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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2004
Students enjoy benefits of MUW’s study abroad programs
By Jill D. O’Bryant
COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Sixteen Mississippi University for Women students
recently returned from study abroad opportunities this summer in Mexico
and London, and four students are preparing to study abroad during the
fall semester.
Dr. Michael Longton, associate professor of Spanish, went with eight
students to Cuernavaca, Mexico, and Dr. James Keller, professor of
English, accompanied eight students to London this summer.
Students attending the Mexico trip during the month of June earned six
credit hours. The first part of the course emphasized Spanish oral
language skills, and the second part of the course was on the Mexican
culture with the lower level version giving students hands-on approach
to the songs, traditions and customs of Mexico and the upper level
version covering topics such as family, politics, religion, social
problems, history and indigenous peoples of Mexico.
The students made excursions to Mexico City and smaller cities, and they
lived and ate with Mexican families, allowing for even greater
opportunities for total immersion in the language and culture. Students
were required to keep a daily journal in Spanish.
“This was a terrific group of students, hardworking in their Spanish
courses and always enthusiastic participants in the numerous excursions
that included the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, the Pyramids of
Tenochitlan, and indigenous village and even Acapulco,” Longton said.
The London trip, taken during the month of July, included two,
three-credit-hour courses: “Shakespeare and London Drama: Text,
Performance, and Context,” and “London Cultural Studies and the City as
Text.”
The students enjoyed lectures on dramatic literature and performance,
visits to relevant historic sites and attendance at major theatrical
productions.
In addition to MUW-sponsored study abroad trips, Dr. Eric Daffron,
coordinator of study abroad programs and professor of English, said MUW
is affiliated with five study abroad programs that typically offer
courses during the regular academic year and during the summer.
Four MUW students will participate during the fall semester.
Leah Peacock, a junior from Southaven, will study at Aichi Shukutoku
University near Nagoya, Japan.
Sarah Sheffield, a senior from Memphis, Tenn., will attend The Abbey in
Pontlevoy, France.
Mary Kathryn Kirkpatrick, a senior from Amory, and Jessie Powers, a
sophomore from Columbus, both will go to Huron University in the
Bloomsbury District of London, England.
“Because we live in an increasingly global community, we have a
responsibility to learn about other cultures and to learn how to
cooperate and live with others,” Daffron said. “Even graduate schools,
professional schools and employers look for applicants with those
intercultural skills. Studying abroad can equip students with those
skills.”
For more information about MUW’s study abroad programs, please contact
Daffron at (662) 329-7174 or
edaffron@muw.edu.
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