Public History

PHIST major Korin Judge (pictured on left)is not the person to talk to if you are on the fence about Study Abroad at Stevenson, because after talking with her for 5 minutes you will be ready to board the plane. Korin spent a semester in Hamilton, New Zealand at Waikato University (WU) and she loved every minute of it. Korin explains that WU is about 5 times bigger than SU and there are plenty of things to do on campus. Korin enjoyed the variety of course topics. She took 4 classes: History and Politics of India, Te Reo Maori (Maori language), Conflicts and Crisis in the Middle East and Digital Preservation (Public History). Korin liked New Zealand’s attitude about encouraging students to “learn on your own terms”. At WU students are not required to attend lectures, turn in papers, or take finals. Students are just expected to know the material at the end of the course, how they acquire said knowledge is up to the student. The best part of WU’s lenient academic system for Korin was that it gave her ample time to travel around New Zealand. Korin describes New Zealand as, “hands down the most beautiful place [she] has ever seen.” Korin explained that it wasn’t unusual for her and a few friends to rent a car and just drive to various national parks or different places in the untamed countryside of New Zealand. Korin’s most memorable experiences are with New Zealanders she met. She feels that New Zealand is home to some of the friendliest people on Earth and she encourages anyone who travels to NZ to get to know them. Korin is always open to discussing her trip and encourages any PHIST majors that are interested in Study Abroad to contact her at kjudge@stevenson.edu

PHIST major Carlos Mora (pictured in green) was just looking for something to do during the summer when he enrolled in Stevenson University’s new Study Abroad Program in Ireland, but what Carlos got was a trip that he refers to as the “most fun of [his] life.” The program is based at the American Studies Institute in County Cavan, Ireland, which is an hour outside of Dublin. The program included room and board, four classes, excursions and airfare for around $6500. The classes that were offered this summer were: English, Theater, Photography, and a Leadership class. Of the four Carlos’ favorite was his photography class because he learned how to use his digital camera and he ended up taking over 3,000 pictures during the trip. Carlos’ favorite experiences happened on what the group leader Professor Romas Laskaskus referred to as “Hump-Day Adventures.” Every Wednesday the group went on an excursion to a famous Irish historical site. Carlos’ most memorable “Hump-Day Adventure” was visiting the Cliffs of Moher and Giant’s Causeway. The Cliffs of Moher are a series of massive cliffs that have been featured in the Harry Potter Movies and the Causeway is the site associated with the founding of Ireland. Carlos didn’t mind not having his weekends free because the group also took trips around Ireland on the weekends. On the weekend trips, the group stayed in various hotels around Ireland while they soaked in the Irish culture. Carlos admitted that with the free time he had, he frequented the town’s pub. But he explained that Irish pubs are not like American bars, they are more of a hangout spot for the locals to socialize and play pool with friends. Carlos had a hard time understanding the locals’ accents and found himself asking the people he encountered if they could repeat themselves and slow down when they spoke. Carlos learned a lot about Ireland’s culture, history and its people and he highly recommends the program to all of SU’s students, especially to Public History majors.