Registration now open for nearly 40 SIT summer programs

If you haven’t yet begun planning for next summer, this is a great time to start.

Registration opens Wednesday, Sept. 15, for 38 SIT summer 2022 study abroad opportunities. Included are new programs that encompass art and social change in Eastern Europe; hip-hop music and decoloniality in Senegal; climate change in Jordan; peace-building and human rights in the Balkans; human trafficking in the Netherlands; food security in Italy; epidemiology in Argentina; and urban design and social justice in Spain.

“SIT has historically expanded the frontiers of international education, creating global opportunities of learning and cultural immersion for thousands of students a year across all continents,” notes SIT Dean of Faculty Dr. Said Graiouid. “The summer 2022 portfolio maintains that tradition with programs that focus on social, political, economic and scientific arenas and in diverse historical periods and geographical settings.”

Students are challenged to embrace a human-centered, comparative approach …”

SIT’s immersive programs next summer will take place in sub-Saharan Africa, the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and the Middle East/North Africa.

SIT will also once again offer virtual internships that allow undergraduates to build invaluable professional and academic experience on a range of subjects. These include two Jordan internships, in counseling and humanitarian action, and in community empowerment and climate change; women’s rights in Cameroon; education and social change in Chile; sustainability in India; public health in Kenya; human rights in Serbia; diplomacy and international relations in South Africa; and development and gender in Vietnam.

Regardless of which program they choose, says Graiouid, “students are challenged to embrace a human-centered, comparative approach in which they engage with resources and the competencies needed for the development of the skills of critical literacy, intercultural communication, and intellectual polity.”

Alix Swann, an international studies major at Spelman College, did a virtual internship on the Chile program in fall 2020 in which she worked with a women’s collective that fights street sexual harassment. Alix’s task was to teach about U.S. laws and policies on sexual harassment in the workplace and digital sexual harassment.

“Before this internship, my viewpoint was solely from a U.S. perspective, and I now no longer try to relate everything to the U.S.,” she says.

Yardena Meyerhoff, a physics and astronomy major at Whitman College, also did the Chile program, interning with the Colegio de Profesoras y Profesores de Chile to conduct a comparative analysis of Chile’s standardized testing system and the effect of standardized testing on student learning and development.

“My meetings with my internship advisor were very organic and natural and would often go in fascinating and sometimes unexpected directions. Our conversations made me think about my own experiences with education growing up in Minnesota, and how education systems around the world suffer from similar inequalities,” Yardena recalls.

SIT’s virtual language programs have also been popular during the pandemic. Language options for summer 2022 include all levels of Arabic (from Jordan); Swahili (Kenya); Hindi (India); Nepali and Tibetan (Nepal).

New SIT programs for summer 2022 are:

Argentina: Epidemiology and Healthcare Management—Through SIT’s close partnership with ISALUD, the nation’s top health university and think tank, examine urban epidemiology, health inequalities, and the challenges of managing health services and policies to expand access to healthcare.

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Czech Republic: Studio Arts—Explore photography, creative writing, or contemporary dance through an intensive arts workshop while examining debates around art, politics, and society.

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Italy: Food Security and Nutrition—Delve into sustainable agriculture on a Tuscan estate and explore how international experts are confronting challenges of food security, nutrition, and health.

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Jordan: Community Empowerment and Climate Change Internship—Gain professional experience with a UN or government agency or NGO working with youth and vulnerable groups on community empowerment and environmental sustainability.

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Netherlands: Human Trafficking, Sex Trade, and Modern Slavery in Europe—Examine diverse areas of human trafficking and the sex trade, including the relationship between sex workers and broader societies.

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Senegal: Hip-Hop, Resilience, and Black Struggles—Examine how young Africans use hip-hop to question traditional representations of Africa, imagine the continent’s future, and raise consciousness of globalization and (in)equality.

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Serbia: Transitional Justice, Human Rights, and Memory Activism Internship—Look at justice, human rights, and memory in post-conflict societies and contribute to the work of an important organization with a meaningful internship.

