STUDY ABROAD

BXA students are encouraged to study abroad to broaden their interdisciplinary experience. In the last three years, 40% of BXA graduating seniors have studied abroad.

Sparta 2010: Evrotas River Valley Project

62-318 Greece Summer Study - 10 units, June 20th - July 4th, 2010

Students are invited to participate in a rare multidisciplinary cross-cultural program in Sparta, Greece.

The Evrotas River Valley Project 2010 will advance previous groundwork established by and between the College of Fine Arts and the Sparta Institute over the last decade. Previously, between eight and twelve students from Carnegie Mellon traveled with three or four faculty members to Sparta and the Peloponese where they individually developed and executed creative projects. The projects ranged from visual art, creative writing (screenplays, poetry), multimedia installations, musical and vocal performances. This effort has led to a deeper understanding of the region and potential impact of both the partnership between Carnegie Mellon and the Sparta Institute as well as the opportunity to bring more in depth and relevant inquiry on issues that are local in nature but global in importance.

In 2010, the journey to the Peloponese will continue the tradition of bringing students from Carnegie Mellon to the Sparta region, but with a focus on the Evrotas River Valley. This historical river runs through the city of Sparta. It is featured throughout Greek literature, mythology and history. It's flora and fauna are the subject of present day environmental, cultural and physical exploration. During the past decade, this once beautiful and fertile river valley has become an area of neglect and abandonment. We plan to focus our projects around creative expressions, dialogue and strategies to restore the radiance and wonder of the Evrotas River Valley.

The course will begin in Athens. We will travel as a small caravan through Corinth, Mycenae and down to Sparta as our base. We will have many day excursions to Githion, the Byzantine city of Monemvasia, the magical region of Mani... and more.

For more information please contact
Patricia Maurides. pm3k@andrew.cmu.edu

Sparta 2010 is sponsored by the
BXA Interdisciplinary Degree Programs.

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Study Abroad Highlights

Katherine Chin
BHA, Psychology and Architecture: Beijing, China

Studying abroad in Beijing meant immersing myself in both the vanishing traditional lifestyles of old Beijing, as well as experiencing, first hand, the implications of a city in the face of rapid development and growth. Although I stood in awe before the innovative architectural masterpieces I learned about in school, I still found myself most attracted to the soon-to-be demolished old villages and slow-paced lifestyles. My interdisciplinary studies allowed me study the curious dichotomies that I encountered -- ancient and modern, old and new, rushed and tranquil, Chinese and Western -- from the perspectives of architecture and psychology, to better understand how the physical spaces we live in -- be it Beijing or Pittsburgh -- affect the way we lead our lives, and vice versa.

Ava Murphey
BHA, Spanish and Art: Barcelona, Spain

The photo is of me at the Castillo de Montjuic in Barcelona, Spain. It is an old castle that has been converted into a museum and a local picnic and a movie excursion- on certain days during the week, a film is projected onto the walls of the castle once the sun has set. I went to explore
Montjuic with my roommates that I met in Spain and I also met up with someone from my Spanish class which had students from all around the world enrolled. It was a very international experience and I immensely enjoyed encountering new cultures everywhere that I went. Barcelona is a very international city and it was a great place to learn Spanish and of the vibrant culture of Spain. The Mediterranean Sea is in the background.

Nicole Rappin
BHA, Creative and Professional Writing & Music: Lima, Peru & Bergamo, Italy

In Peru I studied at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Lima where I spent a week doing a crash course in field research techniques at the Institute of Andean Ethnomusicology. After that I traveled to three different parts of Peru (Huaylas, Pisac, and the Mantaro Valley) to observe and participate in music festivals and collect audiovisual material. In between each trip I returned to the Institute to catalog my findings for their permanent archives. I study Music History and Cross Cultural Communications through BHA and this ethnomusicology program was a really direct fusion of my two disciplines.

In Italy I received TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification and then taught at an English immersion school in Bergamo, Italy teaching English to 6-8 year old Italian children. The experience was incredible. Having to communicate only in English to children who
don't understand any English really made me think about language and the other tools that we use to communicate. Teaching in this way really supported my Cross Cultural Communications major. Also, living and working with Italians fully immersed me in the Italian culture which
supplemented my Music History and Culture major as well.

A selected list of places where BXA students have studied in the last few years:

• Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
• Boston University, London, England
• Burlington College, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba
• Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughan, Ireland
• Center for Art and Culture, Aix-en-Provence, France
• Center for Balkan, Hellenic, and Mediterranean Studies, Athens, Greece
• Cultural Experiences Abroad, Sorbonne, Paris, France
• CUPA, Paris, France
• Global Student Experience, Barcelona, Spain
• Goethe Institut - Munchen, Munich, Germany
• IES, Barcelona, Spain
• Institute for American Universities, Aix-en-Provence, France
• Moscow State Linguistic Institute, Moscow, Russia
• Parsons Paris, Paris, France
• Pontifica Universidad Catholica, Lima, Peru
• School for International Training, Dakar, Senegal
• School for International Training, Prague, Czech Republic
• School for International Training, Cape Town, South Africa
• Scuola Lorenzo De'Medici, Florence, Italy
• SIT Study Abroad, Arusha, Tanzania
• Speos Photographic Institute, Paris, France
• St. Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
• Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy
• The Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
• Tokyo Polytechnic Institute, Tokyo, Japan
• Universidad Antonio Ruiz, Lima, Peru
• Universidad de Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
• Université de Cannes, Cannes, France
• Université de Grenoble, Quebec City, Canada
• Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada
• University College, London, England
• University of Duesto, Bilbao, Spain
• University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
• University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
• University of Wales, Swansea, England
• University of the Arts, London College of Fashion, London, England
• Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

For more information on studying abroad, visit the Office of International Education's Study Abroad web site: http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/oie/sab/

Contact: Christine Menand, Coordinator of Study Abroad and Exchange Programs, Warner Hall 322, Tel: (412) 268-5231, E-mail: cmenand@andrew.cmu.edu