Immersion Programs

INTERSESSION 2013 

Central Valley Immersion 
January 7 – 12, 2013
The Central Valley Immersion is designed for students interested in learning from grassroots leaders in Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Delano, and Merced woking with the Latino and Mohng communities. This class explores the pressing social issues connected to migration, and the innovation and leadership skills that have merged from the community based organizations for social transformation. Students should contact professor regarding program cost (room, board, transportation). 
Adj. Prof. Luis E. Bazan

Women, Poverty, and Catholic Social Thought
January 2 - 18, 2013
Contemporary Catholic Social Thought insists that social justice demands a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable of society. On local and global levels, women are disproportionately impacted by poverty. Grounded in the Ignatian model of community engagement, this Arrupe Justice Immersion Course will challenge students to observe and analyze women's experiences of poverty in the San Francisco Tenderloin community; reflect upon this reality using texts from Catholic Social Thought along with feminist theology/ethics; and respond with informed action for the promotion of social justice, working alongside the Faithful Fools Street ministry. 
Adj. Prof. Erin Brigham  

Public Health and Homelessness (Immersion in the Tenderloin)
January 11- 18, 2013
The objectives of this immersion and Service-Learning course are to understand, witness, and reflect upon the state of health care among the poor and marginalized of the city, with a focus on the experience of the individual person with respect to discrimination, addiction, violence, access to health care, health education, and physical and mental health problems stemming from poverty (and vice versa). These issues will be addressed in the context of an historical perspective of urban poverty. The service component of the course includes outreach, exploration, and volunteering at a range of health and housing service sites in San Francisco.
Prof. Mary Jane Niles / Frank Buckley S.J. 

Beyond Borders: Israel-Palestine (International Immersion)
January 2 - 16, 2013
This course is designed for students interested in social justice activism and international conflict. Students will intern with a Jerusalem-based NGO working to support marginalized communities in Israel and Palestine, in addition to analyzing and reflecting upon root causes of societal forms of oppression. This course aims to de-exceptionalize this ostensibly exceptional conflict, empowering students to understand and embrace ways to transform the oppressive patterns present in Israel, Palestine, and beyond. Students should contact professor regarding program cost (room, board, transportation).
Prof. Aaron J Hahn Tapper

Alliances with Newcomer Youth (For ESL Students)
January 2 – 18, 2013
The objective of this course is to align USF students with newcomer and immigrant youth enrolled in the San Francisco Unified School District. Partnering with the Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center (Tel-Hi), this course will introduce students to the history of youth mentorship and leadership initiatives for immigrant youth in San Francisco, as well as pedagogical approaches towards being an effective mentor. Students will develop relationships with youth as well as Tel-Hi professionals to enhance their understandings of social justice and community service.
Adj. Prof. Brad Washington

SUMMER 2012 

Ignatian Education Seminar in Peru
June 3 – 17, 2012
The Ignatian Education Seminar is designed for students interested in studying the Jesuit commitment for social justice in Lima, Peru. This class explores the pressing social issues to the most marginalized, learns from the people working on the frontlines, and connects with local students leaders working for justice.
Adj. Prof. Luis E. Bazan

Students in Arts and Incarceration
June 25th-July 13th
The Arts and Incarceration is designed for students who are interested in merging social activism, performance and teaching. Students will learn how to use the arts (theater/movement/ music/writing) to address critical social and cultural issues by creating a dialogue between incarcerated people and their communities. Through discussion, hands on exercises, readings and video, students will gain skills in, and a context for, a creative pedagological activist process that is rooted in community-based arts.
Prof. Amie Dowling

Culture, the Environment and Tourism: Sitka, Alaska
July 13-30, 2012
This 17-day, 4-credit Arrupe Social Justice Immersion course in anthropology (ANTH 280) and environmental studies (ENVA 280) examines the relationship between culture and the environment in the unique island setting of Sitka, Alaska. You will not only learn about the area’s terrestrial and marine environments and how Tlingit and non-Native residents of Sitka use its natural resources, but also about local controversies surrounding the stewardship of the region’s natural resources – its fish and other marine life, timber, and scenic beauty. The latter includes considering the social and environmental impact of different forms of tourism.
Prof. Sharon Gmelch

Minds in Motion: movement as a tool for curriculum development: Tacna, Peru
June 1-15, 2012
The USF Dance Program works with children at Colegio Miguel Pro in Tacna, Peru, with a focus on teaching academic curriculum through movement. Working closely with classroom teachers, the USF team creates a series of movement classes for 1st to 6th grades, addressing the curriculum units that each class is studying. Class material ranges from multiplication to geometry, history to poetry, body systems to earth habitats. In addition, after-school rehearsals are held daily to prepare for an end of session performance. This performance provides a culminating experience and an opportunity to celebrate the creative contribution and personal growth of everyone involved. The Minds in Motion course in Tacna, Peru, emphasizes that movement and creativity can be powerful tools in deconstructing economic and cultural barriers, creating new levels of understanding amongst people of different backgrounds and cultures.
Adj. Prof. Natalie Greene

Latina Activism: Gender and Immigration in San Francisco
July 17 – 28, 2012
The course will study the roots and present day context of Latina immigration in San Francisco and the US. This will be accomplished by examining the history of immigration withing the framework of community activism, cultural citizenship and the plight of Spanish-speaking women immigrants in this city. We will workshop with artists and activists, as well as do service work with two organizations who support women immigrants. Our final goal will be to strategize a tool for social action based on the collaboration with and specific needs of this community.
Prof. Karina Hodoyan

English Minga in the Ecuadorian Amazon
July 7-28, 2012
This graduate course is designed to become immersed in Achuar way of living and to work with Achuar teachers to develop an Achuar-centric English language curriculum, helping them attain their goal of self-sufficiency.
Prof. Susana Katz

Border Issues Seminar in Tijuana
This is a bi-national course that combines academic experiences with community based learning in the Jesuit tradition among Latino immigrants to the US. The course includes college students from Mexico and from US Jesuit universities. (In cooperation with Universidad Iberamericana Tijuana)