The following off-campus programs of study are available to Bluffton students:
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Peace and Conflict Resolution Program in Northern Ireland
This program is offered through University College at Magee College of the University of Ulster in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This 15-week residential program seeks to increase understanding of the complexities of the conflict in Northern Ireland and to use the knowledge gained to analyze and understand conflict in other societies. The program has academic, experiential and service components, including housing with local families; meetings with community leaders, church groups, constitutional political parties, community youth workers and security forces; and cross-community projects.
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Students who successfully complete the Northern Ireland study program will have met their cross-cultural requirement, and HUM 222 Humanities 2 will be waived. It is sometimes possible for the program to meet other major or general education requirements. Students should consult with their advisors and the associate dean.
Below is a listing of courses offered. Contact the director of cross-cultural programs for more information.
LAS 220 Northern Ireland Program Orientation (1)
LAS 225 Peace Building through Reconciliation (3)
PLS 260 Government and Politics of Northern Ireland (3)
HIS 271/PCS 271 History of Northern Ireland and Background to the Troubles (3)
LAS 300 Practical Work Placement - Northern Ireland (2)
PCS 301 International Conflict Resolution: Northern Ireland - A Case Study (3)
PCS 303 Practical Mediation Skills and Conflict Transformation (3)
Courses
LAS 220 Northern Ireland Program Orientation (1)
This required orientation will prepare students for the Ireland experience. The course includes meetings during spring semester before the fall semester of the trip. Background readings and cultural information are offered to ease "culture shock," facilitate cross-cultural communication and prepare students for study in a different academic system.
LAS 225 Peace Building through Reconciliation (3)
This course covers a general introduction and discussion on the different meanings of reconciliation, defining some important terms, e.g. stereotyping, prejudice, scapegoating, alienation, polarization, conflict and violence, conflict resolution and conciliation. The class includes seminar meetings with speakers from all of the political parties in Northern Ireland, a field trip to meet the security forces and meetings with religious and community leaders. As an example, the 1995 group met with senior politicians from all of the four constitutional parties and speakers from the Sinn Fein and the Loyalist fringe parties to explain their party positions and to discuss their current and future role in Northern Ireland.
PLS 260 Government and Politics of Northern Ireland
This course covers the background to "The Troubles," examines Partition, significant political leaders in Irish politics, the different types of government in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain, the different political parties in Northern Ireland, inter-governmental relations between Britain and the Irish Republic, and relevant issues, groups, parties and paramilitary organizations. Some sample essay questions for this course have included: Why was the Unionist government unable to resolve the political crisis in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1972? Assess the record of the Anglo-Irish Agreement as a strategy for promoting political consensus in Northern Ireland. Why has there been a growth of U.S. involvement in Northern Ireland politics since 1985?
HIS 271/PCS 271 History of Northern Ireland and Background to the Troubles (3)
This course covers Modern Irish History from 1800-1923. Class topics include: Daniel O’Connell and his campaigns for Catholic Emancipation for Repeal of the Union; social, economic and demographic problems in pre-famine Ireland and the Great Famine and its impact on Irish society; emigration from Ireland in the course of the 19th century; the campaign for Home Rule under Butt, Parnell, Redmond and Dillon; the land problem and its resolution and the end of landordism, the Easter Rebellion and its political consequences. It focuses also upon the political issues and events out of which the Troubles arose in the 1960s and early 1970s.
LAS 300 Practical Work Placement – Northern Ireland (2)
Students will be placed in community service agencies involved in community building and conflict resolution in a cross-cultural context. The placement contains elements of observation as well as the student practicing within the agency, under supervision. The overall aim of the placements is to help the student identify some of the problems and understand more clearly the difficulties and complexities of living in a society in the midst of violent conflict and to determine the everyday problems of people using the agency and how the violence has an impact on them. Criteria for evaluation include: attendance, comprehension of agency goals, successful completion of a range of tasks agreed upon in writing, daily journaling, written reflection of the placement and written evaluation by agency supervisor.
PCS 301 International Conflict Resolution—A Case Study (3)
This course uses the theoretical peace and conflict/ethnic studies literature to explore some of the key concepts used in this area of study. Session one examines the debates about how to define peace and introduces students to Galtung’s definitions of direct structural and cultural violence. Session two tries to define the concepts of ethnicity and nationalism, key terms in any study of inter-communal violence. Sessions three and four attempt to develop a structure of conflict that can aid in determining what types of intervention may work at particular stages of violence. Sessions five and six examine some innovative ideas in the areas of alternative dispute resolution and conflict transformation. The final sessions explore how different peace traditions approach the idea of conflict transformation. Four such traditions are identified: religion, liberalism, socialism and feminism. Throughout this course, reference will be made to the Northern Ireland conflict as the key case study, but other cases of protracted ethnic conflict will be examined.
