School of Foreign Service - Georgetown

China is now the world's 2nd biggest economy, having overtaken Japan. It is also the word's largest emitter of greenhouse gases which contributes to climate change. It consumes nearly half of all the coal produced globally, as well as nearly half of all the world's annual production of aluminum, copper, nickel and zinc. Last year, China used twice as much steel as Europe, US, and Japan combined. China is beyond doubt a major global power and it is beginning to behave like one. China appears increasingly less content solely focusing on its internal affairs while leaving the rest of the world to look after itself. Whether it is how to revive global economy, how best to control the emissions of carbon gases, or how to resolve regional tensions, what China thinks matters. So what does China think? What does China want to achieve with its growing global influence and what does the world expect from it. Speaker: Paul Haenle is the director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, China. Prior to joining Carnegie, he served from June 2007 to June 2009 as the director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolian Affairs on the National Security Council staffs of former President George W. Bush and President Barack H. Obama. From June 2007 to January 2009, Haenle also played a key role as the White House representative to the U.S. negotiating team at the Six-Party Talks nuclear negotiations and, from May 2004 to June 2007, served as the executive assistant to the U.S. national security adviser.

Trained as a China foreign area officer in the U.S. Army, Haenle has been assigned twice to the U.S. embassy in Beijing, China, served as a U.S. Army company commander during a two-year tour to the Republic of Korea, and also worked in the Pentagon as an adviser on China, Taiwan, and Mongolia affairs on the staff of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Early assignments in the U.S. Army included postings in Germany, Desert Storm 1991, Korea, and Kuwait. He retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in October 2009.

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Advanced Placement (AP) credits are now posted to student records. If you received qualifying scores on any AP exams, please check your transcript and MyDegree on MyAccess at https://myaccess.georgetown.edu to confirm your credits are posted.

To view our AP policies and corresponding transfer credit, see http://bsfs.georgetown.edu/academics/core/credits/ap.

Credit for language depends on placement, SAT II scores or current enrollment. If you placed into or start at the Advanced level, you do not receive AP credit. If you didn't 'validate' your AP credit by placement, SAT II scores or enrollment, you do not receive AP credit for language.

Credits for IBs/A-levels and other 13th year programs are not yet recorded. These will be posted by the end of next week.

If you receive credit through the AP or other exams and then take the equivalent course at GU, your AP/other credit will be deleted.

If you received qualifying scores and do not see the appropriate credit posted, this means GU has not received your AP Official Score Report. If you have an official report, you may bring it to your dean for recording. If not, please call the College Board at 1-888-CALL-4AP and have your scores (re)sent directly to you. For specific questions, please consult your Dean.

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MSFS first year student Sean Mann recently wrote a piece for Foreign Policy about the presence of the Taliban in Pakistan and the turning tide with the Pakistani military.

Information from the FATA is scarce, as few independent reporters are fearless enough to venture into the area, and their number is dwindling. Over coffee in Islamabad last February, Asia Times Online's Syed Saleem Shahzad told me, "journalist access in the tribal areas is difficult now, you need strong contacts with the government, the locals, and also with the militants." Tragically, three months later Shahzad's body was found dumped in a canal southeast of the capital. Many blame the Pakistani security services for his death, and interpret his killing as intended to intimidate the Pakistani media.

To read the full article, check it out at Foreign Policy.

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“Information to Take You Through the Rest of the Semester”

Abridged Notes from the SFS Freshman Class Meeting (September 27)

Scheduling a Meeting with Your Dean

http://bsfs.georgetown.edu/

Honor Code: Academic Integrity Tutorial should be successfully completed! Deadline October 7!

Your SFS Academic Council Freshman Representatives

Sam Greco, sag95@georgetown.edu

Asjed Hussain, ash64@georgetown.edu

SFS Academic Council, gusfsac@gmail.com

Campus Resources

CAPS, http://caps.georgetown.edu/

Career Education Center, http://careerweb.georgetown.edu/

Academic Resource Center, http://guarc.georgetown.edu/academic/workshops/

ECON Tutoring, Head Tutor, Cindy Yang cay3@georgetown.edu

AP, IB, and other Credits

If not on transcript by end of this month, inquire your dean

Parents’ Weekend (October 14-16)

Mid-Semester Advisory Grades (October 14)

Withdrawal Deadline (November 7)

- W will appear on transcript

- after this deadline, you are committed to completing the course

Pre-Registration (November 7 to 19) for Spring Semester

Schedule of spring courses posted on web just before that

Normal load:

- if you are not taking an intensive language, 5 courses plus Map

- if you are taking an intensive language, 4 or 5 courses plus Map

Requests should include:

- INAF-008 Map (unless you passed the exemption)

- Foreign Language (taken in sequence until proficiency is fulfilled)

- Econ (for most, ECON-001 Micro Principles or ECON-002 Macro Principles)

- PHIL-099 Political and Social Thought (if not taking it now)

- Core requirements

Go to BSFS website for Core requirements, and MyAccess’s MyDegree function to see what has counted against satisfaction of requirements

Priority among Core requirements:

- 1^st History (HIST-008) unless you have AP or other credit

- 1^st Theology (THEO-001, THEO-011)

- 1^st Humanities & Writing (HUMW-011) unless you have AP or other credit

Next level priority:

- GOVT-006 IR

- Regional History

Prospective IECO/IPEC majors: If you do not have Calc I credit yet, you want to take Calc I (MATH-035).

Order of the courses submitted in MyAccess matters for priority. Selecting alternates is very important.

Incomplete (N grade)

- at the end of the semester, if for serious illness or grave family reasons you cannot complete the course, you can request to take an incomplete by submitting supporting documentation to your dean/counselor

- not for other reasons (such as not being ready or slept through the exam)

- if dean approves, you will have until March 15 to finish the remaining requirements

- you cannot take an incomplete by just getting the professor’s approval: you have to have the dean’s approval, without which you will get an unauthorized incomplete (failing grade subject to academic probation)

Final Exam Conflicts

- if you have 2 final exams scheduled at the same time, or 3 exams on one day or three consecutive exams, you can request one of them to be rescheduled to the last day of final exams (December 20)

- only applies to regularly scheduled final exams, and not take-home exams, paper due dates, and make-up exams

- form is available at the dean’s office, and request must be submitted by the last day of classes (December 7)

Good Academic Performance

Honor roll each semester (recorded on transcript):

3.5 = Dean’s List (cum laude)

3.7 = Second Honors (magna cum laude)

3.9 = First Honors (sigma cum laude)

Cumulative GPA will determine cum laude honor status upon graduation.

Note: 3.0 cumulative needed to be able to study abroad during junior year.

Poor Academic Performance

Academic Standards Committee looks for:

- D+s, Ds, Fs (including U in Map course)

- Failure to enroll in required classes

- Failure to enroll in language classes if proficiency is not completed

- Patterns of withdrawals

- Unauthorized incompletes

- Low GPAs (less than 2.0)

Committee has authority to impose sanctions: probation, final probation, suspension, and dismissal.

Policies and Procedures

For comprehensive policies, go to:

http://bsfs.georgetown.edu/policies/

http://bulletin.georgetown.edu/

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We plan to hold the SFS Chinese Proficiency Exam between Oct 17 and Nov 4, 2011. Please ask your students to sign up for the exam online by 11/01 at http://www2.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?datafile=chinese_proficiency_test

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SFS Dean Carol Lancaster recently participated as moderator in a roundtable on the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development.  The event's host -- MFAN, the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network -- live-tweeted the conversation and posted a summary.

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At the Foreign Policy website, SFS' Christine Fair summarizes her analysis of information regarding officers recruited into Pakistan's army.  She writes on what her research reveals:

Four key findings emerge.... First, among the demographic variables, districts with more people who could do basic math were more likely to produce officers. This suggests that foundational human capital matters to the Army, as expected.

Second, districts with more private high schools in a district are less likely to produce officers than those with fewer private high schools. This is consistent with the conventional wisdom that the Army no longer recruits from Pakistan's elite families.

Third, as in the United States, the presence of retired officers is a strong and significant predictor of recruitment outcomes. This suggests that retirees create positive, pro-military environments conducive to recruitment....

Fourth, our analysis of social liberalism characteristics suggests that in many ways more liberal districts are producing officers.

Read the full piece at ForeignPolicy.com.

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Wednesday, October 12 from 6:30-7:30 pm in the Career Center (1 Leavey Center).  Come to hear what RCST graduates are doing with their major, how they have described the major to employers, and what skills fostered at GU have been most helpful in the workplace.  The Career Center will also provide a brief overview of their services.  Panelist include alums who work for Deloitte, Citigroup, and the U.S. Department of State.   Perfect event for both current and prospective RCST majors.  Please RSVP to Dean Zenick zenicke@georgetown.edu to reserve a spot.

