For more information about the programs or to apply, please click on the program location listed in the "Program" column.
To access detailed course descriptions, please click on the course under the "Course Offered" column.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR INTERSESSION 2013
ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA
SPAN 394/494: Guatemala: Cultural Legacies & Current Realities
Professor: Dr. Kevin Guerrieri
Pre-requisite(s): SPAN 202 or equivalent
This new one-week Spanish immersion program provides students with an introduction to the history and cultures of Guatemala, and to some of the current challenges faced by this Central American country. Three thematic threads are interwoven throughout the readings, texts analyzed, and site visits: I. Mayan cultural legacies and present realities; II. Armed conflict, genocide, and justice; and III. Projects in social change (fair/direct trade, microfinance, and social entrepreneurship). The course has a community-based approach in that dialogue and engagement with community members is a central feature; group reflections then follow all the on-site activities with a special focus on the symbolic dimensions of intercultural communication. This is a Spanish language immersion program: all students enrolled in the course will make a firm commitment to speak only in Spanish at all times throughout the program. There will be three pre-departure sessions on campus at USD near the end of the fall semester and two more sessions upon return. The program is based in Antigua, where students will study the history of this colonial capital of the region. There will be an overnight excursion to the Kaqchiquel ruins at Iximche' and the Lago de Atitlán in the highlands region. A day excursion to Guatemala City includes visits to the Ixchel and Popol Vuh Museums, the Myrna Mack Foundation, and the National Palace, among other sites. (Please note that this partial list is tentative and some sites may be changed due to different circumstances.)
BALI, INDONESIA
MUSC 340: The Music & Arts of Bali
Professor: Dr. David Harnish
Pre-requisite(s): None
This brief immersion course in Bali (Fine Arts pending) will be centered in the arts village of Peliatan. Students will study gamelan (ensemble) music as a group with a master-musician, attend seminars with faculty and guests, and study one or more other arts, such as dance, painting, puppetry, or mask-making. The group shall attend temple festivals and ceremonies and become involved with the cultural life of Bali. In addition, the group will take several tours to cultural sites around the island and visit the arts conservatory. Students will also spend two nights in an ashram in east Bali to study the philosophy of the ashram, visit neighboring ancient villages with sacred arts, and enjoy the nearby coast.
Students will meet for introductory seminars in December a few weeks before departure to learn basic etiquette, ideas on the performing arts and religion, and Indonesian terms. While in Bali, we will have regular class meetings, discuss the textbook (Lisa Golds Music in Bali), and participate in lecture demonstrations with several special guests. The course will conclude with a student performance for our teachers and the local community.
BUENOS AIRES- BUSINESS PROGRAM
BUSN 494: International Management Practicum- Consulting Project
Professor: Dr. Denise Dimon
Fulfills: Elective for International Business major/minor; Elective for Business Administration major/minor; Elective for Management minor; Upper-division Business elective
Pre-requisite(s): MGMT 300, MKGT 300 & FINA 300
The international management practicum is a practice oriented, hands-on course which provides international strategic and consulting experiences of the cultures, markets, and business idiosyncrasies of the specific regions wherein projects and cases take place. The course will have students work in teams providing solutions to a business problem or strategic issue for a company or organization in Buenos Aires. During the course you will develop expertise on international consulting techniques, cultural specifics, practices, theories, and skills that are applicable to individuals and organizations seeking differentiated competitiveness in a global business environment. Then you will integrate your strategic thinking, creativity and analytical business tools to complete the project, and present your results to the clients in Buenos Aires.
BUENOS AIRES- SPANISH PROGRAM
SPAN 201: Third Semester Spanish
Professor: Dr. Alejandro Meter
Pre-requisite(s): SPAN 102 or equivalent
This course, instructed entirely in Spanish, will be an intensive 3 week language and cultural immersion program in which students explore various aspects of Argentine culture. Spanish 201 is the final course of the core language sequence which completes the introduction of the basic structures of the language. It also stresses the continuing emphasis on communicative proficiency. Lecture material will be enhanced through site visits and excursions throughout Buenos Aires and its surrounding environs.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
ARAB 101: First Semester Arabic
Professor: Randa Jad-Moussa
Arabic 101 is the beginner course in Modern Standard Arabic, which is the official medium of oral and written communication in the Arab countries. It is conducted almost entirely in Arabic. Reading, writing, listening and speaking will all be emphasized in this course. Role-play, pair work and group work will be used extensively throughout the course. The course will address the topic of familiarizing students with the culture of the Middle East and will seek to involve students in the critical interpretation and evaluation of cultural phenomena and dispositions of the Arabic speaking societies in their daily life before leaving to Amman by means of pre-departure orientation-and all throughout the course abroad. The emphasis will be on connecting those ways relevant to issues of contemporary concern with those of the students; especially to issues of intercultural relations. The diversity of Arab communities will be presented from a variety of perspectives that resonate with points of conflict or convergence.
EURO TOUR
POLS 494/594: Europe & the Islamic World
Professor: Dr. Randy Willoughby
The course will explore the compelling significance of Europe's relationship with the Islamic world, both in terms of communities within Europe and relations between Europe and countries from Morocco to Turkey and beyond. The course also meets the practical requirement for IR majors of a minimum three units study abroad.
