McDaniel professors import Asian culture to the classroom.

A good teacher’s work is never done, not even during the summer.

Six McDaniel professors traveled the globe this summer to research Asian influences in art, music, medicine, and communications. Their findings will be used to enhance existing courses and create new curricula designed to give students a sharper global perspective. 

“More than ever, we’re preparing students for the challenging world they’ll enter after college with a curriculum that is stronger in foreign languages and global citizenship,” says Provost and Dean of the Faculty Tom Falkner.

Starting in fall 2007, McDaniel students will be asked to fulfill a new "global citizenship" requirement, under which students must take at least two courses with a cross-cultural or international focus and a third course that examines the experiences of groups within the United States. that have been historically marginalized.

“We’re not only infusing a global theme, but there is also a focus on diversity both in the world and within the United States,” says assistant professor of Theatre Arts Elizabeth van den Berg, who spent the summer studying Japanese culture in Hawaii. She hopes to create a special-topics course at McDaniel on Japanese theatre and culture.

Here’s what other teachers brought back from their summer vacation:

• Associate Professor of Music Robin Armstrong will incorporate Japanese classical and pop music for the first time in her World Music Survey class.
• Biology professor Esther Iglich will discuss traditional Chinese medicine’s use of over 400 different herbal tea compounds in her botany class, as well as how Chinese doctors can diagnose illnesses from tongue readings.
• Associate Professor of Sociology Debra Lemke was so impressed by the complexity of social interactions she witnessed in Japan—particularly among different genders and classes—that she’s adding a special topic to her Wealth, Power, and Prestige in American Society course.
• Associate Professor of Art History Susan Scott studied ancient gardens in China and Japan and plans to use her research in creating a new course examining the history of world gardens from Egypt and Greece to Europe and Asia.
• Assistant Professor of Communication Deborah Vance interviewed residents in Thailand, New Orleans, and Guyana about dealing with natural disasters. She’ll use her findings in her Mass Communication course when discussing how different cultures prepare for disaster and communicate in a crisis.