Trolley Cars Coming Back To Saint Louis

It seems in 2011-2012 we may hear the clang clang of the trolley in the West End. This would be a nice addition to the Saint Louis area and a return of trolleys that were present for many years as part of Saint Louis' transportation system. We saw firsthand in Vienna and Prague how efficient these cars can be.


http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_ffdc8b17-fbd2-557d-ac66-0ab80aa675fe.html

Final Thoughts

This course has been for the most part a unique and rewarding experience. The structure of the course I thought was ideally composed with its outline essentially being broken down into three parts: pre travel, travel and post travel. Although I do think exploring and even trying a different approach such as traveling at the very end of the course would be a good consideration. The most significant aspect I got out of the course were the numerous topics we explored and how they all came together in the end to provide a general knowledge of how globalization is impacting the world on many different fronts rendering both good and bad consequences. Another realization I made is that, withstanding all the negative aspects of globalization, every country and all peoples decisively benefit from this new wave transnationalism. Thus, I take the positions that states and people should embrace this paradigm shift and therefore work together toward the goal of channeling this movement in a positive direction. The initial draw to this course was the opportunity to travel aboard and I thoroughly enjoyed adventure overseas. The knowledge of the geographical area and the history of the area as provided by the professors along with all the interactions with the classmates made the trip not just educational but a solid culture broadening experience as well. One aspect of the course I found difficult to get used to was the blogging and Wikipedia stuff…I’ve never used it before and failed to find them extremly useful outside of simply reading and thinking about my classmates thoughts on a particular subject. In fact I found the whole experience of an online class much more difficult in terms of grasping the depth of knowledge of a particular subject within the course because without the face to face interaction, conversation and debate the concepts never really solidified in my mind- in essence a lot of the topics remained simply at the surface level. As I continue to take classes at Webster I don’t think I’ll actually do another online course- unless of course there is an exciting travel abroad component! The good ole fashion teacher and pupil setup is my much preferred method of academic engagement. With that said it still remains another valuable part of my academic journey: the experience in valuing different cultures while at the same time realizing first-hand that the American culture is a global brand, walking through hundreds of years of world history and educating myself on global issues was truly a great experience that I’ll never forget.

Final Course Reflections

Over the last few weeks as the hustle and bustle of life at home has gotten back to normal I still have sharp memories of everything that I have learned and I think fondly back on them. Perhaps presumption in saying, of the group I was perhaps the one who was trying to find my place in the study of International Relations, because I tend to jump around so much, figuratively speaking and not focus on a core subject within my study.

That leads me to our discussion with Dr. Greg Weeks at Webster University Vienna. He offered in his short discussion with us all valuable insights and information on a lot, but what I remember was he said and I am gonna paraphrase for him, "If you try to tackle it all, you will inevitably fail." That has kind of been the words I have stuck with in regards to my studies.

The experiences in Austria and CZR can help integrate so well what I have already studied and learned and for that I am grateful to Dr. Tamashiro and Dr. Hanssen for working hard to put together the experience. Also once I began to work on my wikibook chapter I began to truly appreciate and understand the big picture. It was really quite awesome!

I dont think it hit me until I posted the final revision, that we had taken this amazing trip abroad and learned about these cultures. It didn't just stop there we then had the awesome opportunity to produce quality work on the internet for others to see. Another classmate posted in a blog comment that, "we had an opportunity that many others will never have." Somehow I feel glad that we are able to share it with those through Wiki-book.

Rather then being consumers of information, I think we all moved towards producers and it was a nice feeling.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this opportunity happen.

Přeji Vám vše nejlepší or I wish you all the best!

Source for translation: Dictionary.com

2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

Hello Classmates,

To help combat poverty and homelessness the EU has dedicated this year to highlight the need to address this problem through and awareness and results oriented campiagn called: 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.

"Homelessness is one of the most extreme and devastating examples of poverty and social exclusion. Despite Europe being a wealthy society, the issue remains difficult to solve and may even be getting worse in some countries."

Please visit the site below to learn more about it:
http://www.2010againstpoverty.eu/about/topicofmonth.html?langid=en

Overall Reflections on the Course

Greetings everyone! I hope this posting finds all of you well into enjoying your summer. I’m leaving Prague today to join my new classmates at the Leiden, Netherlands campus, where we’ll have a week-long study tour much like the one our class did here in Central Europe. I enjoyed everything about this class very much, and while I’m excited to join my next study group, I will miss this experience we shared, and I’ll always remember it!

It’s fitting that I write this as I leave today. Contrary to what you all might think, it hasn’t really been like a vacation to stay here an extra three weeks. I’ve seen the inside of my hotel room for most of the time, both because of the work I’ve been doing for my two summer classes and because I’m alone here, so going out is not as enjoyable. As much of a shame as that may sound, it makes me appreciate the wonderful time I had during the week we were all here together. Reflecting on it now makes me appreciate both the educational and cultural elements I experienced during this class even more. Here is a brief overview of what I’ve learned, and what I’ll take with me into my educational and professional careers.

It’s admittedly an unfair advantage that I’m still in Europe, but I must say that I’ve learned it takes at least two weeks to begin to really soak up the new culture. The week that our class experienced was a whirlwind of new sights, sounds, and tastes. Even now, I’m still dissecting our study-tour. As I do so, I’m realizing the profound effect the visits to the IOM in Prague and to the Webster Vienna campus had on me.

It really is invaluable to me that I’ve been privileged enough to meet professionals in the fields of migration and human trafficking studies because I want to go into these fields myself. By contacting the IOM office in Prague, I hope to start networking with these dedicated people to learn more about their fieldwork. I’ve become very interested in migration studies, especially in my current research area of human trafficking, and I will follow the work of the IOM to learn what professionals in the field are doing to address migration issues worldwide. I may even apply to work at an IOM field office for an internship or professional position when I start my career.

Likewise, learning about Webster Vienna’s involvement with human trafficking research is inspiring. I’ve been in contact with Dr. Weeks about my research in human trafficking, and he has put me in contact with a previous Webster scholar who is working on a doctorate in human trafficking studies at Kent. Opportunities to meet other researchers like this would not have been possible if it weren’t for this class, and I feel very grateful to Professors Hanssen and Tamashiro for planning this study-tour and introducing me to the wider world of global scholarship.

Overall, this class has been an eye opening start to a life changing experience. I’ve only just begun my study abroad journey, and I can’t think of a better start to it than I had in this class. As I prepare to go on studying human trafficking as a global issue at the next two Webster campuses, I know I’ve received a strong foundation in this class that I can build on with my ongoing research efforts. Aside from the academic aspect, the education I’m getting from being immersed in other cultures is dually invaluable to both my scholarly and personal growth. I will continue on from here with an open mind and a curious spirit, and I hope the rest of this journey will be even more wonder filled than the beginning.

Best wishes to you all!

-Jenn Lunney