The Humanities
A View of the World

Many of Zachary Davis' favorite authors -- Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer -- wrote during the Medieval and Renaissance periods, and all revered Italy and its artists. It was this love of English literature that first made Davis consider living in Italy.

"Going to Italy was the best way to both learn the language and to place myself in a position where I would be surrounded by the fruits of the authors, artists and architects in which I was interested at the time," Davis says.

Davis graduated from the University of Oregon in the winter of 1999 with a double major in English and Italian. He counts the time he spent studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, through a university program, as one of the most important parts of his undergraduate education.

"Seeing the Italian lifestyle both freed me from prejudices about European culture and encouraged me to change the way I think about American culture," he says.

Each year, nearly 600 students -- mostly undergraduate -- participate in one of seventy study abroad or internship programs sponsored by the university in more than forty countries. The program has grown quickly over the past ten years, says Thomas Mills, director of the Office of International Education and Exchange. Recently, it has expaZnded into less traveled areas, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Russia, India, Nepal, and parts of Africa. These study opportunities appeal to students throughout the College of Arts & Sciences, especially in the humanities with its many foreign language course offerings.

"A study abroad experience can tie together a lot of the pieces of the educational puzzle for the typical undergraduate," says Barbara May, an associate professor of Romance languages, who has directed programs in Spain and Mexico for more than twenty years.

Kevin Kono, a UO law student who graduated in 1991 with a B.A. in psychology and Spanish, took advantage of two UO Spanish language programs during his undergraduate years. One was in Queretaro, Mexico, and the other in Seville, Spain.

Kono recalls the moment during his stay in Seville when he realized that he'd reached a milestone in his language development. He had struck up a conversation with an elderly Spaniard sitting in the Plaza de Espana. The man was missing most of his teeth and had a very thick Andalucian accent, which meant that he only pronounced about half of every syllable and never pronounced the letter 's'.

"We had a nice conversation about the weather, Seville, the Plaza, and I was able to express myself nearly as well as I can in English," says Kono. "More importantly, I could understand nearly everything he said!"

Most study abroad participants agree that the best way to learn about another country's language and culture is to live there. Tristan Bodle (BA '93), a political science and Spanish major who spent time in Quito, Equador, and Seville, Spain, says his experiences abroad influenced his decision to become a teacher.

"I now work with many immigrant students, and I believe my experiences overseas help me relate well with them," says Bodle, who teaches high school history and Spanish in Daly City, California. "I love to tell my students about life in South America and Spain and to share my experiences and pictures with them."

Robert Davis, associate professor of Romance languages, recalls that his first study abroad experience in Madrid, Spain, changed his life "intellectually, emotionally and personally." His experience "started a lifelong relationship with a new place, its people and its culture."

For students taking Spanish or the other Romance languages, the UO offers extensive opportunities to study abroad. Italian language students can apply to travel to the Italian hillside town of Perugia or the Tuscan city of Siena, and one student a year is selected to participate in a yearlong direct exchange program with the Collegia Ghislieri/University of Pavia. The French language program gives students the chance to study in Lyon, France's second-largest city; Poitiers, a small city about the size of Eugene; or Angers, the gateway to the Loire Valley, says Barbara Altman, an associate professor of Romance languages.

Study abroad opportunities also exist for students taking East Asian, Scandinavian or Germanic languages and literature courses, theatre arts, and many other liberal arts subjects.

"I almost insist that my graduate students spend some time abroad," says Stephen Durrant, professor of Chinese literature. "The first time there can be disorienting, but the study abroad program allows them to be slightly sheltered."

Students can earn university credits for approved study abroad courses, allowing them to use financial aid. However, most trips are self-supported and many students can't afford them, says Mills. Scholarships are crucial to making the program accessible to all academically qualified students.

Each student will experience the program in his or her own way, but all are bound to find it a transforming experience, says Gina Psaki, associate professor of Romance languages. "It helps them see the world and themselves through different eyes and become more thoughtful and sophisticated citizens."