Penn Global Seminars Course Offerings by Term

Travel Over Winter Break 2023 

Darwin’s Laboratory: History, Philosophy, Evolution and Social Ecology in the Galápagos Archipelago 
Dr. Michael Weisberg, Philosophy; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Galápagos
Charles Darwin's first impression of the Galápagos was not a positive one. Upon landing on San Cristóbal Island, he was underwhelmed, commenting that the island reminded him of "what we might imagine cultivated parts of the Infernal regions to be." But Darwin quickly recognized that the Galápagos is a unique place to study geology and natural history. We will follow in his footsteps, studying ecology, evolution, and the natural history of Galápagos, along with the growing impact of humans on this fragile place. The course will culminate in a visit to the Galápagos archipelago to examine first-hand the issues and theories discussed throughout the seminar.

Health and the Healthcare System in Chile
Dr. Eileen Lake, Biobehavioral Health Sciences; School of Nursing
Travel to Chile
This seminar provides interdisciplinary perspectives on health and illness in Chile, health system organization and financing, the health workforce, national health priorities, strategies, and recent reforms. Penn faculty in nursing, sociology, demography, economics, and Wharton share their expertise. The winter break field experience, which is summertime in Chile, focuses on health services delivery in metropolitan Santiago, including visits to a public and a private hospital, a primary care center, and a geriatric institute. Chile's unique political and economic history provides the context for its current healthcare system and challenges.  Therefore, we also visit cultural sites, notably the homes of the Nobel poet Pablo Neruda, the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, the bustling port city and bay of Valparaiso, and historic and government sites in the city of Santiago.

Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine | China Education Initiative
Dr. Jianghong Liu; School of Nursing
Travel to China
This course, which is supported by Penn’s China Education Initiative, introduces students to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a specific form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The course will cover introductory principles on TCM theory, common therapies, and efficacy of this practice. The first component of the class will meet on-campus every other week through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations with Penn professors and experienced TCM practitioners. The cohort will participate in a local field trip in the Philadelphia area for clinical observation. The second part of the course will involve travel to Shanghai, China, in which there will be guest lectures by TCM professors and practitioners, clinical observations at Longhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and other immersive experiences.

Travel Over Spring Break 2024

Writing Health and Healing in Botswana 
Dr. Sara Byala, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Rebecca Tenney-Soeiro, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia 
Travel to Botswana
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This writing seminar investigates health and healing in contemporary Botswana and will include travel to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Botswana partnerships in Gaborone. Using a case study of a hospital ward in Gaborone as its primary text, students will investigate and write white papers that speak to areas of interest to partners on the ground whom we will then visit. In collaboration with CHOP, students will learn about medical narratives and medical writing. This seminar follows the curriculum of all writing seminars, so that significant attention will be devoted to peer review and revision in the interest of producing multiple authentic genres. The course will focus on creating a set of transferable writing skills that are informed by real world writing experiences that transcend the global north/south divide.

Palermo: Empires, Migrations, and Mafia 
Dr. Domenic Vitiello, Urban Studies Program from Weitzman School of Design
Travel to Italy
This seminar explores Palermo across its many eras of colonization, imperial rule, and especially the migration and settlement of diverse peoples from Africa and Asia. Today the fifth largest city in Italy, Palermo was founded by Phoenician traders and over time has been one of the most “conquered” cities in the world, ruled by Carthaginians, Romans, Goths, Arabs, Normans, Germans, French, Spanish, briefly the British and Americans, and finally the nation of Italy. It was also home to Greeks, Jews, and other migrants, and slaves of various races and ethnicities, and has been Sicily’s capital for over a thousand years. Since the mid-19th century, the city and region of Palermo have also been the center of the Sicilian and transatlantic mafia. Palermo is today a diverse immigrant city, with communities of people from North and West Africa, South and East Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, some of whom work in sectors still controlled by the mafia. In recent years Palermo has also been one of most welcoming cities in the world, what Americans call a "sanctuary city." Leaders of the Association of Diasporas for Peace will be our partners in the city, helping the class engage with migrant communities and their civil society organizations.

Paris under the German Occupation and Its Places in [Non-] Memory
Mélanie Péron, French and Francophone Studies; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to France
This seminar will aim to understand the dark historical period of WWII France through the study of the visible and invisible traces left on French memory and the Parisian landscape. The class will start by studying the conventional history of Vichy France, then turn to the writers who testified of that time, some as victims, others as witnesses or coming from the post-memory generation. Each of them has, in his or her own way, tried to find the words to fill the places of non-memory. The course will be open to French speakers and non-French speakers alike and will feature two recitation sections: one in French and one in translation. The travel component will feature visits to key sites of the German occupation and trace the lives of the key Parisian residents whose first-person accounts make up the bulk of the course readings.

Travel in May 2024

Spain: From Civil War to Post-Francoism, 1930-2020
Dr. Antonio Feros, Department of History; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Spain
This course will focus on three moments in the history of Spain that are fundamental to understanding the constant political debates in our current societies about how a country should remember and commemorate its history. The reality is that we live in a moment in which the past is more present than ever. The debates, sometimes violent, in the USA about Confederate monuments and symbols; the publication of critical comparative studies, such as the extraordinary work of Susan Neiman Learning from the Germans; or the considerable number, every day larger, of works on historical memory in many countries and regions, from Germany to Argentina, the former Yugoslavia, Japan, to the United States and Spain. In Spain, debates about the past and how the country remembers and celebrates have become central to struggles about government and the future of democracy. This course is structured into three parts. Part I centers on the Spanish CIVIL WAR, 1936-1939. Part II will focus on the consequences of the Civil War (1939-1975), both from internal and international perspectives. Part III will pay attention to the period 1975-2022, paying particular attention to debates about how the country should remember the Civil War, what type of sites of memory to conserve and build, and the importance and political and social effects of several essential laws - the 1977 Amnesty Law and the 2007 and 2022 Historical Memory Laws. This last section will prepare the class for the trip to Spain in May.

Case Studies in Environmental Sustainability
Dr. Alain Plante, Department of Earth and Environmental Science; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Iceland
This course aims to introduce students to myriad Earth and environmental issues (understanding how humans interact, affect and are influenced by our environment) through the analysis of several environmental cases studies, as well as giving students an introduction to how complex cases are analyzed and what goes into decision-making at the individual, group, state, federal and global levels. Students will select, research and present a case study on an environmental topic specific to Iceland. Potential case study topics within environmental sustainability can span the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. At the end of the semester, case studies will be put into practice during the field trip through site visits with local university faculty and practitioners.

Tourism, Sustainability and Local Impact in Indonesia
Dr. Helen Jeoung, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Indonesia
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
In this writing seminar we focus on Indonesia as a window into the complex dynamics and impacts of tourism. Many visitors travel to Bali and other Indonesian destinations for cultural exploration, adventure tourism or beach vacations. The tourism industry supports the local economy and promotes cultural heritage, yet tourism in Indonesia has an uneasy relationship with local culture and environmental sustainability. We explore these issues by reading The Changing World of Bali by Leo Howe, and students pursue subsequent research and writing in related topics. The course also includes travel to Bali at the end of the semester. We will connect with local institutions to hear local perspectives on the tourism industry, and visit a range of tourist sites, including religious temples, hotels, beaches, and open-air markets.

Korean Language & Culture (Beginning Korean II and Intermediate Korean II)
Dr. Siwon Lee & Haewon Cho, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Korea
Offered at both the Beginning II and Intermediate II levels, these Global seminar courses are designed to develop students’ linguistic and cultural competence in Korean. Under the overarching theme of exploring Korea’s past and present, students will have an ample opportunity to explore and engage in the use of real language and the learning of cultural perspectives, practices, and products. In addition, students will work on a bilingual mini research project with language partners on a topic of their choice related to various aspects of Korean culture and society (e.g., history, language, architecture, music, art, food, etc.). The travel components include various cultural sites, historical monuments, museums, exhibits, and educational institution(s) to explore and develop an in-depth understanding of Korea’s past and present. Students who are interested in taking this seminar must complete Beginning Korean I or Intermediate Korean I in the preceding fall or exhibit equivalent proficiency as measured by the placement test.

Sacred Stuff: Religious Bodies, Places, and Objects
Dr. Donovan Schaefer, Department of Religious Studies; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to the United Kingdom
Does religion start with what's in our heads? Or are religious commitments made, shaped, and strengthened by the people, places, and things around us? This course will explore how religion happens in the material world. We'll start with classical and contemporary theories on the relationship of religion to stuff. We'll then consider examples of how religion is animated not just by books, but through interactions with objects, spaces, bodies, monuments, color, design, architecture, and film. We'll ask how these material expressions of religion move beyond private faith and connect religion to politics and identity.

