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Broadening horizons through learning abroad
By Judith A. Fox
Darrell Tate got an eye-opening
lesson in democracy while
studying abroad in South
Africa this summer.
"In this country, we don't take ownership in our democratic process beyond voting," says Tate, a former General College student now studying sociology in CLA. "One of the really positive things about South Africa is the concept of a civil society, meaning the regular citizen has a calling more than just a vote. So you have ordinary people just doing what they can at the community, regional, and provincial levels." |
Dew in Johannesburg |
Tate's life-changing experience is just what
Cheryl Johnson hopes for other students since
spearheading the GC Learning Abroad Committee
last spring. Johnson, an executive
administrative assistant in the GC Dean's
Office, missed out on learning-abroad opportunities
in her own education and feels passionately
that GC students should see learning
abroad as a possibility in their lives. "We are a
global society now," said Johnson, "and here
in the United States we tend to be stuck in our
own back yards."
The GC Learning Abroad Committee, chaired
by retired staff member Bev Stewart, works to
raise awareness of learning abroad opportunities
for current GC students as well as those
who began in GC and have now transferred to
other colleges, raises funds for scholarships,
and encourages faculty to develop courses
they can teach abroad.
Tate was joined in South
Africa by fellow current and
former GC students Anthony
Galloway and Mandla Xaba.
The trip was part of a special
learning-abroad opportunity
organized and sponsored by
the Office for Multicultural
and Academic Affairs (OMAA), with
some financial assistance from General
College. Last spring, the three took
a course entitled "Emerging Democracies:
Lessons from South Africa,"
taught by Professor Harry Boyte of the
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
All students in the course were eligible
to participate in the summer learning
abroad experience; five actually made
the trip.
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At a radio station in Johannesburg's Alexandria township, University of
Minnesota students learned about neighborhood development issues.
L to r (sitting) Anthony Dew, Mandla Xaba, Anthony Galloway, Jeremy Jones,
(standing) Darrell Tate and unidentified South African staff member.
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The students spent seven weeks in South Africa and divided their time between coursework at the University of Witwatersand in Johannesburg, community service, and travel. They worked with other students to move a kindergarten, or "creche," and planted a vegetable garden in a rural village. But their most powerful lessons came from interacting with a wide variety of South African people.
"You can learn lessons in democracy from each person," Tate said. "It was very, very powerful to get opinions on people's ownership of that new democracy and their place in their society."
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Galloway, a former GC student now studying anthropology in CLA, says the experience challenged his expectations and gave him a much broader view of the world. He was surprised to get off the airplane in Johannesburg and find a bustling metropolitan city with both skyscrapers and extreme poverty.
Galloway had the opportunity to attend a Baptist church service and was particularly moved by the music. "There was choral music," he explains, "but with different scales and harmonies. It reminded me of a church service from down south."
Mandla Xaba was also surprised by the extreme disparities of wealth, but he was impressed with the country's level of industrialization. Xaba, a GC student who plans to study political science, emigrated from South Africa to the United States as a young child. His reunion with his father, whom he hadn't seen for several years, made the trip especially meaningful.
Xaba encourages all Americans to study in South Africa. "It's easy to get used to," he says. "There are lots of familiar things, like Internet cafes. And most people speak English, especially in the urban areas."
Now back at school, the students are active in Students for African Learning and Leadership Exchange, which aims to break down stereotypes of Africa, get youth engaged in political action, and increase exchange between Africans and African-Americans.
The "U" offers a range of learning-abroad opportunities. GC students can get further information at GC's Transfer and Career Center. GC Learning Abroad scholarships are open to GC students, as well as other students who began their studies in General College. OMAA, the primary sponsor of the South Africa trip, hopes to provide students with similar learning abroad opportunities in the future, given sufficient resources, says Karen Anderson, OMAA's director for civic engagement, global initiatives, and service learning.
Contact the GC Office of Development and
Alumni Relations at 612-625-8398 or
darg@umn.edu for more information on
contributing toward learning abroad
scholarships.
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