A four-week summer study abroad trip open to all UConn Learning students Mid-May through Mid-June

The Program

Since the early 1990s, South Africa has witnessed sweeping changes in its political and cultural landscape. Once stigmatized as a racist regime and egregious violator of human rights, it is now celebrated as one of the most tolerant nations on earth with one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. South Africa’s constitution is indeed the only one with specific language on women’s rights, children’s rights, workers’ rights, health care rights, education rights, and environmental and conservation justice.

Cape Town is a magnificently beautiful city nestled between sandy beaches and gorgeous mountains that provide the setting for this UConn Summer Study Abroad. This program includes a 3-credit foreign study course that incorporates a 9-day service-learning component selected to meet the individual interests and goals of each participant. Building on previous relationships with supervisors at a multitude of nonprofit organizations established by Cape Town native and study abroad coordinator, Rev. Vernon Rose, students become immersed in the work of a wide array of placement sites.

The Academics

WGSS 3993: Service Learning in Cape Town (3 credits)

Taught by Dr. Marita McComiskey, resident director of UConn’s Cape Town Programs for the last six years, this 4-week experiential learning course will include reading and writing assignments to help situate Cape Town experiences within a broader social context. Through lectures, guest speakers, films, and cultural events designed to provide insight into the history and politics of South Africa, this class will enable students to analyze time spent living, learning, and working abroad to better understand the multiple ways in which race and gender, as social constructs, continue to be shaped by key social institutions such as government, media, religion, education, health care, economic systems, and culture both here and abroad. By creating a study abroad learning community to provide a structured environment to reflect upon cross-cultural competencies and personal identity development, co-educators will collectively process new skills and knowledge to help integrate their international travel with their current academic plans and future profession goals.

The Experience

Participants in this program live in a fully-furnished house, within easy access to public transportation, located in Cape Town’s southern suburb of Rondebosch, a primarily residential area, with a medium-size shopping area, a small business district, and the main campus of the University of Cape Town. In addition to the course work and service learning opportunity this Study Abroad Program offers: a week long orientation which includes visits to historic and cultural sites of interest such as Robben Island; a three day home-stay to experience everyday life with a local family; and a two day trip to a game reserve to see the animals for which South Africa is famous.

Through this program, students from the Business Connections Learning Community (BCLC) will have a unique opportunity to learn about international business and the Costa Rican economy, history and culture. Students will conduct background research on the Costa Rican economy, participate in an intensive ten-day interactive learning experience in major cities and complete a synthesis reflection paper at the conclusion of the trip. The experience will provide students with a broader understanding of their place in the world and expose them to important international business issues. Students will attend presentations by top executives at multinational and local companies. In addition, students will network with UConn School of Business alumni and hear firsthand accounts of how different cultural and business practices impact decision making in their firms. Excursions centered on learning about Costa Rican business practices, culture, history, cuisine, arts and architecture will provide students an excellent opportunity to see things from a new perspective.

The Academics

Students will acquire new insights into the complexities of international business and the impact of cultural differences on the field of business practice in Costa Rica and Central America. Through on-site visits and presentations, students will experience the differences between US and Costa Rican manufacturing, financial services, marketing, and management and business ethics by comparing their immersion experiences with the other domestic field trip experiences from the BCLC. Students will receive one academic credit for this program.

The Experience

FYI students, along with Business Connections Learning Community will fly together, travel together, and explore together in Costa Rica. In addition to site visits to companies, students will also go on field trips to museums, Participants will stay in 3-star hotels with a roommate (double occupancy). All costs associated with the trip for meals, air, and ground transportation, entrance fees and lodging are included. Associate Dean Larry Gramling and Business Connections Co-director Nathan Ives will accompany the students.

For more information including a complete itinerary, please contact Nathan Ives; 860-486-5741.

This program will take place during the winter term 2015 in Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams (on Navarino Island), Chile. The program involves faculty and students from UConn, as well as from the University of North Texas, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and other institutions specializing in Patagonian research. It is designed to give the EcoHouse Learning Community and EEB majors the unique opportunity to learn experientially about the multidimentionality of biodiversity, the imperative and logical need for its preservation, and also the complexity of the challenges facing its conservation. The goals of the program are to immerse students in environmental philosophy in a fragile environment, forge connections with community members, and promote ecological, cultural, and environmental awareness in Patagonia versus Connecticut.

The Academics

Students will be enrolled in two classes during the program:

UNIV 1810 1-credit seminar for half of the Fall 2014 semester and will meet 2 hrs/week in an EcoHouse classroom. The course will focus on preparing students for the winter study abroad experience, covering basic Spanish and an introduction into the ecology, culture, and history of subantarctic Chile.

EEB 2### 3-credit foreign study (TBA). As part of the Patagonia study abroad, students will be required to maintain a journal of their research and personal experiences. Students will use their journal entries, photos, videos, and sketches to share their experiences with EcoHouse. To the benefit of the overall EcoHouse community, participating students will present their experiences and research in a Patagonia Research Symposium, in which all EcoHouse students are invited. In this way, trip participants and non-participants will share in the knowledge and insights acquired through the experience and potential trip participants can be encourage to become involved in the future. Students will also be assigned to groups conducting specific research projects. Students will be required to present the research project with their peers, while on Navarino Island. Beyond offering an opportunity to assess their ability to engage in scientific research, the presentation will highlight their ability to communicate and collaborate with students from other institutions and countries.

The Experience

The course takes place primarily on Navarino Island, the southernmost permanently inhabited island in the world. The town (Puerto Williams) on the island present features of a pioneer community, where daily life is characterized by challenges, pertaining to transportation, internet access, small living space, etc. Students will be housed in a new and recently inugurated scientific field station and will also have some camping experiences. Food is provided by trained cooks while at the research station and while camping.

The University of Connecticut has strong ties to the island through Dr. Ricardo Rozzi, who completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. at UCONN. He is a world-renowned environmental philosopher, who has created an ethnobotanic park on the island, and spearheaded the creation of the Cape Horn Biopshere Reserve. Two UConn faculty from EEB have worked in the area. One of them, Professor Bernard Goffinet, who is the academic leader of this program, has been critically involved in developing the new paradigm in Ecotourism in the region, namely Ecotourism with a hand lens. The region is under strong pressure from economical development that may irreversibly affect the pristine condition of the habitats at this end of the world.

For more information about the program, click HERE OR contact Professor Goffinet