The Macalester-Pomona-Swarthmore Consortium Program offers participants a new and unique opportunity for focused study on the theme of "Globalization and the Environment."

Macalester
Pomona
Swarthmore

The program has been designed by Environmental Studies faculty of the three participating liberal arts colleges in consultation with the University of Cape Town (UCT), generally considered the best university in sub-Saharan Africa.

University of Cape Town (UCT)

South Africa is a land of great physical beauty, as well as a place of complex human struggles. The Consortium program offers visiting students an opportunity to study on site some of the challenging environmental and contemporary issues of South Africa. Cape Town is one of the world's most beautiful cities. Set on a small peninsula at the southern tip of Africa, the city offers striking panoramas of mountains and sea.

The program's educational purpose is for the participants to achieve a deeper understanding of the natural world and its interconnections with human activity. Students will grapple with the philosophical, scientific, social, aesthetic, and ethical dimensions of the program theme. The academic program provides high-quality teaching, discussion, reading, educational excursions, and includes a directed study project.

The directed study projects are all done under the supervision of a UCT professor. UCT faculty review each project at the conclusion of the semester and offer constructive evaluations.

The program is based on the understanding of two key concepts, Globalization and Environment.

1) Globalization is the dynamic and complex process involving the interplay between the universal laws of science across diverse environments and the particular challenges confronted by local populations as they engage with the natural world.
2) Environment investigates the physical and biological systems of the planet and its connection with the human condition. Students will investigate the claims humans make on other species and on the earth's resources and how this has been expressed over time and across cultures, with a specific focus on South Africa.

Candidates for the program should have an interest in both the science component – the physical and biological systems of the planet – and the social sciences, but the program welcomes student from all academic disciplines.

Faculty: At the University of Cape Town the Director of the Globalization and the Environment program is Dr. Mike Meadows of the university’s Department of Geographical and Environmental Sciences. In January 2013 the Consortium Visiting Professor will be Jamie Monson of Macalester College. Prof. Monson is a historian with a special interest in the environmental history of southern Africa.

Calendar: This is a spring program only, beginning in early January and ending in June.

Housing: Students – four each from Macalester, Swarthmore, and Pomona Colleges -- live in the beautiful Penrose Mansion, along with several South African students.

Excursions: The program begins with a five day excursion to the Northern Cape, and there are other outings as well.

Student life: Students are enrolled at the University of Cape Town, so all university clubs and activities are open to them.