PCS 303 Practical Mediation Skills and Conflict Transformation (3)
This course is designed to introduce students to the practical application of mediation skills through a process of experiential learning. The course will look at different models of mediation and the different skills that need to be applied during a mediation session. Students will become familiar with how mediations work in cultural, neighborhood, relationship and commercial disputes, in both local and international conflict situations.
Non-credit Course on Basic Irish Language, Music and Dance
There is an extra-mural evening class opportunity for students to study basic Irish language, music and dance. Students who successfully complete this course will be awarded a certificate. The basic Irish Language course can only take place if there are enough students interested (usually a minimum of eight).
Pittsburgh Semester
Pittsburgh Semester is an off-campus program that brings juniors and seniors to Pittsburgh for intensive and experiential study of Christian vocation within the context of urban America. Bluffton students will join undergraduates from other Christian colleges for a semester of classes, service and internships.
Two days a week, students will take classes analyzing urban America, examining different understandings of the good life and articulating a vision of Christian vocation. The curriculum will involve rigorous and critical reading and discussion augmented by numerous field trips throughout the city and guest speakers from a variety of professions. The coursework will be interdisciplinary, drawing on history, sociology, urban studies, theology and literature. One afternoon each week, students will participate in service projects. These projects will include a reflective component and grow out of collaborative, long-term relationships with community partners so the efforts can be mutually beneficial. The other two days, plus an additional morning, students will fan out across the city for internships with businesses and non-profits. Internships will be available in a wide variety of fields.
Students who successfully complete Pittsburgh Semester meet the following general education requirements: LAS 342 Cross-cultural Experience and LAS 301 Issues in Modern America. It is sometimes possible for the program to meet other major or general education requirements. Students should consult with their advisors and the associate dean.
In addition to nine semester hours of credit for the three courses listed below, students will earn six semester hours of internship credit. Contact the director of cross-cultural programs for more information.
Courses
PTS 301 The Search for Meaning (3)
This course focuses on different perspectives of the good life. In short, how can one live a life of meaning and moral purpose in the contemporary world (especially in cities)? In addition to core reading assignments, students do a research project related to their internship. Each person highlights a moral dilemma from her or his work and explores resolutions. (How might a bank resist redlining and invest in poor communities? How can companies include the environment as a silent stakeholder in their business plans?) The project culminates in group presentations.
PTS 302 The Human Experience in Urban Society (3)
This course examines contemporary urban society with particular attention to Pittsburgh. Topics include racial and ethnic diversity, economic disparities, history, geography, politics and patterns of globalization.
PTS 303 Christian Vocation (3)
This course explores how believers can connect faith to the breadth of their lives. In addition to core reading, students spend the last two weeks on individual projects developing a vocational vision for their lives. The project blends reading and reflection. Students are encouraged to consider Christian vocation broadly, including paid labor, volunteer work, the family, the local community, the broader human community and the environment. The project culminates in a paper.
PTS 304 Internship (6)
Students work 20 hours per week (Mondays and Wednesdays all day, plus Friday mornings) at a professional internship in their field. The internship is unpaid, but students get invaluable work experience. With an unpaid internship, students typically have more freedom to explore different roles and responsibilities on the job.
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
Off-campus, interdisciplinary learning opportunities are available to upper-class students at Bluffton University and offer 16 semester hours of credit. For further information, contact the director of cross-cultural programs. All programs offered through the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities meet the cross-cultural service learning experience requirement, except the Los Angeles Film Studies Center, the Contemporary Music Center, the American Studies Program and the Washington Journalism Center.
Australia Studies Centre (ASC)
Since spring 2004 the CCCU has partnered with the Wesley Institute in Sydney, Australia, to offer the Australian Studies Centre. Throughout the semester, students study theology, global justice issues affecting Australia, indigenous cultures and the arts. Every student is required to take the courses The View from Australia: Issues in Religion, Politics, Economics & Cultural Values, and Indigenous History, Culture & Identity. Additionally, students choose from electives in theology/ministry, music, drawing/graphic design, dance and/or drama. Home stays, service learning and travel around Australia are important components of the ASC. Students observe Australia’s beautiful landscape, live in the cosmopolitan melting pot of Sydney, serve the poor of Sydney’s mulit-cultural ghettos and engage the political capital Canberra and its power players. Students also come to know the traditions of Aboriginal people during an Outback excursion and spend the last week of each semester traveling to New Zealand to meet with Maori people.
