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2018 Valley & Ridge Participant- Dr. Karen Lordi-Kirkham

Dr. Karen Lordi-Kirkham, Theatre and Dance

Sustainability & Study Abroad, Norwich England

I was eager to participate in the workshop in my capacity as the upcoming program abroad program director in Norwich, England starting Fall of 2019.  I had hoped to advance sustainable learning in the courses I would be creating for the students and provide leadership and a shared vision in creating a connected global community. 

The workshop provided a great background on the broader definitions of sustainability and how to use these as a framing device for a course no matter what the content. I was able to find a structure to create a course in London that will use the core principles as a scaffold.  Using “Goal 11” to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, students will learn about London then and now from these viewpoints.  This sustainability investigation will entail taking each topic- such as resilient- and break that into sub-topics such as tourism, economics, spirituality.  Students would then have readings, visit sites, guest lectures etc. that would expand on those topics from the core perspective of creating a sustainable city in the past and present.  I hope this course will be able to get a SINV designation and begin to put sustainability in both the curriculum and consciousness of students studying abroad.