Introduction to the Special Issue

Daniel Paracka, Kennesaw State UniversityFollow

Publication Date

January 2018

Abstract

Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) Year of Russia program provided an in-depth opportunity for our campus community to learn about Russia at a very important point in time. The program featured more than 30 events including a robust lecture series, special courses focused on Russia, a symposium on U.S.-Russia relations, and a faculty and student interdisciplinary seminar that traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg. These different elements were intentionally organized to create synergistic opportunities for sustained intercultural exchange. For example, Dr. Tom Rotnem’s POLS 4449: Russian Foreign Policy class conducted eight Skype-enabled classroom discussion sessions with Russian counterparts (faculty and students) from Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). Topics for the discussion sessions included: 1) NATO/Russian relations; 2) Ukraine; 3) Syria; 4) Russia’s global economic status; and 5) Russia’s developing relationship with China. Later, a delegation of the MGIMO faculty and students attended the symposium on KSU’s campus and then KSU faculty and students visited MGIMO in Moscow.

Author Bio(s)

Dan Paracka is Professor of Education in the Interdisciplinary Studies Department at Kennesaw State University, where he also coordinates the signature Annual Country Study Program for the Division of Global Affairs. His areas of scholarship center on processes of global learning and intercultural competence.