A Blog for Contra Costa Community College District Study Abroad Programs
If you are ready to sign up, you can do it here...
DVC Study Abroad Web Site Mid-way down the page it says
Go to AIFS site and click "Enroll Online" to complete your application.
Click that link and it will take you to the AIFS Registration Page Three lines down you will see the link you need:
Click here to complete your enrollment form
You should email Harue Takanashi and let her know you have filled out the form. She can check and make sure it is all done and that you are all set.
Contra Costa Community College District
PolSc 220 – Comparative Politics
3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP.
Catalogue Description: This course presents a comparative analysis of the political systems of selected foreign states.
Comparative Politics is the ideal course for study abroad. Its objective is to examine a cross section of political communities and ask twin questions: How does a country organize its politics? And then: Why are politics organized that way?
When taught in the United States, of necessity, this course leans heavily on the students’ familiarity with American politics, as it is often the only system that students have ever experienced.
The benefit of Study Abroad is the opportunity
for students to experience another system, first hand. Comparison is most
effective when the students are familiar with the concepts being compared.
American students are familiar with concepts like Liberty or Individualism, which
are native to them and quintessentially American. A student’s presence in Spain,
will give them opportunity to familiarize themselves with Spanish and European
perspectives on those (and many other) concepts. How do Catalans & Spaniards
understand, value and express liberty in their political life? Discussions that in the
US would be distant and abstract will come to life, infused with the students’
immediate personal experiences. Barcelona offers the opportunity to accomplish
this with nearly every aspect of this course. There is no better way to take this
course than in a study abroad setting.
PolSc 250 - Introduction to International Relations
3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP.
Catalogue Description: This course is an introduction to various aspects of international relations and politics. Topics include sovereignty, the nation-state and international politics, the nature of the global community, international law, world economics, the United Nations and other international organizations and contemporary world problems.
That is far from ideal as the concepts are intended to have much broader explanatory power. Being present in Europe, and with access to
European media, students will have the tools to apply the concepts to the
behavior of European states generally and to Spain specifically. As an example:
How would Spain respond to a terrorist attack? Our curriculum will present
concepts that political scientists find useful in considering policy options. As
Americans, the students will no doubt have contemplated this question. They will
likely be familiar with policy choices Americans have debated and pursued. We
will examine those and then explore the Spanish and European policies chosen to
address the same problem.
Where there are differences, we will explore what accounts for them, doing the same for commonalities. In Barcelona, the opportunities are limitless. We will be surrounded by people with ideas about globalization, trade, immigration, climate change, war and peace that are, for Americans, quite novel. Being exposed to them will dramatically improve our ability to make sense of them.
SocSc 123 – American Popular Culture
3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP.
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| More than a Club |
Catalogue Description:
This course is an interdisciplinary examination of popular culture’s changing nature in American society.
Looking through the lens of popular culture, this course will examine social and political institutions, such as federal and California state government, and various values that shape American popular culture.
The course considers the significant contributions of Asian American, Latino, African American, Native American, and Jewish communities in shaping the evolution of American popular culture, and considers the importance of women as both producers and consumers of popular culture.
American Popular Culture (In Comparative Perspective) Why teach a course that focuses on an American theme? For American students studying in Barcelona this course is the perfect vehicle to make the most their presence there. This course opens the doors to many exciting opportunities to take what Spain offers and bring it into the classroom. The objective of this course is to understand and appreciate the influence Popular Culture has had on American society. The best way to appreciate your own culture is to step outside that culture and regard it from a new perspective.
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| Casa Batlló |
Here we will visit Don Quixote and Don Giovanni as they make their marks on the world of chivalry and lust. This course surveys world literature in translation from the late seventeenth century to the present. In addition to significant works in the Western tradition, masterpieces of non-Western literature from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America are studied. The entire range of genres is represented, and, whenever possible, works are read in their entirety.
Problems with homelessness and insufficient housing are strained even more by Barcelona’s robust tourist industry and foreign investment of vacation homes. This course will look at classical ethical theory (deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics) and consider issues in Barcelona in the context of trying to better understand issues in California, the US and Globally.
Scott is a student and a teacher of Political Science with a life-long love of Study Abroad. He participated in his first Study Abroad while still a student at Diablo Valley College in 1975. That adventure in Heidelberg, Germany changed his life and led to an endless desire for the next opportunity to experience Politics in new forms and in new places. It has taken Scott, as student and teacher, to Montreal, Quebec; Berlin, Germany; London, England; Brussels, Belgium; Florence, Italy; and now to Barçelona, Spain.