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Spain: Sustainable Urban Development and Social Justice—Explore the approaches Spanish cities are taking to pursue sustainable urban development within a social justice framework.

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Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy—Compare public health systems within the framework of international and sustainable development, humanitarian action, human rights, and social justice.

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For more information about these and all SIT Study Abroad programs, visit www.studyabroad.sit.edu.

This year, eight SIT Study Abroad alumni are among twenty students selected to present their research at the prestigious Human Development Conference, which will be held online February 26-27. The annual student-led conference is sponsored by the University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies. This year’s theme is “The Future is Now: Innovative Responses to Global Adversity.” Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all students will be presenting virtually.

“On behalf of everyone at the School for International Training (SIT), I would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to the alumni of our programs who will participate in the prestigious 13th annual Human Development Conference at University of Notre Dame, as well as all the students from across the country, and the academic spectrum, who will have the opportunity to share their development-focused research,” said SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett.

SIT has been a sponsor of the conference since the inaugural 2008 event. Independent research is a critical component of SIT Study Abroad’s immersive, semester-long programs, which require students to complete original fieldwork, a final presentation, and a formal research paper.

Sarah Ahmed
Psychology and Counseling
Wake Forest University
SIT India: Sustainable Development and Social Change
Research: “Breaking the Silence: Examining Mental Health Stigma, Literacy, and Access in Urban India”

My study abroad experience completely changed my academic goals! It inspired me to work in the mental health field, and starting this fall I will be starting a master’s program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I’m grateful for SIT for giving me the opportunity to know myself better, and in turn, know how to best serve those around me in purposeful and meaningful ways.

Alison Cummins
Sociology, minors in English and Creative Writing
Muhlenberg College
SIT Nepal: Development, Gender, and Social Change in the Himalaya
Research: Creating Writing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Nepal and United States Perspectives

I settled on my research topic after being sent home from abroad because of the pandemic. I felt very dejected in my own creative writing at the time and was wondering if other writers were feeling the same. Choosing to find out through sociological research, I began to craft a research project that would help me to understand how writers were dealing with the pandemic. I reached out to Nepali and American writers and was soon on the path to understanding the cultural impacts of the pandemic on creative writers in these two countries.

Katherine Fulcher
Political Science and Hispanic Studies
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
SIT Mexico: Migration, Borders, and Transnational Communities
Research: “‘A Tale of Twinned Cities’: A Comparative Analysis to Predict Potential Twinning on the US-Mexico Border”

My research looks specifically at the state of border twinning across Europe, but the implications of this research could help policymakers understand the potential for a similar process in other regions of the world, like the US-Mexico border. Following graduation, I plan to work for a year before applying for a graduate program in international relations or public policy.

Samuel Johnston
Economics and Mathematics
Willamette University
SIT Uganda: Global Development Studies
Research: “Coordination or Clustering: Logistic Estimation of Aid Fragmentation in Uganda”

I first settled on the topic during our Contemporary Global Development seminar course, where multiple guest lecturers discussed the frustrating lack of cooperation by international donors in Uganda and many other countries….After completing a primarily qualitative and literature-focused study for my SIT Independent Study Project, I decided to continue my research in a more quantitative sense for my senior thesis in economics at Willamette…In the future, I’m interested in pursuing graduate study in economics with a specific focus in development and international cooperation.

Daniel Krugman
Anthropology, minor in African Studies
Middlebury College
SIT Uganda: Global Development Studies
Research: “Survival as Solidarity: Refugee Exchange, Humanitarian Violence, and Social Cohesion in Mirieyi Settlement, Northern Uganda”

After graduation, I hope to continue to understand the dynamics of global forced migration and work towards the abolition of refuge in graduate school.

Jaran Rudd
Anthropology and Spanish
Austin College
SIT Ecuador: Development, Politics, and Languages
Research: “How Covid-19 has Deepened the Environmental Crisis Among the Kichwa: A Discourse Analysis”

I settled on this research topic after Covid-19 disrupted our study abroad experience and I began to wonder how the Kichwa community that our group visited was reacting to this pandemic. When I learned that floods and oil spills were also causing troubles for their community, I knew that I needed to look at the question of development to make sense of this unique situation…I hope to pursue a PhD in anthropology and continue investigating the role of international financial institutions, NGOs, and the political-economic power of language across multiple cultural contexts.