The Great War in Memoir and Memory
Dr. Warren Breckman, Department of History; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to France
For all who passed through it, the Great War was transformative, presenting a profound rupture in world history and personal experience alike. It was a war that unleashed an unprecedented outpouring of memoirs and poetic and fictional accounts written by participants. In its wake, it also produced new forms of public commemoration and memorialization—tombs to the unknown soldier, great monuments, soldiers’ cemeteries, solemn days of remembrance, and the like. One hundred years after World War One, this course will explore the war through the intersection of these processes of personal and public memory, focusing on the Western Front. This will not be a seminar in military or diplomatic history, but rather an exploration of personal experiences of the War, representations of experience, and the cultural and political dimensions of memory. Travel to France will include visits to preserved battlefields, various national war monuments, and several WWI museums, as well as opportunities to interface with French historians, museum directors, and local residents.

Scientific Nationalism in Japan
Dr. John Kehayias, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Japan
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This course will follow the same rigorous curriculum, assessment process, and standards as all critical writing seminars. Modern Japan has an international reputation as an economic power at the forefront of technology and scientific development. However, this has been a recent direction for the country, born during a period of intense nationalism in World War II. The course will seek to understand the development of science in Japan, the nature of political, scientific, and wartime discourse, and the interplay between science and nationalism. Is there an inherent conflict between nationalistic goals and the international and universal nature of scientific development? How did Japan quickly transition from its strong grounding in traditional mythology to a modern and "scientific" nation? How is Japan's current status as an international leader in science and technology built from its wartime past, and what does that mean for the future? What is the role of science in nationalism? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this writing seminar. Travel to Japan will include a number of relevant site visits like international laboratories, scientific experiments, and cultural sites. Students will have the opportunity to speak with administrators and Japanese and non-Japanese researchers in a variety of fields on the current nature of science in Japan and its relationship with Japanese culture.

Seeing/Hearing Globally Indigenous Music and the Arts of Healing 
Dr. Carol Muller, Department of Music; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Australia
This course will explore issues of culture, politics, history, and heritage of four indigenous communities: Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous Canadians, Kalahari Bushmen in southern Africa, and Aboriginals in Australia. Students will experience a diversity of views and perspectives on Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, which will be infused with exposure to various forms of Indigenous art, music, and cultural expression. Students will have the unique opportunity to attend lectures and site visits in Australia. Travel to Australia will include visiting with Aboriginal communities and meetings with local musicians and artists to gain a deeper understanding of their culture and history.

Chinese Language (Intermediate II and Advanced Modern II)
Dr. Jiajia Wang & Shihui Fan, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to China
This is a Chinese language course with a field study component, which is designed to put students’ linguistic skills to use as well as to deepen their understanding of contemporary China through first-hand experience. The curricula of the language training are the same as the regular CHIN 0800 Advanced Chinese II and CHIN 0400 Intermediate Chinese II courses. Students have an option to choose CHIN 0801 or CHIN 0401, depending on their linguistic proficiency and previous training in the target language. The field study travel incorporates a 10-day visit to Beijing and Qufu (曲阜 the hometown of Confucius) in Shandong Province in late May 2023. The proposal of two cities—the capital and a 4th-tier city—would provide social context for students to observe, compare and evaluate contemporary China’s daily life and work, economy and urbanization, infrastructure and technology, education, preservation of tradition, etc. Students will meet local college students in both cities and exchange ideas with their contemporary Chinese peers.

American Race: A Philadelphia Story
Dr. Fariha I. Khan, Asian American Studies Program, School of Arts and Sciences & Fernando Chang-Muy, JD, Penn Carey Law
Travel to Greece
This introductory course frames the academic study of race in the United States through a multi-disciplinary approach with a focus on international law, U.S. law, and the lived experience in Philadelphia. Specific themes on race are analyzed through readings and class discussions with local community leaders, scholars, and activists. The historical and contemporary overview introduces key concepts of race and racialization in relation to U.S. and international laws, key theoretical methodologies, and major scholarly works. The course will also offer a specialized international focus on Greece as a case study.  “American Race: A Philadelphia Story” has been supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Paideia Program, which serves as a hub for civic dialogue in undergraduate education at Penn. 

Exploring the Business Environment in China, Wharton International Program | China Education Initiative
Dr. Sara Jane McCaffrey, The Wharton School
Travel to China
This Wharton International Program (WIP) course, which is supported by Penn’s China Education Initiative, is a short-term international business course that explores China’s business environment and culture. The course will focus on developing an understanding of the region’s business environment and local business practices though a variety of business site visits, lectures at Wharton partner schools, cultural excursions, and networking opportunities with undergraduate students and business contacts. This course earns 0.5 course units that can be used towards the business-breadth or elective credit for Wharton students. Non-Wharton students are also eligible to apply.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | China Education Initiative 
Dr. Jianbo Shi, Penn Engineering, GRASP Laboratory
Travel to China
This course, which is supported by Penn’s China Education Initiative, exposes students to recent developments in technology through an immersive project-based curriculum. Throughout the semester, students are encouraged to think “out of the box” to incorporate their classwork, projects, and training to generate their own ideas for a startup. The course pairs with high school students in China, whereby Penn students are trained as mentors to these local students. During travel to China in May 2024, Penn students will connect with their mentees to work together on completing their projects. Students who are interested in taking this seminar must complete CIS 1210 Data Structures and Algorithms prior to enrolling. 

Travel Over Spring Break 2023

Cairo as Palimpsest (WRIT 0120 302) 
Dr. Fayyaz Vellani, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Egypt
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This first-year writing seminar provides in-depth engagement with the city of Cairo through an examination of its cultural and geopolitical landscapes. Based on the concept of the palimpsest in urbanism, this course studies contemporary Cairo with a view to tracing the multiple layers of history which permeate the city. With more than 21 million inhabitants, Metropolitan Cairo is the most populous urban agglomeration in Africa, the most populous Arab city, and the sixth-largest city in the world by population. Founded by the Fatimid Caliphate in 969, Cairo has been a seat of power for empires including the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, French, and British. Each of these eras has left an indelible mark on Cairo, suffusing the city with a richly cosmopolitan flavor. Greater Cairo is home to world-famous monuments including the Giza pyramid complex, the ancient city of Memphis, numerous Islamic architectural splendors, and Belle Epoque-style grand boulevards. This course examines the intersection of these various facets of Cairo, including visits to the aforementioned sites, connecting the city’s cultural scene to its multi-dimensional, living history.

Global Radiation History: Living in the Atomic Age 1945-Present (STSC 3185 and HSOC 3185) 
Dr. M. Susan Lindee, History and Sociology of Science; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Japan
In this seminar, students will engage with broad experiences of radiation risk since 1945, of Navajo uranium miners, scientists producing and testing nuclear weapons, physicians studying those exposed to radiation, Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings, and of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and others.  We will read novels and poetry relating to the atomic bombings and other radiation incidents, consider the protracted and complex ethical debate about nuclear risk, meet with artists who have contributed to the public debate, participate in meetings with survivors and scientists, museum professionals, activists, and others, and work together to come to understand the impact of the atomic bombs, the rise of nuclear energy, and the continuing legacies of radiation exposure and risk today. 

Comparative Cultures of Resilience and Sustainability in the Netherlands and the United States (GRMN 1151 and URBS 1151)
Dr. Simon Richter, Germanic Languages and Literatures; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to the Netherlands
Coastal and riverside cities worldwide are under increasing pressure from sea level rise and other effects of climate change. Resilience and sustainability are paradigmatic concepts for the ways in which cities address them and their impacts on water, food, energy, and housing. This course focuses on the cultural side of resilience and sustainability in four notable cities: Rotterdam (with areas 6 meters below sea level), Nijmegen (which has devised a new way to live with a major river), New York City (which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy), and New Orleans (one of the most vulnerable American cities). Of course, other cities (Amsterdam, Arnhem, Boston, The Hague, Houston, Miami, as well as cities from the Global South such as Jakarta) will also come into play. In deeply uncertain times, cities such as these confront an array of interconnected choices that involve not only infrastructural solutions, but priorities, values, and cultural predispositions. Ideally, the strategies that cities devise are generated through inclusive processes based on the understanding that resilience and sustainability should be grounded in the cultural life of their communities. When this is the case, resilience and sustainability can become unique and motivating narratives about how cities and their residents co-develop the kinds of hard, soft, and social infrastructure the climate emergency requires. With this in mind, we will analyze climate action plans and resilience strategies; explore cultural histories relative to flooding events; and consult with Dutch and American experts in climate adaptation, governance, community development, and design. The highlight of the course will be travel to the Netherlands during spring break for site visits and discussions with experts.

