TANZANIA: Intercultural Comparisons of Agricultural and Social Welfare Systems in Tanzania and Appalachia

Credits: 4 (SWK 301)-- Fall semester course with travel in December/January
Course Instructors: Lucy Lawrence and Virginia Hamilton

Through the distinct and multi-disciplinary lenses of agriculture and social welfare, students compare and contrast a myriad of interdependent social/environmental/political/economic/cultural civic engagement issues in Tanzania, East Africa, and in the southern Appalachian region of the United States from both historical and contemporary perspectives. The course aims to provide students with an intercultural understanding of agriculture and social welfare in southern Tanzania, compared to practices and structures and policies in Appalachia. The course will trace the historical beginnings and necessities of the development of social welfare systems along with restrictions and conventions of agriculture and social welfare in both countries. Students will examine the ways in which both Tanzania and Appalachia develop policies, programs, and practices that create a safety net to address current societal issues. Focus points of the course include intercultural comparisons of approaches to agriculture and social welfare that advance community self-sufficiency while promoting active citizen participation. Additionally, this course provides students the opportunity for intercultural exchange and engagement through rigorous academic endeavor and field study in Tanzania, including service-learning. This course fulfills General Education requirement AIM 5 Service Learning and PEG 2 of the Community Engagement Commitment.

BORNEO: Indigenous Land Use In Borneo: Food, Farming, and Forest

Credits: 4 (ENS 3XX)-- Spring semester course with three weeks travel in May
Course Instructors: Mary Bulan and John Odell

This course introduces students to tropical ethnobiology and indigenous farming and land use in the rainforests of Borneo. Readings, field work, class discussions and student research projects will be used to explore issues of indigenous land rights and traditional natural resource management. During the travel component, students will travel to a highland village area in the state of Sarawak and experience the food, forests, farming and culture of the modern Kelabit tribe. Students will discuss environmental threats and social change with tribe members in the context of ecological and cultural survival. The class will complete a service project in collaboration with in-country hosts.

THAILAND & INDONESIA: Tackling Taboo Topics: Gender & Religion in Thailand & Indonesia

Credits: 4 (ANTH 3XX)-- Spring semester course with three weeks travel in May-June 
Instructors: Siti Kusujiarti and Matt Hoffman

This exploratory course at the intersection of two taboo topics: religious practice and gender dynamics. Join Siti Kusujiarti and Matt Hoffman as we explore religion, society, and culture in Thailand and Indonesia. Our time in Thailand will center around Chiang Mai and focus on the role of gender in Buddhist religious practices, environmental concerns, and monastic movements. In Indonesia, we will explore the unique religious and social environment of Yogyakarta, a city known for education, religious pluralism, and varied approaches to understanding gender. In addition to touring various sites in both countries, students will have the opportunity to build deep connections with locals through homestays, a stay at a Buddhist monastery, and service-learning opportunities.

IRELAND: Hand Held: Photography and the Visual Book

Credits: 4 (ART 3XX)-- Spring semester course with two weeks of travel in May
Instructor: Eric Baden

This course is open to students from any discipline, and focuses on photography and visual books as forms of artistic expression. The class presents an opportunity for students to engage perspectives from outside the United States while attentively traversing a landscape that has long been a singular inspiration to artists, musicians, storytellers, and writers; and by sharing in the cross-cultural and global dialog in art and diverse international histories of book structures and contemporary photobooks. Students will engage in individual artistic practice characterized by careful observation, creative exploration, reflection and expression supported by the development of conceptual, material and editorial skills. Formal instruction will be provided in the techniques, materials, and processes used in crafting meaningful visual statements and organizing photographic images as artist's books and photobooks. We will explore a variety of contemporary forms based on historical and contemporary visual books from different cultural contexts.

