Madison International Program

The Madison International Program is a Living-Learning Community at James Madison University sponsored by the Office of Residence Life in collaboration with the Office of International Programs, the International Beliefs and Values Institute (IBAVI) and the General Education Program.

Introduction

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

The Madison International Program 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

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

Goals

1. Residents will experience community connections.
2. Students will integrate global and local issues.
3. Students will act with intercultural competence.

Overview

Between sixty and sixty-five participants, four resident advisors, and a hall director comprise the population of Ashby Hall. Residents are both American and international students, both first-year and upperclass students. Each participant serves on one of four committees: communication and languages, politics and international affairs, food and pop culture, and health and ecology. Each committee is a cohesive, self-directed group.

The program components of the Madison International program are intended to be pedagogical tools with which the program goals are accomplished. In general, there is a strong emphasis helping students to become connected to the various communities to which they belong, an emphasis on becoming a global citizen and an emphasis 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 will complement a wide variety of academic majors and provide “real-world” applications for theoretical and conceptual models learned in any number of classes.