The Augsburg Choir

On May 6, the Augsburg Choir, under the direction of Peter Hendrickson ’76, departed for a 12-day tour of the Midwest. With stops in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington state, the Choir will perform nine concerts and have opportunities to connect with potential Auggies and their families as well as alumni and friends of the College.

Teaching English as a Second Language in Thailand with Kathryn Swanson

This is the fifth year that English professor Kathy Swanson and her husband, Jack, have taken students to teach English in Thailand as part of a short-term study abroad course through the Center for Global Education. Years ago, the Swansons served in the Peace Corps in Thailand for two years and still have connections in the small town where they once taught.

Before departing, students learn about language and culture in Thailand and practice speaking some “survival Thai,” Swanson said. For the teaching week, students learn the pedagogy of teaching English as a second language—essentially what and how to teach. Some students on the program are English or education majors, but others are from other majors including business, religion, and the sciences. Students take Swanson’s class, she said, not only to learn more about teaching English to language learners but also to experience life in a country half way around the world from the U.S.

For the three weeks they are in Thailand, Swanson said the group has an intense schedule filled with a variety of experiences. They travel by plane, boat, train, taxi, subway, tuk-tuks (a small open motorized vehicle, like a rickshaw), and even have a chance to ride elephants. They also take in tourist activities such as visiting temples, rafting on the river, and visiting pottery and silk makers. Then for ten days, they teach in Prachuap Khirikhan, the town where the Swansons taught while in the Peace Corps.

Swanson said the students often comment in their travel journals that they are completely shocked by their experiences in Thailand—by the sights and sounds and by the stark contrast between the poverty and opulence that can be seen there. “The only way to understand anything about the world is to do it,” she said. “Word of mouth among students is that it’s exhausting but it’s worth it.”

Pictured above: Students on the 2008 Thailand program. See photos from the program on flickr.

Youth Movements and Social Change in Egypt with Joe Underhill and Mohamed Sallam

In this combined course in political science and history, students will explore the roots of Egypt’s largely youth-led revolution and ongoing efforts to rebuild Egypt. Students will examine the effects that the 2011 revolution has had on public discourse about environmental sustainability, police brutality, Muslim-Christian relations, and access to basic services. They will also observe the historic presidential elections taking place in late May, visit mosques and pyramids, Nubian villages, an ecotourism resort on the Red Sea, and a Bedouin camp in the desert.

Read about the group’s experiences on the authored by Joe Underhill.

International Management and Finance in Germany with Marc McIntosh

For four weeks in May and June, a group of German students and professors from Karlsruhe paired with Augsburg students and assistant business professor Marc McIntosh to study international business practices.

The group met for the first two weeks in Europe, visiting the European Parliament in Strasbourg and witnessing firsthand the financial crisis that was coming to a head in Europe at that time. They also went to the Frankfurt stock exchange and experienced the volatility in the financial market as a result of the crisis, McIntosh said.

While in the U.S., the students visited three companies with strong ties to Germany and gained insights into how to do business in overseas markets. Finally, the students participated in an intensive business simulation game with teams competing to maximize shareholder value through the launches of multiple product offerings.

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Winter faculty-led programs were:

History of Cuban Music in Cuba with Professor Bob Stacke, Music

Students experienced the fascinating culture of Cuba and its history, politics, and religion by exploring the way Cuban music has contributed to Afro-Caribbean music as a whole. Students also explored how music is used as a means of expressing cultural difference and social realities.

Trekking the Mountains in Mexico with Professor Tony Clapp, Health and Physical Education [pictured here at the top of the Sleeping Lady’s Knee: Iztaccihuatl ˜16,737 ft.]

This program combined a local immersion experience in a Mexican community with an outdoor adventure like no other. Students learned firsthand how our bodies respond to high altitude and monitored the physiological changes they went through when reaching the summit of two peaks in the Sierra Madres.

Vocation & Christian Faith in El Salvador with Professor Matt Maruggi, Religion

This program focused on the concept of vocation in the context of poverty and political injustice. Students examine how Christian theology has been used both to justify oppression, support social justice movements, and offer hope for a peaceful and just social order. We will also reflect on our own sense of vocation in relation to our learning experiences in El Salvador and at Augsburg.

