I promise I'm studying here too...

... so much so that I just want to take this time to be excited about all the unreal courses I get to take this semester!! While this week has been filled with biking, sight seeing, and getting closer with new friends (nightly Black Mirror viewing included) a large part has been spent in classrooms and quaint cafes doing my readings. But that's fine by me! This semester I am taking the wildest mix of courses and am so excited to be learning such unique topics from the Danish perspective!

1. Humanitarian Law & Armed Conflict (Justice and Human Rights Program) - CORE COURSE

As I've never been in a law course before, this one is a little intimidating to me. So far we've been covering Jus Ad Bellum - when it is legal to use armed force legally. Although I always remind myself that law is very complicated, I am still always shocked when I learn more about various laws and how grey everything is. Slightly terrifying but cool.

In this class we get to go to Bosnia. This is what I am especially excited about!!! I know quite a bit about the conflict and various aspects of it but minimal about the aftermath and how international law played a crucial role. Being able to travel to this part of the world after months of learning about international humanitarian law is actually a dream come true.

My two sisters were born in Bosnia and spent some of their childhood living in Savrejavo before coming to the states. This trip will be extra special to me for that reason. I have heard so much about their home and culture but have never been able to go and see it myself. The countdown to Bosnia has been going down for months now and everyday I am getting more and more excited.

2. Globalized Islam and Sharia Law

The professor told us that the first few days of this course would be all about breaking down our preconceived ideas of Sharia law - and basically was just going to leave us dramatically confused. He was right. These first few days we have spent time learning the sources of Sharia Law and the basics of how the "court" is actually set up.

Taking this course while also enrolled in an international law course has been really interesting. Being able to see the differences (already!!) between these two legal systems has made me appreciate them both on such individual levels. It is amazing to see how different cultures and different parts of the world conduct their legal systems and how they use it to uphold the cultural and institutional practices of their context.

For one thing - I wasn't aware that there is no mechanisms for enforcement in Sharia law, it relies solely on social and cultural norms as well as the religious institutions to maintain its authority and carry out its legal decisions. Compared to the international humanitarian law we've been learning about - where it is all about how to enforce the legal decisions - it couldn't be more different.

I wonder also what this says about the various societies as a whole. In my context people often seem to praise the european/american style of law while ignoring Sharia Law - what it really means and how it really functions. While I believe there can be something dangerous about the idea of relying on social pressure to carry out your laws, there is also something cool about the community collectively respecting and carrying out the laws they are prescribing to.

3. Women & Leadership

This class is. unreal. Honestly so amazing.

From the very first day when the professor introduced herself I knew that this class was going to be one of my favorites. Hearing the accomplishments of my professor and seeing the way she conducted herself was incredible. Something I learned from my friends back home is how amazing women are when they are doing the things they love. Being able to see another women being ambitious, powerful, and loving what she is doing is one of my favorite things. It gives me so much excitement for my own future - to take ownership of my own ambition and to always strive to love what I do.

This class so far has been heavily discussion based and the vulnerability that my classmates have showed in our total of 3 course sections has been so great. We've talked about female leaders we admire, acting in performance according to our ascribed genders, and how to embrace fluid leadership qualities.

I am excited every day for this class and leave looking forward to the next time I get to come to class. Although I've enjoyed classes in the past I've never been this excited and can't wait to see both academic and personal growth at the end of the semester.

4. Philosophy of Mental Health

Philosophy of Mental Health is my class at the University of Copenhagen and although I have only had one class there, I know I'm going to love it. Mental Health has been such a passion of mine since high school but I have never heard of a class that devotes all its curriculum to studying it! Being able to focus amy academic attention to mental health this semester is going to be something I know I will really appreciate for years to come. I strongly believe that mental health is something that we need to spend so much more time and resources on as a culture - so this class is right up my alley.

I was initially expecting this class to be based solely in philosophy but it is obvious that we will be taking a multi-disciplinary approach to this study. We will be looking at biology, psychology, and sociology to understand more about human fragility and suffering. What?! How cool that an actual professor at a real university is spending a semester talking about this!!

Also the fact that it is at KU makes it even better. I can already see the differences in the Danish style of teaching and am going to really enjoy it. We have learned a little bit about the "Danish Paradox" - how Denmark can be the happiest country in the world and yet Danes can seem so angry and pissed off when you encounter them on the street (don't worry they turn into the nicest person when you have actual interactions). This is the perfect context to study a class about mental wellbeing. I'm hoping I'll be able to bring back many new ideas and ways to think about the topic to the States at the end of the semester.

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Week 2 and I'm already gushing about my courses ... parents aren't you proud of me?

but in all reality not only am I excited to be with DIS here in Denmark and experience being abroad but I am also so excited to take these classes! We'll see if I keep saying that once the papers start coming but for now I'm just looking forward to seeing all I learn - in all areas - from this semester.

#Copenhagen #DIS