many Japanese women do not want to accommodate this expectation, they simply do not get married, or have children. This is leading to a very small generation to support the elderly in following years. Many have termed this situation a crisis.

 

In Work and Family I have three, three-page reflection papers due on observations from one of the countries (one paper on one country; three countries total). I also have a six-page research paper on a comparison of three of the countries we are visiting about one aspect of work and family