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ERIC Number: EJ771057
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0190-2946
EISSN: N/A
Join the Army and See the World
Galgano, Francis A., Jr.
Academe, v93 n4 Jul-Aug 2007
This article maintains that nobody has a bigger stake in successful global cultural education than the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York. Since the early 1990s, a bipolar world dominated by two superpowers has evolved into a world with a far less certain strategic outlook. This has spawned an increase in nontraditional military missions such as humanitarian support, peacekeeping, and stability and support operations. For West Point graduates, this new paradigm demands an enhanced regional expertise and understanding of cultural diversity. The USMA trains their graduates to appreciate cultural diversity, both at home and abroad, and to know what questions to ask to learn more about the unfamiliar cultures they are sure to encounter in their military careers. The USMA has made fundamental changes to its core curriculum over the past decade to better integrate the study of culture into the cadet learning experience. The core curriculum includes a hierarchy of humanities and social science courses that support the culture perspective goal. The USMA offers overseas summer travel experiences and a foreign exchange program to develop culture awareness. Officers who can see the world from various perspectives and understand diverse historical interpretations of world events will be more successful in modern military environments that increasingly inject young officers into difficult cultural and ethnic scenarios.
American Association of University Professors. 1012 Fourteenth Street NW Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 800-424-2973; Tel: 202-737-5900; Fax: 202-737-5526; e-mail: academe@aaup.org; Web site: http://www.aaup.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A