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Winter break will be unforgettable for more than 170 students taking special Lafayette courses in Thailand and Myanmar; Turkey; Greece and Italy; Austria and Germany; Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands; Spain and Portugal; and Hawaii.
This is the 28th year in which Lafayette is offering concentrated, three-week courses during interim session led by faculty well-suited to teach them by virtue of their experience and expertise. In many courses students meet prominent business people, cultural figures, government officials, and academics, learning directly from these experts about the subject matter they are studying. In May, students will head for Florence, Italy, and Russia/Poland to take similar faculty-led, concentrated courses following the final exam period. (See course descriptions below.)
Students share their experiences and images of interim-session courses in “Through My Eyes, In My Words.”
Many participants in both January and May will experience these courses without payment of program costs as a benefit of being a Marquis Scholar.
Lafayette offers a variety of faculty-led and other study abroad programs. For information, contact Roxanne Lalande, director of study abroad programs and professor of French in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, (610) 330-5918 or lalander@lafayette.edu. Her consultation hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. Monday and Wednesday in 409 Pardee Hall and 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Thursday in 1 Markle Hall.
A close relationship between faculty leader and students is the hallmark of Lafayette’s faculty-led semesters abroad in Athens, Greece; Brussels, Belgium; Madrid, Spain; Bremen, Germany; Dijon, France; and Kumasi, Ghana.
Students take classes from Lafayette faculty as well as faculty of host institutions. They also take part in field trips planned and led by Lafayette faculty with the help of local organizers. The cost is the same as a semester on campus and includes airfare. Grades and financial aid are fully transferable for the extent of each semester abroad.
The Lafayette faculty members help students with problems they may encounter with local transportation, living with their host family, or other aspects of adjustment to a new culture and living environment. Students can travel on their own and integrate themselves into the new culture.
This fall students studied in Dijon, led by George Rosa, professor of French in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. In the spring term students will be participate in faculty-led semesters in Brussels, led by Scott Hummel, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Bremen, led by Mehmet Uz, professor of chemical engineering.
In a shorter (seven-week) two-course faculty-led program based in London, taught by Stephen E. Lammers, Helen H.P. Manson Professor of the English Bible, and Alan W. Childs, professor of psychology, students compare social, ethical, and cultural aspects of health-care systems in the United Kingdom and United States. Each week they work four days as interns in a wide array of British health-care institutions. On the fifth day they meet in class to discuss their experiences and observations.
In addition to the faculty-led programs, Lafayette has affiliations with many colleges and other organizations through which students study in many countries. Grades and financial aid are fully transferable. In the fall students participated in affiliated programs in Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. Students are scheduled to participate in affiliated semester-long programs in some of those countries plus China, Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Namibia, Scotland, and Trinidad and Tobago this spring.
Here are the descriptions of the courses in January 2006:
Thailand and Myanmar: The Challenges of Development
Taught by David Stifel, assistant professor of economics and business, and Robin Rinehart, associate professor of religious studies and chair of Asian studies
The Southeast Asian countries of Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma) have developed very differently, despite the fact that they share a similar climate, natural resource endowment and religion. We seek to understand these differences through firsthand experience in both countries. We will spend approximately two weeks in Thailand and one week in Myanmar. Issues discussed will include imperialism, political development, economic planning and grassroots capacity building.
Turkey: The Cradle of Civilizations
Taught by M. Erol Ulucakli, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Ilan Peleg, Charles A. Dana Professor of Social Science
This course examines early Hellenistic, Byzantine, and Turkish cultures in Turkey from historical and artistic viewpoints. Turkey, known as “the cradle of civilization,” hosted the first human settlement on its soil, which has been dated as 12,000 years old. Turkey, also known as Anatolia, has been a fertile ground of many civilizations and home of ancient cultures, including the Hattis, Hittites, Phrygians, Urartians, Lycians, Lydians, Ionians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Selijuks, and Ottomans. The course will emphasize Hellenistic, Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern Turkish periods by examining architectural and artistic works and interpret social, religious, and political customs and practices of these cultures. Sites of historic, architectural, and artistic importance in Istanbul, Iznik (Nicaea), Bergama (Pergamon), Troy, Ephesus, Miletus, Priene, and Aphrodisias are studied through site visits and on-site lectures. The course will also deal with the issues of contemporary Turkey against the background of the country’s modern history. Attention will be given to the relations of Turkey with the West, and Europe in particular, and Turkey’s domestic and international relations.