Travel in May 2023

Information Communication Technologies for Development (PSCI 2103)
Dr. Guy Grossman, Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Uganda
The seminar will focus on the role that innovations in Information Communication Technologies can play in improving development outcomes in low-income countries, and focuses especially on the promises and perils of utilizing mobile technologies and GIS for better governance: to improve citizen voice and government accountability.

Becoming Zimbabwe (WRIT 0120 301)
Dr. Sara Byala, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to South Africa
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This course will explore how and why so many Zimbabweans have migrated to South Africa. It will further investigate the two paths this move has taken, the legal route and the far more common illegal route, often typified by border jumping. Putting this southward migration in the context of historic patterns of migration towards South Africa (and its mines and industry) the class will query what this pattern reveals about struggles in contemporary Zimbabwe and what immigrants’ experiences reveal about contemporary struggles in South Africa. Each student will research and write an individual white paper on a topic of his/her choosing followed by an op-ed that derives in part from the white paper to speak to an issue of contemporary relevance. This course will follow the same rigorous curriculum, assessment process, and standards as all critical writing seminars. This curriculum ensures that students learn real-world writing genres, including a literature review and an op-ed. This means that students dive deeply into individual topics, becoming mini experts on them by the end. Students will aim their public arguments at Zimbabwean and/or broader African audiences and topics, thereby enhancing both their knowledge of the genre and their engagement with contemporary African debates. The course topic is such that student work may also come to see Zimbabwean migration and immigration struggles as a case study for larger theoretical questions around legality, borders, and nationalism. In South Africa, we will visit several sites that render migration visible and meet with a range of migrants. Several visits will include writing, extending students’ knowledge of writing in different settings.

Communicating Change in Mongolia (WRIT 0120 303)
Dr. Aurora MacRae-Crerar, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Mongolia
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
Mongolia is experiencing monumental change. This landlocked country is becoming hotter and drier faster than most other places on the planet. Along with the climate, Mongolian culture is dramatically changing. For millennia, nomadic herding across the expansive steppe has been the central way of life. Now, the country is experiencing unprecedented urbanization rates, with over half of Mongolians moving to cities within the past thirty years. Such drastic changes make Mongolia an invaluable window into the hotter, more urbanized future facing as all across the globe. In this writing seminar, we will hone our science communication skills across international borders in order to explore the intertwined effects of climate and culture in Mongolia and beyond. Students participate in collaborative work with individuals, classes, and organizations outside of Penn.

Disability Rights and Oppression: Experiences within Global Deaf Communities (ASLD 1039-680)
Dr. Jami Fisher, Linguistics; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Italy
This course explores the linguistic and social statuses of global Deaf communities. It utilizes the Italian Deaf community as a framework for understanding its quest for national recognition of their sign language (LIS) and their continued efforts toward parity with hearing people. Topics to be explored include the following: an overview of the cultural model of being Deaf; the social and historical underpinnings of Deaf people’s oppression and marginalization by hearing people; social construction of deafness as disability and Deaf-as-asset (Deaf-Gain); sign language as a human right; and language policy and practice as it relates to Deaf people’s access to or restriction from learning a sign language as a first language. The course will use first-hand accounts via text and film to elucidate a variety of global Deaf perspectives. Travel to Italy will bring the theoretical topics discussed in the semester to life via the following experiential activities: academic and social interactions with Italian Deaf community members; visits to sites important to Italian Deaf people and their history; intensive beginner LIS instruction to facilitate direct conversation with Italian Deaf community members.  No previous sign language experience is required to take this course.  

Malagasy (Elementary II MALG 0201 680 and Intermediate II MALG 0401 680 ): Language in a Cultural Context
Travis Aldous, Esquire (JD), Penn Language Center; School of Arts and Sciences
Alex Delbar, Penn Language Center; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel Madagascar
Offered at both the Elementary II and Intermediate II levels, these classes will create a communicative language environment where students will explore the language and culture of Madagascar. These courses offer a unique opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of an island that has remained largely isolated from the rest of the world while fulfilling a language requirement. Emphasis will be placed on exposing students to Malagasy culture through speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and students will be expected to use the target language in class as much as possible. Activities may include language exchange with Malagasy speakers, a Malagasy cuisine cooking workshop tailored to Penn students, and a visit to a local market to correspond with market vendors. Students who are interested in taking this seminar must complete Malagasy Elementary I or Malagasy Intermediate I in the preceding fall. Malagasy Elementary I is available to all students. 

Robotics and Rehabilitation (ENGR 1400)
Dr. Camillo Jose Taylor, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Dr. Michelle Johnson, Perelman School of Medicine
Travel to Jamaica 
This course focuses on understanding the design of intelligent technologies and robots for community-based diagnostics and rehabilitation. To do so, topics in biomechanics, computer science, robotics and mechatronics, and human-centered design principles are covered. Beyond technology, this course explores the design processes by which diagnostics, robotics, and medical technology are developed for foreign economies, cultures, and healthcare systems. Student projects focus on understanding stakeholders needs and developing technology able to address a Jamaican client with needs ranging from health needs such as dealing with disability, health monitoring, and virus detection to community-based needs such as increasing energy access, monitoring water quality, and supporting produce and animal health. Students are expected to engage in a semester-long project with Jamaican students and will travel to Jamaica in May to complete and present project designs.

Can China Stop Climate Change? Politics, Geopolitics, and China’s Role in the World’s Renewable Energy Revolution (PSCI 3151-001) | China Education Initiative
Dr. Scott Moore; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to the United Arab Emirates
This course looks at one of the most important issues facing the world today: China’s climate policy and its role in the global energy transition away from fossil fuels. The course aims to expose students to the driving forces behind China’s position and policy related to climate change and its involvement in the global energy sector, with a strong emphasis on technology and international relations. The course will also examine barriers and challenges related to meeting China’s ambitious climate commitments. The course will be featured as part of the pilot phase of the China Education Initiative, which provides enrolled students with the opportunity to engage with key questions and issues related to China through a travel component, which this year is planned to examine a solar energy project in the United Arab Emirates built and largely financed by Chinese entities. Another important part of the course will be guest speakers representing government officials; multilateral institution officials; researchers; journalists; and civil society. This course will be conducted in a seminar format. Prior coursework related to, or knowledge of, China, science, technology, or environmental issues will be helpful but is not a prerequisite.

Fall 2022

Travel Over Winter Break 2022-23

Sustainable Development and Culture in Latin America (SPAN 0091 or SPAN 3910)
Dr. Teresa Giménez, Hispanic and Portuguese Studies, School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Costa Rica
This interdisciplinary course exposes students to the three dimensions of sustainable development -environmental, economic, and social- through an examination of three products—peyote, coca, and coffee—that are crucial in shaping modern identity in areas of Latin America. The course integrates this analysis of sustainable development in relation to cultural sustainability and cultural practices associated with peyote, coca, and coffee and their rich, traditional heritage and place in literature, film, and the arts. The course also includes a one-week immersive experience in Costa Rica. While immersed in Costa Rican culture, students explore firsthand the biodiversity of the coffee fields, the science behind coffee production, and its impact on soil, water, and wildlife. Through site visits to sustainable, conventional, and transitional coffee farms and cooperatives, to roasters and point-of-sale locations, the course analyzes the practices employed in the production and consumption of various types of coffee and their impact on sustainability and biological diversity.

Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine (NURS 3430 – 002) | China Education Initiative
Dr. Jianghong Liu; School of Nursing
Travel to Thailand
This course, which is supported by Penn’s China Education Initiative, introduces students to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a specific form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The course will cover introductory principles on TCM theory, common therapies, and efficacy of this practice. The first component of the class will meet on campus every other week through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations with Penn professors and experienced TCM practitioners. The cohort will participate in a local field trip in the Philadelphia area for clinical observation. The second part of the course will involve travel to Thailand, in which there will be guest lectures by TCM professors and practitioners, clinical observations, and other immersive experiences.

