Summer is a peak time for vacation travel for Whittier College students and it's also a peak learning time for Poets. Study abroad opens Whittier students to world views, value systems, codes of behavior, religious systems, and uses of symbolic language that challenge them to rethink their own world view and preconceptions.
Five unique courses will take place this summer in destinations in Europe, Asia, and South America where students will immerse themselves in the local culture while examining issues in the areas of social work, philosophy, education, theater, and anthropology.
Imagine exploring the ways in which welfare and workfare states contribute to the well-being of children and families. This is exactly what professors in social work Paula Sheridan and Lisa Ibañez will examine with their class in the Scandinavian country. The class will also examine the gaps in service delivery and resources in welfare and workfare states.
What better setting to learn about modern civilization than Greece? Professor of Philosophy David Hunt will lead the course "Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter" and examine with his students the Greek contribution to modern civilization in the areas of philosophy, literature, and science, visiting many of the historically significant sites in the Hellenic Republic, focusing on classical Greece, but also including sites important to early Christianity, medieval Greece (Byzantine and Crusader,) and the Turkish occupation. The course's instruction will take place primarily in Athens, but also in several other locations within the Greek Islands.
A handful of future educators will travel to Hong Kong under the mentorship of Professor of Education and Child Development Judith Wagner to work as teachers’ assistants in preschool and early primary classrooms. In addition to promoting the development of intercultural competencies of Whittier students, the course's goal is to promote understanding of similarities and differences in early childhood practices in the U.S. and the host country. Students will also have the opportunity to attend the World Organization for Early Education (OMEP) Conference in Seoul, Korea.
Poets interested in the legacy of the Inca Empire will explore the anthropological significance of the Andean region of Peru. Anthropology Lecturer Teresa Delfin and her students will study the enduring presence of Inca culture during their stay in the city of Cusco. They will also venture out for excursions to the 15th century Inca citadel Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, and Lake Titicaca.
Poets will travel this summer with Professor Gustavo Geirola to Spain to learn first-hand about theater in the Spanish Golden Age. The course will take place during the Classical Theater Festival in Almagro, Spain, which runs annually during the month of July. The festival brings theater companies from Spain and other countries which produce classic plays from Spanish Renaissance and Baroque periods, but also from other traditions. Students will study dramatic texts and attend live productions with all the staging possibilities of the great classics. The city of Almagro has the only "Corral de Comedias" that survives in Spain -- the equivalent of Shakespeare's Globe in London.
Photos courtesy of Sonia Chaidez and Ivannia Soto.
