Author: Genesis Diaz

Journeys 2024:  Cultural Identity Before & After Colonization (Planned destination: Belize) with Dr. James Stamant (English)

Belize is a multicultural country, with a complex indigenous, colonial, and post-colonial history that we will explore in this Global Journeys course.  Archaeologists believe that it was at one time the center of the ancient Maya world and once was home to more than 2 million Mayas. The Maya Empire evolved around 350 BC in the country’s lowlands, and many Mayan sites have been preserved. We will investigate some of these sites, and we will also spend time learning about the Garifuna, descendants of the African survivors of human cargo ships wrecked off the island of St. Vincent around 1675. 

Today some 50% of Belize’s population is of mixed Indigenous (mostly Maya) and European descent (Mestizo); another 25% are Kriols; 10% are Maya; and about 6% are Garifuna. Belize was declared a British colony in 1862 (British Honduras), the only Central American country colonized by Britain, and it gained its independence in 1981. Its recent history exemplifies the challenges and opportunities faced by many post-colonial countries.  We will interrogate Belize’s history and explore its present through an examination of the culture, considering how identity is tied to various elements from the environment to foods such as hudud, cassava bread, and chocolate.

Journeys 2024:  Germany in a Globalized World (Planned Destination: Germany) with Dr. Barbara Drescher (German) 

How do Germans view themselves and connect with others in the 21^st century? How do Germans react to their 20th-century past? What role have memory and monuments played after Germany was divided and reunited? What local and global meanings might they create as 21st-century Germany begins to embrace multicultural identities?

This Journeys course will investigate the role of memory, culture, and art by focusing on how monuments and museums in Berlin negotiate present and past identities. By exploring how the capital city of Berlin prioritizes events in the past for collective representation and national debate, students will reflect on the multifaceted ways of negotiating its (Nazi, Communist, Colonialist) pasts. Moreover, this course will explore how this continuing struggle over-interpreting one’s history not only shapes today’s intersectional identities, but also future generations’ national, social, cultural, and global identities.

Journeys 2024:  The Many Forms of Diversity: Ecology, People, and Spirituality (Planned destination: Cuba) with Carmen Carrion (Medical Sciences)

This course explores the concepts of global structures, systems, and processes through common readings, dialogues, small-group discussions, and a tour of Cuba. This course specifically focuses on the intersection between race, nature, and spirituality found in the island nation of Cuba.  With that, during the course of the semester, students learn about the history of Cuba and its various groups of people that inhabitant the island and how each group has added a unique perspective to the notion of healing through alternative medicine. In addition, the course will cover the natural geography found in Cuba; we will go on a hike on the unique limestone structures of Cuba as well as snorkeling off of the coast. Lastly, to better understand the Cuban people we will explore the context of spirituality by visiting the home of a Babaloe and observing different spiritual practices. By the end of this course, you will have cultivated the skills needed to engage in meaningful intercultural communication with the people of Cuba. 

Journeys 2024:  Identity, Globalization, and Social Change (Planned destination: Bulgaria) with Dr. Mina Ivanova (Graduate & Extended Programs)

This course examines the intricate ways in which communities create and sustain their identities through official and vernacular narratives and cultural practices in a globalized world. How does a group come to experience itself as a “People” or a “Nation”? How does it re-negotiate this identity in times of crisis or war? How does globalization impact local communities, and what form does resistance to it take? What does it mean to share a transnational or diasporic identity? What does it mean to be a citizen of the European Union? We will engage these questions through the case study of Bulgaria, an Eastern European country at an ever-shifting crossroads between “East” and “West,” tradition and modernity, communism, and democracy. Students will learn about the country’s history and culture and think critically about global issues through the lens of a changing Bulgarian society. Accounts of globalization by both its champions and its critics typically center on the triumph of the West and Western capitalism after the end of the Cold War. But this story omits the role socialist countries behind the “iron curtain” have played in these processes. The Bulgarian case study allows us to more fully grasp the history and consequences of globalization from the 20th century on.

