Name: Jackie Gaffney
Home University: Indiana University
Summer Session 1 Course: Corporate Social Responsibility: Business of Ethics?
Summer Session 2 Course: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism from a European Perspective
After walking around Copenhagen for the past week and finding incredible sights, I have come to the realization that focusing on school while abroad is more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I am in a new city with so much to do and it is summer… but I am extremely lucky that my class and my professors make it a wonderful experience!
As a recap, I am currently taking a class called Corporate Social Responsibility: Business or Ethics? It challenges the way we think about business and what it means to be responsible in business. What is the difference between a caring corporation and a corporation only set on making profits? It can be a tough line to draw. Luckily, I have two dedicated professors who take turns teaching the class. The DIS classrooms are so bright and open that they make it a comfortable place to learn and makes it easier to facilitate class discussions. I never feel like we are wasting time or going off topic because everything we learn and discuss has a purpose. It is a comfortable environment where people are confident to share their answers and opinions.
What I like most about this class is that even though it falls in the business category, only about half of the people in class are business majors. Therefore, our discussions are more interesting and the conversations are more stimulating due to the range of perspectives. On our first day of class, we participated in a short debate which split the class into two groups, each with a separate perspective and argument to share based on our first reading assignment. This kind of learning not only teaches students about the concepts themselves, but teaches students how to support their thoughts and ideas. That is why I love DIS so much. My professors do not want us to simply read an article and memorize it; they want us to take our readings and apply them to other situations.
It baffles me that we only have 7 class days left in Session 1. Let’s hope I can balance getting all of my work done while still discovering what else Copenhagen has to offer!