Entrepreneurship and Culture on Silk Roads

Training in intercultural competence is essential for the development of successful and sustainable business enterprises and international organizations. This program will focus on the interconnections between business, economics, culture, health, and arts with a specific application to business and social enterprises, cultural exchange, and community development along the Silk Roads, an ancient trade linking Asia, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, and the West. We will explore the transformation of societies along the Silk Roads through globalization and we will learn about different economic models. For example, we will learn about the economy for life versus the economy for wealth.

In this program, students will study contemporary and historical Silk Roads to envision sustainable Silk Roads of the future. For centuries, the ancient Silk Roads moved ideas and goods between the great civilizations of Asia, Pacific Rim, the Middle East, and the New World. From Marco Polo to Genghis Khan to modern China, the Silk Roads have connected empires and fostered the development of commerce, music, art, religion and most importantly, the non-profit social enterprise sector throughout Asia and the world.

Students will develop learning skills and practical knowledge necessary to provide a strong foundation and vision for understanding the development of international trade and business entrepreneurship along the Silk Roads, and how they impact the social and economic future of the Pacific Northwest.

Students will learn about international finance, cultures, business entrepreneurship, health, and globalization. The skills and content in this program are foundational to linking business pathways toward greater cultural and economic community building and environmental sustainability.

Our study will combine theory and practice and include an extended research project on local or international business or social entrepreneurship, as well as offering the opportunity to study abroad virtually and in person.

Students and faculty will reimagine how business, community, arts, and culture can create a socially just, sustainable, inclusive world, a world where people and the environment are integrated in a balanced, healthy, creative, symbiotic relationship. Students in the program will work internationally with students in India, China, and Vietnam conducting research, making art, developing business plans, and envisioning a world of cooperation, beauty, and thriving.

As part of the study, students will develop international business venture proposals or perform individual learning projects (ILPs) about a global business corporation (e.g., the Boeing company), an international social enterprise (e.g., World Health Organization), or travel and study abroad.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

6 - Business Economics

6 - Cultural Studies