Spring Intercultural Ventures explore geopolitics and economic change on the ground
The global immersion program enables Penn students from the Lauder Institute to gain a firsthand understanding of how policy, history, culture, and socioeconomic forces shape real-world conditions in various countries.
2 min. read
The most recent Lauder Intercultural Ventures (LIVs) program cohort traveled to five destinations around the world for short-term academic immersions. Each LIV focuses on a theme relevant to the site’s historical, social, political, economic, and/or cultural context. While one LIV returned to Botswana, repeating last spring’s program on health care and economic sustainability, four other destinations—Bulgaria, South Korea, India, and the Dominican Republic—introduced new themes through which students examined how history, policy, and economic forces shape conditions on the ground.
LIV students following a game drive at Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Gaborone, Botswana.
(Image: Ludovico Galli)
The newly created LIV to Bulgaria centered on the country’s evolving role as a member of the European Union, highlighting Bulgaria’s gradual integration into EU frameworks since 2007 and recent adoption of the euro. In South Korea, the focus of the LIV was national security; students gained firsthand insight into security dilemmas, alliance politics, and regional power competition through visits to the Demilitarized Zone at the North-South Korea border and the War Memorial of Korea. The Dominican Republic LIV provided a lens into how small island developing states engage global and regional markets while preserving traditions. And in India, the focus shifted to media technologies and their role in shaping public culture. In Delhi, students met with experts working at the intersection of media and governance to examine Indian news media, including issues of misinformation and mobile inclusion.
Led by a faculty expert in each destination, LIVs allow students to examine complex issues through direct, field-based engagement and a regionally relevant theme. As a required component of Lauder’s MA in International Studies, students complete two LIVs before graduation.
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