January Term 2009 Programs: Europe

Arab and Jewish Influence in Spain & Morocco (UMAIE)
This course will explore aspects of Spanish culture that were affected by the Arabs and Jews throughout its history, including the language, art, literature, music, dance, food, customs, holidays, architecture and religion. Beginning in Casablanca and Fes in Morocco, students will study Arab culture first-hand as background to intensive study of that culture’s influence in Spain. In Spain, students will visit Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Valencia, Toledo, Segovia, Alicante and Madrid.  Overall, students will have the opportunity to see how Arabs and Jews have influenced Spain and how Spain has been a melting pot of people and cultures throughout its history.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: none
• Maximum participants: 16
• Counts toward: no major/minor requirement
• Fee: $6275 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: Human Diversity core requirement
• Faculty Director: Samuel Ogdie, Augustana
• Detailed Course Description

Comparative Politics of the New Europe: Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania (UMAIE)
Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania have historically been pulled between east and west. At various points in their history, they have been dismembered to serve the interests of Russia, Germany, or the west generally. At other times, they have been autonomous though never fully free of the tension. The current historic movement towards European integration is simply another moment in this constant discourse between East and West. Occasional lectures will provide a framework for understanding this movement, but more importantly, local speakers and their personal stories will be called upon to illustrate the daily consequences of this historic phenomenon. The course will also utilize local spaces and places (i.e., markets, churches, theatres, town squares, offices of local advocacy organizations, etc.) to illustrate the complexities that European integration is imposing upon the population, including those that are resisting the change to a more fully westernized society.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: None
• Maximum participants: 26
• Counts toward: 300 level elective for Political Science major/minor
• Fee: $4050 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: no core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Steven Hoffman and Kenneth Kemp, UST
• Detailed Course Description

Conservation Psychology in Germany (UMAIE)
In recent years psychologists have become increasingly interested in the interplay between environmental conditions and people's behavior. Conservation Psychology is the scientific study of the reciprocal relationship between human behavior and the natural environment. Conservation Psychology is an applied field, meaning that it involves the use of psychological principles, theories, or methods, to understand and solve a social issue. The course, divided into three sections, will utilize site visits, guest lectures, readings, and guided reflection.  The first section of the course will examine the scientific evidence regarding a number of environmental issues, including global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, destruction of rainforests, and depletion of natural resources like fresh water, oil, and metal deposits. For each of these issues, we will examine the specific behaviors that lead to these problems. The second section of the course will examine psychological factors associated with conservation behavior. We will examine such topics as norms, values, and incentives. The final section of the course will examine interventions designed to change human behavior. Germany has emerged as a world leader in sustainability.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: general psychology or other introductory social science course
• Maximum enrollment: 26
• Counts toward: ENVR 212; elective for Psychology major/minor
• Fee: $4595 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: no core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Elise Amel and Christina Manning, UST
• Detailed Course Description

The Culture of Physical Activity and Well-Being in Norway (UMAIE)
This course will examine unique sociological, cultural and geographical factors that play a role in Scandinavians valuing and adopting a physically active lifestyle throughout their life. Scandinavians rank among the healthiest people in the world for a variety of reasons; the learner will be immersed in the culture of Norway that contributes to this fact. Students will study Scandinavian well-being, a holistic concept that embraces may aspects of a person’s lifespan such as enjoying outdoor exercise, living green, consuming a nutritional diet, and making time for stress reduction. Learners will have the opportunity to tour an ergonomically designed home and experience communities that encourage walking, biking, skiing and hiking. Since this course will occur during Norway’s winter, the history of skiing will be studied. Skiing played a critical role in the history of this country, first as a mode of transportation and now as a recreational activity. Norwegians are fiercely proud of their skiing heritage in Nordic, Alpine, Telemark and ski jumping today. The class will also trace the emigration of Norwegians to the Upper Midwest and consider the unique culture and lifestyle that they brought to America along with their love of skiing. Lastly, students will identify aspects of Scandinavian well-being that persist today in the Upper Midwest.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: sophomore class standing, good physical condition
• Maximum participants: 22
• Counts toward:  Health 350; Health and Human performance elective
• Fee: $6465 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: PHED 100; Health & Fitness requirement
• Program Directors: Bridget Duoos and Deborah Duoos, UST
• Detailed Course Description

