CentreTerm Programs for 2014

There is a two-step process to become part of a 2014 CentreTerm course abroad. You must first apply directly to the faculty director of the abroad course. Do this as soon as possible but no later than Friday, March 1, 2013. By Monday, March 4, the faculty director will notify you by email if you are approved or are wait-listed for the trip. Students approved can hold their "slot" by paying a non-refundable deposit of $200 at the Cashier's Office in Boles Hall by noon on March 11. Wait-listed students will be notified by e-mail as soon as slots become open. Although professors establish their own criteria for selection and are the final arbiters of how many and which students may participate, most will consider the relevance of the trip to students' academic interests; some may ask students to fill out a form or write a short essay.

To continue to hold your slot, you must then pay the rest of the first payment (one-third the cost of the trip, minus your initial $200 deposit) at the Cashier's Office by noon on March 25, 2013. (The second payment is due on September 2; the third on November 1.)

Some students on CentreTerm trips may need to store their belongings at Centre while away and move into different residence-hall rooms at the beginning of spring term. In the past, students on CentreTerm courses abroad have received a reimbursement of about $200 on their spring-term bills because of meals missed in January—though this is not guaranteed for the future.

2014 Courses

Bahamas: Field Course in Tropical Marine Biology (BIO 250 or 450). Students study and observe marine life in the coral reef, mangrove, and sea-grass areas, both onshore and offshore, of San Salvador Island. The class involves small-group (BIO 250) or individual (BIO 450) research projects on the evolution, ecology, and behavior of marine life. Prerequisite: BIO 110. Contact Prof. Brian Storz. Estimated cost: $3,100.

Brazil Internships: Rio Internship Program. Centre has recently started exploring possible internships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for students to complete during CentreTerm and/or the summer. Cost: transportation, housing, and meals. Contact Mindy Wilson in Career Services and click here for more information.

Catalonia: Politics, Language, and Regional Identity in Spain, France, and Andorra (SPA280/460; FRE 330; HUM 200). With a primary focus on the region's history, politics, culture, and language, this course will involve a trans-frontier comparison of the development of national identity in North and South Catalonia. Students seeking credit for French and Spanish will be expected to converse and produce all assignments in the target language. Prerequisite: Spanish and French students should have completed 220 or its equivalent. Contact Prof. Julie James or Prof. Patrice Mothion. Estimated cost: $3,600.

England: Introduction to Drama and Theatre (DRA 338). The course will explore the depth and range of theatrical experience available in all regions of England through a combination of preparatory research and field experience. Fall term lectures, prior to departure, will focus on the development of regional theatre as an element of post-World War II government policy, and the development of the commercial theatre, subsidized theatre, and alternative theatre sectors. Comparison will be made between the development of a national, integrated theatre network in the UK and the problems with developing such a theatre sector in the US. This course is designed to be accessible to non-Dramatic Arts majors as well as meeting the advanced literature requirement for majors. Contact Prof. Tony Haigh. Estimated cost: $3,500.

Guatemala: History of Human Rights (HIS 467). From the Spanish conquest to twentieth-century genocide, Guatemala has a long history as a site of both human rights abuses and human rights advocacy. This class explores the historical development of the idea of human rights with on-site learning at Maya ruins, colonial Catholic churches, working coffee plantations, indigenous villages, and NGO offices. This course may also count toward LAS and IST (concentration) requirements. Contact Prof. Stephen Dove. Estimated cost: $2,700.

India: Life, Death, and Religion in Varanasi, India's Holiest City (REL 458). On the banks of the river Ganges, students will observe religion as it is practiced by each of India's major faiths. From Hindu temples and cremation grounds, to the birthplace of the 23rd Jain Lord Pārśva, in the mosques and the Muslim quarter and at the Central Institute of Tibetan Studies, students will see how Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Muslims, and Sikhs experience and enact their beliefs, traditions, and rituals. We will ask how on-the-ground religion in India compares to depictions in Western media and universities. This seventeen-day course includes a visit to the Sikhs' Golden Temple in Amritsar, and two weeks in Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in the world and the destination for millions of Hindu pilgrims. Contact Prof. Chris Haskett. Estimated cost: $3,600.

Mérida Internships: Centre-in-the-Yucatan (INT 400). Students live in homestays and complete a carefully selected internship with a Mérida firm or organization. Conversational Spanish is necessary. Contact Mindy Wilson in Career Services or Leigh Cocanougher in the Center for Global Citizenship. Cost: $850 plus airfare. (A non-refundable $200 deposit is due March 25 with the remaining $650 due September 2.) Overseen by Prof. Genny Ballard. Interested students should attend a meeting at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, February 21, in the Davidson Room of Old Carnegie.

New Zealand: The Physical Science of Volcanoes (NSC 250). Students will be introduced to the physical science of volcanoes over 21 days in New Zealand. The course will explore basic geology, volcano formation, types of volcanoes, volcanic hazards, and other geothermal features like hot springs and geysers. Good physical fitness is required; much of the course will involve hiking on rough terrain on and around volcanoes. Prerequisite: Any introductory physical science course or permission of instructors. Contact Prof. Kerry Paumi or Prof. Joe Workman. Estimated cost: $3,700.

Thailand and Burma: Buddha in the Big City (ASN 320/GOV 455). This course explores the accommodations of Thailand and Burma's rich religious and cultural pasts to an increasingly postindustrial, metropolitan world. Students will study and recreate layouts of Thai and Burmese cities, including religious landmarks, parks, waterways, modern architecture, and the daily rituals of local monks, lay people, and tourists that reshape the purpose of space. We will also explore spaces outside the city centers that are crucial to the definition of these urban areas: rural temples and monasteries, plantations, slums, westernized satellite malls, and beaches. Contact Prof. Kyle Anderson or Chris Paskewich. Estimated cost: $4,100.

Uganda and Rwanda: Histories in Context (HIS 433). This course will equip students to engage in historical field research. It includes six modules, each of which illuminates a distinct aspect of how communities have used oral history to shape politics. We will study eastern Africa's ancient kingdoms in Buganda, Late Iron Age rock paintings and clan politics in Tesoland, circumcision rituals in Mbale, global economies on the Nile River, and the Rwandan genocide. Two side trips are included: whitewater rafting the Nile & safari in Murchison Falls National Park. Website: http://centreeasternafrica.blogspot.com/ Twitter: @centreeastafriq. Contact Prof. Jon Earle. Estimated cost: $3,700.

To see photos from past CentreTerm abroad experiences, click here.