PBD: Students Present on their Study Abroad Experiences

Phi Beta Delta sponsored a talk by students who took advantage of the study abroad opportunities available for ONU students. Students who presented on their adventures included Derek Schneider who studied in Germany, Julia Tabaj who spent a year in China, Jamie Cochran who traveled to Spain, and Travis Eddington who went to South Korea last summer.

Despite having a trip from Hell to arrive in Luneburg Germany, Schneider loved his experience and made several friends among the students there and also traveled widely in Europe. Tabaj spent a year in Chengdu China, and loved her experience. Chengdu is the center of Panda country and also home to the spiciest food in China. Cochran also traveled widely in Spain and throughout Europe and learned significantly improved her Spanish while staying with a family there. Eddington had great experiences during his short stay in Korea, which included significant press attention when he and other ONU students had the opportunity to dress as Korean royalty - see August blog and David Smith's Hanyang U blog.

Each of the students were very positive about the opportunities they gained access to by studying abroad and came home with experiences and memories that will last them a lifetime.

Scott Couchman, the Graduate Coordinator for ONU Study Abroad Opportunities, encouraged students to contact him if interested in such opportunities. And, in a shameless plug, Professor Crawford will be teaching a history class in Chengdu, China next summer!

Alums Triumphant Return

Ryland Breeding (09 History) stopped by the HPJ offices during his Christmas Break from Virginia Commonwealth University. Ryland reports that his classes went well, and that he was enjoying being a graduate student, though the workload was heavy. Topping his workload list was Historiography, which meant a great deal of reading and discussion of works that illustrate the various schools of historical inquiry. Ryland led discussion on a book concerning the Great Cat Massacre in France during the 19th century - gotta love reading that sort of social/labor history! He also mentioned that the transition from life in small town Ada, to Richmond was going well and that southern culture was not too much of a shock.

It's always great to see our alums and hear of their adventures! Best of luck to Ryland next semester as he starts to narrow in on his Thesis topic!

Students Take Part in GIS Day at Rhodes State

more to come

Teacher Licensure Orientation Weekend Seminar

Eight students and Professor Crawford traveled to the Metzger Nature Center last weekend to discuss using sport to teach the Social Studies, and the National Council for the Social Studies Ten Themes. After a hard day's work on Saturday, the group went to the theater in New Philadelphia to watch The Blind Side, a heartwarming story of a family that took in a homeless teenager who became an outstanding football player for Old Miss, and who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens.

Students who participated in the weekend seminar were (front row L-R) Beth Miller, Caitlin Kegley, Tom Walton, and (back L-R) Trey Jones, Ben Nauman, Andy Zaebst, Ryan Fleming, Zach Esterline. Professor Crawford is at the far right. As part of the program, students created and presented lesson plans to use sport in teaching the Social Studies. Keep your eye on this blog for their plans in the coming months.

As usual, Wayne and Carol King fed us more great food than we could eat!

Well done to all the students who took part!

Phi Alpha Theta Met

On Tuesday December 8, the Nu Kappa chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the International History honorary met to discuss fund raising ideas. Among those ideas were selling Phi Alpha Theta tshirts, selling Hill Memorial models, and possibly selling HPJ tshirts, which would raise money and help build esprit des corps for the department. Professor Crawford mentioned the Purdue-Calumet Student Research Conference where students might want to present papers, especially those considering graduate school. Officers will gather information on the various projects and meet again after Christmas Break.

Professor Kofi Nsia-Pepra Publishes Groundbreaking Article

HPJ's Assistant Professor of Political Science Kofi Nsia-Pepra (pictured at left), and Frederick S. Pearson recently published an article in the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development entitled "Official and Illicit Arms Transfer in Southeast Asia."

The paper examines arms transaction in Southeast Asia in the 1990s to study the relationship between weapons acquisition and the escalation or de-escalation of regional conflicts. They found that unregulated flow of small arms threatens and weakens fragile states, and can create a culture of cyclical war and spin-off wars. The authors therefore recommend that coordinated international action is necessary to track, if not restrict such weapon sales. This tracking information can be used to serve as an early warning system that could allow peacekeepers to have a better sense of the relative arms balances and concentrations in regions where they are sent to forestall or mediate conflict. This is the first treatment of this problem in Southeast Asia.

Pearson who has published widely on international relations, is the Director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, and teaches political science at Wayne State University. Nsia-Pepra teaches Political Science concentrating on International Relations and Comparative Politics at ONU. Nsia-Pepra worked on his dissertation with Pearson at Wayne State and also served as Pearson's Research Assistant.

Professor Jimmy Wilson Featured in Ohio Magazine

Visiting Assistant Professor of Geography Jimmy Wilson was recently honored by Ohio Magazine's Excellence in Education issue (December 2009).

Wilson was nominated by the HPJ Department and the letter sent to Ohio Magazine read in part:

"Jimmy Wilson combines excellence in the classroom with service to students, the university, and his community. He encourages undergraduates to attend professional conferences where many present papers. In cooperation with the College of Business Administration, he helped initiate an Entrepreneurship Poster Competition, which allowed students to present innovative ideas. He enthusiastically shares his expertise in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and his gumbo secrets. He created maps to aid our Admissions Office's recruiting efforts. He even mapped the annual Lincoln Highway Yard Sales locations for the Community Iprovement Corporation. Jimmy has had a significant impact on ONU and Ada."

Well done Professor Wilson!

First Year Experience Award Winning Papers

For their capstone project students in the HPJ First Year Experience class chose to either write an essay on the Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini, or volunteer to work with the Prison Management Certificate Program as a conversation partner or work with Saudi students at Ada High School.

Award winners included a tie for First Place between Jennifer Trawinski (3rd from left) and Ben Nauman (2nd from left), who each received $25, Ben Steiner (far left) in Second Place, receiving $15, and Kerrie Bell (far right) in Third place, receiving $10. Trawinski chose the essay option, and the other three chose to become conversation partners.

Great job to all the participants and to the HPJ Freshman class, who are the future of our department!