English School and Family (UMAIE)
Education programs in Great Britain have already experienced many of the proposed changes currently facing schools in the U.S. This course provides students with three distinct yet related experiences: observation and participation in British schools, a home stay with an English family, and cultural explorations in and around London. The school placement provides students with valuable clinical experience in their teacher education program and will focus on a comparative study of U.S. and British school systems and family life.  Future teachers, and others, at all stages of their education will expand their understanding of the teaching and learning process as they experience how another culture educates its young.  This course is also appropriate for any student, regardless of major,  interested in examining the impact of family and educational systems on society.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: none
• Maximum participants: 16
• Counts toward: Education major/minor; both EDUC 210
• Fee: $4765 + $175 UST off-campus study fee and 211 with completion of extra credit assignments
• Fulfills: No core requirement
• Faculty Director: Douglas Warring, UST
• Detailed Course Description

Gender, Race, Class and Mass Media in London (UMAIE)
This course explores the crucial roles journalistic, advertising and entertainment media play in creating, reinforcing and disseminating cultural values about gender, race and ethnicity, and class.  We consider such questions as how media depictions may symbolically annihilate, stereotype and trivialize women and people of color, and how the decision-making status of women and people of color in media organizations may be connected to those depictions.  We also explore these issues in relation to class, which is often connected to race and ethnicity.  We question the ability of media organizations to recognize and reflect the changing nature of the populations they have a social responsibility to serve.  We also consider how international conglomerates use media messages to perpetuate a kind of one-size-fits-all global culture of commodification and materialism that may influence local cultural standards about identity. Specifically, in this offering of the course, we will use the city of London as a kind of living laboratory to examine how the tensions of heritage and diversity are exacerbated or addressed by mass media content and public expressions of culture in an increasingly multicultural city.  We will systematically compare our own experiences with US media content and public culture to our newfound observations of media content and public culture in London.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: JOUR 100 recommended
• Maximum participants: 26
• Counts toward: Women’s Studies major/minor; Communication and Journalism major/ minor elective
• Fee: $4795 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: Human Diversity core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Wendy Wyatt and Mark Neuzil, UST
• Detailed Course Description

The Greek Connection: Embracing Transcultural Caring in Ancient and Modern Greece (UMAIE)
Healthcare as we know it today has its roots deeply embedded in a rich history. Recording history and myths provide us with much knowledge about health practices that date back to ancient Greece and the Healing Temples of Asklepios. Exploring the contributions of ancient and modern Greece enhances our understanding and appreciation of the history of health, healing and wellness. Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care provides the theoretical framework for this course. This theory is grounded in cultural anthropology and features broad cultural and structural dimensions that offer diverse ways of exploring a culture.  These dimensions are technology, religious and philosophical factors, kinship and social factors, cultural values and lifestyles, political and legal factors, economical and educational factors. Leininger believes that providers of health care must understand the cultural and social factors in order to provide culturally congruent care in a world that has become a “global community” (Leininger, 1997). Using her model, this immersion experience in Greece will provide a student with a deeper understanding of the cultural diversities and similarities that have existed over time and in our present era, not only in matters of  health and healing, but in all aspects of daily life.

• Enrollment: lottery
• Prerequisites: none
• Maximum participants: 26
• Counts toward: no major/minor requirement
• Fee: $5995 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: no core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Muriel Larson and Diane Josephson, Augustana
• Detailed Course Description

