Come learn more about this UConn study abroad opportunity!
Tuesday, October 7
2:30-4:30 pm
Library Class of 1947 in the Homer Babbidge Library
MEET DR. MARITA MCCOMISKEY, REV. VERNON ROSE, a South Africa native, and students who went on this trip last year to learn more about this incredible experience!
UCONN LEARNING COMMUNITIES IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Mid-May to mid-June 2015, A UConn faculty-led program
Get out of the classroom and into the world through this 4-week, 3-credit experiential learning program designed to help situate your education abroad within a broader social context. Any UConn student can apply!
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 the only one with specific language on women’s, children’s, workers’, health care & education rights; & environmental & conservation justice.
Cape Town, a magnificently beautiful city nestled between sandy beaches and picturesque mountains, provides the setting for this program. An 8-day service-learning component enables students to become immersed in the work of a non-profit organization selected especially for them. Building upon long-term relationships with supervisors at a variety of non-profits, Rev. Vernon Rose, Cape Town native and Associate Director of UConn Programs in Cape Town, is able to find an appropriate placement site for each student based on her/his specific career goals and personal interests.
THE ACADEMICS ~ WGSS 3993: Foreign Study in Cape Town (3-credits)
Taught by Dr. Marita McComiskey, Resident Director of UConn’s Cape Town Programs for the last seven years, this 4-week experiential learning course, in addition to the field placement, will include reading and writing assignments to help better situate Cape Town experiences within a broader social contest.
Through lectures, guest speakers, discussions, films, and cultural events, designed to provide insight into the history and politics of South Africa, this class will enable students to analyze their time spent living, learning, and working abroad to better understand the multiple ways 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 vibrant learning community among participants, this program provides a structured environment to help reflect upon cross-cultural competencies and personal development.
Students, as co-educators in this course will collectively process new skills and knowledge to help integrate their international travel with their current academic plans as well as their future personal and profession goals.
THE EXPERIENCE
Participants in this program live in a fully-furnished house with easy access to public transportation located in Cape Town’s southern suburb of Rondebosch, a primarily residential area, with a 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 program offers: a week long orientation with visits to historic and cultural sites such as Robben Island; a home-stay to experience everyday life with a local family; and a 2-day game reserve trip to see animals for which South Africa is famous.
APPLY NOW! http://abroad.uconn.edu, click “Programs,” search for “Learning Communities Cape Town”
Any eligible UConn student can apply. Preference in selection will be given to first- and second-year Learning Community students.
QUESTIONS? Contact Dr. Marita.McComiskey@uconn.edu or Melissa.Foreman@uconn.edu
For more information, contact: Marita McComiskey at marita.mccomiskey@uconn.edu