{"546171":{"#nid":"546171","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Students Explore Southeast Asia","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe sun beats down by the River Kwai in Thailand. A low hum fills the space as a fan oscillates under the awning, providing refuge from the 98 degree heat. Students gather with notebooks, laptops, and plenty of water to discuss the impact of water security in Thai politics. It\u0027s easy to see the importance of the Mekong River when you visit the farming communities that depend on it\u0027s resources to survive.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArmed with a video camera and a hunger for new experiences, students on Georgia Tech\u0027s Southeast Asia Study Abroad program set out to capture the essense of each country they explored in a documentary style report (see below).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThailand:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=usCLVYCdZXA\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=usCLVYCdZXA\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVietnam:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/AQvQq-wPt0Q\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/youtu.be\/AQvQq-wPt0Q\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECambodia: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dE_9MLjvcgY\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dE_9MLjvcgY\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents have spent the past seven weeks trekking across Southeast Asia - Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore - while earning 9 credit hours in International Affairs. The program focuses on non-traditional security issues ranging from piracy to human trafficking to water sarcity, and students are immersed in the local culture.\u0026nbsp;Each of the four states represent varying levels of development from the small farming villages on the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, to the technology-driven urban city-state of Sinagpore.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe program emphasizes a hands-on approach to studying international affairs and, by exploring the region\u0027s rich and turbulent history, students are able to critically analyze non-traditional security issues through a non-Western perspective. Reading discussions are held by rivers, in small villages, and on bus rides. Lectures are conducted at sight visits such as the Royal Palace in Thailand and the Killing Fields in Cambodia. Briefings occured at local NGOs and universities. The students create documentaries to embody each of the countries visited, and, at the end of the program, run a simulation to demonstrate the potential for diplomacy in the region.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKatja Weber, professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and program director for the Southeast Asia Study Abroad Program, noted that a highlight of the program this year was\u0026nbsp;a visit to the University of Cambodia with Travis Mitchell, former Nunn School student and current faculty member. Weber gave a lecture on the\u0026nbsp;\u201cEU\u0027s Changing Role in Southeast Asia\u201d, and then\u0026nbsp;the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ivanallencollege\/albums\/72157668748086636\u0022\u003Estudents played traditional Cambodian games\u003C\/a\u003E with Cambodian students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Southeast Asia Study Abroad Program is offered through the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students of all academic disciplines.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"International Affairs Study Abroad Treks Across Four Countries"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Students studying nontraditional security issues while trekking through Southeast Asia"}],"uid":"32788","created_gmt":"2016-06-20 15:45:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:57","author":"Anna Cathryn Finch","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"546301":{"id":"546301","type":"image","title":"Southeast Asia Study Abroad 2016","body":null,"created":"1466524800","gmt_created":"2016-06-21 16:00:00","changed":"1475895338","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:38","alt":"Southeast Asia Study Abroad 2016","file":{"fid":"91990","name":"classriverkwaicrop700x.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/classriverkwaicrop700x.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/classriverkwaicrop700x.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":106111,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/classriverkwaicrop700x.jpg?itok=8Xle9mnx"}},"546311":{"id":"546311","type":"image","title":"Southeast Asia Study Abroad 2016","body":null,"created":"1466524800","gmt_created":"2016-06-21 16:00:00","changed":"1475895338","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:38","alt":"Southeast Asia Study Abroad 2016","file":{"fid":"91991","name":"wat_phra_si_sanphet_in_ayutthaya.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wat_phra_si_sanphet_in_ayutthaya.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wat_phra_si_sanphet_in_ayutthaya.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1632148,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/wat_phra_si_sanphet_in_ayutthaya.jpg?itok=zzuwwj-D"}}},"media_ids":["546301","546311"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gtsoutheastasia.weebly.com\/","title":"Southeast Asia Study Abroad"},{"url":"https:\/\/oie.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of International Education"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/weber","title":"Katja Weber"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1188","name":"International Affairs"},{"id":"167915","name":"Southeast Asia Study Abroad"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404.894.1720\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}