UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — This summer, a group of 24 Penn State students explored Irish history, art, traditions and politics through “The Culture of Democratic Deliberation in Ireland,” one of 14 faculty-led education abroad programs in the College of the Liberal Arts. During their travels, students visited Dublin, Galway and Lahinch to expand their knowledge of current Irish issues.
This program was led by Jessica O’Hara, teaching professor of communication arts and sciences, and Johan Bodaski, assistant teaching professor of communication arts and sciences. Both faculty leaders guided students through the course, CAS/PLSC 299H The Culture of Democratic Deliberation, while taking numerous excursions to enrich the learning experience.
“Immersion is the single best way to learn because learning is an embodied activity,” said Bodaski. “It’s hard to learn guitar by reading a book; same thing when one wants to learn the mechanics of a society.”
Second-year Schreyer Scholar Caitlyn Ann Treviño, an economics major, said the program immediately stood out because of its unique focus on Irish politics and culture.
“Studying democracy in another country really kind of jumped out at me, because I think that’s how you learn about your own country, and what things work, what things don’t,” Treviño said.
Throughout the program, students gained insight on Irish traditions and social practices that shape democratic life there. They then took what they learned and used it as the basis for a documentary-style group project. Each group selected a different part of Irish culture — from the growing generational divide in voting patterns to the role of storytelling in political activism — and conducted interviews with community members, scholars, politicians and writers to understand the political impact.
Treviño and her peers were encouraged by the instructors to connect their daily experiences to topics discussed in class. For Chloe Smith, a second-year Schreyer Scholar majoring in international politics, learning about the prominent role storytelling plays in Irish culture was especially intriguing.
Having learned about Irish folklore in class, the significance of storytelling became especially clear when students visited Connemara, a coastal region near Galway. Although students had read about long-held traditions surrounding fairies, Smith said this visit helped her gain a greater understanding in how deep-rooted these beliefs are. Before the experience, she said, “you didn’t really understand how much they believed in it, or how influential it was to them.”
During the trip to a farm in Connemara, Smith recalled a tour guide explaining the importance of preserving a hawthorn tree on the property. “We don’t cut this down, or the fairies will get angry,” he told the students, she said, emphasizing how folklore continues to influence current Irish beliefs.
