May Term Update - Mary Baldwin College

In addition to four traditional academic terms Mary Baldwin College also offers what we call the "May Term".

May Term Abroad courses are distinctly different from tourism. Often students travel by public transportation and stay in homes or in small, family operated hotels. Students may have the opportunity for academic interchange with foreign students in the classroom. In the case of courses where site and subject are interdependent, students have the opportunity to travel with an expert in the field. Learning happens through experiencing, touring, and through informal on-site lectures.

While each study abroad program has a principal faculty leader, there are frequently several faculty who go along so that students can enrich their field experiences with insights from various experts. Some expeditions offer a range of courses. On a recent trip to Russia, for example, students could select a course in modern Russian studies from a professor who had studied in Russia and was fluent in the language, or they could choose a course that focused on the performing arts in Russia and was taught by a member of the theatre faculty.


Where will you be during May Term 2007? Paul Callo, assistant professor of biology, will be in Costa Rica. Martha Walker, associate professor of French, has plans in France. Japan is the destination for Professor of Education Jim McCrory and Professor of Asian Studies
Daniel Métraux.

Mary Baldwin College’s annual study abroad fair initiated the college’s Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement as an event venue and introduced students to May Term educational
sites worldwide. A dozen MBC faculty —including some familiar travelers and others who will embark for the first time for a course — will take students on farflung adventures for the three-week term.

Costa Rica: Field Ornithology (BIOL
150). Students learn to identify birds
and study their biology and conservation
with Assistant Professor Paul
Callo.

Cyprus: Multicultural Psychology
(PSYC 216) and Intercultural
Communication (COMM 280).
Focus on how family life, religion,
politics, and geography shapes
culture with native Cypriot Associate
Professor Andreas Anastasiou and
Professor Jack Kibler. Associate
Professor of Communication Alice
Araujo joins the trip to explore the
relationship between culture and
communication.

England: Virginia Program at Oxford
(ENG/HIST 390) (Summer 2008).
Professor of History Mary Hill Cole
guides six weeks of Renaissance
history and literature with British
scholars and tutors, plus sightseeing
and outings. London Theatre (THEA
208). Study and travel in the world
capital of English-speaking theatre
and visit Stratford-upon-Avon with
Virginia Francisco ’64, professor of
theatre.

Central Europe: Science in Cultural
Context (CHEM 105). Bulgaria-born
Vladimir Garkov, associate professor
of chemistry, gives students an up
close view of the sites of significant
scientific discoveries.

Italy: Renaissance Studies in Italy
(ART 343). Sara Nair James,
professor of art, leads studies of art
in Rome, Florence, Venice, and other
cities.

Japan: Introduction to Japan (JPNS
250). Professors Métraux and
McCrory stay with students in
Tokyo, tour ancient historical
Kamakura and Nikko, get an
inside tour of Japanese Parliament
(Diet), and visit Japanese
schools.

England and Wales: Celtic Britain.
View Britain’s multicultural side at
historic and literary sites with
Associate Professor Sarah Kennedy
and Professor Roderic Owen.

France: French Play in Performance
(FREN 154). Attend theatre
performances, visit landmarks, and
learn about life in Paris from host
families with Associate Professor
Martha Walker.