Spring Intercultural Ventures explore geopolitics and economic change on the ground | Penn Today
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:10
Spring Intercultural Ventures explore geopolitics and economic change on the ground | Penn Today
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The most recent
Lauder Intercultural Ventures
(LIVs) program cohort traveled to five destinations around the world for short-term academic immersions. Each LIV focuses on a theme relevant to the site’s historical, social, political, economic, and/or cultural context. While one LIV returned to Botswana, repeating last spring’s program on health care and economic sustainability, four other destinations—Bulgaria, South Korea, India, and the Dominican Republic—introduced new themes through which students examined how history, policy, and economic forces shape conditions on the ground.
View large image
LIV students following a game drive at Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Gaborone, Botswana.
(Image: Ludovico Galli)
The newly created LIV to Bulgaria centered on the country’s evolving role as a member of the European Union, highlighting Bulgaria’s gradual integration into EU frameworks since 2007 and recent adoption of the euro. In South Korea, the focus of the LIV was national security; students gained firsthand insight into security dilemmas, alliance politics, and regional power competition through visits to the Demilitarized Zone at the North-South Korea border and the War Memorial of Korea. The Dominican Republic LIV provided a lens into how small island developing states engage global and regional markets while preserving traditions. And in India, the focus shifted to media technologies and their role in shaping public culture. In Delhi, students met with experts working at the intersection of media and governance to examine Indian news media, including issues of misinformation and mobile inclusion.
Led by a faculty expert in each destination, LIVs allow students to examine complex issues through direct, field-based engagement and a regionally relevant theme. As a required component of Lauder’s MA in International Studies, students complete two LIVs before graduation.
Read more at
The Lauder Institute
.
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Skip to Content
Skip to Content
News from
University of Pennsylvania
Try Advanced Search
The most recent
Lauder Intercultural Ventures
(LIVs) program cohort traveled to five destinations around the world for short-term academic immersions. Each LIV focuses on a theme relevant to the site’s historical, social, political, economic, and/or cultural context. While one LIV returned to Botswana, repeating last spring’s program on health care and economic sustainability, four other destinations—Bulgaria, South Korea, India, and the Dominican Republic—introduced new themes through which students examined how history, policy, and economic forces shape conditions on the ground.
View large image
LIV students following a game drive at Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Gaborone, Botswana.
(Image: Ludovico Galli)
The newly created LIV to Bulgaria centered on the country’s evolving role as a member of the European Union, highlighting Bulgaria’s gradual integration into EU frameworks since 2007 and recent adoption of the euro. In South Korea, the focus of the LIV was national security; students gained firsthand insight into security dilemmas, alliance politics, and regional power competition through visits to the Demilitarized Zone at the North-South Korea border and the War Memorial of Korea. The Dominican Republic LIV provided a lens into how small island developing states engage global and regional markets while preserving traditions. And in India, the focus shifted to media technologies and their role in shaping public culture. In Delhi, students met with experts working at the intersection of media and governance to examine Indian news media, including issues of misinformation and mobile inclusion.
Led by a faculty expert in each destination, LIVs allow students to examine complex issues through direct, field-based engagement and a regionally relevant theme. As a required component of Lauder’s MA in International Studies, students complete two LIVs before graduation.
Read more at
The Lauder Institute
.
Share this article
Threads
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Wharton School
Global Outreach
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No brain, no gain: Neuronal activity enhances benefits of exercise
Image: Sciepro/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
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Research led by Penn neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley and collaborators finds that hypothalamic neurons are essential for translating physical exertion into endurance, potentially opening the door to exercise-mimicking therapies.
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In honor of Valentine's Day, and as a way of fostering community in her Shakespeare in Love course, Becky Friedman took her students to the University Club for lunch one class period. They talked about the movie "Shakespeare in Love," as part of a broader conversation on how Shakespeare's works are adapted.
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In Becky Friedman’s English course Shakespeare in Love, undergraduate students analyze language, genre, and adaptation in the Bard’s plays through the lens of love.
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