Previous Global Education Programs

CMC Faculty Led Spring Break Visit to Kuwait

Coordinated by the Center for Global Education, 22 CMC students and faculty visited Kuwait during the March 2011 Spring Break.  Led by Bassam Frangieh, professor of Arabic, and Lisa Cody, associate dean of the faculty and professor of history, the CMC student delegation visited Kuwait at the invitation of Kuwait University, who hosted and funded the trip.

The unique opportunity included visits to Kuwait University classes and a meeting with the university’s President and Dean of Students.  The visit also included dinner at the home of HE Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al Sabah ’78 P’10, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Kuwait.  U.S. Ambassador Deborah Jones met with the students at the U.S. Embassy, and provided a briefing on U.S.-Kuwaiti relations. In addition, the students visited museums and cultural organizations, and had the opportunity to participate in diwaniyas, traditional Kuwaiti gatherings for the purpose of intellectual exploration and discussion.

The students who participated in the trip reported that they had an outstanding experience, and gained a broader perspective on the Middle East and the issues facing the region. At President Gann’s invitation, CMC hosted a reciprocal delegation of 27 students and faculty from Kuwait University in January 2012.

students and faculty in Kuwait

The student-faculty delegation to Kuwait met with U.S. Ambassador Deborah Jones, shown above, at the U.S. Embassy.

Students in Kuwaiti culture

The students experienced desert camp and some traditional Kuwaiti food.

 

Israel Studies Program

 

Professor Gary Gilbert (Religious Studies) directed a three-part opportunity for CMC students and CMC community members to study and experience the city of Jerusalem. The program consisted of three segments, each of which was enjoyed alone or in combination. The first segment was Professor Gilbert’s full-credit course, “Jerusalem the Holy City,” offered as an intensive three-week seminar at CMC  as part of CMC’s Summer Session. The second segment was a nine-day travel program to Jerusalem led by Professor Gary Gilbert and included meetings with Israeli politicians, academics, and public policy experts. The third segment permitted students to experience the excitement of uncovering the past through an archaeological excavation in Akko, Israel. Through participation in the dig, students learned about the city’s history, and participated in the contemporary life of a city with a mixed Jewish and Arab population.

Guest Speaker on Mesada

Guest speaker on Masada

Students' visit to historical sites

Students' visit to historical sites

 

CMC-Yonsei University Summer Courses in Korea

 

Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea has twice invited Professor Manfred Keil (RDS) to lead ten CMC students for a five-week international business and economics course at Yonsei Business School. The CMC-Yonsei University Summer Course includes a 1.5 credit course co-taught by Professor Keil and Professor at Yonsei University and site visits to South Korean corporations and firms as well as domestic excursions and travel to Hong Kong. Students lived on campus with Yonsei students in Yonsei University housing. CMC anticipates a third year of hosting this program during the 2013 summer.

CMC and Yonsei students in traditional Korean attire

CMC and Yonsei students in traditional Korean attire

Students practicing their new Tai CHi moves

Students practicing their new Tai Chi moves

 

CMC Summer Program in Jordan

 

Sixteen students from Claremont McKenna College, Pomona, Pitzer, and Scripps participated in the eight-week CMC Summer Program in Amman, Jordan, from May to July, 2011.  Directed by Professor of Arabic Bassam K. Frangieh, the Jordan Program included a weekly seminar with a  practicum/internship component, and spoken Jordanian Arabic language instruction.  One year of previous Arabic language study in Claremont was a prerequisite for the two-credit summer program and course.  Students were placed in internships at the Jordan Institute for Diplomacy, Talal Abu Ghazaleh International, the Jordan Children’s Museum, the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, the Middle East/North Africa Financial Network, Injaz Al-Arab, and other organizations.

The program included field trips to Wadi Rum, Petra, Jerash, Madaba, and the Dead Sea, as well as local excursions to museums, mosques, and cultural sites in Amman. Highlights of the summer program included a private audience with the Foreign Minister of Jordan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (arranged by Luay Abu Ghazaleh ’87), a poetry reading with an award-winning Jordanian writer, a private meeting with the editor-in-chief of a leading Arabic language newspaper, and a theatre workshop at The National Center for Culture & Arts (arranged by Hind Shalan P’ 13).

Luay Abu-Ghazaleh ’87 provided invaluable support for the program, and unlimited access to the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Knowledge Society, which became CMC’s “home base” in Jordan. He also hosted fabulous welcome and farewell dinners in his home.

Students meeting with foreign minister of Jordan

Meeting with Mr. Nasser Judeh, Foreign Minister of Jordan

Student standing in front of Jordan Institute of Diplomacy

Jordan Program Internship Placement, Jordan Institute of Diplomacy

 

RLST 161A CM: Contemporary Religious Leadership in India

 

Open to all students of the Claremont Colleges, this intensive three-week seminar will immerse students in the study of contemporary religious leadership in India.