Transcript Slide 1

The Global Seminar
http://www.globalseminar.org/
People, Power and Food
Titti Schmidt, PhD
Department of Cultural Anthropology
[email protected]
What is Global Seminar?
The Global Seminar is a consortium of
educational institutions concerned with
crucial issues for the future of our planet.
 We believe shared understandings that transcend national boundaries,
cultures and backgrounds offer the best hope for a sustainable
environment and a safe, secure food supply.
What is Global Seminar?
The Global Seminar is a learning
community of students and faculty from
around the world who study key global
issues, simultaneously and
interactively.
 Fully interactive technology, including live
videoconferences, supports intellectual
discussions among students and faculty members.
What is Global Seminar?
Global Seminar Partners and Participants
comprise an international problem-solving
team, addressing case studies of the
highest order of importance for the survival
of our planet.
 Our goal is to prepare future leaders and citizens of the
global community to articulate policy agendas that will lead
to a sustainable environment, a high level of public health,
and a stable and secure food supply. Our partners include
academic, business and government leaders.
The Global Seminar
 International
50 institutions in six continents, several clusters of
4-7 institutions.
 Interdisciplinary
School of Resource Management Institute of Land
and Food Resources, Department of Cultural
Anthropology, Escuela Agricola,
Department of Food Science, etc.
The International Approach
Our group (6 countries)
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Cornell University, USA
Uppsala University, Sweden
EARTH University, Costa Rica
Beijing National University (BNU), China
The University of Melbourne, Australia
Zamorano University, Honduras
The Interdisciplinary Approach
Dimensions of sustainability:
 ecological
 social/cultural
 political and legal
 technical
 economic
“Sustainable development meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”
(The Brundtland Report, the World Council on Environment and
Development, 1987)
Global Seminar Topics:
Case Studies
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Sustainability
Population
GMOs
Water quality
Ecotourism
Climate Change
Responsibility
The Case Study
Our understanding of the case study
should lead to a decision!
The Global Seminar Model
Course Structure
The case study sequence:
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Lecture/seminar
Seminar/discussion
Video-conference
The Blackboard
Reflective essay
Course Structure
The group work process:
1) Joint paper on policies, attitudes and
current situations in all sites on your topic.
2) Work with the students at the other sites on
the Blackboard.
3) Post your joint paper on the Blackboard.
4) Present the result to your local class.
Study Groups
 The International Study Group (ISG)
(choose a case study)
 Study Group in Class
(choose a case study other than the one you
work with in the ISG)
The International Study Group
(ISG)
 Choose a case study
 Joint paper (6-8 pages) on policies, attitudes and
current situations in all sites on your topic.
 Work with the students at the other sites on the
Blackboard.
 Post your joint paper on the Blackboard.
 Present the result to your local class.
The ISG Project:
Your Contribution
 What information do you want to contribute
with to your joint paper? - What kind of
problem is this?
 How will you get this information?
 Who will do what?
 Time plan for the project?
 When will you meet next?
The ISG Project:
Contributions of the other Sites
 What information would you like to get from
the other sites?
 How will you get it?
 Time plan for the joint writing?
 Who will do what when?
The Group Work in Class
 Choose a case study other than the one
you work with in the ISG
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Discuss
Compile
Prepare
Present in class and at the
videoconference
Reflective Essay
 Individual work
 1-2 pages, choose 6 of the 7 case studies
 Hand in according to the schedule
Grading:
 Use the literature/lecture/discussion board/VC
 Discuss this critically and reach an independent
conclusion moving beyond the literature
Grading
 The reflection essay (6 of the 7 case
studies) (60%)
 Videoconference presentation (10%)
 The discussion board (20%)
 A local presentation – related to the ISG
(10%)
 Increase the understanding of complex problems
of sustainability.
 Increase practical skills in working in international
problem-solving teams.
The Blackboard Course Site
http://blackboard.cornell.edu
1. I will send your email address to Cornell University. When that is done
you should:
2. Complete the guest ID registration form at
http://guestid.cit.cornell.edu/reg/register.cfm.
You'll need a name and password just to get to the registration form.
They are:
name: blackboard
password: getguestid
The guest ID will be of the form firstname.lastname like "john.doe".
The instructions are at: http://atc.cit.cornell.edu/atc/course/guestid.cfm
The Blackboard course site
http://blackboard.cornell.edu
3. After you submit the form, you will receive an email requiring you to
verify the account. Once you verify the Guest ID account, go to the
following page to create your Blackboard account:
http://atcsupport.cit.cornell.edu/bbtools/. You will receive an email
notification once it is complete.
4. Observe that the NetID is the same as the GuestID. Make sure to select
GUEST.CORNELL.EDU from the Realm menu.
Tasks for the first week…
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Get an account on the Blackboard site.
Get to know the course site.
Make a presentation of yourself on the site.
Read the sustainability literature.
Decide what Case Study Group you want to
be part of (class group and ISG).