Part of studying at DIS includes selecting a Core Course, a class students spend a significant amount of time traveling with. Every Core Course at DIS takes part in Core Course Week, which consists of traveling somewhere close by for three days and spending the other two days of the week going on field studies in Copenhagen. My Core Course is Humanitarian Law & Armed Conflict with Professor Alexander Hviid; together, we explored Aarhus and other spots in Jutland (mainland Denmark). Here is a peek at what my Core Course Week looked like.
Monday: We all loaded onto a bus and made our way out of Copenhagen toward Aarhus in Jylland (Jutland). We stopped at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense to hear a lecture on strategic communication and information warfare. We then went rock-climbing, which turned out to be an excellent way for our class to bond. This was a time for people to try something new (though my professor seemed like a pro) and learn more about the people around us as we cheered everyone on. We then made it to Aarhus where we had dinner and drinks with our professor and had some time on our own to explore the second-largest city in Denmark.
Tuesday: After checking out of our hotel, we drove to the Royal Danish Air Force Base, where we participated in three sessions to learn about the Danish military and humanitarian law. We also got to go inside a huge military helicopter. For many in my class, hearing from a military legal advisor was the most impactful part of this trip. She told us about her job evaluating the the legality of high-pressure situations and advising military commanders on what to do. We then went to the ARoS Art Museum where we had a very brief tour before having time to look through the museum on our own. I really love art museums and would have liked to spend more time here as it was a stark contrast to what we had done for most of the day. I kept thinking about the importance of taking time to look at the beauty that there is in the world. After being immersed in the world of war, I needed to contemplate the goodness and beauty of humanity.
Wednesday: At Aarhus University, we learned about eurocentrism in international relations and how we cannot rely on the European experience to understand the future of international relations. I thought this session was super well done and fascinating. We spent the rest of the day at the Moesgaard Museum where we learned about Danish warfare in the Iron Age. This museum was so fun because it’s set up as an interactive museum and our tour guide encouraged us to interact with the exhibits around us. The museum also provided a delicious and scenic lunch for us. Then we headed back to Copenhagen and I was able to make it home for dinner with my host parents.
Thursday: I met my class at a nonprofit organization called DIGNITY— the Danish Institute Against Torture. We really enjoyed hearing from this organization about their work to combat the use of torture around the world. After lunch, our class went to the Danish War Museum where we walked through an exhibit following the journey of a Danish teenager who fought in Afghanistan. Everything in the exhibit is real and we were able to interact with everything here as well. For example, one part of the exhibit is set up like a military camp in Afghanistan, complete with a lookout tower and even dirt from a military base in Afghanistan. Another exhibit showed an actual truck that had been damaged by an IED and students were able to climb inside the truck to see more of the damage. Finally, we watched a movie about a Danish soldier in Afghanistan who had to go to trial and face charges for not complying with humanitarian law.
Friday: In the morning we had a speaker talk to us about conflict resolution. Then we went to Peder Oxe where we had smørrebrød, traditional Danish open-face sandwiches. Some students really enjoyed these and others did not, but it was nice to get to try them regardless. Finally, we went to our classroom for a wrap-up discussion and reflection on the week.
Core Course Week was a lot of fun! I was able to try new things and see parts of Denmark that I may never have visited otherwise. As someone who greatly enjoys museums, I felt lucky to get so many great tours of the museums that Denmark has to offer. I made some new friends and got to know a lot of people in my class better and am excited to continue learning with these people.
Viaje a Copenhague 