Augsburg student Natalya Brown participated in the El Salvador program. Upon her return, she shared the following:

“I think that if you were to ask anyone that went to El Salvador over break, they would say this experience was extremely humbling. There are many families in El Salvador that are living off of one dollar a day to provide for their entire family and students here complain about the food in the cafeteria. Through this experience, I have become SO much more grateful for what I have and more aware of what others do may not. You may here about people living in bad conditions but when you see it for yourself, it makes it that much more real.

While listening to people that have survived the civil war, one can sense how strong their love and faith is to God. Everyone that we met with thanked God that they were alive and able to share their story with us, instead of asking why God let it happen. It was a very rewarding trip, and it fit in perfectly with the class I would recommend this program to not just students studying religion, but to students with various interests.”

Zack Sommer, a senior who participated in the Mexico program, said, “Trekking the mountains in Mexico was a powerful experience mentally, physically, and spiritually. My perceptions of what it means to be a global citizen have been elevated and the challenges of this trip brought the members of our group together in a way that we understood and appreciated each other.”

Apply by Feb. 1 for Summer Faculty-Led Programs

now, so they are easier to complete than ever! Also, students may come into the Augsburg Abroad office for advising and to find out more about summer programs: teaching English in Thailand, engaging in a business simulation in Germany, building a dam in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, or experiencing internationally renowned theater in Scotland!

International Management: Germany May 12-June 10, 2012

BUS 465 or FIN 460 1 credit AugExperience Int. Bus & CCS Elective

Explore cutting-edge international business in its cultural context with a two-week immersion in Germany plus a two-week exchange program with German students in Minneapolis. Faculty: Marc McIntosh

Education & Culture: Thailand May 5-28, 2012

ENL 291/391 1 credit AugExperience Humanities LAF

Interact with the people of the Northern Hill tribes, explore Buddhist temples, and experience English-language teaching in a southern village. Faculty: Kathryn Swanson

Political & Civic Engagement: Egypt May 19-June 5, 2012

HIS 195 & POL 160/461 2 credits AugExperience Humanities LAF (HIS 195) SBS LAF (POL 160 only) or POL/IR/PGS Elective

Examine the political movements in the Middle East and explore how grassroots civic engagement plays a role in modern Egypt, while you visit ancient sites and ride a camel! Faculty: Mohamed Sallam & Joseph Underhill

International Theater: Scotland August 7-20, 2012

THR 299 or 495 1 credit AugExperience Fine Arts LAF (299 only), THR or Film Elective

Experience an exhilarating collection of theatrical productions from all over the globe at the world renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Faculty: Darcey Engen

Hoversten Peace Program: El Salvador June 1-9, 2012

AugExperience (Non-credit)

Join with other Augsburg students as well as faculty and staff to develop a strong learning community together, as you learn about peace and global issues in El Salvador.

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“How was your trip,” people ask me. “I hope you had a good time,” they say.  This past semester spent studying abroad in southern Africa with 14 other university students was so much more than just a “trip” or a “good time.” It was a life-changing set of experiences. Homestays, speakers, traveling, classes, and conversations all took me and others to new places and perspectives on spiritual, geographical, and personal levels. It all began with ten days in Johannesburg, South Africa, where we had orientation and first met, then continued on to Windhoek, Namibia, where we studied politics, religion, history, and the “development process,” and ended with a week in Cape Town, South Africa, where it was difficult to finally say goodbye.

While we had many good times and experienced incredible travel, we were also challenged to think in new ways and challenged to wrestle with our own identities in regards to race, class, gender, nationality, and religion, among other things. We learned about apartheid and its legacy; we saw the legacy every day. We learned about education struggles, the wealth gap, HIV and AIDS, gender issues, Christianity’s role in society, and “western” imposition. We learned about Owambo culture during rural homestays as well as how to pound mahangu (a millet used to make porridge) and cook over the fire. I left Namibia and South Africa with more questions than I had upon arrival.

