What are the roles and responsibilities for those who hope to embody the ideal of global citizenship? Professors Jo Beth Mullens (Geography) and Pru Cuper (Education) co-taught a 17-day field course to the Sacred Valley in the high Andes of Peru, where 10 students in KSC’s Honors Program engaged in group service learning and individual research related to their personal interests and major fields of study.

From the course syllabus:

“Designed to immerse you in Peru’s culture and environment, this course offers an opportunity to engage in international research and hands-on service learning projects which focus on health and environmental problems facing rural Peruvians, particularly those living in the Andes Mountains.  Readings, discussions and reflective writing assignments will occur both on campus and in Peru and will focus on investigating the roles and responsibilities of those who hope to embody the ideal of global citizenship. Within this critical investigation, we will explore the distinction between the perceived and the actual needs of others—what the visitor/”helper” determines necessary vs. what the host/”recipient” may want.  Through this critical lens, we will examine America’s role as a world leader, including a comparison of values in the U.S. and Peru, and the pros and cons of bringing change to a culture much older and very different one’s own.“

Portable technology:
Through the use of video, MP3 interviews, photos, and Twitter, students were able to digitally capture their immersion into the Peruvian culture. Periodic “tweets” (140 character updates also know as ‘microblogging’) kept parents and other interested parties up to date on the various daily activities and provided an archive that students can later refer to such as this gem:

“Today, there is a strike in town. The roads are blocked with large stones, children are out of school and a peaceful protest is underway.”

The archive of tweets and the end-of-course reflection questions helped students to analyze their assumptions about “place” and how those assumptions are shaped by culture.  In this 21 minute video students’ respond to questions that challenges them to assess their knowledge, values, and skills and how they may have changed because of their time in Peru.