International Studies - Quick Question (1 Viewer)

[2700wrms]

Is it mandatory to learn a foreign language? Because if I was going to go overseas I would go to London or the States as a first choice and they obviously speak english.

 

[Peartie]

theres this new international studies stream thats english lit or something but dont know if they do the compolsury overseas component...

why people do international studies and not want to learn a language is beyond me

if you are doing for example German then yes you HAVE to go to Germany/Austria....(unless you do the GCP program i think it is where you go to like Sweden and Netherlands or something....)

if you dont want to go to the country of the language you are learning why not do a Bachelor of Arts and then just do an exchange then??

 

[2700wrms]

But i'm learning English so that ultimately means I could go to an English speaking country doesn't it????
Even if I am fluent, I see no point in learning another language (in my case).

I'm just basically asking, why is it deemed 'unethical' to go to an English speaking country. The term 'international studies' says it all, to learn about the international environment, which for me is the business environment, and places like London and New York is where its at, not Germany. No offence intended.

 

[AsyLum]

But i'm learning English so that ultimately means I could go to an English speaking country doesn't it????
Even if I am fluent, I see no point in learning another language (in my case).

I'm just basically asking, why is it deemed 'unethical' to go to an English speaking country. The term 'international studies' says it all, to learn about the international environment, which for me is the business environment, and places like London and New York is where its at, not Germany. No offence intended.

Then go to International Business, International Studies seems to suggest different cultures, rather than the same Western culture.

It's not 'unethical' but it is definitely not the norm

 

[xeuyrawp]

Your degree is here. There's no compulsory overseas component, but like Peartie said, it's pretty weird to do International Studies, but to study our own culture...

I'm just basically asking, why is it deemed 'unethical' to go to an English speaking country

It's not considered unethical, it's just considered stupid, essentially. If you want to learn about international business, do the international business degree. If you want to learn about IR, do an IR degree, etc etc.

The English version of the BIntsStud degree was introduced exclusively because there were a few students who whinged about the compulsory international component. It's far better for students who want to even do those subjects to actually do a BA with a double major.

Edit: Blah, beaten to the draw!

 

[Peartie]

But i'm learning English so that ultimately means I could go to an English speaking country doesn't it????
Even if I am fluent, I see no point in learning another language (in my case).

I'm just basically asking, why is it deemed 'unethical' to go to an English speaking country. The term 'international studies' says it all, to learn about the international environment, which for me is the business environment, and places like London and New York is where its at, not Germany. No offence intended.

If you do ENGS01 - English Language and Literature for the International Studies degree you dont have a compolsury semester overseas.....

No offence taken with what you said - Germany may not be where its happening i just used it because thats where I am atm.....

But if you do take International Studies (Euro or Asian Languages) you do have to do a semester overseas and the idea is you go to the country of your study to learn the culture and improve your language skills immensly...


I dont want to be rude about the ENGS01 - English Language and Literature stream but I just don't see how it really fits into the scheme of international studies/relations every other course of the INTS that i ever even looked at never offers "english" as the language that you can learn...I just feel that if you are wanting to do English why not do a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English, or a Bachelor of Linguistics? Where English is the main focus....


Edit: Beaten twice

and as has been said - its not unethical I just see it as a waste of time....

 

[xeuyrawp]

Germany may not be where its happening

Er speak for yourself.

 

[Peartie]

lol - in his opinion its not....i love it here....ive wanted to move here and live/work here for about 5 years now maybe longer....

 

[2700wrms]

I still can't see why its not possible or the norm to study the culture of London(example) and how they practice business in this case. Like the majority of the world speaks English and deals in English so I can't see the practicallity of going elsewhere in the world.

Like I just want to know if its possible to do this course, because I got into it for starters, to go to an English speaking country because I thought it was sweet and then I have people asking me what language i'm learning, with my reply being English and they are all like :S.

 

[Peartie]

to do the english one you dont have the overseas bit

if you want to go to England/US/NZ/whereever they speak english

do INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS because then you can go to England or America - and study it there...but with the INTS and English you dont go overseas so if u want to its not the best degree to do......

 

[AsyLum]

I still can't see why its not possible or the norm to study the culture of London(example) and how they practice business in this case. Like the majority of the world speaks English and deals in English so I can't see the practicallity of going elsewhere in the world.

Like I just want to know if its possible to do this course, because I got into it for starters, to go to an English speaking country because I thought it was sweet and then I have people asking me what language i'm learning, with my reply being English and they are all like :S.

Culture != Business, you may have found yourself in the wrong degree.

The majority of the world speaks in English, the question then is why bother with something called 'International Studies'?

Your view seems to encapsulate an English-centric world view, but business in English speaking countries is receding, the economic downturn has only emphasised that, the UK and the US is fast becoming spent powers, Russia and China are providing the most resilient of the new super powers, the subcontinent will continue to be a major player for their sheer workforce/population.

On top of that, the multi-national and international focus of the business world these days is something which lends itself to those who know more than just English, knows about the nuances of dealing with different cultures and in their own language.

 

[xeuyrawp]

I still can't see why its not possible or the norm to study the culture of London(example) and how they practice business in this case. Like the majority of the world speaks English and deals in English so I can't see the practicallity of going elsewhere in the world.

I completely understand where you're coming from.

If you catch a plane from here to London, you're going internationally. Therefore, studying London is international, right? Yes, however this is not what an International Studies degree implies, to be honest.

Like I just want to know if its possible to do this course, because I got into it for starters, to go to an English speaking country because I thought it was sweet and then I have people asking me what language i'm learning, with my reply being English and they are all like :S.

The degree is effectively an English + Politics major without any recognition of that. If you're interested in what you say, why not consider doing a BBA(International), a BA, or something?

Don't worry about what you tell people - I generally tell Non-Award students (who aren't in a degree) to tell people that they're doing a BA.

Unless you re-order your preferences and get a late round offer (which is entirely possible with a BA), you're stuck with your degree for a semester. But don't worry, transferring out is easy, if that's what you want to do.

 

[2700wrms]

Nah I know what you mean, i'll have a chat with someone, because I'm ultra keen to study overseas culture etc etc, but culture dealt in English only.

Even if its not the right degree, I'll just cop it and bail it after the first semester, because I want to do Business Admin for sure, I just wanted to do something on top of just BA, if you no what I mean, and I just went by the handbook. I'll just talk to them about it and work something out.

 

[xeuyrawp]

Nah I know what you mean, i'll have a chat with someone, because I'm ultra keen to study overseas culture etc etc, but culture dealt in English only.

Even if its not the right degree, I'll just cop it and bail it after the first semester, because I want to do Business Admin for sure, I just wanted to do something on top of just BA, if you no what I mean, and I just went by the handbook. I'll just talk to them about it and work something out.

Okay cool - good luck with it.