Faculty Reflections

Dr. Tim Conley

Dr. Tim Conley leads a discussion with University of Vienna students.

I first taught at the University of Vienna in 1991-92 as a Fulbright Professor of American Literature. Since then I have presented lectures at the annual conference of the Austrian Association for American Studies, again served as Fulbright Professor in 1995-96, twice given talks at international conferences in Vienna, and, with a colleague from the English Department at the University of Vienna, developed and taught a travel course along the Mississippi River for students from Bradley and the University of Vienna. These experiences convinced me that Vienna offers unique possibilities for collaborative work between students and faculty from Bradley and the University of Vienna. In the 2007 Study Abroad program, we were able to take advantage of these possibilities.

In three weeks in May and June, Bradley faculty and students visited a Vienna high school classroom taught by one of my former students, twice met with a Vienna psychologist to discuss cultural differences, and met the director of the Austrian national crisis center who provided a two-hour review of national and international security issues. Perhaps most significantly, all 35 Bradley students joined 40 University of Vienna students for classes on American culture in Austria, for joint explorations of Vienna, and for an evening of posterboard presentations hosted by the University of Vienna Department of English and the American Embassy in Austria. These collaborative efforts drew attention, praise, and commitments to future work together from a variety of academic and governmental representatives. Among these were the American cultural affairs officer in Vienna, the U.S. cultural attaché to Austria, Austrian teachers and university faculty, and the vice-chancellor of the University of Vienna. The unique approach we are taking to study abroad has already paid off and will again in May 2008. The collaboration also led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Bradley and the University of Vienna, which establishes the basis for future collaborative projects.

Dr. Tim Conley, Faculty Director,
Vienna Program

Students

Students from Bradley and the University of Vienna explored Vienna together and then collaboratively presented their findings.

Students in BMA 357, Leadership and Interpersonal Dynamics, had the opportunity to participate in a collaborative project with students from the University of Vienna. Course topics such as understanding cultural assumptions, recognizing and responding to individual similarities and differences, embracing positive conflict encounters, negotiating differences to achieve performance outcomes, and understanding and effectively interacting with various personalities were all enhanced through the interactions and challenges of the collaborative project.

Students reported experiencing the impact that “context” has on behavior, and they understood, in a powerful, firsthand way, that despite some cultural idiosyncrasies, similarities far outweighed differences. The experience also strengthened our students’ self-confidence as they handled a unique project (replete with new teams of cross-cultural students, varied student expectations and aspirations, a short time frame, and open-ended and emerging deliverables) and were able to produce successful outcomes.

This experience helped our students gain a deeper level of cultural understanding than would have occurred otherwise.

Charles Stoner, McCord Professor of
Business Management and Administration

Vienna, the city of arts and culture, became the city of public speaking during the May 2007 Study Abroad program. COM 103, the required general education course for all Bradley students, was offered for the first time abroad. The initial challenge became condensing the semester curriculum without losing the integrity of the course. Happily for all involved, it could be done! Students spoke daily on cultural snapshots, oral assignments focused on cultural topics, and interpersonal communication issues were recorded though daily travel journal entries. The group project was a collaborative assignment with students from the University of Vienna. Speech topics ranged from sanitation issues to educational differences and child panhandling. It was a positive experience for all involved as we learned, explored, and opened our minds to the wonderful diverse culture of Vienna.

B.J. Lawrence,
Department of Communication