Ireland: Understanding Christian Celtic Spirituality (UMAIE)
We will examine the aspects of Celtic Christianity as it was experienced in Ireland then and today, which points to the distinct quality that Celtic culture brought to the expression of Christian theology and lived faith experience. Theologically, the common and constant interaction between lay people, hermits, monks, and saints gave rise to missionary work, soul-friendships and the development of guides for spiritual living. This and the art of the period show the creative tension between the community and the individual in spiritual practice. By visiting monasteries, hermitages, and early sacred sites, where Celtic Christianity flourished between 400-1000 C.E., students will be able to better appreciate the impact Celtic spirituality has had on both yesterday and today.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: THEO 101 and one 200-level THEO course
• Maximum Participants: 26
• Counts toward: Theology major/minor upper-level elective
• Fee: $4895 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: 300-level Faith and Catholic Tradition core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Anne King and Fintan Moore, UST
• Detailed Course Description

Pilgrimage in Italy: The Christian Experience from the Early Church to the Reformation (UST)
Because pilgrimage was such an integral part of much of the history of Italy, this course will introduce the student to Italy through the lens of the pilgrim. It will look at the early, Medieval, Renaissance and Catholic Reformation periods. Various cities and sites will be visited including Rome, Florence, Siena, and Assisi. Students will be introduced to the major works of Christian literature written at these various places, to the lives of individuals from the different phases of history and to the monuments and art that reflect the spirituality of each place and time.  A special focus of the pilgrimage will be on St. Francis, St Clare and the Franciscan movement.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: THEO 101 and one 200-level THEO course
• Maximum participants: 28
• Counts toward: Theology major/ minor upper-level elective
• Fee: $4895 (includes $175 off-campus study fee)
• Fulfills: 300-level Faith and Catholic Tradition core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Fr. Steve McMichael, UST and staff from Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs
• Detailed Course Description

Poets and Their Places: Ireland’s Literary Landscapes (UMAIE)
This course studies the poetry, the plays and the fiction of W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel, and James Joyce. It examines the legacy of place: how the landscape of these men shapes their artistic development. They, like us, inherit the beliefs, the symbols, the behaviors of their surroundings. And in their artistic development they work to synthesize the demand of their place, which cannot be ignored, and the demands of their individual selves. This course travels to Galway with its associations with W.B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory, the founders of the nationalist Irish Literary Theatre; to Sligo to understand its shaping force in W.B. Yeats’ fascination with Irish myth, legend, and folklore; to Derry (Londonderry) in the North, the shaping ground for both playwright Brian Friel and poet Seamus Heaney; and to Dublin, the city that provided James Joyce with his only subject matter.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: None
• Maximum participants: 26
• Counts toward: 200-level English major/minor
• Fee: $4795 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: no core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Sandra Looney and Janet Blank-Libra, Augustana
• Detailed Course Description

Real Estate Development in Italy: From Romulus to Real Time (UMAIE)
The course will be conducted mainly in Rome where many great Romans left examples of their ingenuity in maximizing the productive use of land. Students will use Rome as a living laboratory to study the legacies in architecture, public health innovations, design and construction techniques, and merchant trade systems throughout the centuries.  Students will study how Rome continues to evolve in maximizing the productive use of land. The course invites students to analyze and describe the significant contributions from ancient Rome that still exist and will debate the issue of sustainable development as it plays out in Italy today.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: REAL 200; Real Estate Principles or permission of director
• Maximum participants: 16
• Counts toward: Real Estate Studies allied elective 300+ general business elective for concentrations in Finance,  Legal Studies in Business Marketing with permission from Department Chair
• Fee: $4795 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: no core requirement
• Faculty Director: Thomas Hamilton, UST
• Detailed Course Description

Roman Engineering and Structures: Over 2500 Years of Contributions to Modern Society (UST)
Modern Rome is a living tribute to the incredible contributions from Ancient Rome and the Holy Roman Empire. The legacies of art, architecture, public health innovations, design and construction techniques advanced the Roman rural society to an urban culture of extremely well defined principles and planning. This course will be mainly in Rome where students will visit ancient aqueducts, roads, forums and temples. Students will also visit other Italian cities and be challenged to analyze and describe the significant contributions of the ancient Roman engineers, artists and architects. Students will evaluate and debate examples found in today’s society to understand the challenges the ancient Romans encountered in design and construction.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: none
• Maximum participants: 20
• Counts toward: Elective for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering major
• Fee: $6195 includes $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: no core requirement
• Faculty Directors: John Walker and Barbara Zell, UST
• Detailed Course Description

