JTerm Fair

If you are interested in this course, or if you want to ask questions or find out more information, please see Professors Pisarski and Crowe at the JTerm Fair, scheduled for March 11, 4-6pm in Parents Hall.
Registration for this travel seminar occurs during normal Spring registration periods.

Students, Groupings, and Blogs

During the JTerm 2015 Ethnographic Exploration of Poland (JMC133) students will study and work in small groups.  Each group will have a consumer product category to focus on.  You will explore how it is advertised and sold in the USA first, and then follow the trail in Poland.  Each group will learn about this process during pre-trip required meetings.

Student groups will also blog daily, each student taking a turn during the travel seminar.  Blogs help the conversation that takes place about brands (and about our travel seminar), and you will learn about blogging during pre-trip required meetings, also.  Daily blogging is one of the reasons we reserve accommodations with free wifi during our travels.

Students who are not part of the SJMC or have never blogged will be supported by the course instructors and by group members and classmates. We'll encourage good photography, good writing, and good communication in general.

Samples of Historical Sites Students will Visit

The Royal Castle in Krakow
Wawel Castle

Krakow Old Town Market Square
Rynek

Auschwitz and Birkenau Memorial and Museum
Auschwitz

The Museum of the History of Polish Jews
jewishmuseum.org

Royal Lazienki Palace
Lazienki

Solidarity Gdansk Museum
Solidarity

Course Overview

This course is designed as an immersive experience to bring culture and advertising to life within the context of a global marketplace.

September 1, 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II. The first point of attack was Westerplatte, a Baltic coast location by Gdansk, Poland.  You can visit that spot during this travel seminar.

January 27, 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.  This travel seminar will visit Auschwitz on January 10, 2015.

May 7, 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of Germany's surrender signaling the end of World War II.  You can visit many places in Poland that were destroyed during the war while you are on this travel seminar.

All these dates in history are important so you can understand the Polish consumer of today. This travel seminar will take an ethnographic approach to learning about Poland; without that, global commerce, marketing and advertising in particular would be very difficult.

Here is our TENTATIVE plan for travel and study:

	1/4 - departure from USA
	1/5 - arrive in Krakow, and spend a week in this enchanting city.  Site visits include Jagiellonian University, Wawel Castle, Sukiennice marketplace, Auschwitz concentration camp and Birkenau death camp, and other areas of special interest.  Students will enjoy a special day trip to the mountain resort city of Zakopane as an extra adventure.
	1/11 - travel from Krakow to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Spend five full days exploring Lazarski University, Lazienki Palace, the brand new Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and much more.
	1/17 - travel from Warsaw to Gdansk, and explore the city that was the heart of the Solidarity movement.
	1/21 - departure from Gdansk to return to the USA Throughout the course your faculty will direct your ethnographic immersion, advertising studies and consumer explorations. Professor Dorothy Pisarski is the advertising professor and native Polish speaker.  Professor Carlyn Crowe is the public relations professor.  Both have traveled to Poland previously. You will partner with university students in Poland and study alongside them (in English). You will have many opportunities to see the consumer world from the perspective of the Polish citizen. You will see why Poland's economy is growing faster than any country in the European Union and understand why they have become such an economic strength since the new free era emerged in 1989.

Wawel Castle, photo taken from my hotel room during JTerm 2013.

Our travel plan pricing includes airfare, double rooms in hotels with free wifi, one or two meals per day, all entrance fees for scheduled tours, and three credits for those considered full time Drake University students.

Interested?  Questions?  Email Professor Dorothy Pisarski.