Swarthmore/Macalester/
Pomona Globalization, The Environment and Society
The Consortium Program, established in 2003, offers students of Macalester, Pomona, and Swarthmore Colleges (and their affiliated institutions) the opportunity to study the environment and complex, multi-cultural society of South Africa against a background of globalization and rapid technological change. The program takes place at the University of Cape Town, a world-class institution where professors, in consultation with those from the consortium colleges, have developed a curriculum that meets the high academic standards of our schools while at the same time facilitating the challenge of living and studying in a foreign country. The program is hosted by the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science (EGS) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), which has an internationally respected student-faculty team with strong areas of interest in issues such as environmental and climate change, Global Information Systems, urban and agricultural development, and conservation of biodiversity. Cape Town itself is a breathtakingly beautiful city nestled against Table Mountain at the southwestern tip of Africa.
ACADEMICS
In January and February, prior to the start of courses at UCT, students on the program participate in a specially-designed five week long core seminar titled “Globalization, the Environment and Society.” The core seminar includes two Environmental & Geographical Science honors (fourth year) students. The course draws upon interdisciplinary readings, including compelling works of relevant South African history, conservation practice, global economics, development, conflict, and environmental science.
In addition to the core seminar, each student completes a directed study project (DSP) that requires independent research, generally with an element of field study, overseen by a faculty mentor at UCT. The consortium students also take two regular UCT semester courses as electives, thus providing them with the opportunity to learn alongside regular UCT students. Consortium students choose their courses from a list of university offerings in consultation with the program’s Resident Director.
Since its inaugural session in 2004, almost 150 consortium students have enrolled in and completed this program. Many have found the experience personally and academically transformative. Students frequently use work completed as part of the program as a basis for a senior capstone or honors thesis. Some have even returned to Cape Town to pursue graduate studies or professional work.
Core course field trips include a week-long road-trip to and from Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the Kalahari Desert, on the South Africa-Botswana-Namibia border, where Africa’s famous megafaunal ecology (including lions, cheetahs, leopards, and giraffes, among many others) is still intact, and where indigenous San-speaking peoples still practice age-old hunting and gathering techniques. Other field trips enrich the environmental and societal focus for students, including Table Mountain National Park and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The fascinating historical roots of the urban area around UCT are also explored through a City Tour, which includes a walk through the famous Bo Kaap Afro-Islamic neighborhood, exploration of the Old Dutch colonial, administrative and banking city center, and a visit to UCT’s downtown theater and arts campus.
LOCATION
South Africa is a land of great physical beauty, as well as a place of complex human struggles. The Consortium program offers visiting students an opportunity to study on site some of the challenging environmental and contemporary issues of South Africa. Cape Town is regarded by many as one of the world's most beautiful cities. Set on a small peninsula at the southern tip of Africa, the city offers striking panoramas of mountains and sea.
South Africa provides an extraordinary physical, historical, and cultural environment for this program. Its physical and geographical features are strikingly diverse, and its cities and towns offer a fascinating mix of people and cultures. Visitors quickly observe the juxtaposition and complexity of its First and Third World elements, and the country's struggle with political/social/economic/racial issues in a post-apartheid era. It is a county in transition with a host of developmental challenges.
The University of Cape Town was established in 1829 and is South Africa's oldest university. It has established itself as one of Africa's finest teaching and research universities. Its student enrollment totals approximately 26,000 students.
The University campus has a beautiful hillside setting on the outskirts of the city. It boasts handsome architecture, vast green spaces with numerous trees and plants, and extensive sports fields.
HOUSING
Students are housed with students in self-catered houses in the general vicinity of UCT. Normally they are joined by two University of Cape Town students who also participate in the core course and other program activities.
ELIGIBILITY
Normally twelve students participate from Swarthmore College (including students from the Quaker consortium), Macalester College, and Pomona College. All applicants must demonstrate a sustained intellectual interest in the program theme, usually through a declared major in a relevant field of study. Preference in admissions is given to those with a GPA of 3.0 and who have reached junior status. Priority also will be given to those students who have completed four semesters of environmental-studies-related courses, of which at least two are in the natural sciences and at least one in the social sciences. A college-level background course with African content is highly recommended.
Students from Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and the University of Pennsylvania are welcome to apply.
Interested students should contact Professor Carr Everbach (ceverba1@swarthmore.edu), Professor of Engineering and Environmental Studies at Swarthmore College to notify him of their interest in the program.