Intercultural Communication [AWAY 312]
As a member of the Cormier Honors College (CHC), studying abroad through a foreign university or studying away through a Brock Experience is a graduation requirement. During the summer of 2021, I began my first study abroad adventure through an online summer seminar offered by HAN University of Applied Sciences in Nijmegen, Netherlands, focused on Intercultural Awareness.
Over the course of two weeks, I met at 7 a.m. with students from across the globe via Microsoft Teams, spending much of my time getting to know a group of students from Vietnam, Germany, and Australia. Together, we discussed our different cultures and subcultures, looking for key similarities and differences between our personalities as a result of our cultural upbringings. Of course, there were many subtle differences between our Vietnamese, German, Australian, and American ways of life. The ideal of individualism, critical to my American identity, was stressed much less prominently than collectivism in Vietnam culture; likewise, ideas of masculinity and femininity fluctuated between our different nations, and I was able to provide insight into American expectations through personal experiences grappling with my sexuality as a gay man in Southside Virginia. However, our conversations raised a comparable number of striking similarities as well, notably our shared ideals and values of freedom, political and bodily autonomy, and safety and security.
At the end of the course, my group presented the slideshow linked below to illustrate our findings. I focused on where and why nonverbal intercultural communication matters, offering examples of gestures whose meanings vary substantially among members of my own group and other global citizens.
Intercultural Awareness Group Presentation (Google Slides)
HON: Exploring Stewardship Issues in Yellowstone [CTZN 307]
I am currently enrolled in a Brock Experience through Longwood University and have just returned from a trip out West to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and Montana, where I studied wolf stewardship and fire management through a series of stakeholder interviews. Stay tuned for lots of information to come about my exciting adventure once my coursework wraps up in June!
Want to Learn More?
The Center for Global Engagement assists Longwood Lancers in choosing from dozens of exchange, affiliate, and intersession study abroad programs. Nestled inside Lankford Student Union, the office is open throughout the academic year to all students Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with advising hours every afternoon.
For more information about the Center for Global Engagement at Longwood University, follow this link. For international student services, click here.