In what was billed as the first of a series of events to generate campus-wide discussion of global citizenship and global learning, a panel of four faculty members offered global perspectives from a range of different disciplines.

Katharina von Hammerstein, a professor of German and chair of the Global Citizenship Curriculum Committee, introduced the event, which was held Nov. 17 in Konover Auditorium.

Von Hammerstein said that developing students as global citizens is partly to prepare them for their careers, and partly to help develop citizens who feel responsible for the world both inside and outside U.S. borders. Both of these require the ability to communicate effectively with people from other cultures, the ability to solve problems together, and respect for the rights, values, and perspectives of others, she said.

She pointed to statistics illustrating the importance of UConn students gaining global awareness: More than 100,000 people in Connecticut are employed by foreign controlled companies, and 5,000 Connecticut companies are engaged in exporting goods.

Provost Peter Nicholls said global education is highlighted in the Academic Plan and that, despite difficult fiscal times, the University is making progress in this area “because it is important.”

He listed a number of recent University initiatives:

• the Global Citizenship Curriculum Committee, charged with helping coordinate already existing elements of a global citizenship curriculum, further their visibility, and encourage the development of additional facets;
• a new global citizenship website recently launched by the committee, that includes links to a list of nearly 600 global courses in 55 departments and programs, faculty members’ international expertise, international/global student outcomes, relevant learning communities, and international programs and organizations;
• the International Executive Council, chaired by Christopher Earley, dean of the Business School, an advisory committee to the Provost;
• Global House, a living-learning community for a mix of domestic and international students who are interested in global issues;
• the EUROTECH learning community, for students taking a dual degree in German and engineering;
• the Study Abroad program, which currently sends about 18 percent of undergraduates overseas;
• international partnerships with universities across the globe;
• and two internal funding competitions, the global/international study group grant competition, and a faculty Study Abroad competition that will be launched in the spring.

Earley, the business dean, gave a presentation on cultural intelligence, or the ability to be effective in a new cultural setting.

“People who work very well in a known culture may not work well in other cultures,” he said, and vice versa.

He said the old adage “When in Rome do as the Romans do” does not represent cultural intelligence. Instead, he said, “when in Rome do as the Romans expect, given who you are and what you do.”

He noted that many business managers spend short periods of time in a range of different countries.

A psychologist by training, Earley said it is advisable when visiting another country to gain some knowledge beforehand, but it is just as important once there to figure out what you need to know, and to be willing to re-engage after making mistakes. A third dimension of cultural intelligence, he said, is to adapt and be flexible in a new culture.

As an example, he said that when he was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, he was advised not to make eye contact with sellers in the market, most of whom are women. “I come from a culture where eye contact is a sign of respect,” he said. “Not making eye contact was difficult to do but necessary.”

Oksan Bayulgen, an assistant professor of political science, discussed oil as an example of global interconnectedness.

“Global citizenship is not just an aspiration, it’s a reality,” she said. “We are all fundamentally connected in many complex and dynamic ways.”

Whereas 61 percent of oil worldwide comes from reserves in the Middle East and only 2.4 percent from the United States, consumption patterns are almost the opposite, she said.

U.S. dependence on oil has huge implications for our lives, she said. “What we pay at the pump or to heat our homes is affected by what goes on in different parts of the world. Our economic well being is vulnerable to fluctuations in the international oil industry. … Foreign policy becomes captive to oil interests.”

Oil also has major environmental implications, Bayulgen said. “Energy consumption is the main contributor to global climate change, [but also] every stage of the production process has environmental implications.”

“Weaning ourselves from oil requires global solutions,” she added.

Michael Willig, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and director of the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering, spoke about the development of ecology as a field of study.

“Ecology is inherently international,” he said. “It transcends boundaries.”

He noted that ecology has changed from a discipline where studies were conducted by the “lone wolf scientific investigator” and information and outcomes were rarely returned to the country of origin, to one in which research is conducted by large mixed groups that are “truly international in scope.”

He also suggested that part of what global citizenship demands is an understanding that humans share resources not only with others alive today but also with the humans who will be alive tomorrow.

“Because of our shared humanity, and our shared interaction with the natural environment, we have the same future …” he said. “A drop of water we drink today may once have been in the Amazon Basin.”

Jeffrey Ogbar, a historian and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, offered a snapshot of hip-hop as a cultural expression that began in the U.S. and is now a global phenomenon.

He said rap synthesizes global culture and local provincial expressions that “mark [an artist’s] authenticity” as a rapper: “You can’t appreciate an artist and not know where’s he’s from,” he said, noting that Jay-Z is from a particular housing estate in Brooklyn, New York, Lil Wayne is from New Orleans, and Eminem from Detroit.

Ogbar cited examples of rap from France, Germany, and elsewhere. In some countries, he said, it has become a medium of political expression. In Kenya, they rap about political corruption and the impact of AIDS on society, and in Cuba, rappers are explicitly critical of the Cuban government.