OVERVIEW

The third annual university-wide Intercultural Symposium, originally scheduled for the evening of October 24, has been postponed until 2/12.

Sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Learning, the symposium will serve as a vehicle for Southwestern students to present reflections and analyses on their intercultural study experiences. The symposium will be modeled after a typical conference (abstract submissions, concurrent sessions, etc.), and abstracts will be published together in a bound volume. Students who have participated in intercultural programs for academic credit are encouraged to present their reflections and analyses in a poster or oral format.

Contributed posters will fit onto bulletin boards that are 8 ft tall and 4 ft wide.

Contributed Oral Presentations will be 12 minutes in length with 3 minutes for questions.

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS & TITLES

        Deadline: Febuary 2, 2008

Abstracts: Each contributed poster or oral presentation requires an abstract. Abstracts will be published, and hardcopies will be distributed at the meeting to all attendees.

Electronic Submission: Submission of abstracts, titles, and other relevant information should be carried out on-line using the link below. Copies of the titles and abstracts will be sent electronically to the program chair of the symposium.

Refer to the sample abstract below. Please limit abstracts to 200 words. If you have any questions, please contact contact Jessica West or Sarah Salinas.


SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT HERE

SAMPLE ABSTRACT

Your presentation is meant to be more than a travel diary. Rather, focus on what you learned during your intercultural experience. That learning takes a number of forms: it may center around your host culture and also the United States; it may come in newfound knowledge about yourself; it may focus on an internship or research study that you undertook; and it may result in changed values and priorities. Your presentation is meant to convey the substance of your experience abroad, how it affected you, and how you plan to utilize your experience now that you have returned to SU.

Sample Abstract provided by Sue Mennicke

Last semester I studied in Kenya and studied conservation and ecology efforts in rural areas. My poster session will detail how I chose this program, the main academic and experiential components of the program, the opportunities I had to apply concepts while in Kenya, and what I plan to do with my knowledge now that I have returned.

One of my primary concerns in program selection was the opportunity to do experiential work. My poster session will include information about my degree program here and how my work abroad fits in to my interests here at Southwestern. I will also offer a description of the program and the way that experiential work weaves itself throughout all aspects of the curriculum. The main focus of the poster will be the application of key concepts learned while in Kenya and the way I plan to continue exploring these concepts now that I've returned to SU. For example, I learned a great deal about the complexities of working with a community to create an action plan to solve a problem. Also, I now have a much more complete understanding of environmental issues, and plan to use this knowledge to change my own daily behavior and work with organizations on campus to provide education and organize action on the SU campus. Finally, my poster session will focus on the ways in which I've changed as a person and how I see these changes affecting the rest of my time at SU and the life I choose upon graduation.

Questions about the Third Annual Southwestern University Intercultural Symposium should be directed to the program chairs, Jessica West or Sarah Salinas.