While urban settlements have been an integral part of human life for millennia, cities today are arguably at the heart of survival on, and of, this planet. More than half of the world's population now lives in cities, and urban centers present some of the greatest social and environmental challenges of their time. Though students may study in or…

Greece conjures up images of idyllic island landscapes, turquoise seas and venerable mythic deeds set among majestic monuments. These notions are, moreover, often associated with a history, religious culture and language that are ancient. Tourist posters and national sentiment aside, today the Hellenic Republic is a country that is as much…

Creating first hand experiences of urban cultures that focus on reflection and leave profound impressions on students while providing the framing for future cycles of experiential learning is a complex and difficult dynamic to navigate. The way urban manifestations of a different culture are directly experienced varies depending on the…

Study abroad's purpose, once conceived primarily as a means for acquiring knowledge in a content area as well as language acquisition, began in the 1980s to be considered a vehicle for helping American students become less "parochial" and better prepared to live and work in a globalized world. To achieve these goals, students must be able to…

London is the paramount example of a city that is not bounded by its geography and cannot be grasped in isolation. The U.K.'s national capital and the prime focus for business, finance and creative industries, London also transcends the U.K.'s borders as a hub of the world economy. This paper argues that London, a city riddled by the socioeconomic…

Study abroad by U.S. students, despite recent growth into non-western and rural destinations, often remains focused on cities, often very large and highly urbanized ones. While the destination cities for study abroad are located across the globe, European cities remain predominant, and thus, this article focuses on study abroad in one city. The…

Students today are becoming more interested in international opportunities for study, and are drawn to alternative programs such as international service learning and international internships. These programs, however, must be carefully designed. In this paper, the authors propose using tools that go beyond the traditional understanding of…

Constructivist learning theory holds that "learning consists less in recording information than in interpreting it. To interpret what is received and is attended to, the learner must personally construct meaning for it." Unfortunately, opportunities for interpreting conceptual information are often lacking in classroom environments--particularly…

Focuses on the role played by the health care system, as organized by the modern state, in the way physicians do their work. Discusses the state of biomedical ethics and argues for international experiences for future physicians. (Author/VWL)

Examines the life of W.E.B. Du Bois, looking at his autobiography and his 3-year stay in Berlin as a graduate student from 1892-1894. Uncovers an excellent example of learning outside of one's own culture through the series of social, political, and ideological encounters Du Bois experiences, reflects on, and remembers. (Author/VWL)