Noah Stanton
Public Health and History, minors in Anthropology and Chinese
Vanderbilt University
SIT India: Public Health, Gender, and Community Action
Research: Mother Nature Meets Modern Woman: An Exploration of Environment, Gender, and Urbanism Amongst Delhi’s Middle Class

I decided on my research topic after reading a book called “Ecofeminism” by Vandana Shiva, a renowned Indian activist….India’s fascinating history of rapid development and urbanization, coupled with its unique cultural ties to nature, inspired me to explore the Ecofeminism framework in the context of women in Delhi. Since departing from India, I have become much more focused on issues of women’s health, international development, and environmental justice; this shift has informed my job search as I look to work with a global health NGO after I graduate this May.

Liz Williams
Political Science and Sociology
University of Tulsa
SIT Senegal: Global Security and Religious Pluralism
Research: Thiéboudienne: A Look into the Intersection of Cuisine and Community in Senegal

The emphasis placed on decolonial thinking [during my SIT program] by both students and faculty alike has forever changed my perception of academia. The lessons I learned in Senegal and throughout my research process impact the interactions I have with systems and institutions daily. I am now better equipped to understand my positionality as a student and researcher and how my disciplines operate within the Western gaze. I intend to take this knowledge with me to law school and continue to challenge colonial ways of thinking and operating.

Senegal alumna takes home prize for outstanding research

Eleven SIT Study Abroad alumni presented undergraduate research at the 2020 Human Development Conference, Feb. 21-22, at Notre Dame University’s Keogh School of Global Affairs. Among them was SIT Senegal alumna Tyeesha Webber of Howard University, who was awarded the Rev. Ernest J. Bartell, CSC, Prize for Undergraduate Research on Poverty and Development for her research paper, The Phenomenon of Resilience and Resistance: A deeper look into the development of the informal sector in Sénégal.

Webber participated in the fall 2019 SIT program Senegal: Global Security and Religious Pluralism.

Notre Dame’s student-led Human Development Conference brings together students from around the world each year to share multidisciplinary, development-focused research. Two $1,000 prizes awarded at the conference recognize outstanding research on poverty and development. One prize is given to a Notre Dam student and the second to a student from another university.

This is the second consecutive year that an SIT student has earned the honor. Last year, Ernest Tan of Yale-NUS College received the award for his research on land use conducted while he was on an SIT Kenya program.

“Once again this year, SIT students have proven their ability to produce exceptional, field-based research at the undergraduate level,” said Dr. Sophia Howlett, president of SIT. “We are immensely proud of these students, as well as the SIT academic and program directors and faculty advisors who helped guide them on their academic paths.”

The theme of this year’s Human Development Conference was “Development on the Move” Students were asked to focus on strategies tied to the dynamic nature of some of the most critical issues of the 21st century, including climate change, resource scarcity, and mass migration.

“These strategies include recognizing the importance of global institutions that are well-equipped to handle issues of transnational and intergenerational justice and policy. However, these strategies also must be underscored by attention to local contexts and insights drawn from grassroots community development efforts,” according to conference organizers.

SIT students who presented research at the conference were:

