Current Domestic Intercultural Immersion Programs
Explore the rich cultural diversity within our own country
Faculty and staff at UW-Eau Claire plan domestic intercultural immersion trips for all Blugolds that take place throughout the entire United States, including Hawai'i and Puerto Rico. Check out this year's Domestic Immersions below!
2023-2024 Domestic Immersion Programs
These Domestic Intercultural Immersion (DII) programs are cultural adventures in the truest sense--even without leaving the United States. Students who have participated in the past have regularly noted how their experiences were surprising and eye-opening as they embraced the opportunity to see and gain greater understanding of the lived experience of people from a variety of cultural perspectives.
Remember, you don't have to leave the United States to engage in a transformative immersion experience!
Program Location: West Central Wisconsin
Program Dates: Fall Semester 2023; Spring Semester 2024
Target Student Population: Program is limited to 6-8 students each semester. Senior nursing students with some Spanish language proficiency will be given preference.
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Dr. Lisa Schiller and Dr. Ben Bogle
Corresponding Course: NRSG 428 Nursing Leadership I (3 credits)
Cost of Participation: No fees are expected, except for lunch during the 5-day immersion
Additional Attributes: R1, I1, S3; 30 Hours of Service-Learning
Abstract: This immersion provides screenings, immunizations, and education to mostly Latino farm workers at large dairy farms. Students integrate knowledge of agricultural health and safety and understanding of rural and Latino culture into their nursing practice, by providing on-site education and basic health screening. The program includes preparation in collaboration with partners, culturally sensitive services to farm works, and debriefing sessions upon completion of the experience.
APPLICATIONS FOR 2023-2024 NOT YET AVAILABLE
Program Location: Georgia (Atlanta), Alabama (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Selma), Louisiana (New Orleans), Mississippi (Jackson), Arkansas (Little Rock), Tennessee (Memphis)
Program Dates: January 5-15, 2024 (Tentatively)
Target Student Population: Limited to 25 students, targeting first-year students
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Jodi Thesing-Ritter and Samantha Kobs
Corresponding Course: Women's, Gender and Sexuality studies course (WGSS 422): Women of the Civil Rights Movement (3 credits during fall semester)
Cost of Participation: No program fees, but estimated $280 in meals.
Additional Attributes: R1; 30 Hours of Service-Learning
Abstract: Through the fall course, students will learn a shared vocabulary for understanding complex systems of racism, the history of enslavement, reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, methods of organizing during the Civil Rights Movement, and key roles that women played. Students will then travel for 10 days to the sites of historical significance, where they will meet with leaders to hear first-person accounts. Cities include: Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Montgomery, Tuskegee, Selma, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Money and Jackson, Mississippi; Saint Louis, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee. Students will engage in various activities, discussions, and reflections to make critical connections.
Program Location: Fresno, California
Program Dates: December 28, 2024 - January 7, 2025
Target Student Population: Limited to 12 students who have a demonstrated interest in learning more about Hmong culture
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Sia Yang and Ka Vang
Corresponding Course: None, but students who have taken HUMS 110, HMNG 130, Honors Colloquium Hmong Culture or History course, or participated in an FLIIE immersion to Thailand or international research project in Thailand will be given priority consideration.
Cost of Participation: $275 program fee, plus estimated $300 in meals
Additional Attributes: R1
Abstract: The program is designed to run during the Hmong New Year Celebration in Fresno, so that students can attend not as a visitor but as a participant by taking part in various events. Students will learn about various cultural rituals during the new year, various styles of kwv txhiaj (traditional Hmong singing), and storytelling. Through this experience, students will be able to connect the new year to the roles, responsibilities, values, and belief systems of Hmong culture.
Program Location: Puerto Rico, USA
Program Dates: January 3, 2025 to January 12, 2025 (Tentatively)
Target Student Population: Experience is limited to 12 students
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Katy Rand
Corresponding Course: None
Cost of Participation: $350 program fee
Additional Attributes: R1; 30 Hours of Service-Learning
Abstract: Discovering Difference through Service in Puerto Rico is an opportunity for students to explore cultural, political, environmental, and societal differences through volunteerism. Students will be able to connect with community members of this US territory through hands‐on work, intentional conversations, and educational opportunities. Exposure to these components will allow students to critically think about their individual identities and privilege.
Program Location: Georgia (Atlanta), Alabama (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Selma), Louisiana (New Orleans), Mississippi (Jackson), Arkansas (Little Rock), Tennessee (Memphis)
Program Dates: March 15 - 24, 2024
Target Student Population: Limited to 25 students, targeting first-year students
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Jodi Thesing-Ritter and Laken Jones
Corresponding Course: Women's, Gender and Sexuality studies course (WGSS 422): Women of the Civil Rights Movement (3 credits during fall semester)
Cost of Participation: No program fees, but estimated $280 in meals.
Additional Attributes: R1, 30 Hours of Service-Learning
Abstract: Through the fall course, students will learn a shared vocabulary for understanding complex systems of racism, the history of enslavement, reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, methods of organizing during the Civil Rights Movement, and key roles that women played. Students will then travel for 10 days to the sites of historical significance, where they will meet with leaders to hear first-person accounts. Cities include: Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Montgomery, Tuskegee, Selma, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Money and Jackson, Mississippi; Saint Louis, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee. Students will engage in various activities, discussions, and reflections to make critical connections.
