Submitted by Maxwell Poruban the 2024 Spring program in Granada, Spain…
This week is the final week of classes before finals of the Granada Spring 2024 study abroad program and it’s time to reflect on the academic side of my experience. This semester has been different for a number of reasons, but it has also been extremely successful. The entire program in Granada is immersive: the county and city, the program and homestay, and of course the coursework. At the University of Granada’s Center for Modern Languages, I’ve taken six courses covering the history, literature, sociology, and a philosophic seminar that covered all things Spain. It was hard. That’s the simple reflection. That is not to say that it wasn’t an enjoyable, enriching, and exceptional semester. I would repeat it without question and recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their Spanish and learn along the way.
My favorite, and most challenging, class was the Granada Institute of International Studies seminar taught under the auspices of SPAN308: Contemporary Spain II. In this class we of course covered all aspects of contemporary Spain, but we delved into the topic in an interactive and hands-on manner. Through writing, multimedia projects, excursions, lectures, readings, and presentations from all manner of local intellectuals we worked through what Spain means today. In addition to my formal education, I also received a huge amount of language help and practice with my host family and simply living in the city of Granada. All of this has contributed to a truly excellent semester. (Submitted on May 23,2024)