• Kathrine Fulcher, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, fall 2019 Mexico: Migration, Borders, and Transnational Communities; Effects of Political Socialization on Perceptions Towards Central American Migrants
• Bernice Leveque, Sewanee: The University of the South, fall 2018 Cameroon: Development and Social Change; Community Perceptions of Aid to the Informal Economy: A comparison of cases in rural Haiti and Cameroon
• Cyrus Lloyd, Vanderbilt University, fall 2019 Jordan: Geopolitics, International Relations, and the Future of the Middle East; The Effect of Tribalism on Political Parties
• Cecil Millen, Denison University, fall 2018 Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development; Analyzing the Impacts of Conditions and Strategies Employed by the Mapuche and Zapatista Indigenous Movements on the Global Resistance to Neoliberalism
• Crystal Ngo; Sewanee: The University of the South, fall 2018 Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation; Behavioral Analysis from Payment for Ecosystem Services: Carbon sequestration in Bois Joli, Haiti
• Victoria Puglia, Lafayette College, spring 2019 Uganda: Global Development Studies; Humanitarian Assistance in Protracted Emergencies: Reconceptualizing the role of food aid in Adjumani, Uganda
• Jessica Rosenblum, Washington University in St. Louis, spring 2019 Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy; HIV Among Migrants in Switzerland and the United States: A comparative analysis of the far-reaching consequences of migrant healthcare access
• Maya Sterling, Vassar College, fall 2018 IHP: Social Innovation: Entrepreneurship, Design, and Development; Shifting the Development Enactment-Evaluation Parallel: The promise of grassroots organizations
• Chenyu Wang, Haverford College, spring 2019 Argentina: Transnationalism and Comparative Development in South America; Regional Employment and Public Transport: A GIS-based comparative case study of accessibility to employment at local industrial park
• Tyeesha Webber, Howard University, fall 2019 Senegal: Global Security and Religious Pluralism; The Phenomenon of Resilience and Resistance: A deeper look into the development of the informal sector in Sénégal
• Jessica Winkler, University of Richmond, spring 2018 IHP: Human Rights: Foundations, Challenges, and Advocacy; Reconceptualizing the International Humanitarian Organization: IOM and UNHCR at Europe’s external gorders

Babacar comes to SIT with a strong background in international education and teaching experience in Senegal, France, and the United States. He recently completed his Ph.D at the University Cheikh Anta Diop, after completing two master’s degrees at Bowling Green State University and the University of Lille in France. As a past recipient of the Fulbright and the Erasmus Mundi grants, Babacar studied and conducted research at the University of Babes-Bolyai in Romania and the National Autonomous University in Mexico. His research focuses on new social movements in the post-industrial West and the Decolonial African context with a strong focus on the role of social media and hip-hop as medium to effectuate political change globally.  He also has a strong academic background in intercultural mediation and conflict resolution. Babacar’s research has been published by the Transylvanian Review and The University Press of Pau. 

Ousmane earned his PhD in 2002 at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar where he has been teaching literature and translation. In addition to teaching courses at UCAD and teaching French for SIT, he has initiated important community development programs in and around Senegal, particularly related to sustainable development and building eco-communities. His teaching has been hailed by students as hands on and engaging.

Sidy has been teaching Wolof to American students for over twenty years. He received training from the Peace Corps on competency-based and community-based teaching and was an assistant coordinator for many years, training teachers to teach Wolof. He also worked for USAID, the Embassy of United Arab Emirates, Amnesty International, and many other NGOs as a Wolof instructor. He has the well-earned reputation of being one of the best Wolof teachers in town.

Dr. Brodnicka comes to SIT with experience teaching in large research universities and small liberal arts colleges in the United States, mainly The Ohio State University and Regis University. She received her PhD in philosophy, interpretation, and culture from SUNY Binghamton, with a specialization in African studies and a DEA (postmaster’s degree) in African philosophy and Islam from Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal. She is a founding member of The Dakar Institute of African Studies. She was awarded two Fulbright scholarships to study African spirituality in Serer, Bamana, Fulani, and Dagara traditions and continues to pursue research in those areas. Her monograph on the metaphysical dimension of West African traditional religions entitled, “Living Tradition: Mystical Perception of Identity, Community, and Environment in West African Religions,” addresses the fundamental aspects of this research. Dr. Brodnicka has also published articles, encyclopedia entries, and reviews in journals such as Journal of Religion in Africa, West Africa Review, Journal on African Philosophy, The Encyclopedia of Empire, and Contemporary French Civilization. Her most recent publications address mystical dimensions in African religions in countries such as Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

SIT Study Abroad Programs

• Senegal: Global Security and Religious Pluralism