August 23, 2018
K-State in France and Spain: January 2019 faculty-led travel seminar
The College of Arts and Sciences' communication studies department is offering a two-week faculty-led travel course in France and Spain for undergraduates and graduate students in all majors interested in an academic and intercultural experience in a foreign culture.
The course, directed by Professor Soumia Bardhan, may be taken as COMM 480: Intercultural/International Communication, three credits, or COMM 799: Problems in Intercultural/International Communication, three credits, independent study.
The travel dates are Jan. 6-19, 2019; depart from U.S. on Jan. 6. The application deadline is Oct. 1.
The program kicks off with a welcome reception in Paris on Jan. 7 and concludes with a farewell dinner in Madrid on Jan. 19. It features field trips to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille in southern France, and Granada, Seville and Cordoba in southern Spain.
Through an in-depth review of intercultural theories and concepts, lectures, field trips, and competence development activities, this course will focus on the ways in which culture and language/communication are linked. Participants will explore ways in which culture and communication/media affect debates concerning immigration, religion and secularism, terrorism and human rights, feminism and gender dynamics in Europe. The course also will concentrate on the history, evolution and manifestation of Christianity, Judaism and Islam in Al-Andalus in southern Spain, and the intercultural interactions between Western and non-Western cultures through analysis of art, architecture, history and politics.
Field trips include guided tours of some of the most notable museums: Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and Prado in Madrid. Tours of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, La Mezquita of Córdoba, Central Cathedral and Alhambra Palace in Granada will be scheduled. In addition to intercultural dialogues with locals, participants will discover the intriguing history of Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, and Seville during walking tours, and sample a diverse array of culinary delights. Other highlights are a Seine river cruise, visits to the Eiffel Tower, and Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol in Madrid as well as a flamenco lecture-demonstration in Granada.
View more information about the course and scholarships/financial aid.
The application can be found online.