Health and the Healthcare System in Chile (NURS 343-001)
Dr. Eileen Lake, Biobehavioral Health Sciences; School of Nursing
Travel to Chile
This seminar provides interdisciplinary perspectives on health and illness in Chile, health system organization and financing, the health workforce, national health priorities, strategies, and recent reforms. Penn faculty in nursing, sociology, demography, economics, and Wharton share their expertise. The winter break field experience, which is summertime in Chile, focuses on health services delivery in metropolitan Santiago, including visits to a public and a private hospital, a primary care center, and a geriatric institute. Chile's unique political and economic history provides the context for its current healthcare system and challenges.  Therefore, we also visit cultural sites, notably the homes of the Nobel poet Pablo Neruda, the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, the bustling port city and bay of Valparaiso, and historic and government sites in the city of Santiago.

Living Deliberately:  Monks, Saints, and the Contemplative Life – Thailand (REL 3560)
Dr. Justin McDaniel, Religious Studies; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Thailand
This is an experimental course in which students will experience monastic and ascetic ways of living.

Fall 2021

Travel over Winter Break 2021/2022

Laboratory of Evolution: The History, Philosophy, and Science of Evolution in the Galápagos
Michael Weisberg, Philosophy; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to the Galápagos, Ecuador
Charles Darwin's first impression of the Galápagos was not a positive one. Upon landing on San Cristóbal Island, he was underwhelmed, commenting that the island reminded him of "what we might imagine cultivated parts of the Infernal regions to be." But Darwin quickly recognized that the Galápagos is a unique place to study geology and natural history. We will follow in his footsteps, studying ecology, evolution, and the natural history of Galápagos, along with the growing impact of humans on this fragile place. The course will culminate in a visit to the Galápagos archipelago to examine first-hand the issues and theories discussed throughout the seminar.

Spring 2022

Travel Over Spring Break 2022 

The Parthenon: The Many Lives of a Monument (ARTH 328)
Mantha Zarmakoupi, Department of the History of Art; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Greece
Seniors graduating in May 2022 are eligible to apply for this seminar.
This seminar focuses on the Parthenon, the centerpiece of Pericles’ building program on the Athenian Acropolis, to address its design and history, its aftermath as a ruin, its reconstruction, and its meaning as a national and cultural symbol in the modern period. The Parthenon is arguably a monument of perfection – the culmination of the search for the ideal proportions in Doric temple design in the 5th century BCE – and the course will analyze its architecture to shed light on its design and construction processes, including its architectural refinements. The course will also address the history of the building as a ruin and the important work of its restoration as a monument after the 19th century, thereby tackling the aesthetics of “purity” intertwined in the planning of interventions on ancient ruins and elucidating the ways in which such interventions are entwined with national and supranational debates about cultural identity in the discourses of modernity. Travel to Greece will include a week in Athens to study the Parthenon up close, as well as to observe the current work of the Acropolis Restoration Service, whose recent work has shed light on the design and construction of the monument.

Travel in May 2022

Case Studies in Environmental Sustainability (ENVS 302)
Alain Plante, Department of Earth and Environmental Science; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Iceland
This seminar asks students to research and present a case study on an environmental topic specific to Iceland, including climate change, renewable energy production, land management, fisheries, food production, and many other issues of environmental sustainability that span the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Iceland offers an unrivaled opportunity to study geothermal and other energy production, ecology, the effects of tourism on the environment, agriculture, aquaculture, and issues of environmental ethics, nature interpretation, and resource management. Travel to Iceland will include visits to Reykjavik and other neighboring small towns to take deeper dive into the students’ case study. Site visits include Þingvellir National Park, the South Waterfalls, black beaches, and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.

Colonial and Cosmopolitan Encounters in Mumbai (WRIT 012)
Fayyaz Vellani, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to India
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This course will follow the same rigorous curriculum, assessment process, and standards as all critical writing seminars. This writing seminar provides an in-depth examination of Mumbai, India. Having served as a locus of colonial power for Portuguese and British empires, as well as the Gujarat Sultanate, Mumbai has a rich and fascinating history peppered with competing imperial claims. Contemporary Mumbai is a prime site for exploration, serving as home to Bollywood--the world's largest film industry--and to three UNESCO World Heritage sites including the world's second-largest collection of Art Deco buildings. With a population of more than 25 million people, metropolitan Mumbai is the world's second-largest city. Mumbai's population is extremely diverse, its residents speaking Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, English, Telugu, Konkani, Dangii, Varhadii, Hindi, and more. Students will encounter Mumbai's vibrant cultural life through readings, writing, class discussions, and explorations during the travel component. Site visits will include the Gateway of India, the Prince of Wales Museum, Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus, Malabar Hill, Marine Drive, the National Gallery of Modern Art, and the former Portuguese colony of Goa.

Mongolian Civilization: Nomadic and Sedentary (EALC 004)
Christopher Pratt Atwood, East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Mongolia
This course will explore how two intertwined ways of life – pastoral nomadism and settling down for religious, educational, and economic reasons – have shaped the cultural, artistic, and intellectual traditions of Mongolia. In this course, students will learn about Mongolian pastoral nomadism, and how the Mongolian economy, literature, and steppe empires were built on grass and livestock. We will also explore how Mongolians have also just as consistently used the foundations of empire to build sedentary monuments and buildings, whether funerary complexes, Buddhist monasteries, socialist boarding schools, or modern capitals. Over time, these cities have changed shape, location, and ideology, all the while remaining linked to the mobile pastoralists in the countryside. We will also explore how these traditions of mobile pastoralism and urbanism were transformed in the 20th century, by urbanization, communist ideology, and the new reality of free-market democracy, ideological pluralism, and a new mining-dependent economy. We will meet modern painters and musicians who interweave Mongolian nomadic traditions with contemporary world trends and consider the future of rural traditions in a modern world.

The Tangled Web: National Competitiveness and International Security in Northeast Asia (INTR 290)
Frank Plantan and Tomoharu Nishino, International Relations Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Japan
The course will use the experience of Northeast Asia to explore the problem of security in East Asia. In the 20th century, the region was one of the most conflict-prone parts of the world. Today disputes over territory, maritime influence, and nuclear proliferation make the region potentially one of the most volatile. The region is unique in a number of ways: it is where the world’s three largest economies meet, it is a region that is arguably the most integrated into the global economy, and the region has long been the manufacturing hub of the world. Intra-region trade is essential to each country, while technological development is at the root of national competitiveness. At the same time, the region is uniquely primed for volatility. It is where four nuclear powers operate in close proximity to each other, and the four largest and best-equipped navies of the world (US, China, Russia, and Japan) jockey for position. The course will explore the evolution of the region over the last 100 years in an effort to understand the historical and contemporary forces that have shaped it, and the legacies those forces leave behind. Travel to Tokyo and Hiroshima will include meetings with personnel within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense as well as visits to Hiroshima Peace Park, the Atom Bomb Dome, and the Maritime Self Defense Forces Kure District Headquarters.

Scientific Nationalism in Japan (WRIT 012)
John Kehayias, Critical Writing Program, School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Japan
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This course will follow the same rigorous curriculum, assessment process, and standards as all critical writing seminars. Modern Japan has an international reputation as an economic power at the forefront of technology and scientific development. However, this has been a recent direction for the country, born during a period of intense nationalism in World War II. The course will seek to understand the development of science in Japan, the nature of political, scientific, and wartime discourse, and the interplay between science and nationalism. Is there an inherent conflict between nationalistic goals and the international and universal nature of scientific development? How did Japan quickly transition from its strong grounding in traditional mythology to a modern and "scientific" nation? How is Japan's current status as an international leader in science and technology built from its wartime past, and what does that mean for the future? What is the role of science in nationalism? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this writing seminar. Travel to Japan will include a number of relevant site visits and will offer students the opportunity to speak with government officials and Japanese and non-Japanese researchers in a variety of fields on the current nature of science in Japan and its relationship with Japanese culture.

Seeing/Hearing Globally Indigenous Music and the Arts of Healing (MUSC056)
Carol Muller, Department of Music; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Australia
This course will explore issues of culture, politics, history, and heritage of four indigenous communities: Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous Canadians, Kalahari Bushmen in southern Africa, and Aboriginals in Australia. Students will experience a diversity of views and perspectives on Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, which will be infused with exposure to various forms of Indigenous art, music, and cultural expression. Students will have the unique opportunity to attend lectures and site visits organized by Charles Darwin University (CDU), based in Darwin, Australia. CDU has strong Aboriginal ties, with 10% of its student population being Aboriginal as well as offering an Aboriginal Studies program. Travel to Australia will include visiting the Larrakai Nation in Darwin and Northern Arnhem Land and allow students to speak with local musicians and artists to gain a deeper understanding of the culture and history.

