COVID-19 Update: Students traveling on WCCCSA-sponsored study abroad programs travel as tourists, and do not need a student visa. All students should expect to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to travel. Once a country is open to tourists, the status of a program still depends on your home college’s travel policies related to COVID-19. Please check with your study abroad coordinator about the current policies.

Students MUST be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have a Booster shot to go on this program.

DATES & DEADLINES

  • Application Deadline: Friday, May 13, 2022 DEADLINE EXTENDED TO WEDNESDAY, JULY 20!
  • Deposit Due ($450): Wednesday, June 1, 2022
  • Early Bird Deadline: Apply by Thursday, March 31, 2022 & save $100!
  • Balance of Program Fees Due: Friday, July 1, 2022
  • Tuition Due: Check your campus’s calendar
  • Program Dates: September 26 – December 3, 2022

Contact your WCCCSA Campus Coordinator for more information about spending the fall in Barcelona.

PROGRAM DOCUMENTS

 ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Barcelona is simply a spectacular city in which to study and live. It is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe and by far the most modern city in Spain. Situated on the Mediterranean, it is a city of contrasts; mixing the best of old and new, traditional and trendy, religious and secular, conservative and progressive. As such, this vibrant city offers you the unique opportunity to both surround yourself with Spanish language and tradition while at the same time taking advantage of its mixture of Spanish and Catalan cultures. With Barcelonans fluent in both languages, you have the opportunity to perfect your Spanish while also learning some Catalan! People in Spain are passionate fans of football (soccer), delicious food, family, and celebrating and enjoying life to its fullest. Festivals and holidays are important in Spanish life, and have their own distinctive flavor depending on local customs and the time of year.

Along with earning a full quarter of transferable college credits, you will live with a Spanish family and immerse yourself in day-to-day Spanish life. Frequent field trips and travel opportunities enable you to experience the culture and history of Spain. The teaching team tailors courses to the European environment and structures the coursework around several themes common to the locale.

LOCATION

Classes will be held at the facilities of Barcelona School for International Studies (SIS) and Expanish – Spanish School in Barcelona. The Barcelona School for International Studies (SIS) is located in the city center, a few steps from the Arc de Triomf, while the Expanish – Spanish School in Barcelona is located a few minutes away from the beautiful Passeig de Gràcia, near to Gaudí’s famous Pedrera. With easy access to many bus lines and several metro lines, it is easy to get to classes from anywhere in the city.

CAMPUS & CLASSROOMS

  • Wifi is available throughout the school and you will have access to computers and a printer.
  • Photocopies can be made close to the school.
  • The building also has a sun-drenched terrace to study, eat, or just hang out.

HOUSING

You will stay in a homestay in a double room, sharing a room with another study abroad student or host sibling. A homestay can be part of a meaningful cultural integration and increase safety of the study abroad experience. Homestays are designed to be a mutually valuable experience for both the hosts and the student. BSAE works to find homestays that want to share their culture and language with students and create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. A homestay “family” does not always mean a husband and wife, two children, and a cute dog. In fact, what is more common is to live in the apartment of an older, widowed woman who enjoys the company. The thorough screening process, regular family check-ins, and homestay reviews allow BSAE to monitor the safety and quality of the homestays. Homestays include breakfast and dinner every day, laundry services once a week, a set of keys to the apartment to come and go as you please.

TRANSPORTATION

An unlimited three-month public transportation pass will be provided to you. The pass is good for the metro, bus, train, and trams within Barcelona city and nearby surroundings.

FACULTY & COURSES

You will register for your courses at your home campus. See your campus coordinator for course numbering. You will take a total of three classes for a total of 15 credits including a Spanish Language class taught by local faculty.

Spanish Language (5 credits) is required for all students. Students of all language levels will be accommodated. Students will take a placement test to be placed accordingly in the appropriate class level.

The language professors at the Barcelona School for International Studies (SIS) are specialized in teaching Spanish as a foreign language, accredited through Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. SIS is located inside of a prestigious language school called International House (IH). IH is a top leader in Spanish language acquisition, not only in Barcelona but internationally.

SIS combines different methods of communicative language teaching to reach every type of student. The main aim is to teach the students all the skills and concepts needed to feel comfortable in a Spanish-speaking atmosphere where different cultures of both sides of the Atlantic come together.

