Sponsored by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, two active learning activities in international studies are granting West Virginia University students the opportunity to integrate material learned in their classrooms into foreign policy role-playing in simulated international organizations.

The WVU chapter of the Model Organization of American States (MOAS) prepares WVU students for annual MOAS diplomatic simulations in Washington, D.C., which convene in April. The real OAS is a group of nations from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, which meet and resolve problems facing member states.

Jamie Jacobs, assistant professor of political science and Model OAS adviser, explains that each participating college represents an OAS -member country. She added that the semester-long preparation and participation count as course credit and also fulfills the capstone requirement for majors in the International Studies Program.

“This is an in-depth study that allows students to integrate a culmination of knowledge learned during their academic careers and to put it into practice with foreign policy making and parliamentary procedures,”Jacobs said.

This spring, 11 WVU students represented Panama. They became experts on Panama’s government and practiced parliamentary procedure, debating and public speaking. They also developed a unique sense of how citizens and officials of Panama view the world.

Another program, directed by political science Professor Joe Hagan, takes a larger, global approach toward foreign policy. The Model United Nations (UN) is an International Studies Program elective that counts as course credit, and, like the MOAS , fulfills the capstone requirement for that major. WVU is in the process of integrating into each undergraduate major a capstone projecta thesis, internship, research experience or other activitythat provides graduating seniors with an activity that integrates various aspects of their college course work.

This past year, eight undergraduates and one graduate student from WVU traveled to New York City and represented the country of Azerbaijan. They engaged in active learning processes, as did the MOAS students, by representing a country on the opposite side of the world.

Azerbaijan is a democratizing state that used to be part of the Soviet Union, on the northern fringes of the Middle East and adjacent to war-torn Chechnya. Living in such a volatile part of the world creates plenty of international issues to discuss and resolve at the Model UN.

“This intense simulation provides the students with the experience of how international organizations operate,”Hagan said.”They learn how countries formulate policy positions, how they bargain and negotiate with other delegates, and how the caucusing process gets the majority of 150 separate countries to agree on a single issue.”

Students not only learn the processes of such delegation, they also learn a great deal about the country that they are representing. Azerbaijan is not only a hot spot for terrorism, but also contains huge oil reserves that used to be controlled by the Soviet Union. Casting aside their American view of the world wasn’t easy for the WVU students, Hagan said, but they did, and in turn they learned how a small, relatively young country squints in the face of superpowers.

Then, the students learned how to deal with other issues brought to the table by other countries. The issues under consideration during the week-long simulations are the same issues under consideration by the actual UN and OAS . The problems are complex and filled with political and economic tensions.

“These active learning experiences are tremendous opportunities for our students,”Hagan said.”The students control the classroom and absorb leadership skills that they can use after graduation.”