By now, you've probably heard that our 2018 GIFT Courses have been finalized! As we prepare for our upcoming GIFT Course info sessions (details below!), take a minute to read the course descriptions and see which courses can fulfill your program and/or Liberal Studies Core requirements!
Spring Break
SAN SALVADOR ISLAND, BAHAMAS
Tropical Marine Biology (BIOL 383)*
Faculty leaders: Greg Andraso, Ph.D. | Mike Ganger, Ph.D.
The Tropical Marine Biology travel study field course occurs yearly and is a special spring break program offered by Gannon University in cooperation with the Gerace Research Centre on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. The course centers around daily field trips to various habitats on the island including shrub lands, mangroves, caves, tidal pools, coral reefs, turtle grass flats and inland ponds.
For information contact: andraso001@gannon.edu | ganger001@gannon.edu
IMMOKALEE, FLORIDA
Catholic Social Teaching Immersion (THEO 355)*
Faculty leader: Jimmy Menkhaus, Ph.D.
Catholic social teaching is an important, yet often overlooked, area of Church teaching. With the election of Pope Francis, the social teachings of the Church have experienced a renewed interest. Immokalee is a small town of migrant farm workers, where as recently as 2008, cases of modern day slavery were still being prosecuted. The conditions of the workers and history of their oppression create an ideal location for students to learn about the application of Catholic social teaching in the real world. This is a spring semester course with a spring break travel component.
For information contact: menkhaus001@gannon.edu
IBARRA, ECUADOR
OT Fieldwork: Exploring Ecuador (GOCCT516)*
Faculty leaders: Amy Brzuz, OTD | Julia Hawkins, OTD
Occupational Therapy (OT) students visit CRECER (Centro de Rehabilitación, Educación, Capacitación, Estudios y Recursos, Inc.) in Ibarra, Ecuador. CRECER is an OT clinic that has as its mission to “promote increased access to healthcare services in underserved regions of Ecuador through education, treatment and research.” The OT students will be providing occupational therapy services to clients with physical disabilities in three distinct settings: a group home, a skilled nursing facility and an outpatient clinic. These OT students are seniors who are fulfilling their level 1 fieldwork requirement for their Occupational Therapy Intervention: Physical Disabilities 2 class.
For information contact: brzuz005@gannon.edu
Spring (May/June)
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA
The Canal to Leadership (ME 300)
Faculty leader: Karinna M. Vernaza, Ph.D.
This course situates leadership within an international context. During the semester, students will study models of leadership and will be exposed to a broad spectrum of leadership skills. Students will learn about the relationship between Panama and the United States as similarities and differences are explored. Students will attend lectures throughout the spring semester and the class will travel to Panama in May. Participants will be immersed in this vibrant country for approximately 12 days. The trip will include a half-day transit through the Panama Canal, visits to cultural and historical sites, and visits to tropical beaches and rainforest. As part of the course, students will participate in a service-project with a local agency in Panama. For more information contact: vernaza001@gannon.edu
ESSLINGEN, GERMANY
Strategic Management (MGMT 399)
Faculty Leader: Bruce A. Kibler, Ph.D.
This spring course meets in Erie before departure, but the bulk of the course is held in Esslingen, Germany, a picturesque city of about 100,000 population in southern Germany at Gannon’s partner university, Esslingen University of Applied Science. Students attend lectures, work in groups with local German students, take tours of local companies from Porsche and Daimler (Mercedes) to specialized suppliers such as Heller (machining – metal working) and Festo (world leader in robotics) to Germany’s oldest champagne cellar (Keller Sekt) and a local brewery. Students will also have the opportunity to travel to several other cities, determined predominantly by student input. For information contact: kibler006@gannon.edu
PROVENCE, FRANCE
The Art of Film (LFIN 254)
Faculty leader: Doug King, Ph.D.
The course will expose students to various elements of film, such as history, technique, vocabulary, and genre, this course helps students to view films as informed and critical consumers. Students will come to understand how filmmakers achieve meaning and evoke responses from viewers. This course has the additional goal of focusing on films associated with the Provence region (southern France), culminating with a trip there, where students will experience firsthand many of the film settings, as well as the works of artists depicted in some of our films. This course fulfills the Liberal Studies Core requirement for Fine Arts. For more information contact: king023@gannon.edu
THAILAND
Living the Gannon Mission in Thailand Leadership Seminar (LHES 240)*
Faculty leader: Kathy Kingston, Ph.D.