BELIZE: Comparative Psychology: Marine and Cultural-Historical Studies in Belize

Credits: 4 (PSY 377) -- Fall semester course with winter travel to Belize
Course Instructor: Bob Swoap

Comparative psychologists study the behavioral patterns and minds of a wide array of animal species, including humans. There is an emphasis on discovering similarities and differences across species

that may shed light on evolutionary and developmental processes. Belize has a rich marine life as well as diverse cultural and language traditions (including Belizean Creole, Spanish, and English). We will use a comparative and cross-cultural lens to focus on marine species and on learning from the people of Belize. Following the on-campus component, we will embark on a 13-day field course to Belize to assist researchers from the Oceanic Society. This group is conducting several long-term studies documenting the abundance, distribution, and behavioral ecology of bottlenose dolphins, manatees, and sea turtles off the coast of Belize. While in the field, we will also learn about Belizean culture, discuss community-based planning for sustainable marine development, and meet Belizeans involved in protecting this exceptional ecosystem. We will also explore Mayan ruins in Belize and Guatemala. There will be good opportunities to immerse ourselves in the culture and the intersections of marine conservation and daily Belizean life.

PRAGUE: Reading Genre and Form: Fairy Tales and the Pop-Up Book

Credits: 4 (WRI 301)-- Spring semester course with travel in May 
Course Instructors: Rachel Himmelheber and Lara Nguyen

The fairy tale and the pop-up book are two sophisticated artistic genres often misunderstood as being primarily intended for audiences of children. In fact, fairy tales and moveable books have historical roots as texts for adults. This course will serve as an introduction to the related genres of the fairy tale and the pop-up book, with a special interest in the folkloric and artistic traditions of the former Czechoslovakia/current Czech Republic. Coursework will include films, particularly Czech fairy tale features; feminist and queer fairy tale criticism and history; and slide lectures on moveable books and illustration styles and techniques. Students will learn form and technique and will apply this craft knowledge as they write their own fairy tales and craft their own pop-up books. During the semester, students will write drafts of their own fairy tales and will collaborate on a class pop-up book as we practice technique. Relevant Czech history, geography, plant life, and culture will inform this work, and the course will culminate in a two-week trip to Prague, Czech Republic where students will experience Czech architecture, art, nature, historical landmarks, and geography that they have studied as they complete their own fairy tale pop-up book projects. There will be free time in our travels for students to visit sites or areas relevant to their own work and interests, and as a group we will visit museums including The National Gallery in Prague, castles including Prague Castle and Hluboka Castle, churches including Sedlec Ossuary (known as the church made of human skeletons), theater including the National Theater and a puppet show, and natural exploration including hiking in the Bohemian countryside and mushroom foraging (considered a national pastime among Czechs) in the many forests of the Czech Republic.

BERLIN: Poets and Dictators: Art, Politics, and Philosophy in Modern Germany

Credits: 4 (PHIL 377)-- Spring Semester course with travel in May 
Instructors: Jay Miller and Brian Conlan

This course will be an immersive experience that will provide students with a rich understanding of the major cultural and intellectual developments of modern Germany. We will begin our sojourn with the art, politics, and philosophy of the nineteenth century and trace the growing tensions among these through the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. Coupling in-depth analysis of key texts with on-site experience of the modern urban center of Berlin (with day trips to Weimar and Dessau), we will focus critical attention on the collision between artistic culture and political dictatorship that defines modern Germany.

LATVIA & SWEDEN: Traditions of Civic Engagement in Intercultural Context

Credits: 4 (SWK 377)-- Spring semester course with two weeks of travel in May-June
Instructors: Lucy Lawrence and Māra McLaughlin-Taylor

Through the distinct and multi‐disciplinary lens of civic engagement, students compare and contrast a myriad of interdependent social/environmental/political/economic/cultural issues in Latvia, a Baltic nation ruled by the Communist ideology of the Soviet Union for more than five decades, and the neighboring Scandinavian independent socialist democracy of Sweden. Students will examine the ways in which both Latvia and Sweden develop policies, programs, and practices that create a safety net to address current societal issues. Focus points of the course include intercultural comparisons of approaches to civic engagement that advance community self‐sufficiency while promoting active citizen participation. Students will have intercultural exchange and engagement through rigorous academic endeavor and transformational field study in both countries, including service-learning, building relationships with Latvian and Swedish students and professionals, exploring natural and historical landmarks on the Baltic coast, and experiencing traditions of food, art, music, and dance. This course fulfills General Education requirement AIM 5 Service Learning, General Education requirement AIM 15 Intercultural Perspectives, and PEG 2 of the Community Engagement Commitment.