Journeys 2024: Islamic Art and Architecture (Planned destination: Morocco) with Dr. Roshan Iqbal (Religious Studies)

This course is designed to unearth and highlight the contribution of Muslims to world civilization. It serves as an introduction to the major tenets of Islam and Islamic history through the arts and architecture of Morocco, which has a robust history of individuals of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faith living and prospering together and producing material culture and science. We will survey the visual and architectural arts and study the role they play in the formation of and expression of Muslim cultural identity.  

Journeys 2024:  Fashion, Ethics, and Capitalism (Planned destination: Paris) with Dr. Willie Tolliver (English)

This class will focus on the role of Milan as a significant site of fashion creativity, innovation, commerce, and controversy.  Specific issues for scrutiny will include the fashion system, fashion capitals, the ethics of fashion, fashion, and globalization, fashion as a facet of capitalism, fashion and civil responsibility, fashion as an art, and fashion as an expression of gender and ethnic identities. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of Milan as the center of the wool and silk textile industries. A central consideration will be how the unique identity of Italian Fashion is constructed in films, journalism, fashion photography, fine art, the performing arts, and in relation to architecture. The class will also study the creative visions of iconic Italian fashion designers such as Giorgio Armani, Miuccia Prada, Valentino, and the House of Gucci. The travel experience of Journeys Milan will include such destinations as Milan’s Fashion Quarter, the Prada Foundation, the Why Not Model Agency, the Palazzo Morando Fashion Museum, and the Armani Archives.

Journeys 2024:  Music, Arts, and Community (Planned destination:  Navajo Nation, AZ, U.S.) with Dr. Tracey Laird (Creative Arts)

This course will examine culture, history, and contemporary Navajo life with connections to music and other arts, identity, language, education, cosmology, and environmentalism.  Navajo experiences will be explored within the larger context of indigenous peoples on the North American continent, as well as within United States national history.  Literature, film, music, and readings constitute preparatory materials.  Our visit to the reservation will include chances to participate in a sweat ceremony; to travel to both Grand Canyon National Park and Coal Mine Canyon, on the edge of the Painted Desert; to visit the Code Talkers museum, “Newspaper Rock,” and other local institutions; to learn from Navajo people through presentations and participatory cultural experiences. Throughout the course, we will question our own roles as travelers, seeking to recognize how preconceptions and personal biases may color our interactions with people. At the same time, we seek to learn about the rich heritage of Navajo, or Diné people, and the historical and current challenges shaping their lives in ways both familiar and distant from our own.  

Journeys 2024:  Pura Vida Under Globalization (Planned destination: Costa Rica) with Dr. Atieno Mboya Samandari (Women’s Studies)

This course will study globalization and sustainability, using banana or coffee, or cocoa production in Costa Rica as a case study. We will unpack the concept of globalization, and identify its key elements and the ways in which it operates. What is globalization and what are its origins? What are some of its impacts? How am I connected to globalization? Is globalization sustainable? These are some of the questions we will explore. Our Journey to Costa Rica will include a visit to EARTH or CATIE University, where we will observe banana or coffee, or cocoa production, which originates at a local place and is consumed in a distant country. We will also visit the Afro-Caribbean community in Limon, to see how globalization has impacted members of this Black Diaspora. We will also visit an indigenous community. Students will be able to compare and contrast their own experiences under globalization, both at home and as travelers, with the experience of people living in a different country, as we strive to understand why globalization matters.

Journeys 2024: Global Perspectives on Theatre (Planned destination: NYC) with Dr. Toby Emert (Creative Arts)

What factors contribute to the phenomenon of an international hit play or musical that travels to stages throughout the globe? How are stories developed for the theatre in a specific country—the United States, for example—translated for audiences in other countries? This course, in which students visit the most celebrated theatre city in the world, New York, examines selected theatrical productions that have gained global popularity and earned their place in theatre history. Using a team-based learning approach, students work in small groups throughout the semester to research and discuss selected productions that serve as quasi-case studies for understanding topics, themes, characters, and music that engage richly diverse audiences. The course also culminates with the creation of a drama-based project that draws on course readings, synthesizes key ideas from class discussions, and spotlights the capacity of theatre as an art form to heighten our knowledge of ourselves and our understanding of the world around us.  

