NEWS
"Reconsidering Peace in Liberal Arts 2024" co-organized with Middlebury College -Workshop for Senior High School Students -
Update: November 27, 2024
【Reconsidering Peace in Liberal Arts - Use Your Voice to "Give Peace A Chance" (English)】
- Period: August 7 (Wed.) - 10 (Sat.), 2024
- Format: In person on the ICU campus（3 nights stay in the student dormitories）
- English ability: Students should be able to participate in classes offered in English and have the English language ability to participate in discussions and presentations.
- Quota: 34 students
- Program Coordinators:
Sanae Eda (Linguistics), Alyssa Ishimura (MA Candidate at Middlebury Institute of International Studies) - Guest speakers:
【ICU】Robert Eskildsen（History, Japan Studies）, Jeremiah L. Alberg（Philosophy and Religion, Peace Studies）
【Middlebury College】Kristen Mullins（Intercultural and Global Programs）
*Click here to see comments from participants
This workshop co-hosted with Middlebury College (a partner school of ICU and consistently ranked in the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the U.S.) was a 3 nights-4 days program held in English. High school students with diverse backgrounds and values (returnees, international school students, overseas residents, etc.) from Japan and overseas deepened their thoughts on 'peace' through lectures and discussions in groups with ICU students who joined the program as facilitators. Guest speakers were faculty members from Middlebury College (online lectures) and ICU, who approached 'peace' from a variety of perspectives. Participants, who were nervous at first, became more active in discussions as the program progressed. The unusual environment in which participants had to think thoroughly in English seemed to be a good stimulus for them. After the lectures, 'dialogue' was taking place everywhere and participants gathered around their instructors to exchanged opinions. On the final day, each group was given the task of expressing what they had learned through the program. The presentations were full of originality, such as taking short movies, and picture-story shows. The students also seemed to form a special bond with each other by living in the student's dormitory located on the campus with full of nature. The participants spent four days learning about 'peace' through a variety of fields of study while experiencing the academic skills necessary for the study in university.
【Comments from participants】（Excerpt）
- Looking at things from different perspectives can really change your thoughts 180 degrees. Talking with many people made me feel this way, and cooperation with other people enabled us to understand each other.
- At the beginning of the program, I was overwhelmed by other participants' high ability levels, and I became nervous about it, but ICU students talked to me kindly, and they encouraged me.
- I am very satisfied with the workshop as I got to discuss with so many people with very diverse backgrounds, whether it be gender, age, nationality, and prefecture. It was so interesting to see how all of our views differed, and yet they were all valid.
