Summer 2017 Europe Trip

Summer Europe Trip

The Language of Diplomacy/La Langue de la Diplomatie 
Anth 333/Fren 333
Professor Juliette Rogers and Professor Dianna Shandy

Overview
The Summer 2017 Language of Diplomacy Field Trip to Europe is open to Macalester students.  It is being planned as an optional international travel component paired with the Spring 2017 course, The Language of Diplomacy (ANTH/FREN 333), to be taught by Professors Juliette Rogers and Dianna Shandy.  Students will be selected through an application process.  Priority for this field trip will be given to students enrolled in the Spring 2017 ANTH/FREN 333 course.  Other participants will be considered on the basis of academic background and space availability.

Course Description
This interdisciplinary course, co-taught by faculty in Anthropology and French and Francophone Studies, will introduce students to the broad range of international institutions where French is one of the primary working languages. Language, as the basis for human cooperation, provides a vehicle for students to explore the connections between language, power, and human rights. To engage students from the outset with the lived experiences of those working in the larger diplomatic world, students will do a life-history interview with a professional to learn more about their career trajectory and the work that they do.  We will further bring real-life scenarios into the classroom by watching and analyzing simulcast sessions in French from the International Criminal Court and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  Throughout the course we will deepen our understanding of the historical and cultural dynamics within Europe over the past 150 years that gave rise to, maintain, and subvert the role of language in diplomacy.

Field Trip Description
Paired with this course is a two-week optional Study Away field trip in Summer 2017 led by Professors Rogers and Shandy. The study away component to The Netherlands, France, and Switzerland is designed to deepen students’ understanding and appreciation of material covered in the course and to provide them with direct exposure to the international institutions featured in the course. Proposed activities include: visiting the International Criminal Court and other tribunals in The Hague, attending consultations at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, as well as visiting the United Nations, WHO, and IOM.  The field trip will continue to Marseille for meetings with immigration specialists at the Center for Mediterranean Integration. We will end the field trip  in Paris where we will wrap-up the experience.  The estimated cost for the international field trip, including airfare, is around $3000. (Price is subject to change based on number of participants and airfare costs.)