American Studies Program (ASP)
Founded in 1976, the American Studies Program has served hundreds of students as a "Washington, D.C., campus." ASP uses Washington as a stimulating educational laboratory where collegians gain hands-on experience with an internship in their chosen field. Internships are tailored to fit the students' talents and aspirations and are available in a wide range of fields. Participants also explore pressing national and international issues in public policy seminars that are issue-oriented, interdisciplinary and led by ASP faculty and Washington professionals. The ASP bridges classroom and marketplace, combining biblical reflection, policy analysis and real world experience. Students are exposed to on-the-job learning that helps them build for their future and gain perspective on the calling of God for their lives. They are challenged in a rigorous course of study to discover for themselves the meaning of Christ’s lordship in putting their beliefs into practice. The aim of the program is to help council schools prepare their students to live faithfully in contemporary society as followers of Christ.
China Studies Program (CSP)
The China Studies Program enables students to engage China’s ancient history and intrigue from an insider’s perspective. While being immersed in Chinese culture, students participate in seminar courses on the historical, cultural, religious, geographic and economic realities of this strategic and populous nation. Students choose between completing a broad Chinese Studies concentration or a Business Concentration including an internship in an international business in China. Students will also study standard Chinese language and apply their skills by serving in an orphanage or tutoring Chinese students in English. The program introduces students to the diversity of China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Xiamen. This interdisciplinary, cross-cultural program enables students to communicate and understand the unique culture and people of China with an informed, Christ centered perspective.
Contemporary Music Center (CMC)
The Contemporary Music Center provides students the opportunity to live and work in refining context of community while seeking to understand how God will have them integrate music, faith and business. Both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in nature, the CMC offers two tracks: the Artist Track and the Executive Track. The Artist Track is tailored to students considering careers as vocalists, musicians, songwriters, recording artists, performers, producers and recording engineers. The Executive Track is designed for business, arts management, marketing, communications and related majors interested in possible careers as artist managers, agents, record company executives, music publishers, concert promoters and entertainment industry entrepreneurs. Both Artist and Executive track students receive instruction, experience and a uniquely Christ-centered perspective on creativity and the marketplace, while working together to create and market a recording of original music. Both tracks include course work, labs, directed study and a practicum.
Latin American Studies Program (LASP)
Based in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Latin American Studies Program introduces students to a wide range of experiences through the study of the language, literature, culture, politics, history, economics, ecology and religion of the region. Through service learning and living with a local family, students become a part of the day-to-day lives of typical Latin Americans. Students also take part in a service opportunity and travel for three weeks to nearby Central American nations. Students participate in one of four concentrations: Latin American Studies (offered both fall and spring terms); Advanced Language and Literature (designed for Spanish majors and offered both fall and spring terms); International Business: Management and Marketing (offered only in fall terms); and Environmental Science (offered only during spring terms). Depending on their concentration, students travel to nearby Central American nations including Nicaraqua, Guatemala, Cuba and Panama.
Los Angeles Film Studies Center (LAFSC)
Founded in 1991, the Los Angeles Film Studies Center is designed to train students to serve in various aspects of the film industry with both professional skill and Christian integrity. Each semester students live, learn and work in LA. The curriculum consists of two required seminars, Hollywood Production Workshop and Theology in Hollywood, focusing on the role of film in culture and the relationship of faith to work in this very influential industry. In addition, students choose one elective course from a variety of offerings in film studies. Internships in various segments of the film industry provide students with hands-on experience. The combination of the internship and seminars allows students to explore the film industry within a Christian context and from a liberal arts perspective.
Middle East Studies Program (MESP)
Based in Cairo, Egypt, this program offers students a unique opportunity to explore and interact with the complex and strategic world of the modern Middle East. Students explore diverse religious, social, cultural and political traditions of Middle Eastern peoples through interdisciplinary seminars. Students also study the Arabic language and work as volunteers with various organizations in Cairo. Through travel in the region (typically Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Turkey), students are exposed to the diversity and dynamism of the region. At a time of tension and change in the Middle East, MESP encourages and equips students to relate to the Muslim world in an informed, constructive and Christ-centered manner.