As is true of most people who study abroad, the experiences further molded my character and changed some of my ideas and understandings. It is the little things that stick out most to me now that I am back home. For example, the majority of Namibians and South Africans I met were very welcoming and always took time to have a conversation. The moment I entered customs at the airport in D.C. I knew I was back in the U.S., where interactions tend to be much more formal and fast-paced than what I’d been experiencing the past few months. The welcoming atmosphere and appreciation of time are aspects I hope to incorporate more of in my own life here.

As far as change goes, I am much more aware of considering my “role” in places. What did it mean for me to study in Namibia? What does it mean for me to have had those experiences and now be back in Minnesota? I don’t necessarily have answers for those questions, but I do know that it is important to continue to process them.

My perceptions of southern Africa also changed. Africa, at least from most U.S. media and mainstream society standpoints, is seen as this homogenous continent with poverty and “Lion King” wildlife and scenery. But each country and city and individual person is different from the next. In Namibia alone there are several different ethnic groups, and everything from the capital city Windhoek to deserts, oceans, mountains, and a rich wildlife. I am grateful that many of my preconceived ideas were dismantled and replaced by real life—real people with real stories, and first hand images of Namibia.

This gaining sense of reality is what has truly made a difference to my education. It is one thing to learn in a classroom about being open to others, but quite another to learn from others in their context. The people I met both through the program and otherwise will influence my take on life for years to come. Perhaps it is in the journey home that the journey abroad truly sinks in.

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There are currently eleven Augsburg students studying in Mexico at Augsburg’s campus in Cuernavaca, a picturesque colonial city known as the “City of Eternal Spring.” Psychology major Amy Voigt said, “Every day that I wake up in Mexico is my favorite. I can honestly say that I am unable to choose just one day as my favorite. This is an opportunity of a lifetime that I will cherish in my heart forever.”

Voigt, a Weekend College student who came to Mexico with her seven year-old son, added, “As an older, non-traditional student, I have felt extremely welcomed and accepted in the program and homes we live in. The thing I have liked most is allowing myself and my son to engage in a learning experience in which we learn something new about ourselves and others every day.”

All of the students appreciate the fact that they have been able to meet graduation and major or minor requirements while studying abroad in Mexico; core requirements are offered such as language courses, religion, the business keystone, a fitness course, and LAFs in fine arts and other areas.

Maren Daniels, an art education major said, “I have been pleased by Augsburg’s program in Mexico in relation to my graduation requirements. I feel like I have been working my way to graduation. In addition to taking a fabulous Mexican art class that includes numerous excursions, I am taking REL 200 and WST 357, which meets an LAF in the humanities. I am also fulfilling a fitness requirement by taking the Latin dance class. It’s been really fun to learn Spanish and dance at the same time, and it’s a great way to get exercise. I am being challenged here.”

Social work major Chelsea Crivello said, “Studying abroad in Mexico doesn’t set me back one bit. Every class I am taking in Mexico meets the requirements of the social work major.” Similarly, Alicia Fowler said, “Every class that I am taking here in Mexico is counted and goes toward my Augsburg credits. The courses correlate with those back at Augsburg, only in a Mexican context.”

Social work major Deidre Smith said, “I would encourage all students to study abroad, no matter where they are going or for how long. There are things that cannot be learned in the classroom, and things that cannot be learned in the U.S.” Paige Onstad, also a social work student concurred. “Do it!! I had not planned on going until I heard my friends keep talking about and I figured, why not? Sometimes when I’m here I think about what a great decision it was because I am having an amazing semester both in and outside of the classroom.”

Picture: Students in the Migration and Globalization: Engaging Our Communities course in the Palacio de Cortés in Cuernavaca. Courtesy CGE .

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The journalist and UCC minister was working on a book and heard that Augsburg College was an antidote to the problem he’d been exploring. His question is it possible to offer experiences in the religious marketplace that genuinely shape the heart and character of others?

Recently MacDonald returned to Augsburg, published book in hand, to talk about his work. Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church and the Selling of the American Soul was released in spring 2010.