Back to the Roots of Western Civilization: Greece and Italy
Taught by Howard Marblestone, Charles Elliott Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and Robert Cohn, Philip and Muriel Berman Chair of Jewish Studies
An on-site study of two great pillars of civilization that form the intellectual and spiritual foundations of the western world: Greece, where democracy—”people power”—and a love of beauty and rational discourse originated; and Roman Italy, where the genius for civilization and government made of the classical heritage a great legacy. Students will encounter up close the enduring force of these cultures. On site they not only learn about, but experience for themselves, the tangible heritage of each civilization in architecture and plastic arts. Whether grand public monuments or private structures, they visibly embody fundamental ideas that have become part of the way we think and feel. Lectures and discussions complement the contributions of local guides.
The Colorful Sunset of the Habsburg Empire: An Apocalyptic Waltz
Taught by Edward McDonald, professor of foreign languages and literatures, and Joseph Shieber, assistant professor of philosophy
World War I ended in the disintegration of the Habsburg monarchy that for centuries had united peoples of widely differing races and languages. This course focuses on the cultural upheaval in the twilight years of the empire (c. 1870-1919) by indicating how these apocalyptic years found expression in the culture, art, and intellectual work of the most famous luminaries of the period.
Medieval Architecture in Northern Europe: Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands
Taught by Leonard A.Van Gulick, Matthew Baird Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Ellouise Van Gulick, visiting part-time instructor of mechanical engineering
This course entails on-site study of medieval architecture in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. The architecture is considered as an expression of northern medieval European society and technology. The technical accomplishments of medieval builders are emphasized; Roman architecture, based on large-scale use of masonry arches and vaults, is studied as medieval architecture’s foundation. Study of history from the Roman through the medieval period enables students to place the architecture in a societal context.
The Geologic Evolution of the Hawaiian Islands
Taught by Lawrence L. Malinconico, associate professor of geology and environmental geosciences, and Dru Germanoski, Dr. Ervin R. VanArtsdalen ’35 Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences
This course provides students with an understanding of how volcanic processes, geomorphic processes, and coastal processes have shaped, and continue to shape, the Hawaiian Islands. The course focuses on volcanism, landform development, and coastal processes. The Hawaiian Islands provide a unique opportunity to study active volcanic processes building the islands in conjunction with geomorphic processes which alter the volcanic landscape. While most people associate active volcanoes with Hawaii, few realize that surface and groundwater flow, glaciers, and coastal processes are actively reshaping the landscape. The Hawaiian landscape ranges in age from 25 million years to minutes old. Students have the unique opportunity to study the volcanic processes creating the islands and then see how the soils, landscapes, and coasts have evolved through time. In addition, the influence of climatic variation on vegetation and landscapes is dramatically demonstrated.
Choral Music as a Window to Culture: Spain and Portugal
Taught by Nina Gilbert, director of choral activities, and Katherine Furlong, access services librarian
International concert tour of Spain and Portugal by the Lafayette College Choirs, enhanced by cultural, literary, and historical studies. The primary text is the music literature to be performed: works for mixed, men’s, women’s, and chamber choir, including styles and techniques appropriate to historical and cultural contexts. Students rehearse and perform in interactive concerts with local host choirs and conductors. Guest speakers address history, politics, architecture, religion, and language, as well as specialized musical issues.
Two courses will be offered in May/June, following final exams:
Florence: Birthplace of the Renaissance
Taught by Diane Cole Ahl, Arthur J. ’55 and Barbara S. Rothkopf Professor of Art, and Rado Pribic, Oliver Edwin Williams Professor of Languages and chair of international affairs and Russian and East European Studies
This on-site course explores the brilliant artistic and literary culture of Florence during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Its primary text is the city and its monuments: its buildings, from church to palace; its art, including masterpieces by Giotto, Donatello, Botticelli, and Michelangelo; and its literature, including such classics as Dante’s Inferno, and Boccaccio’s Decameron. Visits to Venice, Siena, Assisi, and Rome enhance our understanding of this extraordinary age.
Russia and Poland, Past and Present
Taught by Joshua A. Sanborn, associate professor of history, and Robert Cohn, Berman Professor of Jewish Studies
This is an intensive course in which we will spend three weeks examining the history and culture of Russia and Poland as we travel through those two countries. The course is structured around three themes: 1) religious life, 2) the memory of World War I, World War II, and the Holocaust, 3) the dilemmas of post-communism. We encourage students to learn and absorb material that falls outside of these narrow categories, but our readings and excursions will focus on these themes.