Introduction
The American and Global Mosaics are intensive, interdisciplinary, semester-long research programs designed around ethnographic fieldwork, oral history, and immersion in domestic and global communities. Their objective is to encourage students to think reflexively about the diverse world in which they live as they engage in collaborative work with local, transnational, and international communities. The Mosaics provide opportunities for students to meaningfully apply what they are learning in the classroom, both theoretically and methodologically, to the world beyond – and to bring their experiences in the world back into the classroom. The design of a specific Mosaic program is driven by pedagogical and research concerns, community needs and interests, and faculty expertise and availability. A number of different models have emerged, from a full semester of coursework taken by students with 2-3 faculty from different disciplines to cluster courses, to a one-credit course that integrates a wintertime research trip. Examples of various models and forthcoming Mosaics can be found at the Mosaics program website. In recent years, the faculty have also developed mini-Mosaics that may involve only one or two courses, sometimes integrating a research trip before or at the end of a semester.
Mosaics have been conducted locally in central Pennsylvania and off-campus in the Mississippi Delta, New Orleans, and the Chesapeake Bay, and abroad in Argentina, Cuba, Denmark, France, Ghana, Italy, Mexico, Montserrat, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, and Venezuela. The particular site of the study and the methodological approach varies according to the interests and expertise of the collaborating faculty who team-teach the semester.
Recent Mosaics have focused on (im)migration from Northern Africa to Italy, France and Spain; The Impact of Climate Change on Nepal; Truth and Reconciliation in Rwanda; Religion in Morocco; the Middle Passage with research trips to Ghana and the Sea Islands of South Carolina; and the Natural History Mosaic (Biology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Science, and English).
ADVISE TO STUDENTS INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM
Students who participate typically have at least sophomore standing and permission of the instructors. To prepare for the Mosaic, students are advised to enroll in a course that will prepare them for fieldwork and to strengthen the receptivity to multiple and interdisciplinary perspectives. Adaptability, flexibility, and the ability to work well independently and as a team are important. For more information, contact Professor Nicoletta Marini-Maio, Director of Mosaics.