"Summer in Hue" a Fantastic Study Abroad Opportunity
July 27-August 29, 2009
Dear Colleagues:
I’m writing to announce that UC Riverside’s Summer Travel Study Program “Encountering Vietnam” will run for its third year next summer in Hue from July 27 to August 29, 2009.
“Encountering Vietnam” is a five week program (8 credit hours, Univ of California) that combines a lecture course, language tutorials for all levels, and field study or service learning. The lecture course is worth five credit hours and approaches Vietnamese history from its ancient roots to the modern wars and the post-war era through the genre of travel writing. Besides reading many primary texts in translation and visiting many ancient and modern sites described in them, students also participate in their own travel writing projects. The lecture course convenes Mon-Thurs 8-930am at the Hue College of Foreign Languages. It is followed by language tutorials in small groups of two or three students with a language teacher from 10am-11am Mon-Thurs. Whether students are total beginners or advanced speakers, the tutorials aim to improve their ability in Vietnamese so they understand the importance of translation and interpretation in travel writing.
The other academic component of the program, the field study or service learning project, is scheduled to take place two afternoons per week. The field study project for 2009 is titled “The Environmental Wounds of War” and involves teams of American and Vietnamese students conducting oral history interviews with elderly residents around a former American military base (Camp Eagle) near Hue's Phu Bai Airport. Part of an ongoing research project led by myself and colleagues in Hue, students will be involved in recording oral histories as well as transcribing and translating them. Some student teams may work on a related project with historic maps as part of parallel research in the historical geography of the area. Finally, some students may elect instead to participate in a service learning project at orphanages, hospitals, museums or nonprofit organizations in the city. Each student will be required to present a presentation of their activities and their work will be evaluated for three credit hours as “History Independent Study.”
Besides these activities, the program offers numerous tours around Hue, evening entertainment, a beach less than 5 km from town, and guided tours to Hanoi, Hoi An, Danang and the former demilitarized zone. People in Hue are famous for their friendliness, and the program, now in its third year, provides students with introductions to performers, musicians, scholars, artists, kite-makers, and others. For those interested, there is a prior program blog at http://ucrss.blogspot.com and http://summerinhue2007.blogspot.com.
If you are interested in this program or could pass it along to students in your courses this year, I would appreciate it! Please respond to me off list, and I will be happy to send you pdf's of the flyers and letters to students/study abroad counselors at your school. My email is dbiggs@ucr.edu. Interested students and study abroad counselors can also contact UCR's Director of Travel Study Mely Fitzgerald (mely.fitzgerald@ucr.edu) for flyers, information on required forms and deadlines.
Finally, the program as a summer session program is open to non-matriculated students and retirees of any age as well as graduate students (sorry, no TAships available). We have had (Vietnam) vets participate in the past, and they are very welcome in the program. No prior language experience is required. And if you are already in Hue this summer, please feel free to sit in (space permitting).
David Biggs
History Department
UC Riverside