Miami University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

The Immersion Experiences Initiative: The Immersion Experiences initiative is a study away experience that is a seven-day domestic excursion where student participants learn about the diaspora of a particular racial and ethnic group and how it has impacted the culture and identity of the city being visited. Participants also meet with Miami alumni who work in the areas of the cultural fusion being studied. During these visits, students network with alumni and learn about their work as well as hear about their experiences at Miami as students. These trips occur during the January Term and provide an opportunity for students to study away at an affordable cost. The 2018 Immersion Experience collaborated with the Harry T Wilks Leadership Insititute and the Scholar Leader Learning Community in Washington DC. RISE Alt. Breaks: RISE Alt. Breaks invite students to learn, serve, grow, and rise as an active citizen. Each student-led RISE trip provides an immersive service experience over spring break. Focused on a particular social justice theme, each trip is rooted in education, direct service, and reflection. During these trips, students participate in 30+ hours of service, engage in meaningful reflection, explore RISE site, and build longlasting community with Site Leaders and participants. In 2019, there will be three trips (over a week) and the themes are Environmental Justice, Recognizing and Understanding Gentrification, and Education Inequity and Youth Development. Environmental Archaeology in Italy: In 2019, Miami students will join Dr. Emily Holt on her archaeological field project located on the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia. Dr. Holt directs the Pran’e Siddi Landscape Project, an archaeological survey that studies how the Bronze Age Nuragic Culture (c. 1700-900 BCE) used the social and ideological organization to adapt to changes in their water supply. Dr. Holt’s students learn the methods of archaeological survey and artifact analysis to help her reconstruct prehistoric land use and look for evidence of environmental change.

Environmental Archaeology in Italy http://miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/classics/news/2018/12/archaeology-in-italy.html RISE Alt. Breaks: https://miamioh.edu/student-life/community-engagement-service/programs/alternative-breaks/ The Immersion Experiences Initiative: https://miamioh.edu/student-life/diversity-affairs/cultural-center/signature-programs/index.html