Submitted by Zachary Shulman on the 2019 fall semester DIS program in Copenhagen, Denmark…
A crucial element of the academic experience here in Denmark are the weekly field studies. Instead of a typical 5-day class schedule, we are given Wednesdays off to travel around the Greater Copenhagen Area with each one of our courses on field studies. While they are mandatory, they break the traditional cycle of classroom learning to give students hands-on experience in the information they would otherwise be learning from textbooks and lectures. Similar to the trip to Hamburg I posted about recently, the field studies are typically accompanied by an expert tour guide.
Over the past two weeks, I have had three field studies with three separate class. My first field study was with my E.U.-U.S. Relations course, which brought us to the Danish Foreign Ministry where we received debriefings on Denmark’s relationship with Russia and its strategic interests in the Arctic Circle from two advisors/experts in those respective fields. Then, this past Wednesday, I traveled to the Danish Parliament, more accurately called the Folketing, with my core course, European Game of Politics. During this field study, we had the pleasure of receiving our tour of the building from a Danish Member of Parliament from the Socialist People’s Party, a misleadingly named, moderately left-leaning political party committed to the perfection of the Danish welfare state.
Lastly, I had the pleasure of taking a bike tour with my Environmental Policy in Practice course through the preserved land of Amager Faelled on the large island of Amager just south of Copenhagen’s center city. As a student of politics, I am primarily concerned with environmental issues, so this field study was particularly fascinating. Amager Faelled is a fascinating case study in the balancing act of economic development and natural preservation. The northern-most region of it is owned by the Copenhagen municipality, which had been pushing to pave it over and build new housing units. Fortunately, in accordance with EU law and public outcry, the plan was scrapped. The fight for preservation, however, is never over, and our tour guide highlighted some of the responsibilities of the park’s management and the Danish Nature Agency to make sure that there are always undeveloped pieces of land for locals to enjoy.
Through these case studies, I am able to gain an understanding of these issues as Denmark is dealing with them, though they are not specific to Denmark at all. Relations with Russia and the Arctic states, the expansion (or at least perfection) of a welfare state, and the ongoing debate between development and preservation are just as prevalent in the United States. As a concerned citizen, I believe my opinions and ideas are being all, but refined by these experiences which provide valuable inspiration and creative perspectives with which I can view our own unique situation.
