Summer 2023

Puerto Rico: United States Empire from the Margins

The twelve students in this Global Experience Seminar examined histories and literatures from and about the U.S. territories beyond the 50 states, with a particular focus on Puerto Rico in the 20th and 21st centuries. They were led by Beloit College Media Studies and English professor Michael Dango and Global Experience Office Associate Director/Instructor of Modern Languages Julianne Angeli’12. 

While on the island, students met Juan Dalmau, former presidential candidate for the Puerto Rican independence Party, and learned from professors and community activists advocating for and celebrating the rich cultural identity of Puerto Rico. While living at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, they considered the legacies of colonization and efforts by writers to decolonize both lands and literatures. 

Diego Boyd-Lassalle’25 reflects on his experiences during the Puerto Rico seminar

Italy: Ghosts of Rome

Rome is a city of ghosts, and the twelve students in this Global Experience Seminar were engaged in an imaginative approach to this both ancient and modern city. After an intensive week planning and preparing for on-site study, students spent ten days exploring the city, keeping in mind the ways its pasts both sustain and haunt it.

Led by professor of Greek, Latin and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Lisl Walsh and Director of Career Works Jessica Fox-Wilson’98, this program challenged students to consider how their own experiences (of history, urban spaces, culture, and even college itself) inevitably change the landscape of their investigation.

Summer 2022

Spain: Citizenship, Migration & Identity in Spain

The fifteen students in this Global Experience Seminar deepened their knowledge and connection to the issues of international migration, immigrant justice, and identity and power in a pluralistic society. They were led by Beloit College’s professors of Spanish Languages and Literatures Amy Tibbitts and Gabriela Cerghedean.

Staying with host families in Granada and taking excursions to Córdoba and Sevilla, the students explored the overlapping cultural identities of this region and people in historic and contemporary perspective.

Read sophomore Ojaswi Dhakal’s experiences during this Spain seminar

The Cathedral de Sevilla was built as a mosque in 1182, converted to a cathedral in 1248. It features three distinct architectural styles.

Students taking a break while studying the Cathedral de Sevilla.

The Mezquita de Córdoba was built as a mosque in 785 when Córdoba was the seat of the Muslim-controled Andalusia. It was converted into a cathedral in 1236 after the city was captured by Christian forces.

Students spent time in the classroom learning from local experts on immigration, migration and identity in Spain.

The group takes a break from exploring the architecture of medieval Andalusia, which was ruled from Granada by the Islamic emirate of the Nasrids.

Students participated in a Flamenco dance workshop. Flamenco emerged out of the mixture of cultures of southern Spain.