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Printed from:http://umabroad.umn.edu/students/maps/cla/aaas.php

Learning Abroad in African American & African Studies

“The African-American & African Studies curriculum encourages a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the experiences of African peoples, and students who study abroad have an excellent opportunity to learn about those experiences firsthand by engaging with local communities. We strongly encourage students to take advantage of the university’s many learning abroad programs.” —Stephanie Lawrence, Departmental Adviser

Study abroad allows students in African American and African Studies (AA&AS) to enhance their University of Minnesota classroom education. Students can extend their university experience by studying a variety of regions and countries in Africa as well as the African Diaspora of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. You will be able to inform yourself about the cultures of these diverse places and peoples; you will also be able to examine the impact of other countries’ political and economic policies on your host country and to receive new understandings from the people you visit.

Academic Planning

Review the following suggestions from the African American and African Studies department before beginning your study abroad research.

Chose your study abroad experience wisely

• No program is “best” for everyone. The trick is to find the right learning abroad option for you.
• Selecting the best program for your needs and interests is important, and it can take time.
• Whether you are interested in Africa, in the diaspora, or in viewing African American society and culture from outside our borders, study abroad will challenge your assumptions, deepen your knowledge, and broaden your understanding of African American and African Studies.
• In addition to general factors in program selection, keep in mind the following suggestions specifically from AAAS.

Align study abroad with your personal, academic, and professional goals

• Develop a better understanding of African diaspora peoples from a local and global perspective
• Foster a critical world view
• Enhance analytical and critical thinking skills through real world experiences
• Assess how cultures across continents have shared historical experiences
• Study the core concentrations of AA&AS—literature, the arts, history, and social and behavioral sciences—in another country from a different perspective.
• In other words, AA&AS challenges students to move beyond ethnocentrism to a truly pluralistic view of life.

Work on your African American & African Studies major or minor

• AA&AS students are encouraged to study abroad and take advantage of opportunities to learn and grow in and outside the classroom. Students can take classes across the Diaspora and in Africa on music, fine arts, race/class/gender, public policy, human geography, and community and national development. Moreover, American studies courses taken in another country can offer challenging perspectives on the African American experience
• The AA&AS department would like students to enhance their experience abroad by volunteering to work in the local community or by choosing a study abroad program that includes service-learning or internship options. Use the Learning Abroad Center program search to identify study abroad programs that include internship or service-learning opportunities,
• Most major requirements may be satisfied through appropriate courses taken abroad; however, Afro 1012, 4105, and 4557 usually must be taken here because there are few counterparts outside the University of Minnesota.
• For some students it can be important to choose a program that yields resident credit. Keep in mind, for example, that transfer credits may constitute no more than twenty percent of the upper division coursework for a CLA major. 

• Students who have demonstrated a proficiency in French, Arabic, Swahili, Spanish, or another African language are encouraged to consider a program taught in that language. Integrated university study programs are available in English as well, in such countries as Ghana or South Africa.
• Consider building your senior thesis around field research in another country. Use the Learning Abroad Center program search to identify study abroad programs that include research opportunities.
• Relevant internships may also be considered for major credit.

Consider timing and length

• AA&AS students can study abroad at any time as an undergraduate. It is not too early to begin browsing the Learning Abroad Center website as a first-semester freshman nor too late as a first-semester senior.
• When students assess their options early, many discover they are able to go abroad more than once during their undergraduate career.
• The key to a successful study abroad experience(s) is advance planning. Early planning can facilitate study abroad for an entire semester or a year; however, if time is a constraint, consider shorter-term programs that can be undertaken over a summer semester.
• Introductory short-term programs and language study can be great as freshmen or sophomores.
• Senior-year study abroad, although common, may require additional planning. When are graduate school applications due? Do you need to take exams given only at particular times of year, or only in the U.S.? Will the grades from your study abroad arrive in time for graduation?

Seek cultural immersion

• Deep involvement in the host culture leads to personal growth and instills the cross-cultural skills that are so important to success in the workplace and community.
• Take advantage of internships, service-learning or volunteer options, and research opportunities that get you involved in the community.
• Consider a program that houses you with a family or host-country roommate.
• Be realistic. Not all students are ready for the same amount of cultural immersion.

Pay special attention to program type

• Format and teaching approach are every bit as important as location and length. Consider your learning style, your educational and personal goals, and department advice.
• Field Study programs: Learn through doing. Programs built around internships, service-learning, field research, interview projects, etc., may work especially well for experiential learners.
• University Study programs: Become a temporary foreign student at a host university. Seek locations offering methodologies, theoretical perspectives, or courses different from ours.
• Study Abroad Centers: Take classroom courses tailor-made for non-native students. Many such centers also offer opportunities to engage in field study and/or to take courses at a local university.

Fulfill Liberal Education requirements

• Advance planning can help you apply study abroad credits to many of the University’s Liberal Education requirements.
• Decide early which requirements you want to satisfy through courses taken abroad and plan your coursework accordingly.
• Consult the Learning Abroad Center’s database of study abroad courses that have been approved for Liberal Education. If a course is not listed, it may still meet a liberal education requirement. We encourage you to submit your course(s) for evaluation.

Once You Have Selected a Program

• Use the Academic Planning for Study Abroad (APSA) form to structure your academic planning.
• Once you have chosen the courses that you want to take abroad (always choosing more courses than you intend to take), meet with the AAAS undergraduate advisery preferably at least 3 months before departure. Bring your transcripts, your APSA form, and the course descriptions.
• Meet similarly in other departments for additional majors or minors.
• If your preferred study abroad program is not accredited, explore with your advisers the possibility of earning credit for your experience abroad through credit by exam or as a Directed Studies course under faculty supervision. Be aware that both options have cost implications.
• To complete the APSA process you will also need a signature from a college adviser.

While You Are Abroad

• If, once you are in country, you become interested in a course that was not included on your APSA but might be pertinent to your major or minor, gather as much information as you can about the course and then consult by email with the undergraduate adviser before committing yourself.
• Hold onto course materials (e.g., syllabus, exams, papers, reports, and at least a photocopied table of contents of any key textbook) and bring them home with you.

After You Return

• Check to see if your study abroad coursework has been posted to your U of M transcript. If your study abroad courses were evaluated and approved for liberal education requirements and completion of these requirements is not reflected on your APAS report, please contact the Learning Abroad Center.
• Be aware that courses taken abroad may require many weeks, or even months, to get accepted and posted at the University of Minnesota. Times vary with programs. Let the Learning Abroad Center know well in advance if impending graduation or other special circumstances lend particular urgency to your case.
• Make an appointment with the AA&AS adviser to review overseas courses for which you wish to obtain final approval for use toward your major or minor. For other majors or minors you will need to do the same in a different department.
• Bring to that appointment the course materials plus a brief explanation of why you think the course should be counted.