Short-term Study Abroad Programs

BIO 150: Field Research in Costa Rica

Contact: Craig Stettner for more information and permission to register.

Travel Dates: January 3 - 13, 2018

This is a 4-credit, lab-science, general education course that transfers as a 100-level biology course or general elective and may be used to meet specific needs such as cultural graduation requirements.  In addition, it produces really unique material for letters of recommendation and resumes.  Grades are based upon the student’s full participation in course activities and completion of an independent field project, including a written summary and a short presentation of the project at our one-and-only post-trip meeting.  Other than the independent project, course activities include several guided tours (mostly on foot), rainforest restoration, volunteering at a wild animal rescue center, researching and presenting an animal at the wild animal rescue center, and attending several lectures.  After spending the first night near the airport, we spend three nights in a tropical seasonal forest lodge, one night with host families connected to the wild animal rescue center, and five nights at a field station in tropical rainforest.

Brief Highlights:  Being surrounded by rainforest…we spend five nights (and days) at an isolated tropical rainforest field station.  The rainforests are the best known tropical ecosystems, but tropical seasonal forests are the most threatened, and we spend three days in this environment.  With animals in the wild, there are never guarantees, but at the wild animal rescue center, the animals are “up-close-and-personal.”  Staying one night with host families allows us to also get “up-close-and-personal” with daily life in Costa Rica.

Estimated budget: Airfare + Lodging + Meals + Harper Tuition will be a little over $2000 (the Spring 2017 section was $2100).

Scholarships are available through Harper Educational Foundation (Worldview, Castle Scholars, and John W. Davis Spanish Travel Scholarship): https://harpercollege.academicworks.com/

 

ENG 102: The Promise(s) of Revolution: Nicaragua, the U.S., and the Sandinistas

Contact: Dr. Richard F. Johnson for more information.

Dates of Course: 12-week late-start spring semester 2018 (February 12 – May 7, 2018)

Dates of Travel: March 23 – April 1, 2018 (spring break)

Brief Description of the program and learning objectives of the course:

This course represents a unique learning opportunity: not only will students achieve the outcomes of ENG 102, but they will also gain critical and highly valued Global Learning Outcomes through an international service learning experience. ENG 102 builds on many of the writing skills you developed in ENG 101 and aims to consolidate these skills through the analysis of non-fiction writing.  Through this course, students will read and write about the history of Central America’s largest country, Nicaragua, and its contentious relationship with the United States.  In this course, students will also be critiquing the concepts of service learning and civic engagement. To that end, they will examine the impact of international service learning and apply what they learn through a hands-on service learning project Nicaragua.  The final research project for this course will involve an analysis of the efficacy of service learning and civic engagement in the 21^st century.  Through all learning experiences, including the travel portion of the class, we will strive to create a learning environment in which students will draw on their own life experiences and examine their own assumptions and preconceptions about civic engagement, Central America, and the U.S., in order to explore the central themes of the readings for the course.

Brief highlight of program (sites visited)

La Mariposa Spanish School and Eco-Hotel, San Juan de la Concepcion, Nicaragua:

http://www.mariposaspanishschool.com/

This program will include a service component. Students will be divided into several groups of 2-3 students each to work at 3-4 different projects. Examples of possible placements for service work include

• working in 2 different elementary schools (one urban and one rural)
• working on a sustainable agriculture farm
• working at a women’s cooperative bakery
• working with rescued animals and helping to preserve wildlife (especially the dogs and horses)
• working on organic farms or helping a community establish their own organic vegetable plots
• using environmentally sound materials in a small construction project
• working on reading programs and libraries or with the pre-school day care project
• in the wet season, helping to reforest and plant trees

Excursions may include visiting the Masaya Volcano, and cities of Granada or Leon.

Estimated budget (including Harper tuition)

$2600 including tuition, airfare, accommodations, and most meals (personal expenditures not included)

Scholarships are available through Harper Educational Foundation (Worldview, Castle Scholars, and John W. Davis Spanish Travel Scholarship): https://harpercollege.academicworks.com/

 

Lost Kingdom of the Ancient Maya (Continuing Education)

with Dr. Helmut Publ

May 21st, 2018- May 30th, 2018

Join us for an exceptional travel adventure to some of the most important and dramatic Maya temples and palaces in north-central Yucatan. Here is an opportunity to visit spectacular archaeological sites, museums, colonial towns, sun-swept beaches, and more. Delight in the charm, the native traditions, and rich cultural history of the Maya region, and gain a new perspective from anecdotal lectures and guided tours by Dr. Helmut Publ, Professor of Anthropology at Harper College, on this exciting journey.

You will depart for Mexico on May 21 and return home on May 30, 2018. The registration deadline with Worldstrides is January 31, 2018.

About the Instructor: Dr. Publ received his B.A. and his M.A. in anthropology from the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico, his Ph.D. in anthropology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and a C.A.S. in sociology from Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois. Much of his professional experience has been in cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, ethno-history, and sociology. He has conducted extensive ethnographic, ethno-historic, and archaeological field-work throughout Mexico, Guatemala, the American Southwest, Peru, South America, and other Latin American countries. His varied research interests include culture change, trade and exchange systems, social and political structure, language and culture, the development of complex societies, and symbolism and folklore. Before coming to Harper College, Dr. Publ taught anthropology and worked as a research assistant at the National Museum of Anthropology, at the National Institute of History and Anthropology, and at the University of the Americas, all in Mexico City, Mexico. Dr. Publ became a full-time faculty member in the Anthropology/Sociology Department at Harper College in 1995 and has served as chair and co/chair of that Department since 1999.

Details:

There is a two-step registration process.

1. You must register with Worldstrides. Course tuition is $3,348 and does not include travel expenses. Make travel and tour reservations through World Strides Tour Company. After you register you will be emailed specifics on the trip and information for booking with Worldstrides.

2. You must also register with Harper College’s Office of International Education through this site.  The registration fee is $60.

 If you have questions about the registration process, please contact Dr. Richard F. Johnson, Director of International Education.

For instructions on how to register with Harper College, CLICK HERE.

To apply for this program with Worldstrides, CLICK HERE.

INFORMATION SESSION

For more information, join Prof. Publ at an informational meeting on the main campus of Harper College:

Wednesday, September 13

J building, room 240

6:30 – 8:00 pm