Claremont McKenna has announced the creation of a summer program in Jordan, modeled off the College’s successful program in Washington, DC, which runs throughout the academic year.
This summer’s pilot program, which is scheduled for May 28th to July 21st, is CMC’s first summer program in the Middle East.
The Jordan Program will create a headquarters for the College in Amman, adding to CMC’s broader strategy of expanding its international presence in the Middle East and Asia. In light of this strategy, the school has also started Asian and Middle East Studies programs, sent President Gann and Dean of Admissions Richard Vos to visit the Middle East, and sponsored a trip to Hong Kong and Singapore for the Robert Day School.
As one of the United States’ most reliable allies in the Middle East, Jordan has many advantages as a host country. Aleta Wenger, CMC’s Executive Director for International Programs, listed Jordan’s “thriving business community, strong network of NGOs and charitable organizations, solid information technology sector” and good infrastructure as key factors in Jordan’s selection.
An increasing number of young Americans studying Arabic have been flocking to Jordan. According to Rio Fischer ’12, a student of Arabic who studied in Amman last summer, the city is safe and accessible for American students.
“These will be eight really jam-packed weeks,” said Wenger.
University of Jordan faculty will teach two hours per day of spoken Arabic. Daily spoken Arabic classes will focus solely on Jordanian Colloquial Arabic, the dialect spoken widely throughout Jordan, and will be worth one CMC course credit. This course compliments CMC’s pending Arabic Language and Literature Major, which “is all structured and just needs to be approved,” according to Melissa Carlson ’13, who helped craft the major.
CMC Arabic Professor and Head of Middle East Studies Bassam Frangieh will join students abroad to teach a two night per week seminar on Arab society, tradition, and culture. This intensive eight-week seminar, also worth one CMC course credit, “is designed to illuminate what makes Jordan representative of the Arab World,” according to the course description.
Student participants will be “immersed in Arab culture through a series of lectures, dialogues, geographical explorations, visits to cultural venues, and literary evenings.”
According to Frangieh, the seminar will cover “major themes in Arab society, culture, and tradition.” He added that there will be a number of Jordanian guest speakers in the seminar course, and that students will also visit places of interest that are relevant to the course, such as archeological sites, mosques, and literary clubs. There are also plans for field trips to the Dead Sea and Petra, both important historical sites.
After a two-week orientation period, students will participate in a six-week practicum/internship at a non-governmental organization, charitable organization, Jordanian business, finance organization, museum, or school of their choice.
“This program is really designed for any major, because there are internships available in any field,” Wenger told theForum.
Student participants will live in the Center for International Educational Exchange’s (CIEE) apartments in Amman, and will commute individually to their internships. Students must have one year of Arabic or the equivalent to be eligible for the program.
Carlson eagerly awaits this summer’s opportunity.
"[The program will help me] bridge the gap between politics and linguistics,” she said, “and to explore how the Arabic language drives the culture.”
