eaming Interdependence: .. ofthe International/Intercultural Education ofFirst- Year College Students David]. Bachner Laurence J. Malone Mary C. Snider Cite as: Bachner, D. J., Malone, L. J. &" Snider, M. C. (2001). Learning interdependence: A case study of the international/intercultural education offirst-year college students. Columbia, SC: Univer­ sity of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. Sample chapter citation: Bachner, D. J. (2001). An administrator's perspective: The development of the first-year intercultural experience. In Learning interdependence: A case study of the international/intercultural education of first-year college students. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students HJ Transition. Copyright 2001, by the University of South Carolina. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or copied in any form, by any means, without written permission of the University of South Carolina. The Freshman Year Experience® and The First-Year Experience® are service marks of the University of South Carolina. A license may be granted upon written request to use the terms The Freshman Year Experience and The First-Year Experience. This license is not transferrable without written approval of the University of South Carolina. Additional copies of this book may be ordered at $30 each from the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina, 1629 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC 29208. Telephone (803) 777-6029. Telefax (803) 777-4699. Libn' Df Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ba ,David]., 1944- Le~,' . interdependence: A case study of the international/intercultural education of {irst-year college students / David J. Bachner, Laurence]. Malone, and Mary C. Snider. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references ISBN 1-889271-35-7 1. Multicultural education-New York (State)-Oneonta-Case studies. 2. Cross-cultural orientation-New York (State)-Oneonta-Case studies. 3. College freshmen-New York (State)-Oneonta-Case studies. 4. Hartwick College-Case studies. I. Malone, Laurence]. II. Snider, Mary c., 1962- III. Title. LClO99.4.N7 B33 2001 2001000563 378'.017-dc21 CIP OlOa "2001000563 Table ofContents Acknowledgements ............................................................................ i-iii Introduction ...................................................................................... v-xii CHAPTER I The Context of Undergraduate Intercultural Education in the 2Ist Century .............................................................. I CHAPTER 2 An Overview of Hartwick College ...... oo .................... oo ........................ I3 CHAPTER 3 An Administrator's Perspective: The Development of the First-Year Intercultural Experience .......................................... 25 by David Bachner CHAPTER 4 An Economics Professor's Perspective: Educational and Personal Considerations ......................................... 4I by Laurence Malone CHAPTER 5 A Foreign Language Professor's Perspective: Educational and Personal Considerations ........................................ ··57 by Mary Snider CHAPTER 6 Student Perspectives: Learning Interdependence in an International Setting ................................................................... 7I CHAPTER 7 Evaluations of the First-Year Intercultural Experience ........................................................................................... I07 CHAPTER 8 Five Conclusions About Learning Interdependence Through the First-Year Intercultural Experience .......................... I33 Bibliography ........................................................................................ I4I ApPENDIX: Sample Syllabi from Luce Project Courses GermanylFrance 1997-1998 ............................................................... I49 GermanyIHungary 1999-2000 ........................................................... I57 Mexico ................................................................................................. I63 Jamaica ................................................................................................. I69 South Africa ........................................................................................ I79 Thailand ............................................................................................... I89 About the Authors .............................................................................. 203 Acknowledgements A number of organizations and individuals have our gratitude for their help in bringing this book to completion. We begin by thanking the two foundations instrumental in the development of the First-Year Intercultural Experience initiative. The Chaiyong Limthongkul Founda­ tion of Bangkok, Thailand provided the initial funding that enabled Hartwick College to establish the Sondhi Limthongkul Center for Interdependence and to send five groups of first-year students to Thailand. The Henry Luce Foundation of New York City provided Hartwick with a $150,000 grant that supported faculty development, site development, and student participation in six additional First-Year Intercultural Experience courses. In total, more than 200 students, 21 faculty, and three staff members benefited education­ ally from the generosity of the two foundations. Former Hartwick trustee Roy Rowan has our appreciation for introducing both foundations to the College. We would never have been able to implement the off-campus components of the various courses without the generous assistance of institutions in each of the countries that served as First-Year Intercultural Experience venues. We wish to thank Chiang Mai University, the Rajabhat InstitutelKorat, the Rajabhat Institute!Lopburi, and the Hill Area Development Foundation in Thailand; the University of Chiapas, Na Bolom, Investigaci6n y Desarrollo Feminino (IDEFEM), EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur Frontera (ECOSUR), and Taller Lisbon Max in Mexico; Hochschule fur Technik und Wirtschaft Mittweida (FH) in Germany; the Ecole St.-Barthelemy and the University of Nice in France; Franklin College of Switzerland; the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Cape Town in South Africa; the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, in Jamaica; and Szazadveg Politikai Iskola (Policy Research Center) in Eger, Hungary i Learning Interdependence The specific focus of the book-the course entitled Europe in Transition-owes more than we can ever adequately acknowledge to former Rektor Reinhardt Schmidt, Ingrid Doberenz, and the staff, faculty, and students of Hochschule fur Technik und Wirtschaft Mittweida; Nathalie Manghini and Jeanine Manghini, in Nice; and Tim Keating, former Dean of Franklin College of Switzerland. Three prominent intercultural educators were kind to review an early draft of the manuscript and recommend changes that can only be said to have strengthened the final product beyond anything we would have been able to accomplish on our own. For their expertise and candor, we are indebted to R. Michael Paige of the University of Minnesota, Gary Weaver of American University, and Richard A. Detweiler of Hartwick College. We hasten to emphasize that any omissions and errors of either fact or judgment are our responsibility alone. For their substantive and editorial expertise, we wish to thank Jean Henscheid, Tracy Skipper and their associates at the University of South Carolina's National Re­ source Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. We also thank Elizabeth Thomas of the National Resource Center for her work in designing the book. At Hartwick, in addition to Rick Detweiler we wish to convey our appreciation to: Susan Gotsch, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, for always showing the enthusiasm and support for faculty that inspire efforts of this kind; Ellen Falduto, Chief Information and Planning Officer, for her responsiveness to our data re­ trieval and analysis needs and valuable advice on the evaluative aspects of the project; Michael A. MacDowell, formerly Hartwick's Vice President for Institutional Advance­ ment and now President of College Misericordia, for his unstinting efforts to find fund­ ing for the First-Year Intercultural Experience initiative; Shelley Wallace, College Archi­ vist, for kindly reviewing the sections of the manuscript pertaining to Hartwick's history; Julie Weiss, Office Coordinator in Hartwick's Center for Interdependence, for her help in preparing parts of the manuscript; and the Reference Department of the Stevens-German Library. The reference departments at Syracuse University Library, Mount Holyoke Col­ lege Library and the Lockwood Memorial Library of the University at Buffalo have our gratitude for providing bibliographical assistance. We conclude these acknowledgments by extending our most profound thanks and respect to those who have been most intimately associated with this project: To our faculty and staff colleagues, whose dedication and skill and care for one another served to make this effort one of the most significant learning experiences of our three lives-Connie Anderson, Tammy Babcock, Nadine Carvin, Sharon Dettenrieder, Terry Fitz-Henry, Gary Herion, Sandy Huntington, David Hutchison, Kate O'Donnell, Michael Stone, and Mireille Vandenheuvel. Craig Bielert of the State University of New York College at Oneonta and Jeanne Simonelli, formerly of the State University