Journeys 2024: Religion and Globalization (Planned destination: Benin) with Dr. Doug Falen (Sociology & Anthropology)

This course introduces students to the dynamic religious landscape of the Republic of Benin, where the indigenous Vodun religion interacts with Christianity and other religions. We will learn about the processes of globalization by using Benin as an example of a postcolonial nation whose religion and economy has been shaped through contact with other peoples, societies, and countries. We will study the historical and contemporary manifestations of Vodun, and learn about its various deities and rituals. With religion as our lens, we will study the influence of travelers, missionization, colonization, the internet, and tourism in Benin. A key aspect of the course will be the examination of how Beninese people have adopted, adapted, and rejected foreign spiritual ideas. Students will consider the role of religion, race, and diaspora in the country’s tourism industry. These analyses will be placed in the geopolitical context of colonization, global inequality, and the challenges of international development in Africa. The academic coursework will be supplemented by in-country learning when we travel to Benin, where students will visit religious sites, including mosques, churches, and Vodun shrines. We will meet local religious leaders, researchers, and practitioners to allow students to acquire a more personal connection with the country’s religions.

Journeys 2024:  The Art of Politics and the Politics of Art (Planned destination: Italy (Florence) with Dr. Yael Manes (History)

This course will inquire into the relationship between art and politics by using Renaissance Florence as a case study. During the historical period known as the Renaissance, ruling classes from all over Europe used art to acquire power and perform their authority. The city of Florence was at the center of this type of political performance and Florentine artists were diligently sought after by the rulers of France, Hungary, Russia, and Poland, among other places. The course will offer an introduction to the history of political and artistic patronage in Renaissance Florence and will examine the roles of Renaissance painting.

Journeys 2024: Statehood, Self-Determination, and Sustainability (Planned destination: Puerto Rico) with Dr. Joel Thomas (Psychology)

This course examines the history, culture, political, and economic landscape of Puerto Rico through the overarching themes of self-determination and sustainability. How has colonization and capitalism impacted the people of Puerto Rico? How have various local communities within the island dealt with these global forces? What cultural identities have been marginalized and what forms of resistance has this led to? How is power distributed within Puerto Rican society today and what role has the United States played in influencing this distribution? We will explore these questions through readings, videos, and discussions aimed at understanding the complex cultural life of the approximately 3 million people who live on the island and 9 million who can be considered the Puerto Rican diaspora. The course will include a week of travel to San Juan in which students will meet with local communities, hear talks from leaders in sustainability, and participate in service-learning activities that facilitate intercultural exchange.

Journeys 2024:  Contentment in a World of Anxiety (Planned destination: Sweden) with Dr. Jennifer Larimore (Neuroscience & Philosophy)

GBL 102 explores the concepts of global structures, systems, and processes through common readings, dialogues, small group discussions, and a tour of Stockholm, Sweden. This course specifically focuses on the role of community and social influences on mental health. With that, during the course of the semester, students learn about the importance of mental health, what impacts mental health, and how cultures impact happiness and contentment. In addition, the course will cover the history, geography, and culture of Sweden, in order to cultivate the skills needed to engage in meaningful intercultural communications with Swedes.

Our Scotties participated in the Arabia Mountain Hike last Saturday, January 21, to get ready for walking and hiking during the upcoming Global Journeys immersion week in March. Thanks to our fearless leaders, Laura Ochs, Associate Director of the Center for Global Learning, and Tracey Laird, SUMMIT Faculty Coordinator and Professor of Music.

Journeys 2023:  (Post)Colonial Legacies (Planned destination: Martinique) with Dr. Philip Ojo (French and German)

Within the framework of complex, interdependent relationships across the globe, this course examines the postcolonial legacies as a direct result of the colonial experience: how slavery and colonization have shaped and are still shaping the connections between marginalized communities and dominant cultures.  The course focuses on the articulation of displacement, Eurocentrism, creolization, socio-economic inequalities, community, and contemporary global exchange patterns and networks.

