SATA Seville, Spain 2007

Spain, Democratization and International Politics

Program Rationale | Courses | Excursions | Pre-departure Plans | Accommodations | Requirements

Caitlyn Turgeon '08, second from right, an international relations major, is keeping a blog while on SATA Seville 2007. Shown here with friends on a field trip to Reales Alcazares.

About the Program
Alex Roberto Hybel, Susan Eckert Lynch Professor of Government, and a native of Argentina, is leading the Spring 2007 SATA Seville, Spain program.  The program is being conducted in collaboration with International University Programs (IUS), directed by Dr. Daniel Garcia.  IUS and Connecticut College (CC) have collaborated with one another for a number of years.

Program Rationale
For the past 15 years, Professor Hybel has taught every other year a course titled Democracy in Latin America. The course focuses on the various political, economic and cultural obstacles a number of Latin American countries have had to overcome in order to create stable democracies, and the degree to which they have succeeded or failed. In this course, during the first two weeks, Professor Hybel discusses the various effects of Spanish colonization on the subsequent processes of democratization.

One of his principal goals while in Seville is to provide students a richer and deeper understanding of those effects by expanding the lectures that focus on Spain's political system, culture, and religion, and by linking the lectures to visits to museums and historical sites in Seville and nearby cities, such as Cordoba, Granada and Toledo.

Professor Hybel's second rationale is connected to his Theories of International Relations seminar. Repeated visits to Europe, including Spain, have alerted him to the fact that European political scientists do not approach the study of the aforementioned subject in the way it is done in the United States. His intent is to alter substantially the approach: to teach the course by contrasting the way it is taught in the United States, where power politics, conflict, and the role played by the United States are central, and the manner in which it is taught in Spain, where cooperation, conflict resolution, diplomacy, and the role played by international organizations receive most of the attention.

Professor Hybel's third rationale is not linked to any particular course. For the past four years he has sought to explain in some of his courses the ideological, cultural and religious tensions highlighted by the events of September 11, 2001. Extensive interactions with Spaniards, who experienced their own terrorist nightmare on March 11, 2004, along with visits to the cities already mentioned, and Madrid and possibly Barcelona, should help students develop a deeper understanding of some of the roots of those tensions, and the manner in which non-Americans interpret them.

Professor Hybel's fourth rationale is linked to language. While in Spain, students will have little choice but to communicate in Spanish. To begin with, most of them will all be living with Spanish families. Second, Spanish is the only language spoken at IUS, and very few of its staff members speak English. Third, though Professor Hybel will teach his two courses in English, he will start and end his classes with summaries in Spanish. Fourth, outside the class he will speak only in Spanish to his students, and it will be the only language spoken during field trips. The immersion in the language should help increase their fluency and appreciation of the Spanish culture.

Courses
Participating students will be required to take one of Professor Hybel's two courses.  He will teach his Democracy in Latin America course at the 300-level, and will restructure his Theories of International Relations seminar to fit the qualifications and needs of the students attending the SATA program. 

Moreover, he is directing several independent studies, depending on students' preferences and academic needs. 

All students will be required to take at least one Spanish language course at IUS.  For the remaining courses, students will be able to select from a wide range.  Because the courses offered by IUS change from one semester to another  depending on students' interests, it is not possible to identify them during the Spring 2006 semester.  However, Professor Hybel will be able to negotiate with IUS during the Fall 2006 semester the courses CC students would like to take.  IUS offers courses in Anthropology, Economics, Theater, Sociology, History, Spanish Literature, and Art.  Very advanced students will be able to take one course at the University of Seville.

IUS's academic calendar fits CC's. IUS's credits and grades are fully compatible with CC's.

Excursions
As already noted, SATA students will have the opportunity to visit Madrid, Cordoba, Toledo, and Granada.  Trips to ports on the Mediterranean coast will also take place.  Weekly, Professor Hybel and interested students will go in search of the best tapas restaurants and flamenco venues in Seville.  IUS will provide a guided tour of a special area in Seville nearly every Friday to interested students.  Towards the end of March and early April, students will have two weeks off.  During that period, they will be free to travel on their own to other Spanish and European sites, or to stay in Seville to celebrate Semana Santa and to enjoy, during the second week, Seville's international renowned traditional fair.

Services and Accommodations
Seville is a very safe city. IUS provides life, accident and health insurance to all its students, and facilitates access to hospitals and doctors if needed. IUS assumes full responsibility for finding housing for all CC students. Students will reside with local families who will provide three meals a day. The homes are located close to IUS, which is centrally located, just four blocks from Seville's main cathedral.

Pre-departure Plans
Through the years, the Office of National and International Programs (ONIP) has designed a highly effective pre-departure orientation which SATA Seville students will be required to attend.  IUS, moreover, demands that all students taught at IUS attend its own orientation. 

In addition, during the Fall 2006 semester, Professor Hybel held a dinner at his house to discuss the nature of the program, what students can expect, and the problems and issues they are likely to encounter while in Spain and how to address them.  During the visit, students met his wife Jan, who will by accompanying him during most of the SATA Seville program, and their daughter Gabriela, who will be attending a high school in Madrid.

Students will depart together for Seville from New York.

Requirements
Because IUS teaches Spanish at all levels, Professor Hybel will not impose a language requirement. Ideally, however, he would prefer to have students who have taken at least one semester of Spanish.

It is impossible to enforce a rule that dictates that all students speak in Spanish at all times. Nonetheless, as someone who has struggled to learn English as his second language, Professor Hybel has long learned that there is no better way to learn a language than by speaking it constantly, regardless of how difficult it often is and the number of mistakes one makes. Therefore, he encourages students who attend the SATA Seville program to speak Spanish as frequently as possible.

At the end of the SATA Seville program, students will produce with Professor Hybel a Web page highlighting their experiences. The Web page should also include photographs.

For more information on SATA Spain, Spring 2007, contact Shirley Parson or Professor Hybel.