The Great War in Memoir and Memory (HIST 329)
Warren Breckman, Department of History; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to France
For all who passed through it, the Great War was transformative, presenting a profound rupture in world history and personal experience alike. It was a war that unleashed an unprecedented outpouring of memoirs and poetic and fictional accounts written by participants. In its wake, it also produced new forms of public commemoration and memorialization—tombs to the unknown soldier, great monuments, soldiers’ cemeteries, solemn days of remembrance, and the like. One hundred years after World War One, this course will explore the war through the intersection of these processes of personal and public memory, focusing on the Western Front. This will not be a seminar in military or diplomatic history, but rather an exploration of personal experiences of the War, representations of experience, and the cultural and political dimensions of memory. Travel to France will include visits to preserved battlefields, various national war monuments, and several WWI museums, as well as opportunities to interface with French historians, museum directors, and local residents.

All travel associated with Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 Penn Global Seminars was suspended due to continued travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fall 2020

Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine
Dr. Jianghong Liu; School of Nursing
Travel to Taiwan
This class introduces students to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a form of complementary and alternative medicine to Western Medicine. Students will learn about TCM theory, including the historical development of TCM, the Yin-Yang principles, the concept of the Five Elements, and the application of Yin-Yang and Five Elements to medicine. Students will learn about the existing research on TCM, the clinical applications of Chinese herbal medicine, and the safety, regulation, and healthcare policies surrounding TCM. The prevention and treatment of COVID-19 will also be emphasized throughout the course theory and modalities. The travel component will bring students to Taipei, Taiwan. Students will attend seminars, observe clinical settings, participate in hands-on experiences, gaining a global perspective and understanding of the implications of TCM.

Laboratory of Evolution: The History, Philosophy, and Science of Evolution in the Galápagos
Dr. Michael Weisberg, Philosophy; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to the Galápagos
Charles Darwin's first impression of the Galápagos was not a positive one. Upon landing on San Cristóbal Island, he was underwhelmed, commenting that the island reminded him of "what we might imagine cultivated parts of the Infernal regions to be." But Darwin quickly recognized that the Galápagos is a unique place to study geology and natural history. We will follow in his footsteps, studying ecology, evolution, and the natural history of Galápagos, along with the growing impact of humans on this fragile place. The course will culminate in a visit to the Galápagos archipelago to examine first-hand the issues and theories discussed throughout the seminar.

Spring 2021

Information Communication Technologies for Development (PSCI 102-301) 
Dr. Guy Grossman, Political Science; School of Arts and Sciences
This seminar will study the role that innovations in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) can play in improving development outcomes in low-income countries. Bringing together research and case studies from tech gigs, policymakers, and non-governmental organizations, the course will focus on the promises and perils of utilizing mobile technologies and GIS for better governance to improve citizen voice and government accountability. The course will survey innovative applications of ICTs in agriculture, financial services, health services, and governance. Students will have the opportunity to meet virtually with NGO staffers, educators, and local government officials in Uganda who are experimenting with new products and technologies to hear their challenges and brainstorm new applications.

People of the Land: Indigeneity and Politics in Argentina and Chile (PSCI/LALS 313)
Dr. Tulia Falleti, Political Science; School of Arts and Sciences
This course will compare the evolution of relations between states and indigenous peoples and movements throughout the Americas, with a particular focus on the Mapuche people of the Patagonia region of southern Argentina and Chile. Throughout the course, students will comparatively study the organization of indigenous communities and analyze their political demands and proposals regarding plurinationality, autonomy, territory, prior consultation, living well, and intercultural education, as well as the different ways in which nation-states accommodate or respond to such demands. COIL activities may include virtual guest speakers from Mapuche communities, and collaboration on a video project exploring Mapuche culture, recuperation of identity and language, territorial claims and arrangements, and different models of economic and environmental sustainability. 

Global Radiation History: Living in the Atomic Age 1945-Present (STSC 316) 
Dr. M. Susan Lindee, History and Sociology of Science; School of Arts and Sciences
In this Collaborative Online International Learning Seminar,  students will engage with broad experiences of radiation risk since 1945, of Navajo uranium miners, scientists producing and testing nuclear weapons, physicians studying those exposed to radiation, Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings and of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and others.  We will read novels and poetry relating to the atomic bombings and other radiation incidents, consider the protracted and complex ethical debate about nuclear risk, meet with artists who have contributed to the public debate, participate in virtual meetings with survivors and scientists, museum professionals, activists, and others, and work together to come to understand the impact of the atomic bombs, the rise of nuclear energy, and the continuing legacies of radiation exposure and risk today. 

Disability Rights and Oppression: Experiences within Global Deaf Communities (LING 079-301 / ASLD 079-301)
Dr. Jami Fisher, Linguistics, Penn Language Center; School of Arts and Sciences
This course explores the linguistic and social statuses of global Deaf communities in order to understand the specific experiences of Italian deaf people and their quest for national recognition of their sign language (LIS) and efforts toward parity with hearing people. Topics to be explored include the following: an overview of the cultural model of being deaf; the social and historical underpinnings of deaf people’s oppression and marginalization by hearing people; social construction of deafness as disability and Deaf-as-asset (Deaf-Gain); sign language as a human right; and language policy and practice as it relates to deaf people’s access to or restriction from learning a sign language as a first language. We will use first-hand accounts via text and film to elucidate a variety of global deaf perspectives. In Spring 2021, Penn will be collaborating with Gallaudet University, an all-Deaf university in Washington, D.C., using a COIL model involving joint classes and class discussions on common readings (facilitated by ASL-English interpreters) as well as collaborative, project-based learning. There will also be guest lectures and panel discussions featuring scholars and Deaf community members from Italy (also interpreted), elucidating the current status of LIS recognition as well as the everyday lives of Italian Deaf community members.

Malagasy (Elementary II/Intermediate II): Language in a Cultural Context (MALG 496-680 / MALG 496-681)
Travis Aldous, Esquire (JD), Penn Language Center; School of Arts and Sciences
Alex Delbar, Penn Language Center; School of Arts and Sciences
Offered at both the Elementary II and Intermediate II levels, these classes will create a communicative language environment where students will explore the language and culture of Madagascar. These courses offer a unique opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of an island that has remained largely isolated from the rest of the world while fulfilling a language requirement. Emphasis will be placed on exposing students to Malagasy culture through speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and students will be expected to use the target language in class as much as possible. COIL activities may include online language exchange with Malagasy speakers, a Malagasy cuisine cooking workshop tailored to Penn students, and a virtual marketplace experience allowing Penn students to correspond with local market vendors. Students who are interested in taking this seminar must complete Malagasy Elementary I or Malagasy Intermediate I in the preceding fall. Malagasy Elementary I is available to all students. 

The Great War in Memoir and Memory (HIST 202-301)
Dr. Warren Breckman, Department of History; School of Arts and Sciences
For all who passed through it, the Great War was transformative, presenting a profound rupture in world history and personal experience alike. It was a war that unleashed an unprecedented outpouring of memoirs and poetic and fictional accounts written by participants. In its wake, it also produced new forms of public commemoration and memorialization—tombs to the unknown soldier, great monuments, soldiers’ cemeteries, solemn days of remembrance, and the like. One hundred years after World War One, this course will explore the war through the intersection of these processes of personal and public memory, focusing on the Western Front. This will not be a seminar in military or diplomatic history, but rather an exploration of personal experiences of the War, representations of experience, and the cultural and political dimensions of memory. COIL components may include virtual visits to preserved battlefields, various national war monuments, and several WWI museums, as well as opportunities to interface with French historians, museum directors, and local residents.

Communicating Change in Mongolia: Using Science Writing to Investigate Shifts in Land Use & Livelihoods (WRIT 012-301)
Dr. Aurora MacRae-Crerar, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement
Mongolia is experiencing monumental change. This landlocked country is becoming hotter and drier faster than most other places on the planet. Along with the climate, Mongolian culture is dramatically changing. For millennia, nomadic herding across the expansive steppe has been the central way of life. Now, the country is experiencing unprecedented urbanization rates, with over half of Mongolians moving to cities within the past thirty years. Such drastic changes make Mongolia an invaluable window into the hotter, more urbanized future facing as all across the globe. In this writing seminar, we will hone our science communication skills across international borders in order to explore the intertwined effects of climate and culture in Mongolia and beyond. Within the PGS-COIL model, students participate in collaborative work with individuals, classes, and organizations outside of Penn in a virtual environment. COIL activities may include guest lectures from leading ecologists based in Mongolia, early career Mongolian SciCommers and virtual collaboration with students at the National University of Mongolia.

