Study in Asia
| IDIS W10 Business and Engineering in China | ||
| China’s emerging economy has a large impact on today’s world, especially in business and engineering. During this interim students will spend three weeks in China meeting with business and engineering professionals who are part of this reshaping of the global economy. The course will include the major cultural and economic centers of China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. Students will engage with business and engineering professionals at approximately fifteen companies. In addition many important historic and cultural sites will be explored, including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Evaluation is based on a journal and a reflective essay. Open to sophomore, junior and seniors of any major. Preference will be given to students majoring in the business department or engineering department. This course fulfills the CCE core requirement. Course dates: January 6-26. . | $3800* | April Si, (xs22@calvin.edu) Leonard VanDrunen, Engineering (ldv2@calvin.edu) |
| ASI 427 Ecology of the Indian Tropics | ||
| In this course, which is taught in Tiruchirapalli, India, the tropical ecology of south India is studied with an introduction and comparative analysis of coastal ecosystems, the plains, and montane tropical ecosystems of the Lesser Ghats, including altitudinal zonation. Topics include tropical ecosystem structure and dynamics, past and present human interaction with the landscape, and autecology of selected plant and animal species. Students originating from North America begin orientation in Chicago at the Field Museum of Natural History and an Indian cultural district. Prerequisite: at least one ecology course or permission of the Au Sable representative. This course will meet the Cross Cultural Engagement (CCE) core requirement. | $4,000* | Dr. Orin Gelderloos (from U of M Dearborn) Since Dr. Gelderloos is in Dearborn, the best person to contact is Professor Dave Warners in the Biology department |
| MUSC W60 Performing Chinese and American Music: An Orchestral Experience | ||
| This study, presentation and comparison of American and Chinese orchestral and chamber music on site in China provides students with an opportunity to prepare and perform several concerts including chamber music (small ensembles), church music for use in worship, and music for larger orchestra. The orchestra shares music from our own continent – “Music from the Americas” and also learns from contemporary Chinese orchestral and folk musicians. Guest lectures and conversations with Chinese composers, music teachers, and conductors as well as readings that contextualize musical life in China provide a rich cross-cultural experience. Several nights of hosted stays, use of local transportation and joint concerts with local groups further provide for engagement of Chinese culture. Effort is be made to visit a wide variety of sites, concert venues, cities and churches. As performance will play a major part of the class, there will be significant time spent in rehearsal. The days prior to departure for China—Wed, Thurs, Fri and possibly Monday (Jan ,6,7, 8)—will include 2-3 hours of rehearsal daily. Additionally, there will be at least 4 lectures on issues relating to the repertory the locales of music and culture in China in the last 400 years. Sectional rehearsals will be led by Dr. David Reimer. Evaluation will be based on a paper, a daily journal, a chamber piece performed for the class with oral introduction and daily participation. Prerequisite: Participation in MUSC 171 A or B in the Fall 2009 semester. Course dates: January 6-25. | $3700* | Robert Nordling, Music |
| IDIS W46 Transforming Cambodia. | ||
| The goal of this class is to identify and experience the root causes of abject poverty in Cambodia. Issues to be engaged include food production capacity, land use trends, availability of adequate water or reasonable quality, availability of education and human health care. We plan to engage a variety of non-governmental organizations involved in supporting the holistic transformation of communities; CRWRC village projects enabling people to produce greater quantities of healthier food, water filtration and pumping methods, orphanages, Kindergarten classes, a hospital, and several evangelical churches, and the launch of a new Christian university (BGU). Students will contribute service-learning hours in these venues. Additionally, we will engage the historic and cultural underpinnings of the current situation in Cambodia. A visit of the Angkor Wat temples will lay an ancient historical foundation of Cambodian culture, followed by the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng prison to assess the recent impact of the Khmer Rouge. Students will gain a clear understanding of what current living conditions are in Cambodia, how they have come to be as they are, what the impediments to change are, what can and is being done to make a positive and sustainable change to the average Cambodian citizen, or in other words, how to be agents of redemption in a deeply troubled society. This class is a cooperative learning adventure with Calvin College and Handong Global University (South Korea). Student evaluation will be based on participation with local culture, group discussion, individual journaling, and in a final report describing key features of their learning experience. This course may fulfill an elective in the International Development Studies major and minor. It also qualifies towards the requirements of the Engineering Department's International Designation program. This course will fulfill the CCE requirement. Course dates: January 5-25. | $3515* | David Dornbos, Biology (dld9@calvin.edu) Leonord De Rooy, Engineering (lderooy@calvin.edu) |
