EDUCATION: Free Georgian Language courses- distance learning at Univ of Malmo. (edu.mah.se)

Please pass along so the course will not be cancelled!

I'm passing along an appeal from Manana Kock-Kobaidze manana.kock.kobaidze@mah.se, who teaches Georgian langugage distancelearning courses at Malmö University in Sweden. Georgian I, which is usually taught every semester, is threatened with closure in fall 2009: the University has raised the minimum enrollment from 25 to 35. If Georgian I is cancelled this fall, there is a risk that it will be cancelled for further semesters too.

I have taken Georgian I and can recommend this course highly to anyone looking for a solid and manageable introduction to Georgian, and to thosewho are working through more comprehensive textbooks (e.g., Aronson's or Hewitt's) that are challenging to self-study. The course is well thought out in its material (logically ordered themes, limited grammar information) andthe means of teaching it (a combination of on-line self-check andteacher-corrected exercises). It is taught entirely on-line, and Dr. Kock-Kobaidze is very accessible and responsive, through e-mail and optional
Skype sessions.

The course is also *FREE* (once enrolled, one mustwife-transfer a small fee, SEK200 or about US$26, to join the Malmö Student Union), and a nice way to meet other learners from around the world.

The deadline for so-called late application is 28 August.

The official site of the course is http://www.edu.mah.se/IM202E

There is a link to the application at this site.
Information about the course and a link to theapplication are also found here:
http://webzone.imer.mah.se/projects/georgianV04/INTRO/index_Georgian.html
http://webzone.imer.mah.se/projects/georgianV04/INTRO/apply.html

Please email Dr. Kock-Kobaidze with any questions: manana.kock.kobaidze@mah.se

Please pass this information on to any interested colleagues or students. Thanks for your consideration!

INTERNET:

Online-Sprachkurs für Georgisch

Update now (20.06.2007):
I'm sorry that I have to inform you that the course planned for the fall semester has been cancelled. Information on our website is updated now.
Hopefully there will be more applicants to the spring semester, which starts January 18, 2008. Latest application date for the spring semester is October 15, 2007.
Please contact me in September again if you are interested.
Best regards
Manana Kock Kobaidze

Die Universität Malmö bietet zum September diesen Jahres einen kostenlosen Online-Sprachkurs für Georgisch an.

Mehr: http://www.mah.se/templates/Page____5364.aspx

Georgian, 1-15 credits (15 ECTS credits)
General course information This IT-based Georgian language course will be offered in the fall semester 2007 at Malmoe University, at the School of International Migrations and Ethnical Relations.
The course is based exclusively on distance learning. All course material (lectures in English, Georgian texts with transliterations, exercises, Georgian-English dictionary, audio-files, Georgian fonts etc) will be available on the net. No obligatory meetings in Malmoe are included. The examination is also conducted on the net.
For more information about the course, click here Demo version of the course

Other Cource: Conflict and conflict resolution in the Caucasus
The course analyses a selection of current conflict cases in the Caucasus on the basis of existing conflict theories and models for conflict resolution. The Caucasus region is characterized by territorial complexity and high ethnic diversity. In the Post-Soviet period the region has witnessed a number of violent ethnopolitic conflicts with large refugee flows, increasing Islamic fundamentalism, escalating terrorism and other destabilizing effects. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War the Caucasus region has obtained a new strategic significance. Regional great powers again compete for political influence in the region and for control over its strategically important energy resources. New external actors, notably USA and the EU, seek to obtain influence in the region.
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with major theoretical approaches to violent intrastate conflicts and to critically apply these approahes to selected conflicts in the Caucasus region.
The course is offered exclusively online, the students following the course come both from nearby in the Öresund region, but also from other countries worldwide. This creates an international group of students that are engaged in different joint activities during the course, and thereby promoting international contacts and strengthening the international perspective.

More: http://www.mah.se/templates/Page____38768.aspx