This leadership seminar situates leadership and Catholic social justice within an international community. It requires the application of leadership skills and knowledge while learning about the situation of the Thai people. Students travel to Thailand, “the Land of Smiles,” for three weeks in May to help students in the Catholic schools in Thailand learn to speak and understand English through teaching in the students’ classrooms and conducting an English camp. The course meets five times throughout the spring semester by appointment before travel in May.
For information contact: kingston002@gannon.edu
BEIJING, CHINA
International Sport, Wellness and Recreation in China (SMGT 372)
Faculty leader: Eric Brownlee, Ph.D.
This course is an exploration of Chinese culture and experiences in being a world leader in sports, recreation and wellness. It will examine the historical and contemporary role of sport business on the national stage through visitation and understanding of a modern Olympic host (2008), an expanding hub for U.S. sports globally (NBA China) and examining an American company, AEG Global, the theories and practices of international sports management and issues in international sport management. For information contact: brownlee001@gannon.edu
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Field Zoology/Biology Travel Studies (BIOL 384)*
Faculty leaders: Steve Ropski, Ph.D.
This course will examine many aspects of Yellowstone National Park. Topics to be covered include grizzly bears, wolf reintroduction, impact of fires, geysers and past volcanic activity, geological history, including earthquakes, and the herbivores of the park (bison, moose, antelope and elk). The program will be joined by experts in each area who will spend time with the class. Students will attend lectures throughout the spring semester and the course will travel in June.
For information contact: ropski001gannon.edu
LONDON, ENGLAND
Introduction to Fine Arts (LFIN 257)
Faculty Leaders: Fr. Shawn Clerkin & Dr. Linda Fleming
This hybrid course looks at the wide diversity of artistic expression and genres, including two- and three-dimensional art, architecture, music, opera, theatre, dance, and literature. Few cities in the world afford experiences and venues like London, England. This course will take the spring semester to meet learning objectives for comprehension and knowledge of artistic genres in the online environment. Periodically, the class will meet in person, to assure meeting the reading and writing assignments. After the semester is over, the class will travel together to London, where students will experience all of the genres discussed. Venues and locations that are tentatively scheduled include Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the National Opera, the Tate Modern, Abbey Road, and many others. Students will also have a sightseeing opportunity on a day trip to Bath, Salisbury, and Stonehenge.
For information contact: clerkin001@gannon.edu
POLAND AND UKRAINE
Good & Evil: Reconciling the Holocaust (LBST 383/LTHE 265)*
Faculty leaders: Dr. Jeff Bloodworth, Dr. Jimmy Menkhaus
This cross-disciplinary course satisfies either the liberal studies capstone (LBST 383) or theology II requirement. In May, faculty and students will travel to Poland and Ukraine. In Poland, students will visit the cities of Warsaw and Krakow, the Auschwitz and Treblinka death camps, and various Jewish and Polish cultural sites. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about Jewish-Catholic reconciliation, as well as immerse themselves in an on-site service project. The study tour will culminate in Prague where students and faculty will reflect and tour one of Europe’s most historic cities.
For information contact: bloodwor003@gannon.edu
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
Spanish for Medical Professionals (SPAN 238)*
Faculty leaders: Dr. Martha Kosir, Dr. Tania Flink
This spring semester course with a 10-day travel component to Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in May, includes Spanish language instruction, study of health care in Latin America, and service-learning activities. The course is open to all majors with the appropriate language background (SPAN 112 or 3-4 years of high school Spanish), who are interested in working in health-care related professions (administrative positions included). In addition to health science majors, other majors for whom the course could prove to be very beneficial are Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Business majors.
For information contact: kosir001@gannon.edu
ICELAND
Climate Change in the Land of Fire and Ice (LBST 383)*
Faculty and staff leaders: Dr. Michelle Homan and Ms. Gretchen Fairley
This senior capstone course will explore how the unique island nation of Iceland is creating sustainability initiatives aimed at the significant and observable impacts of climate change. In Iceland, students will tour alternative energy facilities and meet with government officials and organizations that are leading Iceland to adapt to climate change and mitigate its detrimental effects. Sites will include a geothermal power plant and carbon sequestration operation, plus natural wonders that have connections to climate change such as glaciers, volcanoes and geothermal pools.
For information contact: fairley002@gannon.edu or homan001@gannon.edu