“Augsburg was the antidote to the problem I was writing about,” MacDonald said in an address to the Augsburg community. He said that the market-driven religious experience is focused on providing comfort, even therapy and coddling. He wondered, “Is there anywhere where people choose paths of costly discipleship?”

Chapter six, “Signs of Hope in the New Religious Marketplace,” details the hope MacDonald found at Augsburg specifically in the curricular approach to exploring vocation as well as in the programs of the Center for Global Education.

While conducting research for his book, MacDonald met with faculty and students who had studied abroad through CGE. Instead of wanting to build a school or participate in service work, he said participants in CGE’s programs spent their time learning about the experience of people they met. “They said, ‘Let’s settle in, slow down, and get to know people before rushing in to solve their problems,'” MacDonald recalled.

What resulted, MacDonald said, is that students saw the pain and shame of others but also experienced their joy. “They saw and heard and smelled, and they said, ‘I want more of this.'” MacDonald was impressed that students were not only committed to returning to the countries they visited but also to engaging in service within their own communities in the states.

That is precisely the kind of the costly discipleship MacDonald found students openly embracing at Augsburg College.

“At Augsburg, people are discovering why they should choose suffering. They are taking the step to know the pain and suffering of others, and therefore bringing compassion into their own lives.”

Read more about G. Jeffrey MacDonald and Thieves in the Temple on the author’s .

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Augsburg is grateful to the Strommen family for establishing the Clair and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work that will recognize Mr. and Mrs. Strommen’s personal commitment to creating meaning and purpose in work and life. The career services/internship programs currently provided through the Center for Service, Work, and Learning will be moved to the Clair and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work. This change will provide greater visibility for these programs and enhanced services to undergraduate and graduate students.

The Clair and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work will initially have three components:

1) The Clair and Gladys Strommen Internship and Career Center directed by Lois Olson. Heidi Lender, Sandy Tilton, and Erin Koolen will join Lois in this work. This Center will engage students in connecting academic learning with the exploration of vocation and career development.

2) The Clair and Gladys Strommen Faculty Fellow will build curricular offerings in the marketing area, and will collaborate with the Internship and Career Center and other College Centers to maximize synergies, effectiveness, and public outreach. David Schwain, assistant professor of business administration/marketing has accepted an appointment from the Dean of the College to serve in this role.

3) The Clair and Gladys Strommen Executive Leader Speakers Series will strengthen affiliations between the College and Twin Cities business community

The service-learning and community engagement programs provided through the Center for Service, Work, and Learning will be moved to the Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning under the direction of Mary Laurel True. Kristin Farrell and Brian Noy will report to Mary in their respective roles with the Bonner Leaders Program and the Campus Kitchen program and community garden.

Other programs that have been named under the expanded umbrella of the Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning are:

— The Center for Democracy and Citizenship, Nan Skelton and Harry Boyte, co-directors and Elaine Eschenbacher, associate director

— Minnesota Urban Debate League, Amy Cram Helwich, executive director

— Minnesota High School Mathematics League, Tracy Bibelnieks, director

— Community Relations (Institutional Advancement), Steve Peacock, director

Garry Hesser, the Sabo Chair for Citizenship and Learning, will continue to focus particular attention on matters of political process, public service, and public policy. He will be joined in guiding the development of the academic vision for the Sabo Center’s broad range of interests by Sabo Senior Fellows who have accepted appointments from the Dean of the College. These Senior Fellows are:

— Lars Christiansen, associate professor of sociology – Senior Fellow for Academic Civic Engagement

— Harry Boyte and Nan Skelton – Senior Fellows for Civic Agency

— Bill Green, associate professor of history and current superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools has accepted an appointment to begin when he returns from leave in Fall, 2010 – Senior Fellow for Leadership and Change

The College’s deep and abiding commitments to civic engagement and the theological exploration of vocation have brought international recognition to Augsburg College. Students, staff, faculty, and alumni demonstrate each day how central both commitments are to the College’s identity. These changes are effective November 1. We will be working over the next several months to integrate The Clair and Gladys Strommen Center for Meaningful Work and the expanded Martin Olav Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning more fully within the Augsburg College community.