Russian Studies Program (RSP)
RSP strives to give students a broad learning experience in the largest nation in the world. RSP students are exposed to the depth and diversity of Russian culture through encounters with the Federation’s three largest cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhni Novgorod. Students are offered three seminar courses (History and Sociology of Religion in Russia; Russian Peoples, Culture and Literature; and Russia in Transition) and receive instruction in the Russian language, choosing either four or six semester hours of language coursework. For those choosing four hours of Russian, a seminar course, International Relations and Business in Russia, is available. The majority of the semester is spent in Nizhni Novgorod, where students complete intensive language instruction, participate in service learning and live with a Russian family. Additionally, students study in Moscow, the heart of both medieval and modern Russia, and the intriguing city of St. Petersburg, the Russian “window to the West.”
The Scholars' Semester in Oxford (SSO)
The Scholars’ Semester in Oxford is designed for students interested in completing intensive scholarship. Working with academic tutors, students advance their academic writing and research skills and explore the disciplines and interests of their choice. As Visiting Students of Oxford University and members of Wycliffe Hall, students have the privilege to study and learn in one of the university's historic halls. SSO students enroll in a Primary and Secondary Tutorial, an Integrative Seminar and the course Christianity and Cultures. The SSO is designed for students interested in the fields of classics, English & Literature, theology & religious studies, philosophy and history, though all majors may apply. Applicants are generally honors and other very high-achieving students and must have a 3.5 GPA to be considered for the programme.
Uganda Studies Program (USP)
Winston Churchill is credited with nicknaming Uganda the "Pearl of Africa," and many visitors since his time have come to agree with him. The USP offers students a very personal encounter with many cultures and people of East Africa. Uganda Christian University (UCU) serves as the base of study for students in the USP. Set on the outskirts of the capital city Kampala, this rapidly growing institution brings USP students together with the UCU Honours College. Courses taught by local faculty in the British tutorial tradition will immerse students in a uniquely African education. Topics such as Christianity and Islam in Contemporary Africa, African Literature and East African History will present many insights into African life because of the guidance of faculty who live in and love Uganda and East Africa. Home stays, travel, service learning and daily interaction with Honours College students form the backbone of the USP experience. Students select between the Uganda Studies Emphasis and the Intercultural Ministry and Missions Emphasis (IMME). IMME students live in semester-long homestays and explore the role of missionaries and development workers from an in-depth perspective. Uganda Studies students explore the changing Africa from a variety of perspectives.
Washington Journalism Center (WJC)
The Washington Journalism Center (WJC) is a semester-long study program in Washington, D.C., created for students interested in the field of journalism. While in Washington, students will take classes focusing on their personal writing skills and on the history and future of the media. These classes - Foundations for Media Involvement; Reporting in Washington; and Washington, News and Public Discourse - combined with an internship at a top news publication will help students learn to integrate their faith in a journalism career. Students will also participate in service learning opportunities as well as live with families in home stays as part of the WJC experience.
Oxford Summer Programme (OSP)
The Oxford Summer Programme (OSP) is a program of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. The programme is designed for students wishing to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between Christianity and the development of the West. Students are given the opportunity to learn under expert Oxford academics in the areas of history, religious studies, political theory, philosophy, English and history of science. The programme is structured for rising college sophomores, juniors and seniors, graduate and seminary students, non-traditional students, teachers and those enrolled in continuing education programs.
Brethren Colleges Abroad (BCA)
Brethren Colleges Abroad operates academic study centers in 14 countries for students from U.S. institutions of higher education. BCA Study Centers offer semester and year-long programs in the liberal arts tradition at universities in the following locations: Australia, Belgium, China, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain. For further information, contact the director of cross-cultural programs. These programs meet the cross-cultural experience requirement.
Central American Study and Service (CASAS), Guatemala
Central American Study and Service, part of the Latin American Anabaptist Seminary (SEMILLA), gives North Americans the opportunity to live, study and volunteer in a Latin American context. The core of the CASAS program is a 12-week, cross-cultural study term designed for students interested in studying Spanish while cultivating a broader awareness of the issues facing people in Guatemala. The term begins with eight weeks of intensive study while living with a Guatemalan family in a marginal area of Guatemala City. Students study Spanish (often, in a one-on-one setting) with experienced Guatemalan teachers and participate in visits and lectures with organizations or individuals who are experts on Guatemalan history, culture, politics and religion. During the final four weeks students have the opportunity of working in a voluntary service setting. Students may earn university credit in several areas including Spanish, anthropology and religion. Also available is an intensive Spanish-only program. For further information, contact the director of cross-cultural programs. This program meets the cross-cultural experience requirement.
