Courses for Returning Students from Abroad
This course development grant is designed to encourage faculty to develop an innovative course that would enable students returning from either: (1) a semester abroad program, or (2) from a field research experience abroad, to integrate their experiences. Courses should be geared at the 300/400 level.
(1) Students returning from a semester abroad program are uniquely motivated to share their recent experiences with others and deepen their knowledge of the history and current culture. If students were involved in a non-English speaking program, a returning course would offer the student the opportunity to strengthen their language proficiency. Courses should focus on enriching cultural experiences, the enhancement of foreign language fluency, or both. For example, a course could focus on current events where students compare the portrayal of news from foreign media versus American media. Courses could build upon strengths of our study abroad curriculum by pursuing topics such as the history and functioning of the European Union, social and religious activism in South America, or the unique arts of East Asia. Courses designed to focus on language fluency could require regular viewing of foreign television shows, movies, and/or listening to radio news, to complement students' exposure to print media, and to maintain high levels of oral comprehension. Courses with a social service angle might design a field-work component, to send students into local communities who speak in the target language. Additionally, experts in second language pedagogy may choose to hire experts in Proficiency Testing to design a program of testing to be administered to students before, during, and after the study abroad experience. Such a program of testing may provide useful data on the efficiency of language pedagogy on- and off-campus. Two faculty could also submit a proposal to conduct linked courses. Linked courses involve the coordination of two faculty members who develop a pair of classes that enable a more integrated learning environment. Each course would be taught by faculty from two different departments, taught in the same semester, and meet in common and regular intervals during the semester. For example, a professor in Literature might collaborate with a colleague in Art history or Music to teach a course on the convergences between the arts that characterize certain historical periods. Additionally, concepts such as decadence, revolution, or reconstruction might focus courses linking scholars in German, French, or Spanish with their counterparts in History and/or Political Science.
(2) For students returning from a field research experience abroad, such a course could involve larger teams of students (10/20) who have worked on the same project or bring together several smaller teams of students who have worked on different projects. The courses could give students the opportunity to share their research and experiences with others, read relevant research on the topics of study, analyze the data gathered from the field, interpret the results, and present their findings to peers or to larger groups.
Grants are in the form of a materials grant, up to $3,500. Faculty interested in applying for this grant should include a description of the course content, materials, and methods to be used, and if necessary, a materials budget (e.g., subscription to foreign newspaper if Notre Dame does not already subscribe). In addition to course materials, grants can be used to underwrite foreign travel. For those grants involving our study abroad sites, which operate on a different academic year than our campus calendar, it is possible for faculty to visit programs still in session after the Notre Dame academic year winds down in late April-early May, or during a university break. We encourage faculty to visit our study abroad sites while they are still in session to meet with students and on-site faculty, and thus to learn more about ways that Notre Dame faculty might build upon the curriculum of study abroad in developing new courses. The Office of International Studies will be delighted to help faculty with advice about logistics on travel and lodgings, and to serve as an intermediary to help establish personal connections between faculty at home and abroad.
This initiative complements the University’s aspirations to advance Notre Dame as an international academic community, which includes the expansion of international and foreign language offerings. (Also see KROC/ISLA Interdisciplinary Course Development Grants in Peace Studies and Course Development Grants for Content-Based Classes Concerning Africa or Asia).
Applications should follow the Guidelines for Course Development Proposals in the General Course Development category.