School of Diplomacy, DiploLab Launches 'SHU World Review'

DiploLab recently launched the Seton Hall University World Review, a weekly publication that offers readers stories from around the globe and summarizes them into a news brief. SHU World Review serves as a news hub for anyone interested in diplomacy, international relations and related topics.

DiploLab is a collaborative research space established in 2019 by the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, where students can explore their research interests, connect with faculty, peers and scholars and expand their research efforts beyond the classroom. SHU World Review exemplifies this effort.

SHU World Review aims to provide a weekly roundup of headlines covering an extensive array from international affairs to current security issues. When asked about the motivations for launching this project, Professor Huddleston, Ph.D., a key member of DiploLab's faculty, highlighted the need to bridge the gap between information seekers and the often time-consuming process to reach information.

Huddleston explained:

When I was working during my sabbatical in the Senate, I came to understand that many congressional staffers spend a lot of time seeking information about everywhere around the world. This is a time-consuming process, and to my knowledge, there is no one resource where people can go to get the quick headlines about what's going on around the world. If someone wants to stay up to date about elections, security developments and other big global developments, there are not many resources out there for them.

As a hub for providing a weekly selection of news, SHU World Review offers a high-quality overview of global events. Each week, research assistants are assigned a specific region to read about and stay informed on. They compile lists of reputable international and local sources that deliver quality journalism about that region, and they choose the outstanding stories from the week to feature in the SHU World Review. These stories generally focus on elections, security, conflict, diplomatic events and developments in trade and economics.

Professor Huddleston defines the SHU World Review as a running record of what's going on. In this sense, he emphasizes the changing quality of information environments and how we lose focus on important events while being exposed to bad news. He said, "Most striking thing to me is how often important things are happening — things like peace treaties, elections and revolutions — without anyone in your information stream ever talking about it. Did you know Cameroon, Chile, Honduras, Iraq, Kosovo and Singapore are all having national elections this month? Neither did I, until our team started working on this project. Putting these reviews together really just gets you in touch with the nuts and bolts of international politics in a way I haven't really experienced on any other project."

SHU World Review not only serves its readers but also supports students interested in research and exploring campus opportunities at Seton Hall. DiploLab provides a unique experience for students to enhance their research skills and elevate their work through innovative projects like SHU World Review.

Categories: Nation and World, Research