Fall 2019

Travel over Winter Break 2019/2020

Paris under the German Occupation and Its Places in [Non-] Memory (FREN225) 
Mélanie Péron, French and Francophone Studies; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to France
This seminar will aim to understand the dark historical period of WWII France through the study of the visible and invisible traces left on French memory and the Parisian landscape. The class will start by studying the conventional history of Vichy France, then turn to the writers who testified of that time, some as victims, others as witnesses or coming from the post-memory generation. Each of them has, in his or her own way, tried to find the words to fill the places of non-memory. The course will be open to French speakers and non-French speakers alike and will feature two recitation sections: one in French and one in translation. The travel component will feature visits to key sites of the German occupation and trace the lives of the key Parisian residents whose first-person accounts make up the bulk of the course readings.

Operations Strategy Practicum (OIDD380)
Morris A Cohen, Operations, Information and Decisions Department; The Wharton School
Travel to Israel
This practicum will focus on the management of operations at manufacturing and service facilities located within the United States and Israel that are used either by domestic corporations or by foreign multinational companies. Particular emphasis will be on the evolving patterns of operations strategies adopted by firms for producing products, sourcing manufacturing, delivering services, and managing product design, as well as on programs for enhancing quality, productivity, and flexibility and managing technology. The class will explore the formulation and execution of such strategies for established Israeli multinational corporations with world-class operations and innovative strategies as well as for start-ups and smaller companies that are scaling their global supply chain infrastructure to support growth. The travel will consist of a set of site visits that will provide students the opportunity to observe company processes directly and speak with management about their companies’ current strategy.

Health and the Healthcare System in Chile (NURS343)
Eileen Lake, Biobehavioral Health Sciences; School of Nursing
Travel to Chile
This seminar provides interdisciplinary perspectives on health and illness in Chile, health system organization and financing, the health workforce, national health priorities, strategies, and recent reforms. Penn faculty in nursing, sociology, demography, economics, and Wharton share their expertise. The winter break field experience, which is summertime in Chile, focuses on health services delivery in metropolitan Santiago, including visits to a public and a private hospital, a primary care center, and a geriatric institute. Chile's unique political and economic history provides the context for its current healthcare system and challenges.  Therefore, we also visit cultural sites, notably the homes of the Nobel poet Pablo Neruda, the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, the bustling port city and bay of Valparaiso, and historic and government sites in the city of Santiago.

Field Studies in Tropical Biodiversity and Conservation (BIOL165)
Byron Pedler Sherwood, Biology; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Costa Rica
Using Costa Rica’s Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) as a case study, this immersion course will broadly cover four major themes: biodiversity, conservation philosophies and practices, primary ecosystems within the ACG and their major species composition, and fundamentals of field ecology (terrestrial and marine), including the practice and implementation of the scientific method. Students in the course will learn how to develop and conduct research experiments through field-based activities and will gain familiarity with a diversity of terrestrial and marine organisms including insects, endemic and invasive species of terrestrial flora and megafauna, corals, algae, invertebrates, fish, sea turtles, and marine animals. Additional topics will include fundamentals of oceanography, ecological and evolutionary principles as applied to ecosystem structure, function, and biodiversity, and environmental and management challenges faced by the ACG and tropical ecosystems globally. The travel component will allow students to visit the ACG’s four major ecosystems, participate in ongoing field biodiversity surveys, work with ACG staff on conservation projects, and conduct independent field research.

Security and Anxiety at International Borders: Turkey and the USA in Global Perspective (PSCI353)
Beth Simmons, Political Science; School of Arts and Science
Travel to Turkey
This seminar will focus on the comparative experiences of Turkey and the United States in their methods of maintaining borders and dealing with anxiety about uncontrolled transnational flows of products and people across their borders. The seminar will explore how security and insecurity are understood, produced, and implemented in the form of border security policies. The course will be co-taught with a professor from Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey, and will allow Penn and Sabanci students to learn together throughout the course. The comparative study of American and Turkish border control will uncover both similarities in the framing of border policies, but also distinct differences in how these two countries deal with border security. The travel component will include visits to Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir and will feature meetings with Turkey’s Ministry of the Interior, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and local NGOs.

Spring 2020
With Travel over Spring Break 2020

Culture, Health and Development in Ghana
Robin Stevens, Family and Community Health; School of Nursing
Anastasia Shown, Africana Studies; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Ghana
This course will combine a broad overview on current health, culture, and development topics in Ghana with the experience, treatment, and impact of sickle cell anemia. The course will cover basic principles of Ghanaian culture as it relates to health and development. Students will gain knowledge of and observational experiences in issues of West African health care and development, brief introductions to the literature on health, critical thinking on complex and relevant social problems, fieldwork methods, and cross-cultural communication. Travel to Ghana will be used to help students gain a global perspective on health and development topics that impact Africans across the diaspora. Site visits will include a sickle cell clinic, a K-12 school, local start-ups, and Ghanaian heritage sites.

Mongolian Civilization: Nomadic and Sedentary
Christopher Pratt Atwood, East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Mongolia
This course will explore how two intertwined ways of life – pastoral nomadism and settling down for religious, educational, and economic reasons – have shaped the cultural, artistic, and intellectual traditions of Mongolia. In this course, students will learn about Mongolian pastoral nomadism, and how the Mongolian economy, literature, and steppe empires were built on grass and livestock. We will also explore how Mongolians have also just as consistently used the foundations of empire to build sedentary monuments and buildings, whether funerary complexes, Buddhist monasteries, socialist boarding schools, or modern capitals. Over time, these cities have changed shape, location, and ideology, all the while remaining linked to the mobile pastoralists in the countryside. We will also explore how these traditions of mobile pastoralism and urbanism were transformed in the 20th century, by urbanization, communist ideology, and the new reality of free-market democracy, ideological pluralism, and a new mining dependent economy. We will meet modern painters and musicians who interweave Mongolian nomadic traditions with contemporary world trends and consider the future of rural traditions in a modern world.

The Parthenon: The Many Lives of a Monument (ARTH 328)
Mantha Zarmakoupi, History of Art; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Greece
This seminar focuses on the Parthenon, the centerpiece of Pericles’ building program on the Athenian Acropolis, to address its design and history, its aftermath as a ruin, its reconstruction, and its meaning as a national and cultural symbol in the modern period. The Parthenon is arguably a monument of perfection – the culmination of the search for the ideal proportions in Doric temple design in the 5th century BCE – and the course will analyze its architecture to shed light on its design and construction processes, including its architectural refinements. The course will also address the history of the building as a ruin and the important work of its restoration as a monument after the 19th century, thereby tackling the aesthetics of “purity” intertwined in the planning of interventions on ancient ruins and elucidating the ways in which such interventions are entwined with national and supranational debates about cultural identity in the discourses of modernity. Travel to Greece will include a week in Athens to study the Parthenon up close, as well as to observe the current work of the Acropolis Restoration Service, whose recent work has shed light on the design and construction of the monument.

With Travel in May 2020

The Tangled Web: National Competitiveness and International Security in Northeast Asia
Frank Plantan and Tomoharu Nishino, International Relations Program; School of Arts and Science
Travel to Japan
The course will use the experience of Northeast Asia to explore the problem of security in East Asia. In the 20th century, the region was one of the most conflict-prone parts of the world. Today disputes over territory, maritime influence, and nuclear proliferation make the region potentially one of the most volatile. The region is unique in a number of ways: it is where the world’s three largest economies meet, it is a region that is arguably the most integrated into the global economy, and the region has long been the manufacturing hub of the world. Intra-region trade is essential to each country, while technological development is at the root of national competitiveness. At the same time, the region is uniquely primed for volatility. It is where four nuclear powers operate in close proximity to each other, and the four largest and best-equipped navies of the world (US, China, Russia, and Japan) jockey for position. The course will explore the evolution of the region over the last 100 years in an effort to understand the historical and contemporary forces that have shaped it, and the legacies those forces leave behind. Travel to Tokyo and Hiroshima will include meetings with personnel within the Ministry Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense as well as visits to Hiroshima Peace Park, the Atom Bomb Dome, and the Maritime Self Defense Forces Kure District Headquarters.

