| Upper Midwest
Association for Intercultural Education (UMAIE) Saint Benedict's and Saint John's belong to the
Upper Midwest Association for Intercultural Education (UMAIE), a consortium of 11 colleges
that offers intercultural courses throughout the world during January Term. Each January
faculty members from the consortium offer 20 to 25 programs in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin
America, Australia and New Zealand. Students from member colleges may enroll in any one of
these special programs.
Higher Education Consortium for
Urban Affairs (HECUA) [Top]
Coordinator: Stephen Burmeister-May Coordinator: Stephen Burmeister-May
HECUA is an
organization of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. HECUA provides undergraduates
with unique opportunities for domestic and international programs that integrate course
work with field study or an internship. HECUA programs emphasize integration of
traditional liberal arts teaching with the interdisciplinary field study of the
institutional and cultural life of selected urban communities. There are six HECUA
programs available.
South American Urban Semester (SAUS)
(fall
semester) [Top]
An interdisciplinary, field learning program that studies
the relationships between "third world" development issues and the consequences
of urbanization in the rapidly growing cities in Latin America. Topics include theories
and models of development; the impact of international trade and multinational
corporations; the contrast between urban rich and poor; rural-urban migration and squatter
settlements; politics and planning policies; and environmental issues. The primary program
base and study site in Latin America is Bogota‡, Colombia (or Quito, Ecuador). A
comparative perspective is introduced through study-travel in Central America. Field study
and home stays in Bogota‡ (or Quito) and Guatemala enrich classroom work.
Culture and Society in Latin America (CASLA)
(spring
semester) [Top]
An interdisciplinary field study program that studies
Latin American literature and arts from the perspective of competing ideologies and
understandings of social change. The CASLA program: (1) examines development and social
change from the perspective of writers and artists in Latin America; (2) analyzes
critically the very notion of "social reality" itself and the special ways by
which ideology, literature and arts attempt to express and explain it; and (3) integrates
traditional liberal arts course work with first-hand observation and intensive discussions
with "insiders." Field study and home stays in Colombia (or Ecuador) and Puerto
Rico provide for first-hand observation and experiences that enrich classroom work.
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Community
Internships in Latin America (CILA) Focus on community organizations and agencies which are working to
achieve social and economic change. The philosophical and ideological perspective of these
agencies, which work with or for low-income and other disenfranchised people, will be
studied and compared. An internship will provide the student the opportunity to
participate in the daily organizational life of one agency.
The Scandinavian Urban Studies
Term (SUST)
[Top]
SUST examines issues of industrialized welfare states and
social democracies, historic and current factors that shape these political systems and
tensions between ideals and practice that challenge Scandinavia today. Field study and
home stays provide for first-hand observation and experiences that enrich classroom work.
The SUST program is located in Oslo, Norway. The comparative aspect of the program is
enhanced by a travel study trip to Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Russia.
The Metro Urban Studies Term
(MUST) [Top]
An in-depth study of the Twin Cities metropolitan area,
MUST is a semester-long, off-campus program offering an interdisciplinary analysis of
urban organization and urban culture, with special attention to vital issues affecting the
Twin Cities. Areas covered include government, social services, business and economic
development, communications, the arts, housing, health care and transportation.
The MUST curriculum encourages students to exercise
considerable intellectual and personal initiative. Theoretical study and experiential
learning are closely integrated in: (1) a reading seminar; (2) a field seminar with civic,
business and community leaders; and (3) a carefully selected and supervised internship
related to each student's major area of academic and professional interest. Individual and
group field assignments develop research skills, while internships allow students to
assume professional responsibilities and explore career interests.
City Arts [Top]
A semester-long, off-campus program for
study and involvement in the arts in the urban environment of the Twin Cities. Through the
field seminar and research seminar, the students talk directly with artists and other
professionals about the creative process and learn about politics, economics, and
controversies in the art world. Individually tailored internship or mentoring arrangements
with Twin Cities artists or arts organizations offer students the opportunity to further
explore their own interests and abilities.
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