Augsburg thanks Martin and Sylvia Sabo and the Strommen family for their important contributions to the College through the creation of these Centers. The lives of students, faculty, and staff will be enriched through their great generosity.

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The first International Business semester study abroad program of the Center for Global Education (CGE) is well underway in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The five Augsburg students in the program have been using Mexico as a case study to explore the global economy in their business course and have participated in many educational excursions to deepen their coursework learning.

From visiting the stock market and US Embassy in Mexico City to staying with local families and touring a five-star hotel in rural Amatlán, these Auggies are finding that the hands-on experiences offered by the program are a huge benefit. Kyle Soderberg, an Augsburg senior, says, “The interactive experiences—excursions and speakers—create learning at another level so it’s more relatable to careers and the future.”

Hannah Carlson, Mara Pederson, and Grady Christopherson second this comment, claiming the meetings with businesses in Mexico City such as Boing cooperative and the Central Bank have so far been the highlights of the semester.

The Augsburg students were initially attracted to the program for many reasons. Carlson was interested because she could study in both her international relations and Spanish and be in a foreign country that wasn’t too far away from home. Soderberg said he was excited about the work experiences. He and fellow Auggie, Kaity Berg, will be working on the business and marketing plans for a local cooperative water park as part of their internship.

Aside from the coursework in business and Spanish, educational excursions, and internship placements, CGE’s business program also offers an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in Mexican culture. Berg says her greatest lessons have come from the interaction with Mexican people, especially during her four-day family home-stay in rural Amatlán. The experience made all the students look forward to their month-long home-stays with local families, which will begin in early November.

Relating their experiences in Mexico back to life at Augsburg will not be difficult, the students claim. Carlson is already making connections between what she has previously learned about NAFTA and the visits the group has made to local businesses. She says the presentation of opposing views is one of her favorite things about the business program. Soderberg agrees that the information he has learned in his major-specific courses is now “more relatable, more applicable, and makes more sense.”

As the semester progresses and students deepen their understanding about Mexico and international business, they will continue to post updates on their experiences in Cuernavaca on the International Business .

Apply by October 15 to participate in the CGE International Business program next fall, go to the website.

Article by Stephanie Jackson, intern, CGE Mexico.

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However, in addition to offering beautiful weather and mosquito-free nights, Antonio says Cuernavaca is an excellent location for students to learn about LGBT rights, the feminist movement in Mexico, environmental issues, or business and trade. Cuernavaca is also noted for its innovative grassroots organizations, alternative approaches to health care and education, and for its role in the history of social struggle. “And we have really great food,” he added.

Antonio, who has been on the Mexico staff for five years, is in Minneapolis until December to recruit students for the Center’s semester programs in Mexico. He has been enjoying life as a temporary resident of the Seward neighborhood and traveling the Midwest participating in study abroad fairs.

At the Cuernavaca site, Antonio teaches Mexican and Mesoamerican history. He believes it is important for students to understand Latin American history so that they may be more culturally competent. “The Latino presence in the United States is huge now, and these students will have to deal with Latinos in their professional fields.”

He will also teach in the Center’s new business program, “International Business and Global Citizenship,” starting in the fall of 2009.

Antonio suggests that students study in Mexico because to obtain at least a basic grasp of the Spanish language and an introduction to Latin American culture in order to work with Latinos in the United States. The Center for Global Education partners with a well-known language school in Cuernavaca to provide more than 15 Spanish offerings, including speical classes for health care and for business. In addition, students may focus their semester program in one of several areas such as gender studies, women’s studies, business, environmental studies, or religion through an internship. Finally, Antonio says students should come to Cuernavaca to see the newly remodeled facilities and to escape the Midwestern winters.

