WMU: Cultural Connections in Senegal: Causes of Globalization and Consequences on Systems (Faculty-Led)

This study abroad program will take place during Summer I, in an interdisciplinary course cross listed in College of Health and Human Services and College of Education and Human Development. The program is open to studies in all colleges. The participants will be enrolled for the entire summer I session for 6 credit hours. The program will be comprised of a three week pre-departure orientation, a three week field experience (study abroad: approx. May 24 through June 15, varies by year), and a two-week post program process where students incorporate their overseas experiences in to their practice, finalize their capstone projects, and engage in the dissemination of information about what they learned while abroad.

The common goal of instructors and students involved in this course is to understand the impact of globalization on systems such as health services, schooling, foreign policy, food, transportation, housing, and to analyze how that impact translates into public policies. 

This study abroad program includes (1) a three-week pre-departure orientation in the U.S. to clarify goals and prepare participants for the academic experience abroad, (2) the expectation of sustained engagement with the people, and their daily lives in Senegal, the host country, as well as (3) activities both in Senegal and upon return to the US that link experiences abroad with both the participants’ educational experiences and goals in the U.S. In addition the course will have a re-entry process during the last week of the semester where students complete their capstone projects incorporating their overseas experiences into their U.S. practice.

All participating students will be required to do a presentation during Fall semester to disseminate information about what they learned while abroad concerning the causes and consequences of globalization as well as its impact on systems.