January Term at Carthage sends students around the world

Carthage is ranked No. 9 among baccalaureate institutions for student participation in short-term study abroad

During January Term 2012, Carthage students studied finance in Ireland; African-American art in Senegal, West Africa; rural development practices in Guatemala; and the neurobiology of marine invertebrates by scuba diving off Roatan Island, Honduras. Students traveled to the Eternal City to study the myth and politics in Shakespeare's Roman plays; to north India to examine the benefits and problems that arise from the country's religious pluralism; and to Turkey, where they spent 18 days exploring the remains of Greco-Roman cities and sanctuaries.

In all, Carthage students traveled with faculty to six states and 14 countries as part of January Term 2012. (Some study tours will happen during summer 2012.)

"J-Term study tours have become part of the culture of the College," said David Steege, associate provost and director of the J-Term program.

This culture has earned Carthage a place in the Top 10 among baccalaureate institutions for student participation in short-term study abroad. The Institute of International Education ranked Carthage No. 9 in its 2011 Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange.

"J-Term is one of the areas in which we excel," said study abroad coordinator Erik Kulke, assistant professor of modern languages. The program allows faculty and students to tackle subjects that don't fit neatly into textbooks, explore topics normally outside their disciplines, and see first-hand the artwork, architecture, culture and geography that they are studying. "If you're reading Shakespeare in the classroom, that's one thing, but if you're actually able to be in Rome and see where these different events took place; or if you're taking an art history class in Italy and you're actually seeing these works instead of looking at slides or a book, it makes a huge, huge difference."

• • •

"Between 83 and 85 percent of our students take J-Term in any given year.
That’s a huge percentage more than need to do it."
— David Steege, associate provost

• • •

J-Term is a special month-long period of study in January in which courses are held both on campus and around the world. Every J-Term, professors offer between 15 and 20 study tours to such destinations as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Japan, and Israel. In recent years, faculty have expanded their J-Term offerings into the summer months, offering J-Term trips during May, June and August.

"There has been a true explosion of interest by faculty and students in study tours," Prof. Steege said. "Students come to college wanting more experiences abroad. At the same time, we have an increasingly internationally minded faculty."

Students must complete at least two J-Term courses during their time at Carthage, although most students choose to participate in J-Term every year.

"J-Term is part of the tuition package," Prof. Steege said. "Students who go on a January study tour don't pay extra tuition; they just pay the cost of the trip."

You'll hear Carthage students and faculty call January Term study tours "J-Term trips," but they're really much more than that.

"J-Term study tours offer students a short-term study abroad experience that they couldn't get by simply going on a trip," Prof. Steege said. "These are academic courses and they offer insights into an area's culture, geography and experiences that people would never get on an ordinary trip." It's four credits of intense academic work, he continued. "Work is expected and students will be on site doing oral presentations and research."

Take the study tour Biodiversity, Brains and Behavior, a January 2012 biology and neuroscience course team-taught by Profs. Scott Hegrenes and Daniel Miller, in which students went scuba diving off Roatan Island.

"We spent a week at Cocoa View, one of the most unique resorts for diving in the world," Prof. Miller said. But the trip wasn't all scuba and sunshine. "When we were diving, we learned what it is that we were looking at, and all of the different types of biodiversity: the porifer, the cnidaria, the mollusca," Prof. Hegrenes said. "Students were well-versed in each and every phylum of life."

• • •

"This may be the one time in their lives that they've
ever taken a quiz in a nymphaeum."
— Prof. Seemee Ali

• • •

Profs. Seemee Ali and Michael McShane teamed up to teach Shakespeare in Rome for the second time during J-Term 2012. Students read three of Shakespeare's most famous Roman plays before spending two weeks visiting locations in the city that are relevant to Shakespeare's work.

"We wanted to show students the ways in which you can really understand a place through fictional works, and particularly Shakespeare's plays because they give you bearing in a city that can feel overwhelming because of its history," said Prof. Ali, assistant professor of Great Ideas and English.

Students on J-Term study tours gain access to places and people most tourists don't get.

"Students are going to Africa and talking to the minister of finance," Prof. Steege said. "They're going to Sweden and seeing how major car companies actually work."

"I think the students especially relish the idea of seeing places that are normally closed to the public," said Prof. Ali. During the Shakespeare in Rome course, "we saw the Forum of Caesar and the House of Livia, who was Emperor Augustus' wife."

• • •

"We want J-Term study tours to whet students' appetites for longer, more immersive study abroad experiences."
— Prof. David Steege

• • •

Not only are more J-Term study tours offered now, but the majority of tours are interdisciplinary. "Most study tours are led by multiple professors," Prof. Steege said. "You're getting two different faculty members with two different perspectives so students get a much richer experience."

For many students at Carthage, J-Term is their first introduction to studying abroad. "It's kind of a toe in the water," said Prof. Kulke. Faculty hope the experience is enough to hook students for life.

"We want J-Term study tours to whet their appetites for longer, more immersive study abroad experiences," Prof. Steege said. "We hope it gets students interested in traveling seriously, traveling more, and maybe going abroad for a whole semester, being immersed in the culture and enrolling in a university or college."

"J-Term broadens their horizons in a very liberal way," Prof. Ali seconded. "Because we were reading Shakespeare, which was very familiar to them, my students could feel at home in Rome. By the time they left, they really knew the city well. They gained a kind of authority in the city and became fearless travelers in the best way.

"It's really thrilling to show students the world," she continued, "and you see dimensions of your students you might never see in a regular classroom."

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