Mini-terms at Union College

Students earn 1 credit. The tuition for any Union mini-term is $3500 plus the airfare. The program’s budget (tuitions paid by students) covers lecture fee at the host institution (WARC), honorarium for the host institution’s services, students’ transportation to all excursion
sites, students’ and Union professors’ lodging, daily transportation to and from students’ internship sites, students’ transportation to and from WARC (the host institution), students’ daily meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), tickets to historical and cultural sites to be visited.

The Mini-term in Senegal (West-Africa)

The Senegal mini-term is a cultural and academic experience with an internship opportunity that ties to the student’s major or personal intertest. Health care facilities (clinics and hospitals), schools (private and public), NGOs, artists, women’s organizations, orphanages are places students have interned in previous mini-terms in Senegal. Internships are provided according to students’ needs and requests. An intro class to Wolof language (the lingua franca in Senegal), a series of Lectures on topics related to Health care, Education, Arts, History, Political science, Religion in Senegal and across West Africa are offered to students as well. Students stay with local host families, two per family, and the Program offers a series of excursions: tour of Dakar, visit to Goree island (slave house, art galleries), The Museum of Black Civilisations, the Renaissance Monuement, Lac Rose (Pink lake), Touba (holy city), Tene-toubab (Prof Ndiaye’s village, a typical African village), the Bandia Game Reserve, Sobobade (artistic village with dance and art workshops), Tapisserie de Thies (tapestry Thies town).

Some of the sites we’ll visit during our excursions

http://mcn.sn/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Black_Civilisations
https://www.au-senegal.com/monument-de-la-renaissance-africaine,2832.html?lang=fr
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/26/
http://www.reservedebandia.com/home.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Retba

 

HEALTH: things to keep in mind while preparing

• Malaria. There ae three options for malaria prophylaxis, and of the three, Malarone is the best choice (cheap).
• Yellow Fever injection. Ask about *Hepatits A. (Yellow Fever is administered at Ellis Hospital) *Meningitis vaccine: Check the date of your immunization.
• Diarrhea: avoid all uncooked vegetables and fruits (unless you can peel them: bananas, oranges, mangos: but wash them first). Avoid buffets where flies have access to the food too. No ice cubes. Always drink bottled water (brush teeth w. also). To stop the infection when you have diarrhea: bring a quinolone antibiotic or CIPRO. To stop the Diarrhea bring Loperamide (“Immodium”). Useful to stop gas pain: bring Charcoal tablets.
• Mosquito repellent: must have DEET (30%) or PICARDIN (20%) to be effective.

 

2013 Union College Mini-Term in Senegal video:

 

ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly journal

Daily entry that would best reflect student’s observation, understanding, and impressions of Senegal; this short journal can include experiences with host family, WARC (host institution), your internship, the excursions, and any social interaction outside the program; it should be both descriptive and fairly analytical (reflecting on the challenges, excitements, and the treasures associated with your own experience of the mini-term).

Scrapbook

Each student hands in a scrapbook with a descriptive text that illustrates each of the selected pictures taken while on the mini-term. The scrapbook project should have at least 15 PHOTOS.

Final Project
(handed in no later than 2 weeks after the mini-term ends on Dec 21st)

Sustained thoughtful essay (6 pages long at least): student picks a topic of her/his interest (religion, women issues, health care, family, education, arts, music, economics, social structures, French colonial impact, etc.), research on the topic (using critical essays, media, interviews, surveys, etc. ), uses daily journal entries, and writes an in-depth analytical paper; student should show his/her efforts to discuss and tie topic to the complexity of Senegalese society. Essay journal will be evaluated based on the content, the level of analysis of the subject and its presentation (form including clarity and coherence).

Grade scale

Grade Participation (attendance, active participation in mini-term activities): 20% Daily journal entry 25%
Scrapbook project or power point 20%
Final Project 35%

 

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Download this ABOUT THE SENEGAL MIN-TERM in a PDF file.