Integrating Worlds

From the Foreword:

"If we believe that international experience really does have great impact on our students’ ability to contribute cheerfully and productively in today’s complex globalized world, then we can no longer think about study abroad and domestic study away as a costly marginal frill for the privileged. We must instead re-think institutionally our educational propositions—and this book is structured to help us do just that.

The authors suggest a radical shift: that we turn our thinking about the place of off-campus study in the undergraduate liberal arts experience upside down. Working from an analysis of the ways in which dislocation—moving away from the familiar campus environment—can impact learning, they suggest that well-designed off-campus experience should be not an optional extra, but one of the foundational building blocks of our curricula in all areas. If we can accept this radical proposition, then we can revitalize and renew our students’ learning.

This book can introduce faculty and educational administrators who may have no experience at all with off-campus study to current thinking and practice in the field, but will also serve as a rich resource for international education professionals. And if these constituencies decide to bring together those who oversee off-campus experience in the U.S. with those who work in other countries, new and productive synergies can emerge.

‘Integration’ is the key concept: the book is structured to follow the ways in which off-campus experience can best be conceptualized as part of a curricular initiative, and then implemented in ways that maximize all aspects of student learning.”

Jane Edwards, Dean of International and Professional Experience, Yale University

“Carpenter, Kaufman, and Torp advocate for a bold re-imagination of the traditional relationship between off-campus study experiences and undergraduate education. Through current research, real-world examples, and student narratives, the authors make a compelling case for shifting global learning to the core of the undergraduate education experience. To achieve this paradigm shift in practice, the authors offer innovative and practical solutions to intentionally incorporate global learning experiences at the heart of undergraduate education.

The most salient accomplishment that Carpenter et al. achieve through the publication of Integrating Worlds is the creation of an accessible resource for administrators and faculty at U.S.-based institutions. The authors seamlessly weave together student narratives, research, and examples to create an easily digestible guide that does not require international education expertise.

Carpenter et al. deliver a compelling case for a paradigm shift around the role and comprehensive integration of off-campus study in undergraduate education. The authors suggest a series of specific strategies for faculty and administrators to make headway on this task at their own institutions. This book will serve as a useful resource for administrators as they devise ways to globalize curricula and for faculty who seek to incorporate global perspectives into their classrooms and support students before and after their off-campus experiences. The authors published Integrating Worlds at a timely moment: Professional fields, such as economics, health, climate, and politics continue to intersect, and graduates seek careers affected by global issues. This evolving context strengthens the authors’ case for making off-campus study a core element of an interdisciplinary and integrative undergraduate experience.”

Teachers College Record