As a gay activist in Mexico and in Morelos, the state in which Cuernavaca is located, Antonio says he is proud of Augsburg’s achievements in the area of gay activism and LGBT education. He will speak about the history of the LGBT movement in Mexico at the Nov. 4 Soup and Sexuality presentation. He has been involved for several years with Grupo CD4, a sexual education and AIDS prevention organization in Curenavaca. Many students who come to Cuernavaca, both for semester and short-term programs, learn about Grupo CD4 and other Mexican social justice movements.

Students interested in a semester study abroad program for the 2009-2010 academic year must apply by November 1. For more information, go to www.augsburg.edu/global or stop into the Center for Global Education offices in Murphy Place.

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Professors met with the Mexican government’s Instituto de la Mujer (Women’s Institute) to discuss national policies and programs for women, had a guest lecture by Juliana Garcia Quintanilla, the co-director of the Independent Human Rights Commission for the State of Morelos, to discuss women and human rights, and took an excursion to the town of Tejalpa to meet with grassroots organizer Alicia Arines, a former candidate for mayor of Tejalpa, who leads workshops for base Christian communities.

“It is important to internationalize our curriculum by crossing international borders and meeting directly with women studies scholars and community leaders in different nations,” said Ann Lutterman-Aguilar, the Augsburg site director in Cuernavaca who presented this program. “Since an increasing number of U.S. citizens are of Mexican descent, Mexico is a particularly appropriate place to begin to examine the best practices in globalizing women’s studies.”

The CGE staff immersed professors in a broad variety of women’s works and struggles in Mexico, including a guest lecture on feminism in Mexico and indigenous women in the Zapatista Army for National Liberation by Mexican anthropologist and psychologist Dr. Sylvia Marcos.

“I got the opportunity to see first-hand the things that I have been studying and teaching,” said Jessica Nathanson, director of Augsburg’s Women’s Resource Center and assistant professor in women’s studies. “The program was useful to me as a program director and faculty member of women’s studies who seeks to globalize the curriculum so that it has an international rather than simply a U.S. focus.” Jessica is planning to return to Cuernavaca with her own students in the future to learn more about globalizing the classroom.

Augsburg offers two semester programs and summer programs that include women’s studies courses, including “Crossing Borders: Gender and Social Change in Mesoamerica” and “Migration & Globalization: Engaging Our Communities.” For more information on these offerings, go to .

Article by Amanda Symes

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Internships help to enhance the study abroad program, deepening student understanding of the issues they study in the classroom and giving them personal and practical experience with people and cultures. CGE sites in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Namibia have offered internship programs for a number of years. This year, both sites will expand their offerings in response to growing interest from students and internship sites. Mexico will offer year-round internships and Namibia will begin a summer internship program.

The Cuernavaca site offers several options for internships in diverse fields, and students can complete full-time internships during January-term, in a semester, over a full year, or in the summer. Part-time internships are available for students in the semester or summer programs. These placements can be combined with Spanish language study, including courses to complement the intern experiences for students in healthcare, ministry, or business.

In Namibia, a new summer program titled “Social Change and Development in Southern Africa” will provide students with an opportunity to learn about contemporary and historical issues impacting development and social change in Southern Africa. In addition to their coursework, students will be paired with a local organization dealing with education, community development, health, or social change. Participants are also engaged in experiential learning and community engagement through home stays with local families and travel seminars that take place during the program.

Internships have been a highlight for many students because they provide opportunities for hands-on learning, personal and professional development, and rich exposure to local cultures and communities. An Augsburg College student who interned in Namibia with Hope Initiative said, “I enjoyed every minute of my time at Hope Initiatives. The staff has been so flexible and willing to help me in any way. The amount of knowledge and confidence I have gained here is endless. I now feel that I am a more well-rounded teacher and have had my mind opened to all new experiences.”

An ongoing goal is to make sure that internships are reciprocal for the host organizations. Aunty Clara from Vision Life in Namibia, a small organization catering to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, said, “[Our intern] was everything in that home for us. She taught me many things — to be patient, to look beyond [skin] color. I could see in her an angel… She wrote a proposal and we received funding from a big company in Windhoek to buy food. She made a positive contribution in our lives, and I’m grateful.”

For more information on the Center for Global Education at Augsburg, go to .

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