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Academics : International Education Study Abroad

Study Abroad, Ireland

2007-08 Study abroad program, Ireland

Ireland

Spring Semester 2008
(Tentative schedule and curriculum) 

Please Note: Leadership / credits for this program have not been fully determined and may be canceled.  Details of this program are still being established.

Leaders: To be determined

Program:
The Irish Studies Seminar program is specifically designed for seniors and includes a senior English course and a Senior Seminar.  The seminar combines on-campus courses with three weeks of travel in Ireland, offering an international experience to seniors who wish to broaden their academic experience during spring term.

Students will begin spring term at NMH with an intensive reading and writing program in two integrated courses, Senior Literature and Composition: Reading and Senior Seminar.  The group will then fly to Ireland for three weeks of study and travel.  For the seminar, students will work individually and as a group on their final projects, meeting regularly with their teacher.  As they move toward the completion of their final exhibitions, their work will be increasingly independent.  The final project must reflect the weight and substance of a term’s work and be presentable to a larger audience.

Ireland Itinerary:
The group will travel to Ireland for approximately three weeks, accompanied by an NMH English teacher and a colleague.  The trip will begin in Dublin, an energetic, complex city rich with history, theater, music, and literary tradition.  The group will travel to Northwest Ireland, to Sligo (Yeats Country) and Donegal.  There they will explore the rugged Donegal coast, a landscape of small villages, windswept heath, and megalithic tombs.  West of Donegal “stretch the haunting, untouched, Irish speaking Rosses,” the Donegal gaeltacht, where storytelling, dance, and music are “practiced, not produced.”  The group will then travel south to the city of Galway, famous for its theater, craic, and music.  They will spend several days in Dingle, a thriving seaport town filled with music, shops, bookstores, and tradition. 

During their travels, students will continue to read and write; one major component of the trip will be a detailed travel journal.  Students will have the opportunity to become teachers, sharing their own areas of expertise (including the aforementioned reports) with the group.  The trip will also serve to inspire further study when they return to NMH to work on their independent projects.

 

Requirements/ Credits:
The Irish Studies Program is open to seniors interested in literature and writing, with a desire to expand their knowledge of Irish literature.  Students who successfully complete the Senior Seminar in Ireland will earn three credits.  Typically, this seminar carries one credit in English and one in History.  Most likely this seminar will also carry one international credit, comprised of a half credit in Intercultural Communications and a half credit in Irish studies.  However the exact requirements are still being determined.  Students may take this seminar instead of or in addition to any senior English course.  A student who is also enrolled in AP English will earn an extra credit in English. 

**Please Note:  While the trip will be scheduled to allow students to take AP tests when they return, students will not be able to attend AP refresher courses while they are in Ireland.

Intercultural Communications:  Intercultural Communications is designed to enhance the study of all term abroad programs.  The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the specific cross-cultural issues they encounter while studying abroad or away from campus.  The course will also develop student awareness of cultural differences and provide them with appropriate coping skills and strategies while they are traveling away from school.  In addition, students will develop an understanding of the basic elements of cross-cultural communication. 

Application:
The application form is available by SWIS in the International Education folder, or by contacting the Office of International Education in Billings Hall, Northfield at x3251.  The completed application including all supporting materials is due in the Center for International Education on March 30, 2007.

Fee:
In addition to the regular cost of tuition, room, and board, students will pay a program fee of $1850.00 plus airfare and other major transportation costs.  Very limited need-based financial aid may be available, yet is not guaranteed.