Winter 2016: Southeast Asia: Global Immersion Experience (HONR 348C)

Southeast Asia: Global Immersion Experience: Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia 
  
Tentative Dates:  Departure date: 1/13/16 -1/24/16 (Ending Date)

This course is designed to provide a unique experiential global immersion experience of the Southeast Asian world with an emphasis on Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.
 
Southeast Asia is a fascinating and important region of the world, characterized by remarkable diversity in culture, history, politics, and social dynamics. This global immersion experience to Southeast Asia highlights the diversityand commonalities of the region in terms of political systems, business practices, and modernization trends, religious traditions, ethnic identities, foodways, emerging social issues and dominant cultural systems.

As part of the program, you will visit various cultural and business centers in order to gain firsthand knowledge about the transformation of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam as increasingly important players in regional and international affairs.

Last year's visits included those to companies such as the Housing Development Board, International Flavors and Fragrances, Petronas, Royal Selangor, AirAsia, A*STAR and Fusion World, Yahoo, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Airlines, APL, Universal Studios, ESPN, and BHP Billiton and cultural centers such as the Singapore Zoo, Singapore Flyer, Parliament of Singapore, Food Playground, Gardens by the Bay, Siloso Beach, Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore National Museum, and Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary.

Finally this trip in the past included a supplemental portion with time in Phuket where the students took part in kayaking and scuba diving. Some of those experiences are shown in the YouTube video link below:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnALcWHSXTw&authuser=0

If interested please contact Prof. Mark Wellman by email at mwellman@rhsmith.umd.edu. 

A more detailed description is at https://www.scholars.umd.edu/programs/bse/active-learning