Creating International Courses In MET Planning, administering and executing intensive 7-107 day travel courses.
Since 2001 the Arts Administration Program has run four international courses: The Arts of Cuba 2003 Comparative Cultural Policy & Administration London 2004, 2006 The Arts in Barcelona 2007
Why not do it? The university-wide systems are not inherently supportive at BU (but MET staff are!). Development of in-country relationships and course content is very time consuming. It s s expensive for students. Support logistics are complex (housing, travel, etc.). Weird things can happen away from campus.
Why Do it? The arts ARE international, and our students benefit from seeing this in situ. The opportunity for total immersion by our students who must otherwise balance classes with jobs and families. International models differ widely from one another and the U.S. Travel allows us to absorb another culture, language and cuisine giving us a richer perspective. Our students describe it as among their most rewarding educational experiences at BU. Boston University has made international study a major priority.
We have done courses in two time slots: Intersession after Christmas before Spring Term. There is usually almost 2 weeks in January each year. Summer Term Usually Summer I
Think of it as Three Components Pre-travel Travel Post travel Part of the Cuba class New Year s Day
Pre-Travel Phase 1. Arrange host country venues and educational resources; 2. Create a syllabus; 3. Build a Course Info website; 4. Assign readings; 5. In Barcelona we used Universitat Pompeu Fabra for classroom and guest faculty support; 6. Meet 1-61 6 times on campus before the travel period ( I use Friday nights).
Arranging Partnerships Abroad In Barcelona the discussion was begun in October 2005 when I visited as an invited lecturer arranged by an alum; Built a contract with Pompeu-Fabra to provide classroom space and guest faculty ; Work with your existing professional networks through conferences, etc.
Creating Class + Enrolling Students Offer it the 1 st time as a Special Topics class Publicize in classroom departmentally Publicize in our weekly e-mail e Communiqué For the intercession class we created a pre-registration list Exercise care in who you allow into course we now ONLY allow our degree students - also limit it to 15-20 students Walking tour of Barcelona on arrival
Travel/International Phase Have on-ground logistical coordination; Don t t over administer student travel; Do try to arrange housing at advantageous rates; Schedule intensively but have some back-ups - something always goes wrong; Use a mix of classroom and off-site venues; Leave some free time for exploration. Tàpies Gallery Barcelona
Barcelona Schedule Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 10:00- Arts Administration in Europe 10:00- Public Museums System 10:00- L Auditori 10:00- European v.. US Copyright Travel Day 13:15- Barcelona as a Cultural City 13:15- Private Museums: Picasso Museum 10:00- Public and Private Money for the Arts 13:15- National Theater of Catalonia 13:15- Arts, Entrepreneurship, Discussion/ Seminar Free Session Most morning sessions are at Pompeu-Fabra - Extended Lunch Break 16:00- Introductory Walking Tour 19:15- Orientation & Welcome Cocktails 16:00- Class with IDEC Arts Admin Students Barcelona s Strategic Plan for the Cultural Sector, 1998-2006 16:00- Catalonia s National Museum Followed by: Barbier-Mueller Pre-Columbian Art Museum 16:00- The Artistic Creation in Barcelona Followed by: Art Galleries and Collecting Ending generally at 19:15 16:00- Theater Production, Seminar with the Industry Followed by: Music Festivals, Discussion Seminar Music Performance Free Session The Arts in Barcelona; An Historical Perspective Final Thoughts, Debate, Dinner, and Farewell Party
2006 London Schedule Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Free Time 9:00-12:30 UK Arts Policy, Part 1 9:00-10:30 UK Arts Policy, Part 2 10:30-12:30 Supranational Cultural Policy: UNESCO and the EU 9:00-12:00 Convincing Government about Culture 9:00 12:00 Creating Cultural Policy From Scratch- The Case of South Africa 9:00-12:30 Fostering Effective Leadership and Governance in UK Arts Organizations Free Time Lunch Break Free Time 13:30-15:00 On Site Lecture and Discussion: How Arts and Business Support Each Other, Arts and Business Council 16:00-18:30 Lecture and Tour: Running the National Theater 19:30-22:00 Performance: The Life of Galileo 12:00-1:00 Review and Discussion Free Time to Visit Museums 12:00-1:00 Review and Discussion Free Time to Visit Museums 13:30-16:00 On Site Lecture And Tour: UK Arts Education Policy, Tate Modern Museum Free Time Morning Lecturers are from the following Universities: Mon: University of Greenwich; Tue. Goldsmiths College; Wed. City University; Thurs. University of Witwatersrand; Fri. Consultant, former Chief Executive, Arts Council England
Post-Travel Phase Hold 1-21 2 follow-up classes after we return Allow a period long enough for students to do follow up research and write a paper I often have the students present summaries of their research to the class and also post the papers on the Course Info site
What do I Require of Students? Students must attend all pre-travel classes Students must attend all lectures and art organization venue-based sessions abroad Students must attend post-travel travel class Assignments: I require all students to keep a daily journal recording a mix of both personal and educational reactions to the day Complete a research paper of 15-17 17 pages Do a brief presentation on their research at the final class
Barcelona Residence Sample costs for Barcelona: Tuition $2600 Housing 300 (7 nights @ $42/night) Airfare 650 Total.. $3550
Artist s studio visit - Havana Lunch after class Barcelona 2007
CUBA MET student Heather singing with the band Overall this course was extremely engaging and successful a great opportunity to work and learn in close proximity to our professor. In general this trip/course was the highlight of my BU experience Studio talk by Toirac
Student Comment from Evaluations The group dynamic has been so good I think that is a big part of why I took the trip. So many of us are busy with our own lives, and rarely get to sit down and talk but the conversations have been fantastic. The international students bring a unique cultural perspective to every discussion Barcelona 2007
End