Culture and Communication Semester in Spain

Valencia, Spain

Dates and Deadlines

Term:

Spring

Start Date

See Advisor

End Date

See Advisor

Deadline

9/15/2023

Information

Area of Study:

Communication, Cultural Studies, International Studies, Media Arts, Spanish

Program Type:

Faculty-Led

Language of Instruction:

English

GPA:

2.5

Language Prerequisite:

General knowledge/interest to learn local language is preferred

Advisor Name:

Sara Gutierrez

Faculty Name:

Susana Martínez Guillem (C&J)

Advisor Email:

flip@unm.edu

Faculty Email:

susanam@unm.edu

Overview

This unique program is designed to make sure that your experience is both amazing and productive. You will enjoy the benefits of real, long-term immersion in Spanish culture and language at your own pace.

We will be traveling to Valencia, Spain, one of students' preferred destinations to study abroad due to its unique mixture of traditional Mediterranean and urban culture. You will soak up the city's cultural richness through its world-renowned festivities (Las Fallas) and cuisine (paella!), enjoy its privileged climate and mile-long beaches, and witness Spanish culture, history and society as you wander by its different monuments and historic buildings, join the lively nightlife, or relax with a bike ride, walk, or tapas picnic in one of its numerous gardens.

In Spain, you will take a 6-credit course in Intercultural Communication and Popular Culture with Dr. Susana Martínez Guillem and your fellow UNM students. This course will be taught in English.

You will also take a minimum of 3 credits of Spanish language and culture at Hispania, escuela de español, with local instructors and other students from all over the world. These Spanish credits will be officially recognized by UNM's Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Our local school staff will adjust to your level, so there is no previous language requirement.

You will combine these 9 credits with any online UNM courses to meet your academic and scholarship requirements

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Academics

CJ 393 Intercultural Communication and Popular Culture in Spain

Spring 2023--6 credits

Course description:

This course will draw on students' experiences in Spain as a way to introduce them to foundational and contemporary concepts, practices, and processes of intercultural communication, methods of intercultural analysis, and the scholarly field of intercultural communication. Students in this course will engage in a critical assessment of intercultural communication theories and their applications to their immediate Spanish context, with the explicit goal of addressing issues of social justice and ethical, mindful, and self-reflective intercultural practices.

From our study abroad site in Valencia, in this class we will also experience the popular culture of Spain, and discuss its comparative and relational ties to New Mexico, and the US more broadly. Through direct exposure to flamenco music and dance, “fútbol”, film and TV productions, local festivities, sustainable agricultural practices, or local architectural landmarks, we will explore historical, social and cultural issues shaping past and present-day “Spain,” such as internal and external colonialism, national(ist) ideologies, past and recent social movements, or economic, geographical, and identity-shaped struggles for equality. In their final projects, students will develop their comparative, analytical, and critical skills as they work to connect popular cultural items discussed in the Spanish setting to their New Mexican contexts.

We will discuss topics such as:

The contested nature of culture and cultural definitions

Privilege, power, and discrimination in Spanish society, with specific comparative references to US society

Race and Whiteness

Migration and identity

Representations of ‘others’ in popular media

The relationship between language, power, and cultural practices

We will engage these topics through multiple and diverse readings, practical exercises of cultural analysis from your everyday experiences abroad—including everyday talk, media representations, and public discourses—reflective writing assignments, research activities, and field visits.

Course objectives:

The following are the main objectives for the course.

1.- Identify, compare, and critique relevant approaches to culture communication.

2.- Develop skills to research, observe, and analyze intercultural communication in everyday life, popular media, and other public discourses around us.

3. Recognize and analyze a variety of contemporary Spanish cultural practices, their historical roots, and consequences.

4. Observe and assess our own cultural habits, as well as their potential effects on ourselves and those around us (including the ecosystem).

5. Explain and evaluate the relationship between cultural practices, common sense, and ideology.

Pre-requisites and Co-Requisites:

none

Location

Valencia, Spain Valencia is the base location.

Visits will include: Sagunto (with visit to Roma ruins), Requena (with wine tasting), L'Albufera (with boat ride) and Peñíscola (with visit to the castle). We will also learn about local community projects and their initiatives to preserve Valencia's fertile region (Horta) its irrigation fields (acequias), and the resulting local produce that has fed the region for centuries.

You can find more pictures and a nice reportage on Valencia in this issue of National Geograpghic: https://viajes.nationalgeographic.com.es/c/valencia/fotos/1/3

Housing

Our local partner school will arrange housing. Students will be able to choose whether to stay in a private room in shared apartment, or in a shared dormitory room.

All of the apartments are located in nearby student-friendly neighborhoods--all less than a 30 minute walk from our school location. Most of the apartments have 4 or 5 bedrooms. You can choose to complete an apartment with other UNM students, or with other students at our local school, so you will always be with people you (and us) know!

Links

The school site we have selected to collaborate with us on this program is locally owned and managed, accredited by Instituto Cervantes, and internationally recognized by colleagues and students as one of the best Spanish schools in Spain.

The school is located in a beautiful free-standing chalet, a unique environment in the city of Valencia, located in the university area, next to the Rector of the University of Valencia and the Jardines de Viveros. From the school, if you walk about 5 minutes, you reach the city center, the historical part of Valencia and the main area of shops, bars and theaters.

Next to the school are the Valencia Tennis Club and the Horse Riding Club, for lovers of sports that wish to practice them during their stay with us, and the Turia Park, a garden of about 8 kilometers that crosses the city and that begins at the Bioparc Zoo to reach the City of Arts and Sciences.

Taking the bus at the stop next to the school or the tram, you will reach the beach in about 10 minutes and enjoy pleasant moments of relaxation.

You can check out the school here: https://hispania-valencia.com/en/. You can also find it on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hispania.valencia/

But really, it is much better in person ;)

Costs

Program Costs

The cost will be approximately $4,900 (depending on enrollment, the kind of accommodation chosen, and currency exchange at the time of purchase). This will cover your class tuition to Hispania, transfer of credits to UNM, and housing.

This fee also Includes:

    Pre-travel/ arrival services

    Valencia support services (including 24h emergency contact).

    Activities, weekly cultural program, and day long field trips



   This fee does NOT include:

UNM Tuition: Paid to UNM through Bursars office as usual. Remember that in almost all cases, you can use your financial aid (Pell Grant, New Mexico Lottery Success Scholarship, loans, etc.) to study abroad!!

CISI Insurance: $12.34 Per week (Paid Directly to CISI in GEO application)

UNM Study Abroad Fee: $75 (Paid to GEO in application)

Visit to SHACs Travel Health Clinic $15 per student + vaccinations that are needed

Passport: $145

Flight: ~ $1,000 - $1500

UNM Tuition: Paid to UNM through Bursars office as usual

1,000 deposit required by November 1st to confirm registration. Non-refundable. Remaining amount due on December 1st