Sacred Places of France (UST) 
The purpose of this course is to experience and to reflect on the imaginative perception of the transcendent captured by the art, architecture, and music of sacred places. France offers a wide variety of such sites. Much of our time will be spent in Paris studying and visiting various churches such as Notre Dame, La Chapelle and Sacre Coeur and museums, such as the Louvre, Cluny, The Museum of Jewish History and Culture, and the Guimet museum of Asian art. There will be day trips to Rouen, Lisieuz and Chartes, as well as longer outings to Mont Saint Michel, the Benedictine monastery at Solesmes, and finally to the shrine of Lourdes, the site of miraculous apparitions of Mary and of various healings.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: THEO 101 and one 200-level THEO course
• Maximum participants: 20
• Counts toward: Theology major/minor upper-level elective
• Fee: $5795 (includes $175 UST off-campus study fee)
• Fulfills: 300-level Faith and Catholic Tradition core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Joseph Hallman and Jan Hallman, UST
• Detailed Course Description

Spanish in Malaga, Spain (UST)
This language and culture immersion program is designed to give students an in-depth exposure to Spanish society. As part of the goal of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages to incorporate an international perspective to the language-learning experience, students may opt for one of the following two options: one core course (SPAN 211), or the elective course (SPAN 320). Students will attend daily classes at the appropriate level and will live with Spanish families. In addition, students will participate in excursions to sites selected for their cultural/historical emphasis.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: previous course in sequence; a minimum GPA 3.0, a GPA of 3.0 in all Spanish classes or permission of the faculty director
• Maximum participants: 20
• Counts toward: SPAN 320 (Business Spanish)
• Fee: $4795 includes $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: SPAN 211 language requirement
• Faculty Director: Sonia Rey-Montejo, UST
• Detailed Course Description

Spanish Language and Culture in Southern Spain, Seville (UMAIE)
The combination of cultural immersion, classroom instruction, native interviews, journal writing and discussion sessions; and, family homestays in Seville will provide the student with a unique language learning experience. Our objective is to give the student a degree of spoken language and cultural exposure to augment and advance what has been achieved in an academic semester at the college level.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites:  The previous course in sequence during the previous semester, a cumulative GPA of 3.0, as well as a 3.0 GPA in all Spanish classes, or permission of faculty director.
• Maximum participants: 20
• Counts toward: SPAN 212 or SPAN 305 major/minor
• Fee: $4895 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: no core requirements  
• Faculty Director: Carlos Badessich, UST
• Detailed Course Description

The Theatre of England (UMAIE)
Experience the unique interplay of history, culture and tradition that has shaped the creation of British theatre. Immersed in the culture, we will participate, observe and discuss how the British way of life has helped to shape and sustain a vibrant theatre community. Using the plays as a touchstone this course explores how a culture both so alike and so different from our own is reflected in the unique artistic achievement that is British theatre.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: none
• Maximum participants: 26
• Counts toward: no major/minor requirement
• Fee: $4995 + $175 UST off-campus study fee
• Fulfills: Fine Arts core requirement
• Faculty Directors: Theodore Lerud and Janice Pohl, Elmhurst
• Detailed Course Description

Visual Communication in Italy (UST)
Visual Communication introduces students to the vocabulary, theory and principles of visual communication by examining their application in painting, architecture, public monuments, photography, graphic design, typography, printing, advertising, and film. The goal of the course is to teach students to identify and analyze the predominant styles of imagery we encounter in the media and the world around us. In doing so, students will observe and study how visual images communicate within their historical, social, cultural, religious and political contexts. We will also examine how and why these images are appropriated and reappear in media today.

• Enrollment: selection
• Prerequisites: none
• Maximum participants: 12
• Counts toward: Communication and Journalism major/minor
• Fee: $4995 (includes $175 UST off-campus study fee)
• Fulfills: no core requirement
• Faculty Director: Robert Craig, St. Thomas
• Detailed Course Description