Becoming Zimbabwe
Sara Byala, Critical Writing Program, School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Zimbabwe
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This writing seminar looks at how Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe through the lens of commodities and how they are consumed. Achieving independence from British colonial rule in 1980, Zimbabwe was once known as the breadbasket of Southern Africa. Yet, under the long dictatorship of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s economy was decimated. Today, roughly 90% of the country is officially unemployed, though, somehow, life goes on. The central questions posed by this course are 1) what roles did commodities and consumption both affect and reflect political changes and, as an extension, 2) how do people wield commodities and control their consumption in a country without a functioning formal economy. In this course, students will be introduced to the broad arc of Zimbabwe’s history, from ancient times to the present, though our focus will be recent times. Each student will research and write an individual literature review on a topic of his/her choosing followed by an op-ed that derives in part from the literature review and that speaks to an issue of contemporary relevance in Zimbabwe.

Colonial and Cosmopolitan Encounters in Mumbai
Fayyaz Vellani, Critical Writing Program; School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to India
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This course will follow the same rigorous curriculum, assessment process, and standards as all critical writing seminars. This writing seminar will provide an in-depth examination of Mumbai, India. Having served as a locus of colonial power for the Portuguese and British empires, as well as the Gujarat Sultanate, Mumbai has a rich and fascinating history peppered with competing imperial claims. Contemporary Mumbai is a prime site for exploration, serving as home to Bollywood—the world's largest film industry—and to three UNESCO World Heritage sites including the world's second largest collection of Art Deco buildings. With a population of more than 25 million people, metropolitan Mumbai is India's largest city and is expected to be the world's second largest city by 2020. Mumbai's population is extremely diverse, its residents speaking multiple languages including Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, English, Telugu, Konkani, Dangii, Varhadii and Hindi among others. Students will encounter Mumbai's vibrant cultural life through readings, writing, class discussions and explorations during the field visit. Site visits in Mumbai will include the Gateway of India, the port area, the Prince of Wales Museum, Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus, Malabar Hill, Marine Drive, and the National Gallery of Modern Art. The travel component will include excursions to the former Portuguese Colonies of Daman and Diu in present-day Gujarat.

Scientific Nationalism in Japan
John Kehayias, Critical Writing Program, School of Arts and Sciences
Travel to Japan
Fulfills Writing Seminar Requirement. Priority will be given to first-year students, but all students (except graduating seniors) who have not yet taken a writing seminar are eligible to apply.
This course will follow the same rigorous curriculum, assessment process, and standards as all critical writing seminars. Modern Japan has an international reputation as an economic power at the forefront of technology and scientific development. However, this has been a recent direction for the country, born during a period of intense nationalism in World War II. The course will seek to understand the development of science in Japan, the nature of political, scientific, and wartime discourse, and the interplay between science and nationalism. Is there an inherent conflict between nationalistic goals and the international and universal nature of scientific development? How did Japan quickly transition from its strong grounding in traditional mythology to a modern and "scientific" nation? How is Japan's current status as an international leader in science and technology built from its wartime past, and what does that mean for the future? What is the role of science in nationalism? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this writing seminar. Travel to Japan will include a number of relevant site visits, and will offer students the opportunity to speak with government officials and Japanese and non-Japanese researchers in a variety of fields on the current nature of science in Japan and its relationship with Japanese culture.

2018-2019 Academic Year

Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine
Travel to China over Winter Break 2018/2019
Dr. Jianghong Liu, Nursing
This class introduces students to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a form of complementary and alternative medicine. The students will learn about TCM theory, common therapies, and treatments, as well as the safety, regulation, and efficacy of this practice. Classwork will be complemented by a 1-2 week trip to China to visit hospitals affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. There, students will attend lectures/seminars, clinical observations, and hands-on experiences, gaining a global perspective and understanding of the implications of TCM.

Seeing, Hearing, and Encountering South Africa (AFRC/ANTH/COML/MUSC 056-401)
Travel to South Africa over Winter Break 2018/2019
Dr. Carol Muller, Music
This class provides a window into contemporary Africa through the study and travel to one of its most powerful nation-states: South Africa. Students explore South African history, politics, arts and culture, and are introduced to a series of issues confronting post-apartheid South Africa: these include issues of heritage and the usable past, sustainability, environmental impact, climate change, energy challenges and fracking, defining from the global South slave and racial histories, music and cultural practices borrowed that are now considered local and particular.

Laboratory of Evolution: The History, Philosophy, and Science of Evolution in the Galapagos (PHIL 226-401)
Travel to the Galapagos over Winter Break 2018/2019
Dr. Michael Weisberg, Philosophy
Charles Darwin's first impression of the Galapagos was not a positive one. Upon landing on San Cristobol Island, he was underwhelmed, commenting that the island reminded him of "what we might imagine cultivated parts of the Infernal regions to be." But Darwin quickly recognized that the Galapagos is a unique place to study geology and natural history. This course consists of a detailed examination of evolutionary theory, especially within the context of historical and contemporary scientific research in the Galapagos. The climax of the course is a visit to the Galapagos archipelago to examine, first hand, the issues discussed in the seminar, and consists of 7 nights and 8 days on the water.

Information Communication Technologies for Development (PSCI 102-301)
Travel to Uganda over Spring Break 2019
Dr. Guy Grossman, Political Science
The seminar will focus on the role that innovations in Information Communication Technologies can play in improving development outcomes in low-income countries, and focuses especially on the promises and perils for utilizing mobile technologies and GIS for better governance: to improve citizen voice and government accountability.
 
Culture, Health, and Development in Ghana (AFRC 343-401/NURS 343-401)
Travel to Ghana over Spring Break 2019
Dr. Robin Stevens, Nursing
Anastasia Shown, Africana Studies
This course will be a broad overview on current health, culture and development topics in  Ghana. The health segment will focus on the experience, treatment and impact of sickle cell anemia. The course will cover basic principles of Ghanaian culture as it relates to health and development. The first part of the class will be taught through lectures, case studies, discussions on campus and a local field trip in the Philadelphia area. The second part of the course will involve a field trip to Ghana during spring break to help students gain a global perspective on health and development topics that impact Africans across the diaspora.

The City of Delhi: New, Old, and Unmapped (WRIT 012-301)
Travel to India over Spring Break 2019
Dr. Fayyaz Vellani, Critical Writing Program
First-year students only
This first-year writing seminar provides an in-depth examination of the city of Delhi, India. Considered one of the world’s global cities, Delhi serves as India’s capital, and a key metropolis for commerce, tourism, art, architecture, politics, cultural production, and consumption, particularly of food, art, and literature. Delhi’s vibrant political economy, multilayered history, and fascinating geography will be explored through readings, as well as through the travel component of the course. This seminar covers such topics as socioeconomic inequality, gentrification, and the environmental challenges for a city inhabited by nearly nineteen million people, allowing students to witness firsthand some of the urban phenomena about which they will have read, written, and had discussions.

The Image of the City of Haifa: Literature, Architecture, Film (NELC 159-401 / CIMS 159-401 / COML 282-401)
Travel to Israel over Spring Break 2019
Dr. Nili Gold, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
This course focuses on the literary works and architectural masterpieces of Haifa and examines closely the relationship between the natural landscape, the man-made landscape and the psyche of the individual who inhabits them. Through interdisciplinary analyses of literature, film, and architecture, students explore how a terrain affects architecture and how the unique landscape of a city might affect those who reside in it.

Robotics and Rehabilitation
Travel to Jamaica in May 2019
Dr. Camillo Jose Taylor, Engineering
Dr. Michelle Johnson, Perelman School of Medicine
This course focuses on understanding the design of intelligent technologies for rehabilitation diagnostics and intervention, which include using biomechanics, computer science, robotics and mechatronics design principles Beyond technology, this course explores the design process in which medical technology is developed for foreign economies, cultures, and healthcare systems. Student projects focus on understanding stake-holders needs and developing technology able to address a Jamaican client rehabilitation needs.

South Africa Rising: Past and Present in the New South Africa (WRIT 012-302)
Travel to South Africa in May 2019
Dr. Sara Byala, Critical Writing Program
First-year students only
This first-year writing seminar focuses on South Africa's recent history (from 1994) and the tensions that characterize this era. From Nelson Mandela’s lofty ideals of a nonracial country to the Rhodes Must Fall movement that has shaken college campuses and museums in recent years, it provides students with an entry point into a country that continues to stand as an harbinger for the African continent.

