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How This Course Came To Be (Click dropdown to read)
How This Course Came To Be (Click dropdown to read)
I decided that I wanted to create a study abroad course to help students understand intercultural communication on location. First, I had to learn all the nuance of teaching a study abroad. I took the CIEE course on how to take students abroad and create significant impacts, I went to a conference to my chosen county so I could scout our opportunities in my free time, and I attended every information session and learning program that I could find on study abroad. Finally, I interviewed five faculty members on campus who were considered experts at study abroad. As I was designing my course, I got a call from the Study Abroad office. They wanted to test out something that had never been done. Would I be willing to give it a try?
The idea was to create an intercultural communication course that would apply to any student in any major, but particularly Fulbright majors. The class should be structured to be able to help students adjust and adapt to a variety of cultural situations regardless of the country. Next, it was designed to give students a chance to intern abroad so they could have both intern experience and international work experience.
As I designed the course, there were several things that I insisted on. One, was that students had opportunities to experience the different subcultures in Ireland and not just stay in Dublin. We had three main regions, Dublin, Connemara, and Belfast, Northern Ireland that we covered causing one of the course travel programmers to say that this was “the most ambitious course that she had ever helped to develop.” Next, I wanted students to feel like they had flexibility and control. I believed that those would help frame their experience so it could be tailored to their interests and majors, and it would provide the most opportunities to encourage independence and growth.
Peace Wall in Belfast
Peace Wall in Belfast
Culture in Art
We traveled up to Belfast, Northern Ireland to learn about the art wall. We had a tour of the "troubles" and learned about why there is a giant wall dividing the city into two parts. Each student was responsible for doing a report about a mural on the wall.
Gaelic Games
Gaelic Games
Culture in Sports
We attended a workshop to learn to do hurling, handball, and Irish football. In addition, we learned the history of the sports and the cultural influences.
Literature by the Sea
Literature by the Sea
Culture in Literature
Dublin is the Unesco city of Literature. Each student had to prepare a report about an Irish writer and they presented their papers as we stood by the sea and watched the tide roll in-- a symbol often mentioned by irish writers.
My experience with Dr. Meade as an instructor started out uniquely: it was on a study abroad trip to Dublin, Ireland. This study abroad to Dublin was focused on Intercultural Communication, and the two-week course served as an introduction to the culture and lifestyle of Ireland. To say that this was a life-changing experience would be an understatement, and it was in no small part due to the efforts of Dr. Meade. Not only did I learn an incredible amount about Ireland and the Irish culture, I also had the opportunity to grow as a student.
Throughout the course of the trip, Dr. Meade made it her mission to help us experience Irish culture and learn as much as possible in our short time together. Everyday we would meet and have discussions about a different aspect of Irish culture. These classes featured things like Irish literary figures, religious influences, and even traditional Irish sports. As a student, I was given the opportunity to learn in a different and constantly changing environment, because our classes were never held in the same place twice. Furthermore, the dynamics of the six-person class allowed me to be more expressive and contribute more to the class discussions.
Not only was this an interesting and engaging class, the ways that Dr. Meade approached teaching made it a more meaningful and impactful course. As I said before, each day the class would discuss a different topic, in a different location. Instead of simply asking us to write reflection papers or complete readings, Dr. Meade had the class actively complete activities that required full class participation. For example, on the day we learned about religious influences, the class split into pairs to complete a scavenger hunt of churches. The pairs were required to visit as many churches as possible, noting the key architectural features and items of interest. This activity was interesting and unusual, because unlike traditional methods, we actually got the chance to see examples in person, rather than simply in a textbook.
Instead of approaching the material, and the trip, like a traditional course, Dr. Meade allowed the students to run the discussions of the material. Every time we talked about a new aspect of Irish culture, a different student was the “expert” of that area. We had prepared material ahead of time on a particular topic, and when that item came up during the course of the trip, the “expert” student led the discussion. Of all the different ways that Dr. Meade got the class involved, I found this division of material and division of leadership to be the best. As a student, it allowed me to show off, which is not something that a lot of courses allow. Since each student got to pick their “expert” topic area, it really allowed us to show our strengths and truly flourish. The day that I led the discussion, I really felt like I could command the group, and this is a skill that I carried with me after the trip had concluded. Because of this trip, and my experiences leading discussion, I now have more confidence in myself and in my expertise. This valuable lesson is something that I utilize everyday as a graduate teaching assistant, because I am responsible for teaching two classes. When I am teaching, I have to be confident, command the room, and show off my expertise, exactly like in Ireland.