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| Florence Study Abroad - Me & my friend, Nic |
Barçelona and Spain will offer another opportunity to explore in depth Scott’s favorite subject: Exploring the influence of history, geography and culture on the conduct of politics. He is excited to explore with students Barçelona’s rich past as a center of innovation in philosophy, architecture, art and politics and modern Spain’s pivotal role in confronting Europe’s immediate problems of economics and migration.
It is a privilege to be able to accompany a new generation of students as they begin their own journey of discovery. Scott is hopeful that with 40 years of travel experience, spread across four continents and 20 plus countries, he can help them start their own life-long adventure.
Very few people have two PhD’s. AC Panella holds a Ph.D. from Union as well as a being a Professor of Hot Dog (P.H.D.). His research sits at the intersections of trans/gender, museum, and communication studies. His dissertation focused on trans collective memory as represented in visual culture and the built environment centering the SF Trans Cultural District. He is a communication professor at Santa Rosa Junior College and started his career as an activist and organizer. He has worked on a variety of social justice projects including ones related to urban planning, trans identity, undocumented rights, the environment, and labor. When it comes to higher education he has worked in professional development, student services, and has a passion for connecting students to their larger community. In the area of museum and archive studies, he works the Union Institute & University Museum Studies Collective and is part of the Georgia State Trans Oral History Project.
When he isn’t square eyed from living on Zoom, he is teaching himself a ridiculous hobby, is a pet parent, and a truncle to two super adorable kids. He tries to travel internationally twice a year and has been to 28 countries, to date. He believes if life is a story, to make it a good one.
HUMAN 5: World Humanities: Arts, Ideas, Values: 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP. Barcelona is a city on the cusp of the future when it comes to art, architecture, and thinking. With this in mind, we’ll look at the role of progress and its influences on art, music, film, and architecture starting with Spain and comparing it to other parts of the world. We’ll explore this firsthand through visiting museums, going on walking tours, and seeing performances. In this class we’ll, learn to curate an online exhibit of Spanish material and visual culture, visit MACBA, the Museu Picasso, and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.
HUMAN 7: Introduction to the Humanities: 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. . Grade or P/NP. They say that people who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat it. . . but is that bad thing? What can we learn from generations that came before us and how can we use that to shape our future? This class is going to interrogate the difference between history and memory. We’ll be visiting places like the Museu d’Historia de Catalunya, the Museu d'Historia de Barcelona, and the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat. With new laws passed in Spain regarding historical memory, we’ll start to interpret and analyze the ways the past impacts us today. We’ll have a chance to speak with local historians and activists about the role of history in Spain and its impact on the world.
COMM 7: Intercultural Communication: 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP. It is never enough to just observe other cultures, we must also look at how our communication shifts through interacting with others. In Intercultural Communication, we will learn to analyze, incorporate, and speak about our own cultural understanding and apply these skills by working with a local group. If you like psychology, sociology, and anthropology rolled into one course, this is the course for you.
When Roxanne was in high school, she had the opportunity to study abroad one summer, and that was the beginning of a lifetime of travel and exploration. She spent a college semester in Dijon, France (where she ate a lot of mustard) then moved to London, England after college to work. She returned to the US to complete her M.A. in World and Comparative Literature and settled into her passion for teaching. When not in the classroom, she has on her backpack and hiking boots leading people on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. This 500-mile pilgrimage was founded in the 9th century by followers of St. James and ends at the stunning Santiago de Compostela cathedral, where his remains are entombed. Along the way she tilts at a few windmills (an ode to Cervantes’s “Don Quixote”) and Barcelona has become her favorite starting and ending point when traveling – relaxing in the Plaza Mayor with a café con leche and churro con chocolate. Literature is her passion and she has spent many summers as an intern at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre in London, learning the nuances of teaching the Bard’s language and plays. Literature is a living, breathing entity and all of its aspects should be brought together and explored – one must experience the food, immerse themself in the setting, and feel the buzz of the society where these epic stories take place. Roxanne is so excited to bring you all to Spain where you will take your first steps into a lifetime of travel and exploration.
Note: ENGLT 340, ENGLT 341, & ENGWR 301 all have a prerequisite of College Composition
ENGLT 340: World Literature I (Ancient World to Early 17th Century): 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP. Prerequisite: College Composition Not only will we study world literature in translation from antiquity through the early seventeenth century, but we will walk the streets where it all happened. Why just imagine the setting and the language and the food of a significant work when we can traverse down the actual alleys and neighborhoods that influenced the authors? Take a moment and look at a map of Spain. It’s only 14 miles from Morocco; has France and Portugal to its right and left, and water all around. Think about this would influence life, society, cultural norms, thinking, advancement, and food. It’s incredible! Very few societies have that exquisite influence. In addition to significant works in the western tradition, masterpieces of nonwestern literature are studied. Ancient world cultures and historical movements are introduced, along with methods of literary analysis and research. The entire range of genres is represented and, whenever possible, works are read in their entirety.