Disability Rights and Oppression: Experiences within Global Deaf Communities
Travel to Italy in May 2019
Dr. Jami Fisher, Linguistics
This course explores the linguistic and social statuses of global deaf communities with respect to language rights and efforts toward parity with spoken language communities. The course will expose participants to a module on Italian Sign Language (LIS) and will give opportunities to learn and use LIS in and amongst Italian Deaf community members while in Italy. The course centers on one key moment in history, the Milan Conference of 1880, in which several decrees made by hearing educators dictated that sign languages be banned in all instruction of deaf students worldwide. The impacts of said decree was catastrophic for the linguistic and social rights of deaf people; effects of these experiences were pernicious and long lasting. Since then, global deaf communities have fought to gain the legal rights and social recognition that are typically afforded hearing members of their respective communities. There are some deaf communities that have attained said rights, where others are still left far behind. This explores the lasting effects of the Milan Congress in global terms, using the United States and North American deaf communities as a standard for comparative measurement.

Case Studies in Environmental Sustainability (ENVS 302-401)
Travel to Iceland in May 2019
Dr. Alain Plante, Earth and Environmental Science
This seminar asks students to research and present a case study on an environmental topic specific to Iceland, including climate change, renewable energy production, land management, fisheries, food production and many other issues of environmental sustainability that span the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. Iceland offers an unrivaled opportunity to study geothermal and other energy production, ecology, the effects of tourism on the environment, agriculture, aquaculture, and issues of environmental ethics, nature interpretation and resource management.

Prague: The Making of a European Nation (COML 122-401 / EEUR 119-401)
Travel to the Czech Republic in May 2019
Dr. Julia Verkholantsev, Russian and East European Studies
The focus of this course is Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic and the geographical center of Europe. Prague has been the site of major European developments and is where the Czech national identity was forged. Focusing on what makes Prague a national capital, students will explore how the “national” negotiates its place with the “global.” The study of the many layers of Prague’s urban landscape allows one to observe how history is built into the physical environment, while the analysis of literary and artistic production reveals how the city has become perceived as a national shrine, embodied in word and image. By reading the “Prague text” as humanists, anthropologists, and historians, students learn to apply methods of literary, cultural, and historical analyses, and ask questions of what it means to be a Czech, a Central European, a European, and even, perhaps, an American. 

2017-2018 Academic Year

The Performing Arts of Modern South India (SAST 217)
Fall 2017, Travel to India over Winter Break
Dr. Davesh Soneji, South Asia Studies
This course focuses on the social history of the performing arts in modern South India and their interface with larger discourses on religion, gender, nation, and modernity.

Operations Strategy Practicum (OIDD 380)
Fall 2017, Travel to Israel over Winter Break
Dr. Morris Cohen, Operations, Information, and Decisions
This course will focus on the management of operations at manufacturing and service facilities located within the US and Israel that are used either by domestic corporations or by foreign multinational companies. Our emphasis will be on the evolving patterns of operations strategies adopted by firms for producing products, sourcing manufacturing, distributing products, delivering services and managing product design as well as on programs for enhancing quality, productivity and flexibility and managing technology. We will focus on the formulation and execution of such strategies for a collection of firms in the context of the current dynamics of global competition.

Health and the Healthcare System in Chile (NURS 535)
Fall 2017, Travel to Chile over Winter Break
Dr. Eileen Lake, Nursing
Marta Simonetti, Nursing
This course will provide interdisciplinary perspectives on health and the health care system in Chile.

The Middle East in Conflict: A Century of War and Peace (INTL 290)
Spring 2018, Travel to Israel and Jordan over Spring Break
Dr. Samuel Helfont, International Relations
The modern Middle East has witnessed tremendous conflict and turmoil since it emerged following World War One. It would be impossible for one course to cover all conflict in the Middle East over the past century. Therefore, this course investigates three prominent conflicts (the Arab Israeli Conflict, Islamist Terrorism, and the Iraq Wars), which represent case studies on ethno-national conflict, religious conflict, and great power intervention. The course uses these conflicts to expose students to the primary types of conflicts that have manifested in the region over the past one hundred years.

Muslims, Christians, and Jews: Pilgrimage, Memory and History in Spain (RELS 312)
Spring 2018, Travel to Spain in May
Dr. Anthea Butler, Religious Studies
This course will investigate the interreligious lives of Muslims, Christians, and Jews during what is called the Convivencia, or La Convivencia. This refers to a time when Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in peace before the Reconquista, or reconquest of Spain, by Catholics in 1492. Our task is not only to understand this history, but to understand how convivencia is a problematic, but useful, term in understanding this time period of great cultural growth, building, and religious innovation.

Human Rights, Forced Migration, and Education (PSCI 454)
Spring 2018, Travel to Jordan in May
Dr. Eileen Doherty-Sil, Political Science
Dr. Fernando Chang-Muy, Law
Dr. Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher, Graduate School of Education
An unprecedented number of forced migrants are challenging the world order. Recent approximate figures suggest that over 63 million people are forced migrants. While the bulk of these forced migrants are internally displaced, over twenty million are refugees in other countries. The bulk of these refugees are women and children. This course explores forced migration through the lens of human rights. Drawing on human rights frameworks to explore refugee policy and its applications (particularly in the context of education), this course will challenge and expand students’ understandings of human rights as they are applied to refugees.

SEAS China Immersion (EAS 290)
Spring 2018, Travel to China over Spring Break
Dr. Howard Hu, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
This course will provide an opportunity for Penn students to experience rapid technological development and business environment in China, and expose them to engineering and technology innovations there. It will also provide a platform for Penn students to interact with business leaders at large and small companies and educators in China, and network with Penn alumni.

Sufis and Gods: Temples and Shrines of Southeast Asia (RELS 217)
Spring 2018, Travel to Singapore and Malaysia over Spring Break
Dr. Teren Sevea, South Asia Studies
This course introduces students to the religious worlds of the South Asian diaspora in Malaysia and Singapore, centered upon Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh temples and shrines. The course aims to deepen students' understanding about historical and contemporary South Asian religious worlds in port cities such as Singapore, Melaka, and Penang through introducing them to the academic literature on South Asian Sufis, gods, temples, and shrines in those cities, and alternatively, through visits to shrines and temples in Malaysia and Singapore. These visits will equip students with a deeper understanding of the religious practices, traditions, and rituals of the historical and contemporary South Asian diaspora.

Environmental Health Issues and Global Implications (NURS 343/543)
Spring 2018, Travel to China in May 
Dr. Jianghong Liu, Nursing
This class aims to introduce students to the field of environmental health using interdisciplinary methods to expose students to basic principles of environmental toxicology and epidemiology and a brief history.

2016-2017 Academic Year

Laboratory of Evolution: The History, Philosophy, and Science of Evolution in the Galapagos
Fall 2016
Michael Weisberg, Philosophy
This course consists of a detailed examination of evolutionary theory, especially within the context of historical and contemporary scientific research in the Galapagos.

Living Deliberately:  Monks, Saints, and the Contemplative Life - Thailand
Fall 2016
Justin McDaniel, Religious Studies
This is an experimental course in which students will experience monastic and ascetic ways of living.

Environmental Health Issues and Global Implications - China
Spring 2017
Jianghong Liu, Nursing
This class aims to introduce students to the field of environmental health using interdisciplinary methods to expose students to basic principles of environmental toxicology and epidemiology and a brief history.

Globalization and Corruption - Mongolia
Spring 2017
Philip Nichols, Legal Studies and Business Ethics
In this course, students review different theories of globalization as a theoretical matter and with application to current events. Students will go through research on corruption and its effects.

Living Deliberately: Monks, Saints, and the Contemplative Life - Ireland
Spring 2017
Justin McDaniel, Religious Studies
This is an experimental course in which students will experience monastic and ascetic ways of living.

SEAS Global Immersion: China
Spring 2017
Howard Hu, SEAS
This course provides students with the experience to learn of rapid technological development and business environments in China, as well as exposing them to Chinese engineering and technology innovations.

2015-2016 Academic Year

The Making of Modern Paris - France
Spring 2016
Eugenie Birch, Penn Design
Andrea Goulet, French and Francophone Studies
This class traces the people, ideas, and projects that contributed to this reputation, through an exploration of the city's built environment as expressed in literature and urban planning projects of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Blends of Culture: Conflict and Cooperation in Morocco and Zanzibar
Spring 2016
Amel Mili, Middle East Center
Keren Weitzberg, Africana Studies
Over the course of the semester, students learn about intercultural conflict and cooperation, examine key themes and conceptual approaches in the literature on both regions, and immerse themselves in the history of Zanzibar and Morocco.

The Gashora Project - Rwanda
Spring 2016
Gerri Light, SEAS
Jorge Santiago, SEAS
The SEAS Rwanda Gashora Program explores the use of solar energy and information communication technology (ICT) in low-resource communities in a developing village in Gashora, Rwanda.