CUBA
AND RUSSIA TRIPS ENHANCE
GEOGRAPHY COURSES
BLACKSBURG, Feb. 24,
2004 -- No sooner
is geography professor
Joseph L. Scarpaci
back on campus after
leading the largest
faculty-led study
abroad course in the
history of Virginia
Tech last month than
he is already planning
another class tour.
He took a record-breaking
112 students to Cuba
for his urban design
and planning class
(Geography 4984) and
will offer the class
again from May 23
to June 7.
Some
of the students included
professionals and
adults from such places
as the World Affairs
Council of Philadelphia
and the American Geographic
Society. Scarpaci
says that the group,
which traveled around
Cuba in four large
tour buses, visited
Trinidad, Cuba's best
example of colonial
architecture left
intact; Santiago,
the island's second
largest city; Baracoa,
the site of Columbus'
landing; and of course,
Havana, the capital
city.
Eighteen
lectures and six field
trips later, students
had more than a passing
knowledge of Cuba's
unique urban, historical,
architectural, and
cultural landscape.
"This was a good time
in history to visit
Cuba," Scarpaci explains.
"The country is at
an interesting crossroads,
politically and economically.
Last spring 70 dissidents
were arrested and
incarcerated. Any
of my students will
say, 'You are never
the same after you
have visited this
struggling nation.'
"Travel abroad not
only enhances urban
geography classes
for the students,
but it also provides
me opportunity to
actively engage in
teaching and research
beyond the classroom,"
continues the Cuba
expert. "And it is
a contribution to
public service."
Tom
Hammett, director
of international studies
for the College of
Natural Resources
and associate professor
of wood science and
forest products, will
assist Scarpaci on
his May study-abroad
course, along with
geography instructor
John Boyer. That particular
itinerary leaves from
and returns to Miami,
Florida, and includes
visits to Havana,
Trinidad, Santa Clara,
and Veradero. Daily
activities will consist
of lectures and field
trips to museums,
landmarks, and universities.
This
trip -- the longest-running
Cuba study abroad
from a U.S. university
-- is open to any
undergraduate or graduate
student, professional
journalist, or researcher
interested in urbanization,
planning, social sciences,
literature, architecture,
or community development
in Cuba. For further
information, contact
Scarpaci at scarp@vt.edu.
While
Scarpaci's students
were "being transformed
by the Cuba experience,"
Boyer, who teaches
the popular world
regions geography
course to more than
500 students each
semester, was helping
lead 27 students on
an extension of that
class to Russia, Estonia,
and Finland in northeastern
Europe.
In
that study abroad
trip students saw
the impact of the
decline of the Soviet
Empire and learned
about the East-West
divide that exists
in Russian culture.
"Moscow is the culture
core of Russia, but
a very non-Western
city," explains Boyer,
"unlike St. Petersburg,
which is Western in
focus and looks like
Western Europe. Moscow
and St. Petersburg,
where market capitalism
and democracy are
still in early transition
stages, gave students
a good comparison
with fully developed
Helsinki, Finland
(only 50 miles away
by ferry), and Tallinn,
the capital of Estonia,
which we also visited."
Boyer
notes that Estonia,
which had been forcibly
absorbed into the
Soviet sphere during
WWII and only regained
its independence a
decade ago, falls
between St. Petersburg
and Helsinki in its
development, but has
avidly embraced both
market capitalism
and democracy. His
students observed
the contrast between
the old Soviet style
of bleak factories
and apartment complexes
with the nicer look
of the post-industrial
buildings and the
very "European" architecture
that is a product
of its Germanic influences
of the past.
"Perhaps
the most impressive
place we toured was
a state-of-the-art
brewery in the industrial
district just north
of St. Petersburg,
Russia," adds Boyer.
"Baltika Brewery was
a world-class facility,
even surpassing most
Budweiser plants in
terms of sophistication
and volume. It had
a warehousing room
filled with beer that
was larger than the
space from Major Williams
to Cheatham Hall across
Virginia Tech's drillfield.
Only a handful of
employees were needed
to run this huge,
technologically-advanced
operation. The exponential
growth of this beer
producer has occurred
exclusively since
the fall of communism
in the early 1990s."
Geography
Department Head Larry
Grossman says his
faculty offer study
abroad opportunities
to students for several
reasons. "They facilitate
an understanding and
appreciation of cultural
diversity," he explains.
"They also make students
aware of the complex
interconnections between
their own lives and
the daily experiences
of people in other
places.
"Moreover,
study abroad activities
help students think
about problems from
local, national, and
international perspectives.
Lastly, students gain
a greater appreciation
of the cultural, political,
economic, and environmental
issues associated
with the process of
globalization."
And
that is essentially
what students do come
back with. In their
written evaluations
to Grossman concerning
the Cuba program,
students widely praised
Scarpaci's instructional
abilities with such
comments as: "Professor
Scarpaci is articulate,
highly intelligent,
and dedicated to the
study of Cuba and
its people. He is
a stellar teacher";
"Professor Scarpaci
clearly knows his
subject area well,
but more importantly,
imparts his passion
for Cuban Studies
to his students. Virginia
Tech is lucky to have
him"; and "The depth
of both his cultural
and physical geography
knowledge was impressive.
Dr. Scarpaci is an
extraordinary resource
to the university."
