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A. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
This program contains the following courses:
1. Intensive Wolof (3 credits)
All students participate in daily language courses in Wolof, Senegal’s lingua franca. This class follows our “give-and-take” approach whereas Senegalese students develop their English proficiency by working with their American counterparts and vice-versa American students advance their conversational Wolof. Students will be totally immersed in the Senegalese culture so their language skills and cross-cultural competency will increase whether at home or at school. Participants will have the opportunity to fully engage with a diverse population in order to build and develop communication skills to be competitive in today’s global job market.
2. Cultural Immersion & Identity (4 credits)
Senegal is known as “le pays de la téranga” which translates into “the country of hospitality.” The diversity within Senegal is ever-present from the people to the landscape. This tradition rich country offers our program participants a unique opportunity to explore the socio-cultural diversity within Senegal. Students will get an inside look at Senegal troubled history and also its contributions to Africa and the Diaspora in historical and socio-cultural terms. Through classroom sessions, site visits, guest-speakers, and cultural explorations, students will be able to gauge the impact of cultures of African ancestry on the world. This fun-filled class provides a great learning environment for students from all backgrounds as they experiment with traditional Senegalese instruments, foods, songs, and storytelling. Students will visit the infamous Gorée Island and its slave castle while they attend a lecture by the curator of the museum.
3. Foundations of Sustainable Development (4 credits)
This course will help student’s grasp fundamental concepts of sustainable development. Participants will learn from various schools of thought pertaining to the field of development. To ensure continuity and a hands-on approach to learning, students will get the opportunity to practice their learning by designing a community development project in the Project Planning and Implementation course. This way they are able to see the link between sustainability theory and practice in project design. The purpose is to establish sustainable development theory baselines, which can then be transformed into practical application of knowledge for specific areas in which students choose to specialize in. Students will incorporate research results into analytical essays or presentations addressing key sustainable development issues.
4. Project Planning and Implementation (4 credits)
Through this course students will learn in-depth theories and practices of participatory project development from planning to implementation and monitoring and evaluation. By the end of this course, students will explore the difference between a participatory project design and top-down design. They will be able to analyze and evaluate project’s outcomes. More importantly, through research and case studies, participants will develop analytical skills to inform decision-making in project design. Students will learn how to conduct a Participatory Rural Appraisal and other applied research, in addition to project cycles. At the end of course students will deliver a group project designed to address a key development issue within one of our ecovillages.
In addition to the above-required courses students have the option to take the following course for 8 weeks.
5. Applied Research Methods (2 credits)
This course will prepare students to carry out a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) of community development. The course will set the stage for working within a cross-cultural setting while providing an introductory look into sustainable development within the Senegalese context. Students will have the opportunity to learn various forms of PRA in order to set up a diverse framework of intervention to achieve the best possible results within the eco-villages or in their home communities in US upon their return. The data gathered will constitute the basis for the design of further community development projects so students can make recommendations to various stakeholders.
B. CULTURE, IDENTITY & ARTS
This program contains the following courses:
1. Intensive Wolof (3 credits)
All students participate in daily language courses in Wolof, Senegal’s lingua franca. This class follows our “give-and-take” approach whereas Senegalese students develop their English proficiency by working with their American counterparts and vice-versa American students advance their conversational Wolof. Students will be totally immersed in the Senegalese culture so their language skills and cross-cultural competency will increase whether at home or at school. Participants will have the opportunity to fully engage with a diverse population in order to build and develop communication skills to be competitive in today’s global job market.
2. French (3 credits)
Our professional language instructors will use various teaching styles and pedagogy to ensure participants improve their language proficiency in French. Through classroom and field-based instructions students will focus on extending the written and oral vocabulary and grammar in French. Depending on the evaluation of our in country staff, students will be placed in one of the following intensive French classes: Beginning, Intermediate or Advanced French.
3. Cultural Immersion & Identity (4 credits)
Senegal is known as “le pays de la téranga” which translates into “the country of hospitality.” The diversity within Senegal is ever-present from the people to the landscape. This tradition rich country offers our program participants a unique opportunity to explore the socio-cultural diversity within Senegal. Students will get an inside look at Senegal troubled history and also its contributions to Africa and the Diaspora in historical and socio-cultural terms. Through classroom sessions, site visits; guest-speakers, and cultural explorations students will be able to gauge the impact of cultures of African ancestry on the world. This fun-filled class provides a great learning environment for students from all backgrounds as they experiment with traditional Senegalese instruments, foods, songs, and storytelling. Students will visit the infamous Gorée Island and its slave castle while they attend a lecture by the curator of the museum.
4. Independent Learning Project (4 credits)
With help from our staff students will develop and conduct an independent learning project based on their personal interest. These projects offer our students an opportunity to hone their skills in research and expend their knowledge. The project can take place in our home base of Dakar or in another location deemed appropriate by our staff. Projects have varied from traditional music, to hip-hop, ethnomusicology, visual arts, women and arts, religion and arts, traditional wrestling, Gorée Island and the slave trade, etc.
In addition to the above-listed courses, students can choose one of the courses below for 8 weeks.
Introduction to Pre and Post Colonial Senegal (2 credits)
In this voyage through the history of Senegal participant will gain an insight beyond the usual “country facts” courses offered by other schools. Our course represents an in-depth look at the key sociocultural events and prominent people who shaped and are shaping the plight of Senegal. Students will learn about the great kings who fought valiantly against the French army.
Arts Studio (2 credits)
Students will have the opportunity to work with our network of performing or visual artists to pursue or engage their creativity in a cross-cultural context. Our past participants have enjoyed participating in West African dancing and drumming, batik, theater, ballet, cooking, painting (including sand painting,) hip-hop GalSen (only those who attend our programs will know what this means), etc.