ENGLT 341: World Literature II (18th Century to Present) : 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP. Prerequisite: College Composition What’s happening in the late seventeenth century? Everything. The world is changing and geographic lines are being rewritten through wars, succession, and royal marriage. Oral tradition has long been replaced by writing and the Gutenberg Press allowed for the sharing of information around the world. Spain was one of the most influential countries in this period with their access to water and open borders to the north and south. Here we will visit Don Quixote and Don Giovanni as they make their marks on the world of chivalry and lust. This course surveys world literature in translation from the late seventeenth century to the present. In addition to significant works in the Western tradition, masterpieces of non-Western literature from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America are studied. The entire range of genres is represented, and, whenever possible, works are read in their entirety.
ENGWR 301: College Composition and Literature: 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP. Prerequisite: College Composition Let’s delve into some more contemporary issues that influence our host country. How has the past formed what Spain is today? We will examine the literature of immigration, of royalty, and of living harmoniously in a multi-faith society. It will be a pilgrimage through the past to today – with explorations of topics that you bring to the course after exploring our environs. We will study literary texts, with emphasis on analytical reading and writing. It covers principles of argument and analysis, such as reasoning inductively and deductively. Assigned texts include novels, short stories, poems, plays or films, and literary criticism.
Jeremy Ball received his PhD and MA in Philosophy from Claremont Graduate University and his BA in Philosophy from UC Irvine. He has taught Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to Ethics, Symbolic Logic, Humanities, and Critical Thinking at College of San Mateo since 2001. He is the department lead and has held many leadership positions at the college. His current academic interests include the mind/body problem, logic, and stoicism. Trained in the analytic tradition in philosophy, he is none the less an unapologetic fan of Heidegger and Sartre. In addition to his academic interests, J Ball (as his students call him) is an outdoor sports enthusiast spending lots of time mountain biking, open water swimming, skiing, and hiking. He currently lives in the Santa Cruz mountains where he and his wife are recent empty nesters who pay way too much attention to their two dogs. His goals for the next few years are to wonder and wander, have a pint or two with good friends, and embrace the now.
PHIL 100: Introduction to Philosophy: 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade only. Introductory survey of philosophical questions about the nature of reality; the prospects for human knowledge; and moral, political, and religious issues. Intended to help students clarify their own thinking about such questions through learning and discussing how philosophers have dealt with them. Barcelona is a great context for teaching and learning philosophy. Barcelona has a rich and diverse cultural history: from Roman to Paleochristian to Visigothic to Jewish to Muslim to the Catholic Monarchy to flirting with fascism to Modern times. Despite this cultural history, Barcelona placed a ban on teaching philosophy 1305. This intellectually hostile environment culminated in the Spanish inquisition—a very dark time for philosophy and the study of ideas. While it’s a very charming place now, it seems like an ideal place for interested students to look at the history of philosophy and ponder why new and challenging ideas have so often been unwelcomed in the cultures in which they arise.
PHIL 244: Introduction to Ethics: Contemporary Social and Moral Issues: 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade or P/NP. This course examines the concept of morality and values, representative ethical theories and includes their applications to contemporary social and moral issues. Barcelona has many of the same social and moral issues we have in Northern California. There are significant issues with immigration, general economic struggle (10% inflation, 10.5% unemployment and much more pronounced wagegaps than in the US) and homelessness. Problems with homelessness and insufficient housing are strained even more by Barcelona’s robust tourist industry and foreign investment of vacation homes. This course will look at classical ethical theory (deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics) and consider issues in Barcelona in the context of trying to better understand issues in California, the US and Globally.
GBST 101: Introduction to Global Studies: 3 units, CSU/UC transferable. Grade only. This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Global Studies. This includes the history of globalization, and may include economic, political, historical, anthropological, philosophical, geographical, artistic, cultural and ecological developments related to the processes of globalization. We will consider how various issues affect Barcelona, Spain, the broader EU, the US, and the world. This “globalization” approach will make the time students spend in Barcelona richer by providing a meaningful lens to consider what is going on around them in and how it connects with them personally and with humans everywhere. One of the topics we will focus on is the transformation of Barcelona’s historic centers, the most accessible and highly contested spaces in the city, and how these spaces have been intensively transformed by commercial gentrification, touristification and studentification.
It’s not that expensive
Below you will find some links to possible scholarship opportunities that might help make your semester a bit more affordable.
