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| SPS and St. Albans faculty member Dr. Robert Shurmer |
After yesterday's peripatetic* day (*reading the School of Public Service Blog is good SAT prep) for the St. Albans School of Public Service, today SPS stayed closer to home (for the most part). In the morning, SPS continued its work with Mr. Eagles in Economics, and had the second in a series of International Relations classes with SPS faculty member Dr. Robert Shurmer. In the first session earlier this week, the discussion ranged from Edward Snowden to a primer on Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War, all in less than an
hour. The discussion
of Snowden’s actions focused not on the domestic question of whether he is a
traitor or a whistle-blowing hero, but rather on the possible effects his
actions might have on U.S. international relations. Using this as a springboard, Dr. Shurmer
then introduced the larger idea of international relations as an academic
discipline and asked students to begin articulating how they understand U.S.
foreign policy and what lenses they use to think about our international
relations. (And yes, this all tied
quite naturally into a discussion of Thucydides and his study of war, though no
spoilers yet on where Dr. Shurmer falls on the spectrum of
idealists-to-realists...)
In the afternoon, part of the group headed off on another of the small group "Ted Trips" led by SPS faculty member Mr. Ted Eagles. This afternoon's destination was the Center for Strategic and International Studies ("CSIS"), for an event focusing on President Obama's recent trip to Africa. (Click HERE for a link to the CSIS description of the event.) Meanwhile, back on campus, the students were treated to a great presentation on networking and career strategy by Mr. Adam Hanover, a 2004 alumnus of the St. Albans School of Public Service who now works at the Carlyle Group.
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| Edward Snowden has become a larger than life figure in U.S. international relations recently |
In the afternoon, part of the group headed off on another of the small group "Ted Trips" led by SPS faculty member Mr. Ted Eagles. This afternoon's destination was the Center for Strategic and International Studies ("CSIS"), for an event focusing on President Obama's recent trip to Africa. (Click HERE for a link to the CSIS description of the event.) Meanwhile, back on campus, the students were treated to a great presentation on networking and career strategy by Mr. Adam Hanover, a 2004 alumnus of the St. Albans School of Public Service who now works at the Carlyle Group.
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| Our speaker, SPS 2014 alum Adam Hanover |
