The International Studies Program offers a diverse selection of comparative and interdisciplinary courses in the fields of Social Sciences, Business, Humanities, Education, and others.
Students will be enrolled in a total of 4 courses taught in English. Each course is 45 hours and is worth 3 US credits. Students who wish to complete a full term may enroll in an additional 5th course from the Study Abroad in Spain Program at Instituto Franklin-UAH. In this case, students will be required to apply for a student visa
Academic Offer for Spring 2023
This course is mandatory for all students.
Course: Introduction to Spain
Description: This course will provide a broad overview of Spanish civilization and culture, from its prehistory to the present day. Spain’s significance in the history of thought and deed will be examined in wider international contexts, particularly those pertaining to Western Europe and America. Students will review Spanish culture in its many diverse representations, examining cultural expressions in terms of their perceived universality and authenticity. Topics will be linked to questions of political-cultural identity in contemporary Spain.
Instructor: Professor TBA-Instituto Franklin, Universidad de Alcalá.
Course: Correctional Practice & Policy
Description: This course examines a series of contentious topics in transatlantic/Canadian correctional practice and prison systems. Students will learn about the relationship between prison culture, correctional practice/policy and broader social structures in Canadian society. The course will address a number of topics including: Canadian political climate and philosophies of punishment and corrections; pains of imprisonment and challenges working in and researching prisons; special issues in Indigenous populations in Canadian prisons; Canadian correctional policies and the portrayal of prison in North American popular culture, among other issues. The course will include a diversity of teaching techniques including visual materials and documentaries, group discussion activities, guest speakers and field trips.
Instructor: Alicia Horton, Douglas College
Course: The Transatlantic African Diaspora & Spanish Nexus
Description: The course will survey the African Diaspora in general with a focus on the African Moors in Spain, the transatlantic and trans-Saharan slave trade, and colonialization in the western hemisphere. Spain, Portugal, and Jamaica will be a particular focus.
Students should leave this course with improved skills in critical thinking, analytical writing, as well as a greater appreciation of the historical background of contemporary issues.
Instructor: Delia Cook Gillis. University of Central Missouri.
Course: Global Issues: Decolonization in the Twentieth Century
Description: An analysis of the historical development of the former European colonies as a result of the decolonization process fostered by the United Nations after 1945. Students will select a case study for individual research.
Instructor: Carmen Neysa Rodríguez, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico
This course is mandatory for all students.
Course: Introduction to Spain
Description: This course will provide a broad overview of Spanish civilization and culture, from its prehistory to the present day. Spain’s significance in the history of thought and deed will be examined in wider international contexts, particularly those pertaining to Western Europe and America. Students will review Spanish culture in its many diverse representations, examining cultural expressions in terms of their perceived universality and authenticity. Topics will be linked to questions of political-cultural identity in contemporary Spain.
Instructor: Professor TBA-Instituto Franklin, Universidad de Alcalá.
Course: Intercultural Communication
Description: This course is designed to create a greater understanding of communication patterns and breakdowns which occur as members of one culture group interact with those of another culture group. This course will also foster an increased awareness of particular skills and knowledge that can foster more effective intercultural communication. The teaching approach is student-centered and competency-based. This allows communication with students on what is taught, how it will be done, what should be learned, what activities are completed, what resources are used and how to evaluate learning.
Instructor: Christine Pease- Hernadez. Slippery Rock University
Course: Serial Murderers: A Global Perspective
Description: This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of theoretical explanations for the phenomenon of serial murder. The course includes a historical and contemporary examination of serial murder typologies, taking into account motives, methods, victims, personal history, and crime scene characteristics of selected serial murderers around the world, including Spain’s most notorious. Special emphasis is on developing critical thinking skills that are essential to serial murder investigations.
Instructor: Michael Hulderman, Missouri Southern State University
Course: Introduction to the Language and Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World
Description: This course provides an introduction to the language, cultural practices and issues specific to the Spanish-speaking world. Using diverse cultural theories and methodologies, we gain access to valuable critical tools to analyze everything from current Netflix series and pop songs to literature and contemporary art works originally created in Spanish, but that transcended its linguistic boundaries and established meaningful dialogues with the English-speaking world and beyond. The course also delves into the history of the Spanish language as a transatlantic and transpacific endeavor that is still on the making. The class will benefit from our location in Alcalá de Henares by exploring Roman, Gothic, Jewish, Muslim and other cultural sites in order to understand the Spanish language’s historical and current global connections. While taught in English, most materials are also available in Spanish so that Spanish students and native speakers may access the original productions.
Instructor: Ruth Mandujano López, Douglas College
This course is mandatory for all students.
Course: Introduction to Spain
Description: This course will provide a broad overview of Spanish civilization and culture, from its prehistory to the present day. Spain’s significance in the history of thought and deed will be examined in wider international contexts, particularly those pertaining to Western Europe and America. Students will review Spanish culture in its many diverse representations, examining cultural expressions in terms of their perceived universality and authenticity. Topics will be linked to questions of political-cultural identity in contemporary Spain.
Instructor: Professor TBA-Instituto Franklin, Universidad de Alcalá.
Course: Male Violence Against Women
Description: This course will examine a variety of forms of victimization that are often perpetrated by men against women. These forms of violence include intimate partner violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, online harassment, and nonconsensual pornography. Students explore how male violence against women has often been minimized in society, the historical lack of response, and more current responses from the criminal justice system.
Instructor: Courtney Crittenden. University of Tennesse at Chattanooga.
Course: Understanding Crisis and Trauma Issues with Respect to Immigrants and Refugees
Description: This course provides students with information and skills to effectively assess and intervene in crisis situations involving immigrant and refugee clients, families, and communities. Consistent with traditional understanding, a crisis can be described as an event or series of events that overtax a person’s normal coping capabilities, or upset an individual’s steady state of functioning, resulting in a state of disequilibrium. Specific interventions for crisis with this population are described. Research-based practice models, which effectively address crises are utilized and examined. Students will explore the implications for assessment and intervention in the midst of a crisis and learn self-care strategies. This course would be suitable for students from a variety of disciplines who are interested in understanding and assisting new immigrants and refugees and in understanding the social and emotional impact on their psychological acculturation needs.
Instructor: Mark Lepore, Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Course: Leadership and advocacy
Description: This course will focus on leadership and advocacy for future educators. This course will include theory, research and practice in education as a foundation for leadership in the field and advocacy on behalf of children, families, communities, and the education profession. An examination of current issues in the field and strategies for articulating positions and for working toward change will also be addressed.
Instructor: Sara Tours, Slippery Rock University.
Students who wish to complete a full semester term may register for an additional course in the Study Abroad in Spain program at Instituto Franklin-UAH.
Students must obtain a student visa for this purpose and remain in the program until completion.
Click here for more information about the courses of the Study Abroad in Spain Program at Instituto Franklin-UAH.