Experiential learning in liberal arts

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By participating in last fall’s American Model United Nations International Conference, Purdue Calumet students, including (from left) Samuel Boynes of Portage, Marisa Henderson of Valparaiso and David (Kyungho) Lee of Crown Point gained understanding of the challenges facing international organizations. | Photo provided

What experiential learning opportunities are available for students majoring in political science and other liberal arts and social science disciplines?

That was a challenging question facing Purdue University Calumet in 2008 when it introduced its experiential learning initiative as a graduation requirement for a bachelor’s degree in all available fields of study.

Challenging, yes. But doable, nonetheless.

For example, in assistant professor of political science Meg Rincker’s international organizations class last fall, students engaged in a revealing experiential learning project by assuming roles as United Nations officials during the annual American Model United Nations International Conference in Chicago. More than 1,000 students from some 300 colleges and universities attended. To say the students learned experientially about the functions and challenges facing international groups is an understatement.

“It’s easy to criticize the United Nations or, for that matter, any elected or appointed political official,” Rincker said. “It’s much harder to be a representative of a country, learn what a country would want to do about an issue — such as human trafficking — know what resolutions have already been passed by the UN on the issue, and to write an original resolution that is both ‘in character’ for your country and positively addresses the problem of trafficking.”

More specifically, experiences of PUC students included interviewing the honorary consul general of Nepal, attorney Marvin Brustin, and Jeffrey Macris, U.S. Naval Academy military professor and an expert on Bahrain. Nepal and Bahrain are the nations the PUC student contingent represented at the conference.

PUC students also addressed a global problem. They participated in a UN Security Council simulation with Elmhurst (Ill.) College professor Chris Hasselmann. They gained experience giving short, extemporaneous speeches before some 500 committee members in support of or opposition to a resolution. They also learned how to influence fellow delegates to support a resolution or specific resolution language.

One student delegate, Samuel Boynes, 21, of Portage, said his experience representing Nepal allowed him to develop his confidence, as well as speaking and negotiation skills. He also said he gained a deeper understanding of global issues and their far-reaching implications.

Marisa Henderson, 19, of Valparaiso, who served at the conference on a cultural and humanitarian affairs committee that focused on right-to-food issues, said participating and contributing in a group environment to achieve a collective goal was particularly beneficial. So was gaining insight in how to make an informed argument and engaging with peers from diverse backgrounds.

“The best way for students to learn the difficulties of political representation and political deliberation are to have to do it themselves, and see if they can do better than the representatives we can easily criticize from afar,” Rincker said, summarizing the essence of the experiential learning her students derived.

— Janice Golub-Reynolds, Purdue Calumet manager of experiential learning, contributed to this column.