GBL 1480 Preparatory Seminar for Vietnam: Capitalism, Culture, and Modernity

This course prepares students academically, interculturally, and logistically for their short-term global experience. The seminar is offered on campus in the semester prior to the 4 sh global engagement experience. Completion of the predeparture preparatory seminar is required for participation in /gbl-2480'>GBL 2480: Vietnam: Capitalism, Culture and Modernity.

Credits

1 sh

Prerequisite

Acceptance into GBL 2480

Offered

• Fall

Course Outcomes

1. Analyze economic growth through export-led industries and how they shape development and the informal economy by examining how colonial legacies, socialist governance, and integration into global production and trade networks shape contemporary economic development and social outcomes.
2. Compare development strategies and economic models (e.g. free markets and government-led centralized coordination) by evaluating Vietnam alongside a second Asian context (e.g., Hong Kong), with attention to differing colonial histories, political institutions, and development trajectories.
3. Analyze how participation in Vietnam’s informal economy and small-scale entrepreneurship reflects and shapes social identity, community networks, and culturally embedded norms around trust, obligation, and opportunity.
4. Critically reflect on personal assumptions and perspectives by using cross-cultural frameworks such as the Culture Map to better understand how culture shapes perception, communication, and expectations.