Global Learning
Why wait to go global? Oxford College Global Learning Seminars feature a short-term, faculty-led travel component embedded into a regular, on-campus course. You’ll step out of the classroom and into a community; out of a book and into a landscape. They are part of the Experiential Learning program and may also fulfill other GEP areas.
Listening and learning from people who live day to day through what you might read in a textbook is unparalleled. This trip fomented countless points of reflection and criticism regarding our current conditions in the United States and globally.
Spring 2026 Global Learning Seminars
Modern And Ancient Tropical Environments
Explore tropical ecosystems in the classroom and the field! ENVS 243E combines hands-on learning experiences with adventure. During the 8-day field experience in San Salvador, The Bahamas, you will snorkel among coral reefs, hike through tropical landscapes, study ancient rock formations to interpret Earth’s history, and engage in independent research in an island paradise. Perfect for all students curious about geology, ecology, or environmental science, and ready for an unforgettable spring break. No academic prerequisites required.
TRAVEL TO THE BAHAMAS 6–15 MARCH 2026
The Romans: Duty To Humanity
This course surveys ancient Rome from its origins in legend and myth to late antiquity, as seen through its principal literary texts in their historical, social, and cultural context. The primary theme is the development of the concept of duty to humanity in the context of responding to trauma. After reading ancient Roman authors on this topic, students will examine the relevance of their ideas today by interviewing health care professionals in Georgia and at a medical school in Italy. Teaching faculty will include an Emory Medical School professor.
TRAVEL TO ITALY | MAY 10–21, 2026
Topographies
Nobel Laurate Patrick Modiano claims that the topography of a city evokes the stories of those who have passed through it, like the layered writings and overwritings of a palimpsest. In this seminar, we will ask how modern and contemporary authors write places in ways that reveal the layering of memories upon landscapes. We will have the opportunity to analyze the description of places, the role it plays within the text, the power ascribed to it, and finally to complete this analysis by visiting and experiencing the places themselves.
TRAVEL TO FRANCE | MAY 9–18, 2026
The Rhetorical Shtetl
How do we remember? “The Rhetorical Shtetl” is a course designed to thicken the narratives and discourses around postmemory and the legacy of the Holocaust in contemporary tourism. In Warsaw and Lublin, and in several former “shtetl” communities, students will visit cemeteries and synagogues, and other features of Jewish life, to explore the role of the tourist in preserving and honoring the memory of the past. If you want to become a “rhetorical traveler” and develop the skills to step away from the beaten path, this class is for you. Students from all backgrounds are welcome.
TRAVEL TO POLAND | MAY 10–22, 2026Global Learning in the News
Postwar Japan: Monuments, Memorials, and Meanings
A group of Oxford students had the rare opportunity to explore how a nation remembers tragedy and advocates for peace when they traveled to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka in May 2025.
Read the full story
Spring 2024 Seminars
In May 2024, Oxford students participated in Global Learning Seminars that explored the history of scientific discourse in England and France; the culture and history of the Peruvian Andes, and the relation between institutions and happiness in Spain. Also, read about Oxford students and faculty who studied in Senegal through Emory College Education Abroad, and the non-credit Global Connections trip to Ireland.
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- Matthew MoyleInterim Director of Global LearningAssociate Professor of Frenchmatthew.moyle@emory.edu
- Carmen R. AlmeidaAcademic Support Specialistcarmen.r.almeida@emory.edu
Oxford College Maymester Programs
Maymester courses are intensive, three-week programs with one week of classroom study on the Oxford campus followed by two weeks of travel. Tentatively scheduled 2026 programs will visit Seattle, Spain, and South Korea. More details forthcoming!
Other Emory Study Abroad Opportunities
Summer, semester, and full-year study abroad opportunities are facilitated by the Education Abroad office.
Noncredit Travel Programs
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, in partnership with the Pierce Program in Religion, sponsors the Global Connections and Journeys programs that each encourage global engagement.