 |
Photo by Pok Cha Samarrai |
| U.Va. students in Bob Swap’s
study abroad course, “People, Culture and the
Environment of Southern Africa” |
By Fariss Samarrai
June 20, 2006 -- Fifteen University of Virginia students and their faculty
traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa, on May 23 for
the study abroad course, “People, Culture and the
Environment of Southern Africa.” An additional
six students also traveled to Africa to conduct service-learning
projects in local villages.
The class, led by Bob Swap, associate professor of environmental
sciences, emphasizes understanding how cultures are shaped
by their environment and how these societies likewise alter
their environment.
During the trip, which ended June 19, students visited
several locations in South Africa and Mozambique, including
the Apartheid Museum, the boyhood home of Nelson Mandela,
and several rural villages.
Swap tried to “put a new wrinkle in the gray matter” of
his students by exposing them to new cultures and the challenges
faced by much of the world's populations, he said. “The
fact is, these students will someday be corporate, legal
and policy leaders. We hope to help them realize that in
the future, when they’re making decisions, those
decisions will have repercussions around the world.”
 |
Photo by Pok Cha Samarrai |
| Jessica Bonnie (right), a rising third-year
student, watches a Canahe woman haul water from a
well. |
This is the fourth time the class has been taught. Swap has been conducting
research in southern Africa for 15 years, and the University has been engaged
in research and education programs in the region for more than 30 years.
Student Essays
• Catalina
Cecchi, Rising Second-Year Anthropology Student
• Gavin
Schmidt, Rising Third-Year Majoring in Systems Engineering
• Kevin
Sinusas, Rising Third-Year Majoring in Biology and Minoring
in Philosophy
• Peter
Stapor, Rising Third-Year Biomedical Engineering
Student
• Zach
Best, Rising Third-Year Anthropology Student
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