Great Discussions are interactive informational sessions that have been offered on various UNG campuses over the past several years in which PSIA instructors show a series of videos provided and produced by the Foreign Policy Association. The videos highlight a particular issue in global politics or describe recent events in a particular country. Next, students are asked for their thoughts about the video’s content and the topic it addressed in a discussion moderated by the instructor.

This past spring, political science instructor, Dr. Megan Hauser, moderated the Global Discussions series on the UNG Cumming campus. The videos and discussions covered a range of topics from U.S. policy objectives in Afghanistan to foreign sources of U.S. oil imports. The goal of Great Discussions according to Dr. Hauser is to provide information to students about a wide variety of global topics. “I think it’s very informative to the students, it introduces issues that often don’t get much detail in a class. For political science students, it’s very valuable that they hear multiple and competing perspectives; I think it’s great for critical thinking.”

 

One of the students to attend several of the five-part series was Volha Dulko.  Dulko credited Dr. Hauser for inspiring her to attend the discussions noting that, “I like Dr. Hauser’s lectures and she was the reason I went there. Because of her lectures and style of teaching I became interested in international affairs, politics and overall the reasons of why this or that happens in the world. So, when she said that there will be an opportunity to learn something more about politics and global issues I knew I’d be there. It’s like she opened the whole new world to me.”

 

Global Discussions meets on Wednesdays from 12-1pm in room 104 on the Cumming campus.

 

Dr. Hauser