I appreciated the opportunity to have several guest speakers throughout the semester. They each offered a unique perspective on the world and I enjoyed listening to what they had to say. Scott Christiansen stood out to me because of his relatable topic of social media. He spent some time talking about the rise of social media and its subsequent impact on our lives. Additionally, he asked us to check some data on our phone pertaining to general use, notifications, etc. Furthermore, he challenged me personally to delete my social media applications for a set amount of time, which I did and enjoyed. This was an interactive and educational discussion of social media which gave me some interesting ideas to consider as we continue to evolve in this digital age.
Mary Stegmaier was another guest speaker who stood out to me for her competence and wide range of experience. She discussed North Macedonia and its interaction and conflict with Greece. I was uninformed on the contemporary name issues North Macedonia has dealt with so I found this talk to be enlightening. She was able to visit this country when they voted on their name change which was an interesting experience for anyone to have, so I enjoyed learning about that process. Additionally, she talked about Europe in which she has had the opportunity to travel around. She painted a picture of some historic cities within Europe which may be of value to visit at some point in the future.
Diving into a country this semester was an educational experience that I welcomed and enjoyed. I studied Bangladesh and deeply strengthened my understanding of their current state, history, and contemporary challenges in which Bangladeshis face. Bangladesh struggles with overpopulation, poverty, and a weak government. In my opinion, the government is scraping by with what they are doing to advance their country. They are doing enough to not get ridiculed, but they aren’t putting their country in a position to succeed. They lack the regulatory and legislative changes they need. Because of this, they struggle to attract external investment in their country. Their strong economic growth and significant population, however, puts them in a position to succeed. This is a promising nation that I think has the ability to make a name for itself in the coming decades. While I was able to grow my knowledge of Bangladesh, I was able to learn how to learn about new countries and parts of the world. This was invaluable. The research I did will aid me in the future as I explore new topics.
Globalization: Asia 