Student Letter from Study Abroad in Ireland 2017
Game of Thrones Room
Game of Thrones Room
Culture thru Food
Ireland has a very distinct food and bar culture. We ate at fancy restaurants and casual ones. This particular restaurant was featured in the Game of Thrones.
Signing the Wall
Signing the Wall
Culture and History
The trip to Belfast was one of the favorite learning adventures. The trip was led by someone who fought in the "troubles" and who had first hand experience. Students were invited to sign the wall.
Engaging with Dublin
Engaging with Dublin
Culture and Politics
Peter walked us around Dublin pointing out important historical places and telling us the history surrounding the locations.
The intercultural communication course in Ireland was all about looking at the various aspects of culture.
Culture thru art- We analyzed the murals in Belfast and comparing those to other forms of protest art around the world. The murals in Belfast are a series of paintings the highlight oppressed people groups around the world. Other murals highlight the troubled history of a city that was divided by religion and politics.
Culture thru music- We compared the historical music of Ireland to the modern music. We listened to historical music in a castle and modern music in the pub and music district, and the street musicians on Grafton street.
Culture thru sports-We learned the history of Irish sports and how they are closely connected to religion. We participated in a sports clinic where we learned how to play three different sports.
Culture thru religion-We looked at the historical and modern aspects of religion in Dublin. Students picked three religious buildings to explore and learn about and then made a report to the group about their findings.
Culture thru geography-We considered the implications about how geography-being bound by water--influences thought. To fully understand, we traveled to several geographically different locations and talked about the differences.
Culture thru language- We talked about the debate surrounding picking an official language. We considered the fight surrounding keeping all signs in both English and Gaelic and the implications around communities that insist that schools teach students in Gaelic.
Culture thru City Planning-We met with the city planning commission to talk about how cities create culture thru intentional planning. We listened as they talked about preserving the historical areas while building up the high tech areas (Google and Facebook areas). We learned about creative planning to keep tourist areas free of homeless people and how adding murals reduces graffiti.
One of our assignments before we headed to Ireland, to study culture, with Dr. Lynn Meade was to sit on campus for fifteen minutes and just notice the environment. No cell phones. No distractions. Just sit and notice the people, the smells, and the sounds around us. I remember she asked us how often we did this just walking around campus between classes or if we had our headphones in, and our eyes glued to our phones. Actively, and intentionally, watching the environment around me was the biggest lesson I learned from Dr. Meade. Sitting alone for fifteen minutes allowed me to step back from the tweets, messages, and snap and think in a society that never seems to stop running.
In Ireland, Dr. Meade took this a step further. Not only did she notice the people around us she conversed with these people. In Dublin, I watched her talk to so many strangers from our bus driver to random people on the street without fear. While all the students were fighting sleep, and failing on the busses in the morning, Dr. Meade was sitting close to the front of the bus talking to the bus driver about anything and everything; she was learning as much as she could. I don’t think she knew at the time, but her actions helped us break out of our shells. Allowing us to talk to the locals and learn more about the culture. As a result, we had better connections with our Irish coworkers.
There were so many lesson and interesting facts I learned on that trip that have already proven to help my future, but this lesson was the most important. Since companies and social media are designed specifically to busy our minds Dr. Meade has shown her students how she values not only their education but her student themselves and how they treat others.
Student Letter from Intercultural Communication in Ireland Course 2017
Understanding Ethnocentrism
Understanding Ethnocentrism
In Ireland, they drive on the wrong side of the road. Non locals often have near misses with cars because they do not look out for traffic properly. Thus, throughout Dublin, you will see "Look Right" to remind you not to get run over. Did you see what I did there, I said "wrong" side in stead of "different side." We talk about ethnocentrism and how we see things that are different as wrong and how we need correct the way way we think about other cultures.
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