Interdependence

WORKSHOP FACILITATORS:
Sam Brandauer, Associate Provost and Executive Director, Center for Global Study and Engagement
Bruno Grazioli, Director, Italian Studies Program in Bologna (Italy)

LEARNING GOALS:
After completing the workshop, students will be able to:

  • Provide a general definition of the concept of interdependence
  • Apply the lens of interdependence to food production and food insecurity
  • Discuss ways to advance interdependence through choices you make in your life

BEFORE WORKSHOP (30 mins, ASYNCHRONOUS WORK)

Before the workshop on Interdependence, students are asked to: 

  1. Submit a 60-90 second video addressing these questions (self recordings are fine!):

    • What is a challenge, global or local, that you are passionate about?
    • Why do you care about this? How have you seen this play out in your own life?

If you are struggling to identify a global or local challenge, we suggest exploring the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals

    • You need to share your video on this blog.
      • Record it
      • Create a “New Post” with your name as the post title
      • Add any text and upload video to the post or insert link from You Tube.
      • Make sure to select Cohort 1, 2 or 3 accordingly as the “category” of your post. That will add it to the menu.
      • Update and publish your post! (Make sure it’s showing up in the menu so others can view it)
  2. Watch videos by others in the same cohort before this meeting
  3.  Spend 12-15 minutes researching the meaning of INTERDEPENDENCE online. You will report back in class during the workshop.

WORKSHOP MEETING (60 mins, SYNCHRONOUS WORK) 

GATHERING (NEW) IDEAS (15 mins) – 1 group (about 15 students) or divided into 2 groups (6-7 students each) 

    • We will freely share ideas about videos by students and instructors (see above) 
    • We will note main ideas on a doc while screen–sharing

INTERDEPENDENCE (25 mins) – 4 breakout rooms for 10-12 mins (instructors will join rooms to monitor students’ work)

    • Students will share findings from researching the meaning of INTERDEPENDENCE 
    • Each room/group will identify one shared definition of this concept
    • Back to main room as 1 group for 10-15 mins
    • Each room/group will share their definition with the class, and we will discuss them
    • Instructors will present the concept of INTERDEPENDENCE and how to apply it (the last 5-7 mins) drawing from the TOOLKIT

FOOD INSECURITY (15 mins) – 1 group 

    • Student will watch this video (3:28 mins)
    • The video will allow us to “loosely” introduce the topic of food insecurity by focusing on interdependence and food production.
    • Students will answer the final “How does food insecurity play out in your local community?” and think about the local communities’ accessibility to food
    • Students will take a couple of minutes to think and will write their answers in the chat 

AFTER THIS WORKSHOP/BEFORE NEXT WORKSHOP  (20 mins, ASYNCHRONOUS WORK) 

Before the next workshop, students are asked to: 

Write responses for your reflections (250-300 words) to these two questions. Please document this reflection in writing as a post on this blog. Tag it with the category “interdependence”.

    • The idea of interdependence calls attention to how our choices (actions or inactions) affect others and ourselves. What are some of the choices you make every day that affect others?
    • Do you see yourself as a ”product of interdependence”? 

Don’t forget to also complete the pre-workshop assignments for the Sustainability Workshop.