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Salzburg
Salzburg is one of the most beautiful cities in
Europe. With a population of about 140,000, it is
situated on the northern edge of the eastern Alps
close to the German border. It is surrounded by
picturesque mountains and near a famous lake
district. The city itself still reflects a thousand
years of European history and culture. By its
history, its cultural and educational environment,
and its location, Salzburg is an ideal setting for a
European study experience.
Salzburg College, established in 1970 to provide
a Salzburg study experience for English-speaking
college students, takes advantage of this ideal
setting The college is located in the historical
Meierhof which forms part of the 1S* century
Leopoldskron Palace. Many recognize the palace
because of its prominence in the film “Sound of
Music” (it served as the film site for the Von Trapp
family home).
The program was initially developed jointly
with Northern Illinois University and Illinois State
University by Dr. Ina Stegen, the director of Salz
burg College. Students from other colleges and uni
versities were soon attracted to the program, and
alumni now represent more than 250 institutions in
the United States, Canada, and Japan. Only 60-70
students are accepted by Salzburg College per se
mester, in order to maintain its small, caring envir-
orunent and the personal attention given to each
student.
A key theme of the academic program at
Salzburg College is the integration of classroom
work and field experience. Excursions, guest
lectures, and interactions with local professionals
constitute an important aspect of virtually every
course. For example, business courses feature
weekly visits to companies. European History
students go to the concentration camps of Dachau
and Mauthausen. Music History includes the
attendance of concert and opera performances. Art
History classes take field trips to museums and
architectural monuments. Studio Art and Music
Performance students work with local artists, share
international workshops with young Europeans,
attend show openings in Salzburg, and give recitals.
Education students attend classes in the local school
system.
Saltzburg offers a wide range of courses. All
courses, with the exception of upper-level German
language and literature, are taught in English and
students register for a minimum of 15 and a maxi
mum of 18 credit hours per semester. All students
are required to enroll in one German language course
(at any level) and an Austrian Civilization course.
To integrate with the Austrian conununity as
much as possible, housing is arranged with care
fully-selected Salzburg families who provide a
“home away from home.” Stegen and her staff
conduct extensive interviews with both host
families and students in order to create the perfect
“fit.” Learning to understand and appreciate
different customs and values, by becoming part of a
host family, is one of the most exciting aspects of
the “European Semester” at Salzburg College.
Travel plays an important and integrated role in
study at Salzburg College. The program begins with
a one-week trip through Germany that gives a
hands-on introduction to European culture, while
providing a great opportunity to meet other
students. The initial tour includes visits to Trier,
Cologne; Bonn; the Rhine; the imperial cities of
Worms and Speyer; Heidelberg with its famous
castle, old town, and university; Rothenburg, a
medieval city completely preserved within city
walls, towers, and gates; and Nuremburg. Weekly
field trips are scheduled along with an extended field
trip to Vienna, an experience which helps to tie the
entire semester of study together.
East Africa
The East Africa Semester Abroad program is
operated by the African Studies Program of Baylor
University, «^iich has conducted academic programs
in East Afnca since 1990. The coordinator of the
program is Dr. Blake Burleson of Baylor University
and the field director of the program. Dr. Sam
Harrell, is a Baylor professor who currently resides
in Kenya year-round with his family. On hand at
all times, Harrell accompanies students on all organ
ized group excursions. In addition, the program
employs faculty members from the University of
Nairobi and other Kenyan institutions, a resident
Swahili instructor, and a driver.
Based at the Brackenhurst Baptist International
Conference Centre, near Nairobi, Kenya, the pro
gram offers excursions to other parts of Kenya,
Tanzania, and Uganda. Students reside at the
Brackenhurst facility (rooms acconmiodating 2 to 5
students with private baths, dining facilities, and
classrooms) for six weeks. Five weeks are spent in
rural or urban homestays with Kenyan families,
three weeks in housing provided by non-govem-
ment or mission agencies (during the internship),
and one week camping in game preserves.
Students enroll in 13 to 17 hours of courses
which focus on Africa: at least one course in
Swahili, the interdisciplinary course “Africa Within
the Contemporary World,” and two other courses in
East AfHcan literature, history, or religions. Finally,
students are required to pursue a course of guided,
mdividualized study based on the student’s parti
cipation, journal record, and research of the follow
ing field components: rural/agricultural homestay,
urban homestay, rural/pastoral homestay, ecology
trip, and internship.
Homestays begin after an intensive five-day
orientation and prior to any other contact with
Africans. An initial rural homestay experience
provides a critical “total immersion” experience,
givmg the students an immediate context for
developing empathy with members of African
society. During this homestay, students share in
the fiill range of African agricultural lifestyles in
both traditional and modem contexts and individual
students spend at least six days with families,
observing and participating in all aspects of family
life.
A second homestay of longer duration occurs in
urban East African society. The extended period of
contact provides students with excellent opportuni
ties for understanding the processes of moderniza
tion and urbanization in an African context. The
third homestay of one week occurs in the pastor-
alist Maa-speaking community. This field compo
nent, in which students reside in tents near the
Maasai manyattas, is physically demanding and
mentally rigorous. Students explore settlement and
herding life with their Maasai hosts. Interpretive
lectures are given by field-component leaders in
cluding topics such as pastoralist life-cycles, philo
sophy, cosmology, development, and modernization.
Near the end of the semester, students devote
full energies to a three-week project arranged
individually according to their academic field.
Internships are offered in: student teaching, mission
or ministry-related programs, rural development,
archaeology and museum collection/compilation,
wildlife (endangered species) surveys, conununity
health education, and refugee relief work. Such
study and service offers students tremendous
opportunities for professional growth, personal
challenge, and self-discovery. Internships also
provide students with opportunities to apply
academic learning to practical experience and to
contribute their intellectual and physical skills in
small but meaningful ways directly to East Africa.
The East Africa Semester is a demanding
program designed for mature students, but it is one
of the best and most fulfilling of overseas programs.
As a member of the Consortium for Global
Education, Chowan’s eligible students will be given
priority. The opportunities provided in this
program fulfill an important aspect of the mission
of Chowan College: “promoting and supporting the
ideal of responsibility to self and others.”
Program
integrates
classroom work
and field
experiences with
excursions, guest
lectures, and
interactions with
local
professionals
Students share in
full range of
African
agricultural
lifestyles in both
traditbnal and
modern contexts
CHOWAN TODAY, iVinler 1997-98 — Page 7