Previous Faculty Led Trips
Summer 2023
Belize
EDU433 or RD510: Literacy Methods Courses - Teaching in Belize
In May 2023, MSUB students studying education applied their teaching skills in San Ignacio, Belize where they supported elementary school classrooms and co-taught alongside Belizian teachers for two weeks. The program included a short trip to Guatemala, along with a variety of cultural events and excursions to Mayan ruins and local cultural sites.
Macedonia
JRNL 270: Human Rights Interviewing Project with Roma People
This two-weeks experience took an MSUB group North Macedonia to interview and identify barriers to human rights and stories of triumph expressed by Roma people living in Macedonia. The project supported initiatives for improvement in the area of inclusion of Roma/migrant children and in the area of volunteering by targeting different stakeholders, including policy makers. The trip included an overnight excursion to northern Greece. The group is developing a documentary based upon the interviews and insights gleaned during the experience.
Summer 2022
Italy
ARTH 342: Planetary Crises and the Arts at the Venice Biennale
In May 2022, MSUB students explored a large scale international art exhibition in Venice, Italy, where they stayed for five days, providing ample time to explore this unique city. The group then traveled to Florence, Italy to spend a couple of days exploring the city's famous Renaissance art, including the famoud David, and its iconic cathedrals.
Peru
Amazonian Encounters: Forests, Rivers, and Spirits
This two-week experience in the Peruvian Amazon began with a week in Iquitos where students explored the city and neighboring communities learning about the culture, biodiversity, and lifeways of contemporary Amazonia. The second week featured an excursion on the Nanay River, an Amazon tributary, to the Alpahuallo-Mishana National Reserve, and a stay at a community located in the reserve.
Summer 2021
Programs Canceled due to COVID-19
Summer 2020
Australia - Canceled due to COVID-19
ARTZ 494: Studio Enquiry: Cultural Boundaries in the Sydney Biennale
MSUB students were slated to experience and participate in the 22nd Sydney Biennale for two weeks. While there, students would have explored contemporary art and the relationship between indigenous culture, artist, and audience within the framework of a studio practice on a global stage. The program included art exhibitions, conversations with experts in first nation studies, visits to learning centers, and a short internship with the Biennale events.
Peru - Canceled due to COVID-19
LANG 495: Intensive Spanish Language & Culture
This course would have provided students with a faculty-led immersion experience to Cusco, Peru with the aim of developing Spanish language proficiency within a contextual framework. It would have included 40 hours of language instruction at the Academia Latinoamérica de Español, homestays with a Peruvian family, guided excursions to local historical sites, and a weekend excursion to Machu Picchu.
Fall 2019
Slovakia
LANG 292: Introduction to Slovakia
This was a community course in which community members studied the cultural, political, and economic history of Slovakia, with particular emphasis on the 20th Century. Slovakia first gained its independence in 1993, following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, but its cultural and political history extends far back in history. This course served as a general introduction to the main themes of Slovak national life, from the Cyril and Methodian mission until the present day. In conjunction with the course, community members traveled to Slovakia for 10 days in November 2019.
Summer 2019
Germany
COMX 494/COMT 592: Syrian Refugee Storytelling Project
In May 2019, students traveled to Germany to study barriers and benefits of acculturation and integration for recent refugees, and participate in live interviews with refugees to capture their perceptions and life stories. Stories were videotaped and edited into an online storytelling project, giving a global voice to cultural boundary conditions. The first week was spent at our partner university, the University of Applied Sciences in Aschaffenburg, attending workshops on intercultural cooperation and communication, and visiting with local refugee institutions; discussing goals with director of refugee services; planning interviews; and recruiting participants. The second week was spent conducting interviews, exploring the countryside, including side trips to castles in Heidelberg, Mespelbrunn & Wuertzburg.
Italy, Macedonia, and Greece
ARTH 494: Art and Culture in Italy, Macedonia, and Greece
In May 2019, MSUB students explored a large scale international art exhibition in Venice, Italy, where they stayed for five days, providing ample time to explore this unique city. Then traveled to Macedonia and Greece to discover the relationship of art and cultural identity in these two fascinating and ancient countries. Visited a working artist studio in Macedonia and had the opportunity to work alongside world-famous Macedonian artist Igor Josifov. Gained first-person perspective on how artists communicate a global message from their local history.
Morocco
HADM 494 Healthcare and Culture in Rural Morocco
In May 2019, students traveled to Morocco to compare and contrast rural healthcare in Morocco with the healthcare system in Montana and participate in community-based, healthcare-related service learning projects. The trip included a two-day mountain trek to Zawiya Ahansal in the High Atlas Mountains to experience first-hand rural living standards surrounding healthcare.
Peru
The Amazon Way gave students a chance to explore the world’s greatest river system in May 2019. Students had the opportunity to work with Dr. Juan Carlos Galeano, a poet, translator, folklorist, and filmmaker who grew up in the Amazon Basin, and who has led numerous trips to the region. They experienced first-hand the lifeways of the contemporary Amazon, as well as the unparalleled biodiversity of rainforest and riparian environments, and the significance of the region to planetary systems and health. Dr. Quetchenbach directed a series of writing workshops and assignments designed to help student’s articulate reactions to and conclusions from the experience while developing skills in various genres and forms of creative writing.
Spain
LANG 495: Spanish Language and Culture
MSUB students participated in a May 2019 two-week intensive immersion in language and culture study located in Salamanca, Spain coordinated with our partner school Letra Hispanica. Included in the two weeks of instruction in Spanish was 20 hours of instruction, a homestay with a family, guided historical tours of the region, and cultural activities organized by the school.
