Q&A with history professor Peter Coclanis

Peter Coclanis is a history professor and former chairperson of the history department. He recently published an article in The New York Times about “Study Abroad’s Seven Deadly Sins.” Staff writer Blake Hoarty spoke with Coclanis about his article and his own experiences going abroad.

DAILY TAR HEEL: What motivated you to write the article?

PETER COCLANIS: I have been involved in international education for a long time in a variety of ways. I’ve led study abroad programs. I’ve consulted for other universities as they design them. I’ve evaluated them. I’ve been on international, organizational reviews where we vetted different universities for best practices and internationalizing. So I’ve had quite a bit of experience in study abroad and international education in general.

I’m a parent, and both of my kids went on study abroad programs ... So I thought that some of my experience, you know, led me to maybe lay out some of the possible pitfalls that could pose threats to students, and these are some things that I thought all students and parents should think about if they are interested in the study abroad experience.

DTH: You said there are a lot of vices available in Europe that students take advantage of. Can you talk about those?

PC: When you are on your own in a different part of the world, there are certain things to think about in order to make the most of your experience. I listed the seven of these seven threats — I called them sins because of the saying about the Seven Deadly Sins ... I wasn’t saying one shouldn’t partake at all in going out to the pub, or meeting people, or shopping, or smartphoning, or selfie-taking ...

I was trying to suggest in the piece that people can get more out of the experience if they are purposive about planning it and trying to understand the pros and cons ... But sometimes it’s less than great, and one of the reasons I think is that people are not really self-conscious and explicit and thoughtful before they go.

DTH: What makes these study abroad trips special and worthwhile?

PC: If one thinks in advance about what one hopes to get out of it and makes sure that this precious time that you have as a 19- or 20- or 21-year-old in a foreign country (is spent) taking in a different culture, different professors, meeting different students (and) forming lifelong relationships.

DTH: What are the biggest challenges your students must face when studying abroad?

PC: The biggest challenges and frustrations again are kind of the opportunity costs. Many of the students at UNC have wanted to come to UNC their whole life and worked hard to get here, and you’re obviously going to miss some of that campus experience while going abroad ... So you have to really think about what is really important to you in your college experience and in your lifetime aspirations.

One shouldn’t study abroad just to check it off. One should have real affirmative reasons for going, whether it’s to learn another language, experience another culture, meet people with different viewpoints. Try to negotiate with what can be, in certain environments, a difficult terrain, at least at the outset, where you’re going to be a little bit outside of your normal comfort zone.

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