In order to enhance the learning outcomes, a connected course, GBL 103 (Global Cultural Immersion Experience), offers opportunities for global connections in forms of exchanges, conversations, and experiential/service learning, as well as explorations of communities where (post)colonial legacies are most prevalent: New Orleans, as a domestic focus, and Martinique, as an international connection site. 

The learning experiences will enable students to:

a) Identify, describe and evaluate critical assumptions surrounding global processes, systems and issues;

b) Recognize varied perceptions and viewpoints of self and other cultures; and

c) Engage in meaningful intercultural communication.

Journeys 2023: Croatia – Environment and Sustainability (Planned destination: Croatia) with Dr. Srebrenka Robic (Biology)

This course introduces first-year students to global structures, systems and processes and connects these concepts to first-hand immersion experiences in Croatia. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, interests and expertise, the course explores complex and interdependent relationships across the globe. Students will examine a set of global themes through common readings, dialogue and small group discussions. These learning experiences will enable students to identify, describe and evaluate critical assumptions surrounding global issues.

This course also prepares students for their first-year immersion experience, providing them with the knowledge to recognize how global processes operate in a specific location, as well as the skills to engage in meaningful intercultural communication. In this section, students will explore the topics of environmental issues and sustainability from a global, interdisciplinary perspective. Through projects and readings, students will learn about challenges in addressing environmentally relevant topics such as conservation, climate change, clean energy, and sustainable development. During the travel study component of the course, students will visit research groups and organizations addressing these issues in Croatia. Upon return, the students will analyze and compare what they learned to equivalent issues in our local communities.

The common learning outcomes for all GBL 102 sections are:

1.  Identify, explain, and analyze global themes, processes, and systems;
2. Critically examine the relationship between dominant and marginalized subcultures or groups; 
3. Demonstrate knowledge and skills essential for global engagement.

Upon completion of this course, the students in this particular section should also be able to:

1. Identify at least one relevant environmental and/or sustainability issue in Croatia, and compare it to the US
2. Compare and contrast approaches to environmental preservation and sustainability in Croatia, The European Union, and the United States 

Journeys 2023:  Cultural Identity Before & After Colonization (Planned destination: Belize) with Dr. James Stamant (English)

Belize is a multicultural country, with a complex indigenous, colonial, and post-colonial history that we will explore in this Global Journeys course.  Archaeologists believe that it was at one time the center of the ancient Maya world and once was home to more than 2 million Mayas. The Maya Empire evolved around 350 BC in the country’s lowlands, and many Mayan sites have been preserved. We will investigate some of these sites, and we will also spend time learning about the Garifuna, descendants of the African survivors of human cargo ships wrecked off the island of St. Vincent around 1675. Today some 50% of Belize’s population is of mixed Indigenous (mostly Maya) and European descent (Mestizo); another 25% are Kriols; 10% are Maya, and about 6% are Garifuna. Belize was declared a British colony in 1862 (British Honduras), the only Central American country colonized by Britain, and it gained its independence in 1981. Its recent history exemplifies the challenges and opportunities faced by many post-colonial countries.

Journeys 2023:  Decolonizing Conservation (Planned destination: Alaska, U.S.) with Dr. Jennifer Kovacs (Biology)

This course will explore the history and future of conservation biology and ecology through the lens of decolonization. We will study the often problematic history of conservation efforts, with a particular focus on the establishment of national parks in the United States. We will contrast those historical efforts with more recent partnerships between government agencies, tribal councils, non-profit groups, indigenous communities, and other stakeholders, especially in efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Additionally, we will spend time exploring the often complementary role that Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) can play in ecology and the sciences. And finally, students will recognize the role they themselves can play in conservation projects through participation in a community science project with a critical/constructive eye to the impacts of ecotourism on communities. 

Journeys 2023:  Germany in a Globalized World (Planned Destination: Germany) with Dr. Barbara Drescher (German)

How do Germans view themselves and connect with others in the 21^st century? How do Germans react to their 20^th century past? What role have memory and monuments played after Germany was divided and reunited? What local and global meanings might they create as 21^st century Germany begins to embrace multicultural identities?

