"Learning about development has affected me both as a student and as a politician"
Are you politically engaged? Social science studies and international experience can be useful on the path to a career where you get to influence decisions. Meet Emma (21), deputy leader of Norwegian political part Venstre and a Kulturstudier alumna!
This text is translated using AI.
View the original article here.– I traveled to Vietnam with Kulturstudier right after high school to study Development Studies 1. After completing the course, I traveled for two and a half months in Southeast Asia before I spent half a year working back home in Norway.
So I started a bachelor's in International Studies at the University of Oslo, where I am now a little over halfway through.
In addition to my studies, I am involved in politics, both at the local level as a municipal council representative in Nordre Follo municipality, and as the deputy leader of Unge Venstre (the Liberal Party's youth devision).
For those interested in social issues, development studies offer an opportunity to view current problems from entirely different perspectives than you are used to.
You will have to go out into the field yourself and investigate complex and multifaceted situations and see how political decisions, climate change, tourism, or changes in social norms affect the lives of people in a community characterized by significant and rapid changes:
– One of the things I remember most vividly from my semester was the group project we conducted. You choose the theme and research question yourself, and the task should involve fieldwork in Hoi An. My group wrote about Banh Mi vendors and how they were affected by the floods in the city.
Professor Jonathan Rigg elaborates on his view of development
- Vietnam
- Development Studies 1
- Inspiration
"Development should primarily be about the people, and not the economic outcome."
– The fieldwork was very educational and exciting. We interviewed people and worked together to transcribe and write the paper.
It was a perfect way to apply the knowledge gained from studies, learn how to write a lengthy academic text, and at the same time become more familiar with Hoi An and Vietnamese culture.
Social science studies, especially when combined with international experience, contribute to broadening your horizons even if you wish to engage in politics or organizational work at the local level.
By experiencing other cultures, you develop a different perspective on your own culture and local community, which makes it easier to view situations from the outside and not take for granted that the way society is organized is the best.
If you are interested in aid policy and are more concerned with international work and relations between so-called industrialized countries and developing countries, the study will also give you plenty to consider:
– Learning about development in general, and development in Southeast Asia and Vietnam in particular, has influenced me both as a student and as a political activist.
– Southeast Asia is an incredibly exciting region that I have chosen to write several assignments about when I have had the choice during my current bachelor's degree.
Development studies have also made me very politically interested in development policy, such as what constitutes good and bad use of aid funds, for example.
Having studied development is very useful from a political perspective – one understands more about how the processes occur in the recipient countries and how the aid funds actually work.
– I think everything we learned in Development Studies 1 was interesting, and it was a very good introduction to development studies, but also to social science studies in general.
The most educational part was undoubtedly the section about Southeast Asia and Vietnam and the development that has taken place there. Learning about this while living there oneself means that one learns about it both academically, in lectures, and in practice.
I wrote an exam on whether state- or market-led development was better, and I found it to be an interesting issue to learn more about.
Do you want to know more about development studies? Seminar leader Marie explains!
- Vietnam
- Development Studies 1
- Inspiration
"Development Studies are relevant in every future career"
A semester abroad can also help you build a network and get to know others who are interested in the same things as you:
– One learns an incredible amount from living in another country so far away from home.
There is something I recommend everyone to try. I also got to know a lot of nice people who had many of the same interests as me.
Those who travel to Vietnam to study development studies are often adventurous and open-minded people in my experience, which makes it very easy to get to know each other and to find fun things to do together.
– Southeast Asia is an incredibly exciting area from a development perspective, and I don't think there is a better way to learn about this than by taking development studies 1 in Vietnam!
Do like Emma and start your student life in Vietnam, where you'll gain valuable international experience and an introduction to social sciences while experiencing an incredibly exciting part of the world!