Program Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Program Dates: March 17 -24, 2024 (tentative)
Target Student Population: Experience is limited to 20 students
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Katy Rand
Corresponding Course: None
Cost of Participation: $285 program fee
Additional Attributes: R1; 30 Hours of Service-Learning
Abstract: Student participants of the Alternative Spring Break trip can expect to learn about the issues of homelessness, poverty, and food security in the Indianapolis area, as well as, how it ties back to the Eau Claire community. Additionally, they can expect to interact with individuals different from themselves, engage in meaningful nightly reflections and articulate their experiences, work collaboratively as a team, understand servant leadership and its core principles, and develop a plan for after the trip to incorporate and apply what they have learned. Students will use critical and analytical skills to understand their responsibility to the community we serve while evaluating and challenging the existing structures in ways that respect equity and diversity (R1). Through hands‐on service with various populations, students will be able to identify and explain how gender, class, race, socio‐economic status, etc. inform the perspectives of the complex issues we are examining.
Program Location: New York City, New York
Program Dates: March 17 - 24, 2024 (tentative)
Target Student Population: This program is limited to 12 undergraduate composition, voice performance, applied instruments and BA BME, and theatre students with a focus on voice performance.
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Kenneth Pereira and Arthur Grothe
Corresponding Course: MUSI 387: Travel Opportunities in Performing Arts (1 credit during spring semester; meets T-Th from 4:00-5:00pm)
Cost of Participation: $30 application fee + $150 special course fee + estimated $250 in meals
Additional Attributes: R1
Abstract: UWEC music and theatre students will be engaged in the study of composition, voice performance, applied instruments, and theatre during one week in the major metropolitan area of New York City. Students will live, perform, study, attend performances, conduct interviews, and interact daily with artists and people from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Students will also collaborate, interact, and share music with students from the Brooklyn High School for the Arts and York College.
Applications closed at 5:00pm on Friday, October 6.
Program Location: New York City, New York
Program Dates: March 16 - 23, 2024 (tentative)
Target Student Population: This program is limited to 15 undergraduate Art & Design students.
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Jill Olm and Ned Gannon
Corresponding Course: N/A
Cost of Participation: $200 special course fee + estimated $320 in meals
Additional Attributes: R1
Abstract: UWEC Art & Design will engage with experiences unobtainable in the classroom and opportunities to expand student thinking on diversity of race, gender, economic, and cultural/historical status. Through studio visits with artist such as Jordan Casteel, George Boorujy, or Janaina Tschape, students will interact on an intimate level with international and domestic artists that represent progressive thinking on issues such as black male identity, the ecology of wildlife in a shrinking environment, and the nature and importance of abstract thinking in contemporary society.
APPLICATION UPDATE: We will accept up to 23 applications for this program which has 15 seats and 8 alternates. If we receive 23 applications prior to the application deadline date of October 20th, we will close the application window. On October 4, we received our 23rd application. The application window for 2024 is now closed.
NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2024.
Program Location: Los Angeles, California
Program Dates: August 8, 2024 - August 16, 2024
Target Student Population: Limited to 10 students
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Catherine Emmanuelle and Amber Dernbach
Corresponding Course: N/A
Cost of Participation: $250 program fee, plus estimated $400 in meals
Additional Attributes: R1
Additional Note: Community building and engagement are essential to restorative justice work. In your statement of interest on the application, please also reflect on your commitment to establishing and maintaining community connections and building relationships. The commitment can be based upon previous experience and/or future goals. A community is a group of people who share something in common, such as faith, neighborhood, dorm, workplace, school, etc. Priority will be given to applicants who articulate their commitment to community building.
Abstract: Through studying activism, resilience, and social justice movements, "Keep Ya Head Up" will help students to explore the racial tensions and injustices that surfaced in Los Angeles in the early 1990s to today. In depth exploration of archival records, conversations with community leaders, and training with The Groundlings' improvisational theater, will prepare students to honor voices of the unheard, gain greater understanding of marginalized groups, and build skills for self and community resilience.
Program Location: San Francisco, California
Program Dates: 6/15/24 to 6/28/24 (tentative)
Target Student Population: Program is limited to 10 students; all students are welcome to apply
Faculty / Staff Leader(s): Chris Jorgenson, Morrigan Villa, and Kallie Adell Friede
Corresponding Course: None
Cost of Participation: None
Additional Attributes: R1
Abstract: Q-Fest is an ongoing program at UW‐Eau Claire built upon the strong foundations of what used to be the Eau Queer Film Festival. The Gender & Sexuality Resource Center will bring 10 students and 3 faculty / staff to San Francisco to attend the Frameline Film Festival (the world's oldest and largest LGBTQ+ film festival). Over a two week period, the Q-Fest cohort members will each screen a minimum of 25 films, with the ultimate goal of choosing which films to bring back to UW‐Eau Claire. All films will examine the lived experiences of marginalized people across race, sexuality, gender, dis/ability, class, etc. The film festival will anchor Q-Fest, which will also include a concert featuring queer artists, a half‐day admissions visit for prospective LGBTQ+ students and their parents / guardians, and a National Coming Out Day celebration. Q-Fest will partner with numerous campus and community partners, and all efforts will be led by the Q-Fest student participants.