Global Communities Students Visit International Spy Museum

Students from the College's Global Communities Living-Learning Program recently enjoyed a special trip to the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. There, they viewed the world’s largest collection of material on intelligence and spying, and attended a special lecture.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"1883","attributes":{"alt":"lecture","class":"media-image","height":"360","style":"font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.6; width: 480px; height: 360px; margin: 5px; float: left;","width":"480"}}]]Dr. Vincent Houghton, curator and historian of the museum, spoke to the students on intelligence gathering, diplomacy and collaboration and competition among international actors. Dr. Houghton earned his Ph.D. in diplomatic history from Maryland, and has served as a lecturer.

In addition to the lecture, a highlight of the trip was when students gathered in small groups and experienced a “spy mission,” an intelligence challenge that brought to life the lessons they had learned throughout the day.

“I never knew how difficult intelligence really was and how hard it was to keep it a secret from the general public,” said freshman Sahar Shehata.

Global Communities provides an intellectually engaging and socially active community for students to learn about globalization and global issues, and develop skills and attitudes to empower them to take advantage of its opportunities and wrestle with its challenges. Through coursework, intercultural and international events, and special events such as the Spy Museum trip, Global Communities aims to help students develop the global perspective that will enable them to navigate an ever more interdependent and diverse world.

“The recent trip to the International Spy Museum gave insight to the history and prospective future of the role of intelligence in government and politics, and showed students a close background of a field some may have never even considered of importance,” said freshman Grace Gibbons.

Published on Tue, Sep 29, 2015 - 1:11PM