Duke University Global Education Office for Undergraduates

News

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WINNER OF THE SPRING 2011 GEO-U DRAWING ANNOUNCED!

Join us in congratulating Alice Yen, who is the winner of a free North American Ticket (valid to US 48, Canada, Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda and Mexico) courtesy of American Airlines. Alice attended the Global Semester Abroad program in Spring 2011.

AREAS OF JAPAN ADDED TO RESTRICTED REGIONS LIST

Effective March 13, 2011, Duke University has restricted travel to portions of Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and in light of damages sustained by several nuclear power stations in the area. Areas of Northern Honsu, the main island of Japan, have been added to the Restricted Regions List for Duke University travel. The Tohuku region which includes the Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata prefectures are included in this restriction. Please see the website for the Restricted Region List for more information.

EGYPT RESTRICTION LIFTED

Effective March 2, 2011 Duke University has removed the full country travel restriction for Egypt. Duke continues to monitor the situation in Egypt. Please see the website for the Restricted Region List for more information.
(posted 3-2-11)

EGYPT ADDED TO DUKE'S RESTRICTED REGION LIST

Duke University placed Egypt on the Restricted Region List for travel. For more information, please visit the website for the Restricted Region List.
(posted 2-2-11)

DUKE STUDENTS MEET GORDON BROWN

Two Duke study abroad students met former Great Britain Prime Minister Gordon Brown during a Nov. 16 breakfast in Florence, Italy. Read more here.
(posted 12--09-10)

STUDY ABROAD STUDENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN DURHAM SCHOOLS

Several Duke students abroad talked via internet to International Baccalaureate students at Durham's Shepard Middle School. This was part of the school's "Make a Difference Day". Students talked about preparing for college, cultural and educational differences.

CONGRATULATIONS TO GILMAN RECIPIENTS

Congratulations to Thomas Burr (Russia) and Michelle Wu (UK) for receiving 2010-11 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program awards. Students wishing to apply for a spring 2011 award need to apply by Oct. 10. More details can be found at www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program.

NEW PROGRAMS ADDED TO APPROVED LIST

Several new programs have been added to the study abroad approved program list, effective for Spring 2011. New semester programs include SIT Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change, SIT Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy, and CEA Barcelona Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. New programs for summer are Kyushu University Asia in Today's World, and Hendrix College: Accademia dell'Arte. For our full list of approved programs, click here.
(posted 5-25-10)
 

BANGKOK ADDED TO DUKE'S RESTRICTED REGION LIST

Duke University placed Bangkok, Thailand on the Restricted Region List for travel. For more information, please visit the website for the Restricted Region List.

CHANGE IN RESTRICTION FOR TRAVEL TO NEPAL

The International Travel Oversight Committee has voted to modify the Restricted Regions List as it regards the country of Nepal. Previously, a restriction had been in place for the entire country. In light of recent safety and security improvements, this restriction has been modified leaving only the Terai region of the country on the Restricted Regions List.

A petition to waive this restriction would be necessary for any undergraduate wishing to travel to the Terai region. Please visit the Duke Travel Policy website for more information on additional requirements regarding travel at https://eruditio.aas.duke.edu/international/

Travelers are urged to take precautions by informing themselves of the situation in Nepal prior to departure.

(posted 4-7-10)

HAITI ADDED TO DUKE'S RESTRICTED REGION LIST

Duke University placed Haiti on the Restricted Region List for travel. For more information, please visit the website for the Restricted Region List.

(posted 1-25-10)

FORMER DUKE STUDY ABROAD STUDENT AWARDED MARSHALL SCHOLARSHIP

Andrew “Andy” Cunningham, a 2008 summa cum laude graduate of Duke University who has been active in public service around the world, will receive the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, the scholarship program announced this week. Andy participated in the Duke in China semester program in 2007. Read more here.

(posted 12-2-09)

MADAGASCAR TRAVEL RESTRICTION REMOVED

The Duke International Travel Oversight Committee voted to remove the travel restriction it had previously place on the country of Madagascar.

(posted 9-3-09)

OFFICE NAME CHANGE

The Duke University Office of Study Abroad will henceforth be known as the Global Education Office for Undergraduates, or Global Ed for short, or GEO-U. Please be patient with us (and continue to recognize us!) as we transition.

(posted 6-25-09)

GLASGOW STUDENTS MEET PRESIDING SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT OFFICER

: Students on the Duke in Glasgow program were highlighted on the front page of the University of Glasgow website:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_101063_en.html

.

 

(posted 12-5-08)

 

 


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Postcard from Abroad

Dear Duke Global Education Office:

This semester, I traveled from Melbourne to Australia's heart, the Outback, with a course called "Exploring Central Australia." There, we spent seven wonderful days camping out by night, listening to lectures by Aboriginal elders by day, and constantly learning about the peoples and the landscapes that lie at the geographical, cultural, and emotional center of this country.

My passion is language, so I was thrilled when a Pitjantjatjara elder handed me a primer on his people's language. A few days later, armed with a handful of vocabulary and verb conjugations, I surprised a few Pitjantjatjara women by greeting them in their own language! Our conversation was brief, but being able to connect with the indigenous people of this land on their own terms -- and not the terms of modern Australia -- was important to me.

Out in the Outback, I learned that not all parts of Australia are like Sydney or Melbourne (which are striking in their own way, multicultural and cosmopolitan). In the Center, where Aboriginal culture is still strong, Australians live a different life: harder, drier, but infinitely closer to the land and all the stories it holds.

The most obvious example of this poignant man-landscape connection is the mythos around Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock), which holds paramount significance for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Aborigines see it as a part of their religious outlook, and other Australians see it in a quasi-religious, nationally emblematic way. Either way, this magical Rock moved at least half of my classmates (who were equal parts Australian and foreign) to tears.

Australia holds a lot in its landscape, and I am so glad to have experienced it.

-Sandeep Prasanna

 


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Postcard from Abroad

Dear Global Education Office:

This past summer I was given the unique opportunity of participating in the Duke in Flanders summer study abroad program. Under the guidance of Professor Hans J. Van Miegroet, we studied visual culture in the Greater Netherlands and its underlying historical and socioeconomic assumptions from the Late Medieval to the Early Modern period. We spent the first two weeks living in Amsterdam and traveling to nearby cities such as Haarlem and Utrecht, and then moved to Ghent, Belgium where we spent our final four weeks.

Included in the program were visits to major museums, sites, private collections, a critical introduction to research strategies, and discussion sessions with leading scholars in the art history field such as Jan de Maere on art dealing and collecting. The academic experience I had under the guidance of Professor Van Miegroet was inspirational and furthered my excitement about my studies at Duke where I am currently a candidate for a Bachelor of Arts in International Comparative Studies. My focus is in Art History and I will also minor in Spanish.

I am spending the fall semester in New York City as a participant in the Duke in New York Arts & Media Program. The educational experiences I had this past summer inspired me to consider art business as a potential profession. I am currently an intern at Christie's, the worlds leading art business, in the Old Masters and 19th Century Department. I am incredibly thankful for having the opportunity to participate in the Duke in Flanders program as I have developed a passion and interest in a field I'm not sure I would have discovered otherwise.

This photo was taken in Ghent during the Ghent Music Festival-one of the biggest international music festivals in Europe.

-Anna Ruddle

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