SIS gears its Spanish Language and Culture classes towards developing linguistic skills but also attitudes, knowledge, and awareness needed to:

  • Communicate in an intercultural context
  • Interact with other people in any situation
  • Increase confidence in order to encourage more direct contact with native speakers, leading to a better understanding of the culture

Primary Faculty – Michael Moreno, Green River College

Dr. Michael Moreno has always maintained that living and studying abroad is one of the greatest learning experiences a person can have. This is what inspired him as an undergraduate to participate in two study abroad programs: Guatemala (1991) and London (1992). He has also served in the Peace Corps in Lesotho (1992-1994) where he witnessed the transition from apartheid to democracy in the region. Dr. Moreno holds an M.A. in World & Comparative Literature from San Francisco State University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Riverside. His work focuses on Latinx and world literatures, urban studies, human geography, and architecture. Since 2008, he has taught a variety of literature and writing courses at Green River College in Auburn, WA, in the English Department. Previously, he has taught at UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, San Francisco State University, St. Martin’s University, and different community colleges in California and Washington. His publications analyze communities in connection with urban spaces. Dr. Moreno’s classes focus on how cities develop their own unique identities and how literature offers us a greater insight into diverse groups and spaces. He uses a cross-disciplinary lens of literature, sociology, history, and architecture to study cities in unique and engaging ways for students.

ENGL& 112: Introduction to Fiction (5 credits)

What was Barcelona like for local Catalans and international writers residing in the city during key moments of its development: Modernisme (19th and early 20th centuries), International Expositions (1888, 1929-30), Second Republic (1930s), Francoist Regime (1930s-1970s), La Movida (post-Franco regime), Olympics (1992), among other significant turning points in the city’s design and identity? How do these narrative moments connect with our own experiences of the city today? This class will explore what it was like to be in Barcelona at different points in its history through examining important literary creations (including short fiction, novella, vignette, memoir, epistolary, etc.) from Spanish/Catalan and international writing that focus on the city of Barcelona in different time periods and spatial perspectives. Studying short literary works will provide us with detailed snapshots of the changing personality of Barcelona as captured through cross-sections of its unique inhabitants. We will use spatial theory to explore gender and culture, relationship to place, the unique Catalan identity, among others. This class will employ Barcelona as an integral extension of the classroom to cross-connect the select writings with key areas of the city (streets, parks, districts, plazas, architectural features, etc.) as ways to recognize and understand the city’s distinct and ever-evolving identity.

ENGL& 115: Introduction to the Novel (5 credits)

How do spaces and places within literary works reveal the identity and personality of a city? Can locations described in such novels (streets, rooms, plazas, buildings, restaurants, parks, etc.) capture important features about who characters are and what has influenced them? Do these elements collectively create a city’s distinctiveness and nature? This class will focus on Spanish/Catalan novels in translation that express the various spatial identities of contemporary Barcelona. We will explore narratives that are centered in and around the city of Barcelona, while learning to analyze and interpret how the literature reflects culturally rich urban layers. An important idea we will examine together is how the spaces and places within the novels reflect the architectural sites and layout of Barcelona and how this helps us understand the city’s identity today. How does Barcelona (and Catalonia) function as a transformative character in the novels? What role do issues of social justice and civil liberties play in creating the city’s cultural identity? As a class, we will visit key locales identified in the novels and use the literature and additional readings to learn how to interpret Barcelona’s many faces and recognize its literary and spatial identities.

If 25 or more students enroll, a second faculty will join the program, offering two more classes for you to choose from.

Secondary Faculty – Melanie Enderle, Seattle Central College

Melanie Enderle is an Art Historian teaching at Seattle Central College, University of Washington, Bellevue College, and has taught at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. Looking forward to Barcelona’s rich history and multifaceted culture, Melanie is thrilled to teach among the vibrant region which offers a myriad of sociocultural, religious, and political perspectives to explore and share with students.

Born in Texas, Melanie graduated with a BFA in Art History. She earned her MA in British Art and Literature at Reading University, England, and PhD in Art History from University of Washington.

Along with her love of travel and adventure, Melanie is passionate about art and its history. Her research and teaching interests include issues of gender, societal norms, and representations of women. Melanie has presented on her research in places such as University of London, Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, St. Andrews College, and Oxford University.