LONDON, ENGLAND- ENGLISH PROGRAM
ENGL 280/420: Shakespeare in London
Professor: Dr. Abe Stoll
There is no better place to study Shakespeare than on the banks of the Thames, the alleys of Eastcheap, and amidst the architecture and vistas that he knew. Although Shakespeares texts provide us with some of our richest literary experiences, the playwright hardly thought about publication. The theater was a living, money-making scheme, shaped by its location in the slums, by immediate political situations, and by the actors and patrons who entered the gates of the playhouse. This course will teach Shakespeare as one of historys great artists whose greatness was forged within the contingencies and pressures of the real world. Much of that world is still there to be studied and experienced.
LONDON, ENGLAND - BUSINESS PROGRAM
ECON 310: Money & Banking
Professor: Dr. Steve Sumner
Pre-requisite(s): ECON 101 & ECON 102
Economics 310, Money and Banking, studies the structure, regulation, and performance of the banking industry in the United States, focusing on the strategy and procedures of the Federal Reserve System. Examines the problems encountered by the Federal Reserve System in trying to achieve its goals. Analyzes similarities and differences between the Bank of England, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Federal Reserve System. Special attention will be given to the responses of these central banks to the recent financial crisis and its aftermath including the European sovereign debt crisis.
FINA 494: European & International Capital Markets
Professor: Dr. Steven Kemper
Pre-requisite(s): FINA 300
Finance 494, International and European Capital Markets, will survey the major elements and characteristics of major global capital markets with an emphasis on similarities and differences between US, European and ROW capital markets. The course will cover depository institutions, asset management firms, investment banking firms and other entities heavily involved in global financial markets. Along with strong theoretical grounding in portfolio theory, capital market theory and pricing models, students will gain a detailed understanding of the structures and characteristics of the major financial instruments including common stocks, bonds, futures, options and derivatives. Recent financial crisis issues including mortgage backed securities valuation and sovereign debt markets will be examined. Exposure to professional equity research and financial statement analysis will be included. The goal of the course is to build awareness, expertise and sensitivity to global financial markets and instruments so students would have the knowledge and skills to be successful working in a global investment bank. Historical context including social impacts, political constraints, companies law and current issues will be examined. Students will be transformed into global financially savvy citizens with multi-country financial expertise and relationships.
MARSEILLE, FRANCE
MENG 462: Topics in Fluid Mechanics
Professor: Dr. Frank Jacobitz
Pre-requisite(s): MENG 360
MENG 494, Topics in Fluid Mechanics, will combine a meaningful international experience with a technical elective for mechanical engineering senior students. The course will cover selected topics in fluid mechanics, such as pipe flow, boundary layer flow, and turbulence by providing the theoretical background in lectures and a hands-on experience with a computational fluid dynamics simulation code (Comsol Multiphysics). Additional topics, such as numerical analysis or turbulent flows in plasmas, will be covered by guest lecturers from Marseille.
SHANGHAI, CHINA
BUSN 494: International Management Practicum- Consulting Project
Professor: Dr. Carsten Zimmerman
Fulfills: Elective for International Business major/minor; Elective for Business Administration major/minor; Elective for Management minor; Upper-division Business elective
Pre-requisite(s): MGMT 300, MKGT 300 & FINA 300
The international management practicum is a practice oriented, hands-on course which provides international strategic and consulting experiences of the cultures, markets, and business idiosyncrasies of the specific regions wherein projects and cases take place. The course will have students work in teams providing solutions to a business problem or strategic issue for a company or organization in Shanghai. During the course you will develop expertise on international consulting techniques, cultural specifics, practices, theories, and skills that are applicable to individuals and organizations seeking differentiated competitiveness in a global business environment. Then you will integrate your strategic thinking, creativity and analytical business tools to complete the project, and present your results to the clients in Shanghai.
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
COMM 494: Independent Cinema
Professors: Dr. Roger Pace, Dr. Eric Pierson
Pre-requisite(s): None
This is a two week course is taught at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah during intersession. Engage and interact with industries and individuals that gave the world, Harry Potter, The Beatles, Dr. Who, and Simon Cowell. We will explore British Media Systems for the inside as we connect with practitioners and products. The goal of the course is to garner a greater understanding and appreciation of how and why British media are so successful. The media content created within the UK ranks only behind the US in its scope and worldwide influence. The course will include trips to Leavesden Studios (the production home for the Harry Potter films) BBC television and radio division, The Advertising Council, The British Film Institute, The Guardian Newspaper, and Hard Rock Calling, one of the UK's premier music festivals. This course can also be taken for honors credit.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
ELEC 403: Advanced Electronic Circut Design
Professor: Dr. Tom Schubert
Pre-requisite(s): ELEC 301
Analysis and design of analog and digital electronic circuits and systems including: oscillators, waveform generation, communication circuits, power electronics, and digital gates; computer-aided analysis and design; lecture/recitation and occasional lab/demonstration.