| HIST W40 Vietnam and Cambodia: Legacy of Empire & War | ||
| This is an on-site course on the history and culture of Vietnam and Cambodia as it was affected by French colonialism and the ensuing war with the United States. Students prepare by reading a text on Vietnamese and Cambodian history and discussing the material in class before our departure. We then travel to the main cities and sites where French colonialism and the war with the United States made their deepest impact. Places of focus will include Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, My Son, Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, and finally Cambodia. Students tour the main historical sites and talk with former soldiers and government officials in order to understand the history and culture of Vietnam, including the American War, from the Vietnamese perspective. Students record their thoughts in a journal and write an essay based on that journal and their readings and class discussions. This course may fulfill an elective in the History major, if taken for honors credit. Course dates: January 4-22. | $3950* | William Van Vugt History (wvanvugt@calvin.edu) |
| IDIS W14 Partnering to Improve Health in Rural India. | ||
| Working among the rural poor and marginalized by partnering with Indian village communities and expanding upon local knowledge and resources, this course provides practical application of the principles of community- based primary health care in a developing country. It helps students learn how to effectively meet the immediate and long term health needs of the rural poor, especially women. Students learn how a community-based primary health care (CBPHC) approach to health and development enables and empowers people and communities to take health in their own hands. They learn basic causes of problems and share values leading to greater humanity by showing concern for the rights and dignity of others with equity and justice. Sustainable community-based health and development will be discussed as students learn about the multi-tier approach to community health that is practiced in the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) villages with community health workers providing the majority of primary health care and health education at the grassroots level. More complicated medical problems requiring in-patient treatment are referred to the government hospitals and public health clinics. Students participate in classroom sessions aimed at practical application of concepts, take part in field visits, discussion sessions with village health workers and community members, and work in clinics and hospitals. Topics addressed include the principles of community- based health and development and understanding primary health care and its implementation. The course also includes sessions on leadership and personal development. Students are personally challenged by issues of justice, compassion and faith as they interact with Indian people in a rural setting. Evaluation will be based on reflective journals and participation. Course dates: January 5-26. | $2725* | Cheryl Feenstra Nursing (cfeenstr@calvin.edu) |
| IDIS W44 Exploring Japan (MAY) | ||
| (MAY) This 17-day trip around Japan will include most of the famous historical sites in Japan, including Kyoto, Nara,Hiroshima, and Hirado (where Christianity and Dutch trade first came into Japan). Daily life will be examined in large cities such as Fukuoka as well as in smaller towns like Hikone. Students will have the chance to do home stays with Japanese families in two different locations around Japan, including Hikone and Hirado. This will afford them the chance to learn much about daily life in this island nation. This trip also gives students the opportunity to improve their Japanese language skills, given the large amount of time devoted to home stays and close interaction with Japanese people. This course may fulfill an elective in the Japanese Language and Asian Studies majors and in the Asian Studies and Japanese Study Group minors. This course will fulfill the CCE requirement. One year of Japanese language preferred, although not required. The homestays are with Japanese families in which one member at least speaks some English. But the trips’s value is enhanced for the students with Japanese language and culture background, and they are the principal audience for this course. Course dates: May 24 to June 12. | $3975* | Larry Herzberg Asian Languages (herz@calvin.edu) |
*Please note that these are estimated costs, set by the instructor 11 months before interim. Usually these costs don't fluctuate, but please contact the instructor to ensure that the listed cost is still accurate.
