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Art 223: Field Study in Art History/ Global Cultural Studies to Haiti
is a short-term faculty lead education abroad course
now offered through Keystone College.
This interdisciplinary free elective course, with travel to Haiti, provides the
opportunity for students to experience an intense emersion into the culture
of this developing nation.
Through transformational study which emphasizes a major shift, or change, in a
student’s way of knowing, students will learn about themselves and their world
through the Haitian culture
through areas of study determined by each student in consultation with their
instructor.
Areas of study are not limited to art, although there will be a major visual
art, art history, and art education component to this course.
The course consists of three preparatory seminars; a 12-day travel experience
to Haiti, a post-travel seminar, and a final presentation meeting.
Here is what is included in this course:
Students will choose a subject to research prior to the travel experience.
These subjects will be shared with our Haiti tour organizers, and venues for
the experiences in Haiti will be aligned with the subjects being researched, so
that students can interview appropriate Haitian professionals and experience
activities related to their areas of study.
These topics are limitless.
Haiti's people desire professional and academic discourse of all kinds, of and
welcome the opportunity to share their knowledge on all topics.
Students will fly with the instructor and co instructor to Port-au-Prince
Haiti.
Preparation for the exit from this airport into downtown Port-au-Prince
will take place during the pre-travel seminars.
The organizations of “N a Sonje,” which means “you will remember,” and Haiti Tours
Associates,
will meet our class at the airport exit
and in a van suited for the rough roads of Haiti, will take the class on a
tour of the historic areas of Port-au-Prince,
which will include many sights and sounds associated with the aftermath of
the January 12, 2010 earthquake.
Our final destination for the day will be the village of Gwo Jan, and the
Haiti Tours Associates guesthouse.
Students, now placed in this foreign land, will be guided
to integrate themselves into village life
when in, and around, the guest house.
Daily activities will include short language and cultural lessons, eating meals,
time for reflection and writing,
time for group meetings, and a variety of activities based on study topics.
While participating in activities of each day, and through the many people and
places they will experience,
students will come to understand the richness within the people of Haiti, and
be encouraged to find that same richness within themselves
that defines them in terms other than by their economic wealth,
or by their North American and European privileges.
By placing the student outside their cultural comfort zone, they will begin to
alter their perceptions of their
world through a deep, and enriched, change
fostered from this study abroad experience.
Departing from Haiti and returning to the US will be a profound experience
for all in many different ways.
Students will have gathered first-hand information for completion of their
research topics but,
aside from that, they will have developing a bond with
these people and Haiti will always hold a part of their heart
for when they return.
Students will return from Haiti with an altered, or transformed, way of knowing
their world
with new unusual methods for investigating their world.
There will be a seminar meeting to process the trip as a group, and then
there will be a meeting to present research projects.
If you are interested in participating in this course, please arrange a meeting
with this instructor.
That is the best way to get started,
then there is the application found on the global learning website link,
or in the Office of Global Learning in Sickler Hall.
I am associate professor David Porter and I am your instructor for this course.
Bonswa!
Haiti awaits.