Chatham University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

International Affairs
Chatham Field Experiences

The Chatham Field Experiences program offers eligible Chatham students international study and travel as an integral part of their Chatham degree program. Chatham Field Experiences include academic courses focused on interdisciplinary topics, taught by Chatham faculty during the Maymester term. The courses, topics, and foreign sites vary from year to year, depending on faculty interests and experiences, the global economy, and current international political conditions.

Chatham field experiences 2018

Berlin - Brussels - Identity and Social Policy in the European Union (Dr. Rossbach and Dr. Rubin)

This course will examine the concept of European identity and how national identity affects European identity. We will also examine EU policies that are related to the concept of identity, such as immigration, language, social service delivery and employment support. The focus in Berlin will be on German identity and examination of the Nazi legacy, East-West reunification and the incorporation of minority identities (especially Turkish gastarbeiter and Syrian refugees) into German identity. In Brussels the focus will shift to the Belgian linguistic divide and EU levels. In both cities we will meet with policy-makers, academics and journalists who focus on these issues.

Costa Rica - Special Topics in Sustainability (Dr. Saez)

This course focuses on sustainability policies in Costa Rica. The course combines lectures by local experts, field work, home visits, day trips to national parks, and reflective practices designed to give a first-hand experience of community development strategies. Highlights will include a visit to a bird sanctuary, a mangrove kayak tour, community service activities, and visits to Aradikes and Boruca indigenous communities. Students will be evaluated on the basis of discussion entries, participation in reflective activities, and one project.

Chatham field experiences 2017

Spain - Global Health Perspectives

The first part of this course will be a one-week hybrid (on campus and online) course. During the two-week field experience in Zaragoza, students will engage in shadowing European health professionals 5 to 6 hours per day in a variety of medical fields and in different parts of a hospital. Students will have cultural immersion activities and excursions each week. On site lectures will focus on cultural, historical, political and economic forces in healthcare in Spain. Teaching English to medical professionals will be offered as optional community service.

Chatham field experiences 2016

Brazil: Sustainability in Brazil

The field experience will be held in the Pantanal region of Brazil. This experience is a service-learning situation where students will be required to help ongoing projects aimed at the maintenance and implementation of sustainable development. In particular, the area is threatened by poor planning, poor resource management strategies and unchecked human expansion. While working in the field, students will have the opportunity to observe and help protect one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse places in the world. In addition, they will be exposed to the pressures and decisions that all societies must face when considering how best to preserve and protect our planet.

A number of specific scientific data collection activities are available to the students while working at the field station including peccary capture and tracking; Aquatic Macroinvertebrate sampling; seedling bank evaluation; agro-forestry and eco-building; and sustainable farming practice. All of the data collected by the students is incorporated into the larger data set that is used to construct an argument for changing the local grazing practices.

Indonesia: Indonesian Culture and Beliefs in a Sustainably Built Environment

The Indonesian Field Experience will take place during Maymester 2016 and offers students the opportunity to be part of a unique blend of travel, experiential learning, photojournalism, and faculty-led research. Beginning on the island of Java, in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and ending on the island of Bali, students will explore and critically analyze the interactions of culture, faith, ecology and art/design among the three related, yet diverse, locations. Students will participate as researchers learning and applying community-based methods of data collection such as Photovoice.

Germany and Belgium: Identity, Diversity and Social Policy in the European Union

The field experience will examine EU policies that are related to the concept of identity, such as immigration, language, social service delivery and employment support. The program will focus on German identity while in Berlin and examine the legacy Nazi Germany reunification and the incorporation of minority identities and cultures (especially Turkish) into contemporary Germany. In Brussels the focus will shift to the divided Belgian identity and the role of the EU in social integration. In both cities, we will meet with policy makers, academics and NGOs. Students will visit regional offices representing ethnic and cultural minorities.