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Proficiency Exam Dates: November 15, 16, 17.

Sign up is November 1-11, please visit

http://french.georgetown.edu/240888.html for

more information.

Eligibility for Undergraduates

SFS undergraduates must have completed 112, 151, 161, 215, 250, 251, or any course beyond the Gateway (250/251).

If you are currently enrolled in any of the above courses and it is the first French course you are taking at GU, you may sit for the proficiency exam in November or April.

SFS undergraduates who plan to study abroad should be aware that their direct matriculation into a Francophone institution will automatically fulfill their oral proficiency exam requirement (assuming students pass all courses abroad). Students who directly matriculate thus need not sit for this exam.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the BSFS Proficiency Exam?

The French Proficiency Exam is an oral language exam. Candidates will be judged on their ability to outline the given article and sustain a conversation on topics in international affairs, politics, economics, culture, and civilization, relating specifically to the French or Francophone worlds, while using a wide range of vocabulary, correct grammar, proper pronunciation, and a professional level of language. The content (See the list of themes attached.) is the basis for the conversations, and as such, it is an integral component of the exam. A student who is not able to discuss topics because of a lack of general knowledge will, in all probability, not pass the exam.

The candidate will be provided with an article taken from a recent issue of a French or Francophone newspaper or magazine and will be given fifteen (15) minutes to read it. The candidate will then go into an office where two (2) examiners will listen to the candidate give a short outline of the article, after which the examiners will ask questions about the article and proceed to a discussion (which the candidate is expected to sustain) of several topics taken from the list of themes. This portion of the exam will last between fifteen (15) and twenty (20) minutes.

BSFS candidates will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis by the SFS. The French Department will distribute certificates to students who pass the exam with a more detailed assessment of their performance (Good, Very Good, Excellent).

When is the exam offered?

The French Proficiency Exam is offered in September, November, and April (check the French Department web site: french.georgetown.edu, for actual dates). A $50.00 fee will be charged for students needing to take to the exam outside of the regular examination periods.

Who is eligible to take the BSFS Proficiency Exam?

All are required to take the Placement Exam offered by the French Department as a first step to proper placement and determination of language preparedness. Students must have completed FREN 112, 151, 161, 215, 250, 251, or any course beyond the Gateway (250/251). French 151 is acceptable but not recommended, as it is not the best preparation for this exam.

Students must complete at least one French course at Georgetown prior to taking the exam. First-year students and students enrolled in their first GU French course are ineligible for the September exam.

Students planning to go abroad should be aware that their direct matriculation into a Francophone institution will automatically fulfill their French oral proficiency requirement.

How should a student prepare for the BSFS Proficiency Exam?

All students must review and become familiar with the topics (French, Belgian, Canadian, or African studies) on which the discussions might be based (see included list). The list of themes covers material on the French and/or the Francophone World which students cover in Advanced French I and II (as well as more advanced courses such as Topics for Oral Proficiency, African Self-Perceptions, Contemporary French Canada, etc.). Candidates may obtain additional information from Professors Guieu or Roman, SFS Core Faculty members. Dictionaries may not be used during any portion of the exam. Students may consult the article in front of them, write notes, or underline text.

What content will the exam cover ?

For the reading comprehension component of the exam, selected articles will be made available to the student fifteen (15) minutes prior to the exam.

Along with the article itself, students should be able to discuss all topics or themes listed below.

In order to prepare for the content component of the exam, students should consult Edmiston & Duménie, La France Contemporaine, Fourth Edition.

Students should be familiar with the following chapters from La France Contemporaine:

1. La France et les Etats-Unis
2. L’Union européenne
3. La République française
4. L’Etat
5. Les partis politiques et les élections
6. Le travail et le temps libre
7. La protection sociale
8. Les religions
9. L’immigration
10. L’éducation

Results of the exam will be emailed to students by the SFS. French Department certificates will be available for pickup after students are notified by the SFS of their scores.

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Contributors to the new book I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim visited ACMCU to discuss their experiences as American Muslim women. I Speak for Myself is a collection of 40 personal essays written by American Muslim women under the age of 40, all of whom were born and raised in the US. It is a showcase of the true diversity found in American Islam. The book has already caught the attention of prominent thought leaders including Deepak Chopra, Muhammad Yunus, Her Majesty Queen Noor, Jim Wallis, Eboo Patel, Soledad OBrien and many more.

Featuring Hadia Mubarak, Asma Uddin, Yusra Tekbali, and Saliqa Khan.

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