Reflection on Experience Abroad

The purpose of this course is to help students reconsider their experience abroad, in an internship or in community service learning, understanding this experience to include their preparation, travel, return and future possibilities. We will consider the relationship between these experiences and students daily lives. We will explore the ways in which people with different training and life histories have approached issues of intercultural and international exchanges while considering the possibilities and constraints of learning across boundaries. By the end of the semester we should be able to more critically relate our experiences in a Spanish-speaking community to our personal, professional, civic and academic lives. This course will be run as a seminar in which student participation is crucial. Students are expected to approach the readings and class discussions from a critical, yet self-reflexive perspective. This course, with Spanish 394PI and the experience abroad, satisfies the Integrative Experience for BA-Span majors.