From Classrooms to City Streets: A Faculty Perspective on DMACC London Study Abroad

Colin Hogan, Associate Professor of English, Literature, and Theatre at DMACC Ankeny Campus, has returned from leading a group of students on the London Study Abroad trip this spring, and he feels like the experience was a "valuable reset."

The DMACC Spring Semester in England is a regular sping semester condensed into 10 weeks abroad. Students start their coursework at Ankeny Campus, then travel to London in mid-February for eight weeks of learning, exploring, and living in Great Britain.

Hogan shares about how the trip helped shift his approach to teaching in this Q&A:

What made you want to lead a study abroad trip?

I had never led a study abroad trip before, but I studied abroad myself when I was in college. I spent a semester in London and another in Rome, so it was great to pass on this experience to students.

What was one of the most memorable moments from the London experience?

One of my most memorable moments was leading students on a walk that followed the steps of Virginia Woolf's character Clarissa Dalloway through central London. We started near Westminster Abbey, went up Whitehall past Parliament, strolled through St. James's Park to Buckingham Palace and then Green Park, joined the traffic on Piccadilly, stopped at Hatchards to check out all the books, and then passed the luxury shops on Bond Street. The weather was gorgeous, and spring daffodils were in full bloom. I loved being able to animate Woolf's Modernist masterpiece with students, but I also loved how students then spotted Woolf and Mrs. Dalloway throughout their experience in the city. We saw Woolf's manuscript of Mrs. Dalloway during a field trip to the British Library, and students recognized Woolf again on a placard in Kensington Gardens, where she spent a lot of time during her childhood. A student also sent me a picture of someone else reading the novel Mrs. Dalloway on the Tube! For the final assignment in the course, students then wrote their own narratives of their favorite walk through London while imitating Woolf's famous stream-of-consciousness style, which blends external observation with internal reflection and memory. The students' narratives were a joy to read. They all chose different parts of the city, and they showed what it meant to live and learn in a bustling urban environment.

How did this trip impact your students, academically or personally?

I think students left London with a richer understanding of history and culture. It is a very different experience studying something in a classroom in comparison to the field trip model that London allows. For example, we spent one class session of the Encounters in Humanities course looking at Baroque architecture in the City. Of course, we could have learned the basics of the Baroque style-monumental domes, classical columns, refined ornamentation-by looking at pictures of famous buildings, but instead, we visited St. Paul's Cathedral and other City churches designed by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of 1666. After this visit, students continued to find expressions of the Baroque while walking around London or throughout their travels. One group even sent me a message from a church in Lisbon, Portugal that identified its Baroque features!

What surprised you most about leading a study abroad program?

I think all teaching requires flexibility, but the flexibility required to lead study abroad was an extra surprise. Often the Tube would be delayed, tickets would be sold out, or students would book flights to the continent a little too close to the end of a class meeting, and you just have to roll with it. I'm a big planner, but the term really challenged me to reflect on what I thought most important in the learning experience and to set aside the rest.

What would you say to other DMACC faculty who are considering leading a trip?

It was a wonderful experience. Exploring the city with students was really fun (and the ability to travel around was an added bonus) but it was also a really valuable reset to my thinking and teaching. Because it was such a different experience, it required me to shake things up.

To learn more about DMACC's study abroad opportunities, visit dmacc.edu/study-abroad.

For general information or if you're a faculty member interested in leading a study abroad trip, contact Aimee Langager, Study Abroad Coordinator, [email protected].

For registration information, contact Mariana Villa Drees, Academic Advisor, [email protected].

For other contacts, visit dmacc.edu/study-abroad/contacts.