Travel-Study Program to: Ghana
Service, Study and Cultural Engagement
Term To Be Offered: January 2009 (approximately 2 weeks)
Contacts:
Scott Brunger | 981-8262| scott.brunger@maryvillecollege.edu | Division of Social Sciences
Frances Henderson | 981-8219 | frances.henderson@maryvillecollege.edu | Division of Social Sciences
Course goals:
The purpose of this course is for students to experience the history, culture and present society of West Africa through study, cultural engagement, and service. By the end of this trip, students will
- Meet students and villagers from Ghana,
- Understand the history of trade in West Africa, both during and after the Atlantic slave trade,
- Experience dry season in the tropical rain forest, mountains and savanna regions of West Africa,
- Learn travel skills in English-speaking West Africa.
Potential Highlights:
- Bus tour to Kumasi to see the Royal Museum and the main market
- Bus tour to Cape Coast to see Elmina Castle
- Tour Abetifi to see how the Basle Mission used cocoa cultivation as a means of evangelism and peacemaking after the slave wars
- Language lessons in West African Pidgin
- Experience local religious services with the Christian community and the Islamic in Ghana, as well as African traditional religion
- Small group discovery assignments developed to encourage interaction with the people and to encourage self-reliance and discovery
- One-week local homestay experience where students should expect a lack of privacy, unfamiliar food, variable facilities and strong authority systems
Course Description:
This travel study program to West Africa will require careful preparation, active fund-raising efforts, cultural and religious sensitivity, extensive walking, patient living without air conditioning or familiar foods, scrupulous health habits, and self-confident poise, courage and creativity in the face of complexity, change, ambiguity and adversity.
Students will be expected to explore a topic of interest throughout the trip and share knowledge about the topic with the group during group sessions, maintain a daily journal, and attend reentry sessions after the program.
Tentative Costs: $3200 - $3400
The price includes:
Airfare, local transportation, accommodation, meals, international travel insurance, excursions, as well as application fee and deposit.
Not included:
Passport & visa costs, required & recommended immunizations.
