The Dittmann article cited elsewhere credits
Dittmann and Ansgar Sovik as being the cofounders of
the International Studies Program at St. Olaf.
However, the article also mentions that Bill Narum,
along with Walter Stromseth, were "important
contributors" to the Program. This statement, combined
with some comments I've found in my journal, gives
some insight on the design of the original Global
Semester and what its intended purpose was. We can
also contrast that design with that of the later
Global Semesters.
My September 12, 1971, journal entry (in Addis Ababa)
includes:
"In the evening we discussed Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem,
as well as Ethiopia. We can think of Rome as the
legal-judicial foundation of the West, Athens as the
philosophical-intellectual foundation, and Jerusalem as the
spiritual foundation. As Christianity developed and fed
Rome and Athens, we had the developing of the Western
Christianity -- R.C. and Protestantism -- from Rome and
Eastern {Christian} religions developing primarily
from Greece. Certainly though, we are influenced by such
things as Greek logic.
"In discussing Ethiopia we learned of the situation of the
Eastern Orthodox Church. Originally it held the country
together but now it is holding it back with all its
traditional ways -- fasting days are over 50%, etc."
This discussion was clearly one led by Bill Narum, probably
a gathering during dinner. This suggests to me that Bill
Narum was instrumental in designing those first Global
Semesters. (Although we were the fourth trip, the
itineraries were all basically the same up to that point.)
The Global design was perfectly reflective of the religious
philosopher:
1) Start with a brief grounding in Western and Christian
thought by visiting Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem. Introduce
a little of Islam with Jerusalem.
2) Allow for an interlude in Ethiopia that presents
(extreme) third-world poverty while introducing the
transition from Western thought to Eastern thought.
3) In India, revel in the complexity of Hinduism. Explain
its interaction with Islam and the Moghuls. Explain the
off-shoot of Buddhism. Draw meaning from the important
sites in northern India (e.g., the Taj, and especially
Benares and Sarnath).
4) In Taiwan, illustrate Taoism and Confucianism and the
mingling with Buddhism.
5) In Japan, show the culmination of Buddhist culture and
thought in Kyoto and Nara.
Although #2 above is a stretch, it was probably suggested
by Dittmann who still had vital contacts in Ethiopia where
he had once taught. Elsewhere in my journal I note that
Bill Narum said that "Ethiopia is to Africa as the
Philippines are to Asia." I suspect that Bill N. wasn't as
enthusiastic about including Ethiopia as Dittmann was. Bill
probably would have preferred something like Istanbul or
Cairo or even a more mainline African city. I recall that
he also suggested once that Taiwan was a poor substitute
for China. Politics and practicalities certainly intervened
on that one. However, in this original vision of the Global
Semester, a) Rome-Athens-Jerusalem, b) northern India, and
c) Japan, were essential and probably non-negotiable.
We can also imagine how much Bill Narum would have wanted
to teach the Global Semester based upon this (probably his)
religion-philosophy vision. Fortunately for all of us,
circumstances came together in 1971 with Bill's 1972
appointment to the East-West Center. The boys would have to
be taken out of school anyway for the stay in Honolulu.
Paul wasn't yet, but soon would be, in high school. David
was now old enough to carry his weight. Time to go for it.
Over the years the original design evolved. By 1978,
according to Mark Fihn's site, Ethiopia had been
replaced by Cairo and Allahabad had been replaced by
Bangalore. There were a few days allotted for New
Delhi to get to the Taj but it doesn't look like
Benares was included. By 1993, according to Jeff Hellmer's site
(no longer available), Geneva had
replaced Rome and Hong Kong and mainland China had
replaced Taiwan. Also, by 1993, the group was staying
at a different kaikan in Kyoto. By 2001, Korea had
replaced Japan. The 2004 Global did include Rome.
The overthrow of Selassie and the civil war in Ethiopia
ended the stay there. If the 1974-75 Global group was still
stopping in Ethiopia, they would have witnessed the
overthrow and almost certainly would have been the last
Global group to stay in Addis. I'm guessing that our bad
health experiences in Allahabad may have led to the move to
Bangalore and the deletion of Benares. With mainland China
open, Taiwan was no longer necessary as a substitute. And
perhaps economics led to the abandonment of Japan. (That
one is the hardest to understand.)
The 2018 Global Semester will go to Cairo, Tanzania, India (10 days only), Beijing, and Buenos Aires.
Things change. It's a testament to the college that it has
maintained its commitment to the Global Semester, the
overall spirit of which has not changed. But our version of
the Global experience was a special one: the implementation
of the design by its designer.