This Journeys course will investigate the role of memory, culture, and art by focusing on how monuments and museums in Berlin negotiate present and past identities. By exploring how the capital city of Berlin prioritizes events in the past for collective representation and national debate, students will reflect on the multifaceted ways of negotiating its (Nazi, Communist, Colonialist) pasts. Moreover, this course will explore how this continuing struggle over interpreting one’s history not only shapes today’s intersectional identities, but also future generations’ national, social, cultural, global identities.

Journeys 2023: How Race, Nature and Medicine Intersect (Planned destination: Cuba) with Carmen Carrion (Biology)

GBL 102 explores the concepts of global structures, systems, and processes through common readings, dialogues, small-group discussions and a tour of Cuba. This course specifically focuses on the intersection between race, nature, and the medical sciences found in the island nation of Cuba.  With that, during the course of the semester, students learn about the history of Cuba and its various groups of people that inhabitant the island and how each group has added a unique perspective to the notion of healing. In addition, the course will cover the natural geography and culture of Cuba, in order to cultivate the skills needed to engage in meaningful intercultural communications with Cubans. 

Journeys 2023:  Identity, Globalization and Social Change (Planned destination: Bulgaria) with Dr. Mina Ivanova (Graduate and Extended Programs)

This course examines the intricate ways in which communities create and sustain their identities through official and vernacular narratives and cultural practices in an increasingly globalized world. How does a group come to experience itself as a “People” or a “Nation”? How does it re-negotiate this identity in times of crisis, during major geopolitical shifts, or war? How does globalization impact local communities, and what form does resistance to it take? What does it mean to share a transnational “European” or a diasporic identity? We will engage these questions through the case study of Bulgaria, an Eastern European country at an ever-shifting crossroads between “East” and “West,” tradition and modernity, communism and democracy. Students will learn about the country’s history and culture and think critically about global issues through the lens of a changing Bulgarian society. Accounts of globalization by both its champions and its critics typically center on the triumph of the West and Western capitalism after the end of the Cold War. But this story omits the role socialist countries behind the “iron curtain” have played in these processes. The Bulgarian case study allows us to more fully grasp the history and consequences of globalization in the 20th century while accounting for the complexities brought about by the country’s 2007 EU integration.

This course approaches its subject in part through the perspective of the communication discipline. We will immerse ourselves in intercultural learning about Bulgarian culture and communities through lectures, discussions, readings, and critical analysis of literary works, monuments, film, and other texts. These learning experiences will prepare students to

(1) identify, explain, and analyze global themes, processes, and systems by drawing comparatively on examples from Bulgaria and other contexts
(2) compare and contrast the impact global processes on dominant and marginalized cultures through examples from their enrichment experience with Bulgaria and other contexts
(3) engage in meaningful intercultural interactions that enhance their ability to engage across differences and to reflect on their own values, ethics, and assumptions.

Journeys 2023: Islamic Art and Architecture (Planned destination: Morocco) with Dr. Roshan Iqbal (Religious Studies)

This course is designed to unearth and highlight the contribution of Muslims to world civilization. It serves as an introduction to the major tenets of Islam and Islamic history through the arts and architecture of Morocco, which has a robust history of individuals of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faith living and prospering together and producing material culture and science. We will survey the visual and architectural arts and study the role they play in the formation of and expression of Muslim cultural identity.  

Journeys 2023:  Italian Fashion, Industry and Image (Planned destination: Milan) with Dr. Willie Tolliver (English)

This class will focus on the role of Milan as a significant site of fashion creativity, innovation, commerce, and controversy.  Specific issues for scrutiny will include: the fashion system, fashion capitals, the ethics of fashion, fashion and globalization, fashion as a facet of capitalism, fashion and civil responsibility, fashion as an art, and fashion as an expression gender and ethnic identities. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of Milan as the center of the wool and silk textile industries. A central consideration will be how the unique identity of Italian Fashion is constructed in films, journalism, fashion photography, fine art, the performing arts and in relation to architecture. The class will also study the creative visions of such iconic Italian fashion designers such as Giorgio Armani, Miuccia Prada, Valentino, and the House of Gucci. The travel experience of Journeys Milan will include such destinations as Milan’s Fashion Quarter, the Prada Foundation, the Why Not Model Agency, the Palazzo Morando Fashion Museum, and the Armani Archives.

