Ten Mississippi State University faculty members will teach classes abroad this summer through the Cooperative Center for Study Abroad in countries as diverse as South Africa, Australia and Ireland.
Finance and economics faculty members Meghan Millea and John Rezek are planning an international economics class they’ll teach in South Africa.
They chose the specific course because it’s a split-level course and counts as an international elective for students who need one, Rezek said.
“I think the biggest thing is, the economic development class deals primarily with ways in which developing countries can improve the lot of their citizens, improve the standards of living of their citizens,” he said.
“It’s interesting to talk about these things from afar, but unless you really go to such a country, you can’t really see what they face,” he added.
During the trip, which will be based in Capetown with trips to other areas of South Africa, students will visit government agencies and non-government organizations that deal with economic policies, Millea said.
“We’re trying to schedule some time to speak with people at the central bank about monetary policy,” Rezek said.
In previous years, students who have gone to South Africa with CCSA have taken a trip to a national wildlife reserve, something Rezek hopes to do during this trip. “If possible, we’d like to emphasize that tourism is important,” he said.
“Also natural resources,” Millea added.
There will also be classroom experience before and after the trip.
The course will be applicable not only to economics majors but also to students interested in political science and sociology, Rezek said.
“It makes the experience a little more meaningful if you have a diverse group of students going over there,” Millea said.
“Also we’re interested in looking at the black empowerment movement that emphasizes ownership by black Africans to make up for apartheid,” Rezek said.
“By looking at another country, the idea is to learn how to look at economic issues in the United States with a fresh outlook,” Millea said.
Gloria Liddell and her husband Pearson Liddell will teach a comparative international legal systems course in Australia. They chose Australia because its legal system is a derivative of the English common law system and because the country is intriguing to people, Gloria Liddell said.
“I think touring the courts and parliament are the highlights of the rip, and being able to be exposed to one of the most beautiful cities in the country, Sydney,” she said.
The group will also go to northern Australia to go to the beach, since the Australian winter occurs during the trip and the north will be warmer.
On the opposite side of the globe in Ireland, communication faculty members Stacey Mann and Pete Smith will teach a course about comparative media systems.
“I personally have never studied abroad, so I feel that if students are able to do it, it will give them a better understanding of how our media works and why it works as compared to other countries,” Mann said.
“I’m also excited about being able to spend this amount of time with students in a different setting,” she said.
Smith took the same course in Britain, she said.
The course will be based in Dublin, but the group will travel to other parts of the country, and students will have time to explore on their own, Mann said.
She and Smith will hold an interest meeting Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the McComas lab theater lobby on the basement floor of McComas Hall.
In England and Scotland, finance and economics professor Charles Campbell and social science researcher Carol Campbell will teach a class on community development and regional economics development.
“We’re going to be talking primarily about regional economics that are centered around sustainable development,” Charles Campbell said.
He said the most exciting thing about the trip would be the time spent in London because the city has so much to offer.
Associate professor of human sciences Phyllis Miller will teach a course on fashion in London. “One of the most exciting things that we do is to attend a workshop of two to three days at the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace, the home of King Henry VIII. We have taken courses in beading and in embroidery for garments,” she said.
Another associate professor of human sciences, Sheri Lokken Worthy, will also teach in London this summer. Her class will delve into consumer issues in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Students in her class will visit offices in Britain that are equivalent to offices such as the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.
Academic records assistant Becky Gardner, who helps coordinate the program, said more than 80 MSU students have participated in study abroad courses with CCSA, which consists of 24 colleges and universities from 10 states, since 1999.
She said students should know that financial aid is available for those interested. “We give them a contact person in financial aid who is familiar with CCSA, and that person sits down with them and tells them what they’re eligible for,” she said.
Students who plan on traveling abroad need to get a passport, and they also need to talk to their advisers to find out how the overseas course will be used for MSU credit, she said.
Students who are interested in the courses can contact Gardner at 325-2522.