Madison International (MI)

Introduction

Living together in a residence hall at the heart of JMU's campus in Hoffman Hall, Madison International provides an extraordinary opportunity for a diverse cohort US and non US student residents to learn from and about each other through a series of exciting experiential and classroom-based activities.

"Madison International challenges residents to connect in community, to integrate global and local issues, and to act with intercultural competence."

Madison International will help you to develop the attitudes, knowledge and skills you will need to work and live effectively in an interconnected and interdependent world. Along the way, you will be asked to put yourself in the shoes of others, to see things from many different perspectives…by actively engaging with one another and with our local Harrisonburg community. Our approach is based on the idea that as the world continues to shrink, the ability to conduct oneself in culturally appropriate ways will grow in importance. It is one, small world, after all…

Mission Statement

Madison International challenges residents to connect in community, to integrate global and local issues, and to act with intercultural competence.

Goals

1. Think and act locally and globally.
2. Learn from and contribute to the multiple communities in which they are embedded.
3. Cultivate the values and competencies of informed and enlightened global citizens who are prepared to lead productive and meaningful lives.

Overview

Madison International now hosted in Hoffman Hall is comprised of sixty participants, four resident advisors, a faculty in residence and a hall director. Residents are both US and non US student residents, both first-year and upperclass students.

Madison International strongly emphasizes the notion of becoming a global citizen and on the cultivation of specific aspects of intercultural competence. The program aims to prepare students to contribute meaningfully to the world in ways that honor the vast diversity of cultures and worldviews. The experiential pedagogy specifically developed for the MI community complements a wide variety of academic majors and provide "real-world" applications for theoretical and conceptual models.