Recent publications include “The Reflective Eye of Walter Sickert: Mirroring Male Victorian Dominance in the Era of the New Woman” and “The Empowered Ingénue: Women Stepping Out as Solo Performers Onstage.”

Melanie’s interdisciplinary teaching style helps students understand the relevance of art to their lives. Having Barcelona as the background will enhance the subject matter and offer an unimaginable and impactful educational experience for her students.

ART& 100: Art Appreciation (5 credits)

This course will help students understand, analyze, and appreciate the historical and cultural contexts of art from Pre-History to the contemporary with emphasis on critical thinking and developing visual literacy. By studying the purposes of art and the methods used by artists through study of the formal elements and principles of design, students will be exposed to a range of topics that will provide them with a basis for approaching art and recognizing its relevance. This class will examine Barcelona, from its rich history up to modern times, to learn of its multifaceted culture, leading to a better appreciation of the art of the region and helping to instill a greater understanding of Barcelona’s influence on its artists and how their distinctive creations have inspired other artists, while also sometimes showing an embrace of other cultures in their style.

ART 105: Modern Art History (5 credits)

This class focuses on the evolution of modern art from the mid-19th to 20th century and introduces students to its many art styles, and its innovations in painting, sculpture, photography, and architecture. Students will realize how modern art has developed into its current state and understand how much modern art responds to and reflects sociocultural, biographical, religious, and political perspectives. This class will especially draw on the wealth of great artists and architects from the mid-19th and 20th centuries represented throughout this inspiring region. Barcelona has many museums and buildings that celebrate artists and architects of the Modern Era, including Antoni Gaudí, considered to be the greatest exponent of modern architect in Barcelona and Pablo Picasso, arguably the greatest artist of the 20th century.

This is an academic program and students are required to enroll in a full-time course load (15 credits). Failure to participate in the academic coursework may result in dismissal from the program. Students are encouraged to make the most of their classroom learning, as it will enhance understanding of all the local area has to offer.

EXCURSIONS/ACTIVITIES

  • One overnight excursion to the city of Zaragoza
  • Three day-trips (welcome hike and two excursions outside of Barcelona)
  • Weekly cultural activities to get to know Barcelona and local life such as guided tours, cooking class, and more
  • Welcome & farewell meals
  • The Barcelona SAE Bucket List – 100 ways to experience the city of Barcelona through a local lens

INDEPENDENT TRAVEL

You may use your free time on weekends to explore the neighborhoods and beaches of Barcelona, travel throughout Spain or beyond to some of Europe’s great cities including London, Amsterdam, Florence, and Paris.

COSTS: $6,850

 Early bird special! Register by Thursday, March 31, 2022 and save $100!

After a deposit or final payment is collected, this money will not be refunded. If a student or faculty member should decide not to participate in an activity or excursion, no money will be refunded.

 INCLUDED

  • Airport pick-up for those who arrive on assigned day and time
  • Homestay with daily breakfast and dinner and weekly laundry service
  • 24/7 emergency contact service
  • Pre-Departure Orientation
  • Onsite Orientation
  • Public transportation pass for Barcelona city
  • Comprehensive Health Insurance
  • Welcome and Farewell meals
  • All Excursions/Activities listed above

NOT INCLUDED

  • Airfare
  • College tuition & fees for 15 credits
  • Course books/materials
  • Passport & visa fees, if applicable
  • Meals not mentioned above
  • Personal expenses
  • Anything not specified as included in the program
  • Optional personal effects coverage and medical insurance upgrade

SCHOLARSHIPS

WCCCSA Barcelona participants are all eligible to apply for the $1,000 WCCCSA scholarship. Applications are due on or before Friday, May 13, 2022.

PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION (mandatory)

A team of WCCCSA Study Abroad Coordinators will provide all pertinent logistics, health, and safety information to help you prepare for your study experience in Barcelona. The faculty member/s will also discuss their course details, and academic and behavioral expectations. You should also invite parents, guardians, or whomever you feel should attend with you. Coffee will be provided in the morning and lunch will be included.

  • Date: Saturday in August, 2022 (TBD)
  • Time: 10am-3pm
  • Location: Green River College in Auburn, WA (TBC)

 What to bring:

  • Signed copy of the Student Guidelines
  • Four passport photos
  • Copy of your passport
  • Flight itineraries for students not on the group flight
  • Notepad and pen to take notes
  • And questions