Journeys 2023:  Music, Arts and Community (Planned destination:  Navajo Nation, AZ, U.S.) with Dr. Tracey Laird ( Music)

This course will examine culture, history, and contemporary Navajo life with connections to music and other arts, identity, language, education, cosmology, and environmentalism.  Navajo experiences will be explored within the larger context of indigenous peoples on the North American continent, as well as within United States national history.  Literature, film, music, and readings constitute preparatory materials.  Our visit to the reservation will include chances to participate in a sweat ceremony; to travel to both Grand Canyon National Park and Coal Mine Canyon, on the edge of the Painted Desert; to visit the Code Talkers museum, “Newspaper Rock,” and other local institutions; to learn from Navajo people through presentations and participatory cultural experiences. Throughout the course, we will question our own roles as travelers, seeking to recognize how preconceptions and personal biases may color our interactions with people. At the same time, we seek to learn about the rich heritage of Navajo, or Diné people, and the historical and current challenges shaping their lives in ways both familiar and distant from our own.  

Journeys 2023:  Pura Vida – Enjoyment of Life (Planned destination: Costa Rica) with Dr. Atieno Mboya Samandari (Women’s Studies)

This journey will see us spend our first evening in Costa Rica in beautiful San Jose, where we will take a walking tour of the city and have a delicious Costa Rican dinner. The next morning, we will travel first to Cahuita. where will learn about history of cacao and the indigenous communities of the area, how cocoa is farmed, how its production is managed, how to make chocolate and plenty of opportunities to taste it. We will then continue on to EARTH University, which is nestled in the banana production region of the Atlantic. We will spend two nights at EARTH, learning about the trials, tribulations and profits of banana production, processing and export, from the value chain that begins in Costa Rica and ends at your local Whole Foods store in Atlanta. Time in this area will also include a visit to a private farm that produces and exports bananas in collaboration with EARTH University. Next, we will travel to  Limon, the land of the Afro-Costa Rican diaspora. Here, we will experience the culture, food, music and architecture of this unique community whose roots go back to West Africa and the Antilles. We will explore the beach ecosystem of Limon, take a wilderness tour and immerse ourselves in the vibrant culture of this area. Lastly, we will stop overnight in La Fortuna de Arenal, where there will be an opportunity to see the majestic volcano, do some shopping, and relax in natural hot springs. We will then return to San Jose and visit the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum before catching our flight back to Atlanta.

Journeys 2023: Power and Symbol (Planned destination: New York City, U.S.) with Professor Nell Ruby (Art)

The complexities of the history and culture of New York reflect an America that wrestles with itself. Known to the world as an emblem of possibility–The American Dream—New York City is full of complications and contradictions. Through studying sites, memorials, iconographic art and architecture, and other cultural artifacts, we will examine and deconstruct some of the myths and symbols that create the image of New York and consider the ways cultures have been both welcomed as inspirational, and subverted, or sacrificed for the image of the powerful few. The course will encourage thinking and observation using studio art processes for slow and close looking, building, drawing, collage, and making to devise meaning from and through materiality and form.

Journeys 2023: What Does It Mean to Be Modern? (Planned destination: Paris) with Professor Becky Bivens (Art History)

What does it mean to be modern? Is it a skeptical turn of mind, rejection of the status quo and dreams of a new world, faith in science rather than religion, belief in democracy, worry about personal identity, or the experience of supreme loneliness? Modern artists from around the globe have answered the question in many ways. This class proceeds under the assumption that artists’ historical contexts have shaped not only their sense of what it means to be modern but also whether they can be modern at all. After all, artists have different experiences of colonialism, the ideas of the European Enlightenment, and the emergence of capitalism. This class examines visual art, literature, and philosophy to get a handle on what modernism means. Special focus will be placed on French art viewed from a global perspective. We will keep French history in mind all along, considering the country’s conflicted relationship to modernism by focusing on colonialism, immigration, industrialism, religion, monarchy, and the aftereffects of the French Revolution with its vision of democratic government.