Teaching

The Global Center in the Classroom

by Elisheva Cohen, Teresa Nichols, and Elizabeth Konwest

In 2020, the Global Center staff led several courses to engage students with pressing global issues, enable them to take action, and explore a variety of global careers.

In the spring of 2020, Dr. Elisheva Cohen taught “Refugees and Displaced People” in the International Studies Department. This course raised big questions about the policies, practices, and experiences related to forced migration around the world. Students learned about the historical background of forced migration and the theoretical underpinnings of the related academic field, examined the humanitarian responses to situations of forced displacement, and considered the multiple and varied experiences of refugees across a range of geographic and cultural contexts. Through the course, students critically analyzed the institutions, policies, and discourses related to refugees and forced migrants identified both positive and problematic aspects of the underlying intentions. Through the course, students conducted independent research on their choice of refugee contexts and developed creative final projects that included fictional short stories and journal entries, paintings, and listicles. You can see some of their projects here.

Dr. Elisheva Cohen

Shared Project

In the fall of 2020, Dr. Elisheva Cohen taught a course in the International Studies Department titled “The Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities and Challenges.” Through this course, 25 undergraduate students learned the history of the sustainable development movement and how the SDGs came to be. Students explored the structure, aims and challenges of developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the SDGs and, in partnership with the IU Global Gateways, heard personal experiences working with the SDGs from sustainability practitioners in Mexico and Germany. The course culminated in an SDG research and action project, where students researched a global development challenge in a particular geographic location, selected a method of civic engagement, and created a project that would address that issue. Projects included podcasts about SDG 6: Clean Water in Bloomington, an action plan to build sustainability in rural Indiana, an Instagram account dedicated to human trafficking, and others. Check out some of the projects here.

As part of her work with IU’s Global Service and Peace Corps Preparation Program, Dr. Teresa Nichols taught the Global Service Capstone Course and supported the new winter intersession course “Start Your Global Career” alongside instructor Ashlynne Bender. With the Global Service Capstone Course, students developed a leadership project to benefit an organization connected to their global service sector of interest, received feedback as part of their professional development, and defined successful outcomes for themselves and their project. The “Start Your Global Career” three-week intersession course blended creating personalized professional development plans and engaging with global career speakers to practice networking, interviewing, and identifying and articulating global skills in relation to various career paths.

Dr. Teresa Nichols

In collaboration with the Alliance for Freedom, Restoration and Justice, Dr. Eli Konwest supervised an HLS practicum on Combatting Human Trafficking. Our practicum student, an MA student in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, worked with Global Center and AFRJ staff to develop an online human trafficking awareness and prevention course for college students on the Engage Together Justice U platform. Eli also co-instructed a Fall Intersession course with HLS’s Ashlynne Bender on “Women, Gender, and International Affairs.”

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