- Program dates 3 January – 18 January 2008
About the program
After arriving at the airport in Tel Aviv, participants will begin their study tour at the Dead Sea. Surrounded by majestic deserts and mountains, the Dead Sea region provides the perfect starting point for students to learn about Israel and its culture. Participants will then travel to Beer-Sheva, with a stop at historic Masada. In Beer-Sheva, students will learn about the history, culture, socio-political, and social/health issues through presentations by Ben Gurion University faculty and visits to community agencies. Participants will get a first-hand glimpse of how Israel addresses the needs of people from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. Participants will then travel to Eilat, on the Red Sea at the southernmost tip of Israel, to learn about the challenges facing that city and region bordering Jordan and Egypt. The study tour concludes in Jerusalem with a tour of the Old City and its many historic places of interest, as well as a visit to Yad Vashem—the Holocaust Museum.
Course of study
This course explores social problems in Israel and the policy and practice responses to those problems. Attention will be given to the challenges presented by Israel’s diverse ethnic, political, and religious populations. Israel and New Jersey, while different in many respects, nonetheless are similarly challenged to deal with the increasing diversity of their populations. The study tour to Israel provides a cross-national experience that will promote analytical thinking among the participants, enabling them to identify and analyze common issues and themes. The course of study will focus on 4 aspects:
- Social Problem Analysis will focus on the problems faced by Israel and its diverse population. Specifically, participants will learn to critically analyze a social problem by answering several questions, including: How is the problem defined? How widespread is the problem? Who is affected by the problem? How are they affected? What values or ideology led the issue to be defined as a problem? How is the problem experienced by different ethnic and/or religious groups? What are the gaps to fully understanding the problem? Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the varied social problems presented in this course and choose a problem that they wish to better understand. From that understanding, they will then compare similar social problems between Israel and New Jersey.
- Programs and Services includes the categories and types of services that have been developed to address particular social problems. Participants will evaluate what steps have been taken to address or ameliorate the problem, comparing these steps to ones used (or not) in New Jersey.
- Cultural Diversity framework will help participants identify the numerous cultural groups present in Israel and the challenges faced by those groups when living in close proximity to each other. Participants will then explore the role of cultural diversity with social problems and how services address the challenges. From there, participants will reflect on the knowledge gained and suggest ways for services in New Jersey to address the cultural diversity challenges present.
- Self Awareness strategies will be incorporated before, during, and after the trip, encouraging participants to be aware of their own values, beliefs, and cultural identities. Participants will spend time reflecting on what they are seeing, hearing, and encountering as they learn from and about others on their travels. Specifically, participants will be encouraged to challenge their own biases and beliefs about Israel and its many customs and cultures.
Housing and meals
Participants will stay in double occupancy hotel rooms and university housing throughout the study tour. Some of the stays include scheduled meals; otherwise, participants will enjoy the freedom to dine out.
Administration
Rutgers Study Abroad in Israel will be administered by Rutgers University, School of Social Work, and the Rutgers Study Abroad Office. This course will be taught by Judy L. Postmus, Ph.D., Director of the Center on Violence against Women & Children. Dr. Postmus has over 20 years of social work practice experience, working with at-risk youth and survivors of violence. Her extensive international experiences include professional training and consultation in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Israel. Dr. Postmus will be joined by Antoinette Farmer, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Social Work. Upon completion of the study tour and the required assignments, participants will receive 3-course credits from Rutgers University. Participants who choose not to receive academic credit may earn Continuing Education hours. Transcripts will not be released until all financial obligations related to the course are met. Rutgers University’s responsibility ends at the conclusion of the study tour. Participants who elect to stay beyond the end of the study tour then become responsible for their own travel and living arrangements.
Program costs
NJ Resident: $1850 Non-Resident: $2050 The program costs include all tuition, fees, housing, scheduled group trips, orientations, and basic medical insurance. The program costs do not include travel to and from the program site, meals, personal expenses, books, vacation travel, or personal liability insurance. An optional one-day excursion is available from Eilat, Israel to the historic Petra archeological site in Jordan. The cost, including transportation, guide, and lunch, is approximately $200. Note: Some limited partial scholarships are available.
Contact information
For further details about the program, contact:
- Rutgers Study Abroad
- 102 College Avenue New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8543
- Tel: 732/932-7787
- Fax: 732/932-8659
- Email: ru_abroad@email.rutgers.edu
- Internet: studyabroad.rutgers.edu
This program assumes no liability for personal property. Students desiring liability insurance should secure their own. Rutgers University reserves the right to make any changes in the Study Abroad programs that may become necessary. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is dedicated by law and by purpose to serving all people on an equal and nondiscriminatory basis.
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