Change your perspective. Travel. Conduct research. Become an ethical leader and a global citizen by studying in a new setting and making real world connections to course material.
Global learning in BCLA encompasses courses and experiences that seek to engage and understand local, regional, national, and international communities and issues during spring break.
Examine the historical, contemporary, and global contexts that shape people, places, and different ways of looking at the world. Participating in global learning builds cultural awareness and critical thinking skills that can be personally, academically, and professionally transformative.
Need-based financial assistance is available to support travel costs.
-
BCLA Global Immersion Courses are on-campus classes, which each include a week-long abroad trip. With a Global Immersion Course, you can get out of the classroom to study a topic in-depth at the source with faculty experts. Most classes are open to all students, many fulfill at least one core requirement, and need-based financial assistance is available to help you go. If you want an abroad experience but cannot commit to a full semester program, or you want an international perspective on your major course of study, a BCLA Global Immersion Course is a great way to grow your global imagination.
Details
- Courses are 1 to 4 units, like standard BCLA courses.
- Most course trips take place over spring break.
- A lab fee covers airfare, lodging, and activities for the trip. Financial assistance is available, and an application to apply for scholarships will be available in November. Questions regarding financial aid can be directed to Jasmine.Hamm@lmu.edu.
How to Register
- Register through PROWL as you would for a typical course.
- Reach out to the professor directly to ask questions about the course content or trip details.
-
A multi-disciplinary exploration of Modern Greek Theater from its ancient origins to its contemporary reincarnations. Through a series of lectures, theater visits, backstage tours and workshops with artists in Los Angeles and in Athens during spring break, students engage with topics like the evolution of Greek theater as well as the creative side of writing, staging, and performing in theater today.
University Core Fulfilled: Explorations | Creative Experience
Spring 2025 Course:
This spring, our students embarked on an academic and cultural journey through the seminar Modern Greek Theater: Influences and Performance, offered by the Caloyeras Center. The course introduces students to the dynamic performance culture of Greece, from its ancient origins to contemporary expressions. However, the true culmination of their studies takes place beyond the classroom—on the storied stages and streets of Athens itself.
Through the BCLA Global Immersions program, students traveled to Athens for a week-long workshop in collaboration with College Year in Athens (CYA), where learning came to life through immersive experiences. Guided by academic and professional experts, students attended lectures, explored significant theatrical sites, and attended a rich variety of performances that showcased the depth and diversity of Greek theater. They experienced everything from the traditional shadow puppet theater of Karagiozis, to a behind the scenes look at the state-of-art National Opera at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, from classic repertoire of performances at the National Theatre of Greece to avant-garde experimental art at the Onassis Stegi; experiences that highlighted the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation in performance and artistic expression.
The itinerary was designed to provide hands-on encounters with Greece’s legendary theatrical heritage. Students walked in the footsteps of ancient playwrights at the theater of Dionysus in Athens, marveled at the acoustics of Epidavros, and stood beneath the towering arches of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Visits to cultural landmarks such as the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum, the Benaki Museum, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art deepened their understanding of Greece’s cultural and artistic evolution over time.
This immersive journey extended far beyond academic study as it fostered a meaningful engagement with Greece’s living artistic traditions. By experiencing theater not just as history, but as a vibrant, ever-evolving force, students gained an unparalleled perspective—one that bridged past and present, classroom learning and lived experience.
We are grateful to CYA and Dr. Athena Stourna for organizing the workshop, Dr. Ioannis Nakas (CYA), Prof. Dimosthenes Agrafiotis (CYA), Ioanna Lioutsia (CYA), dramaturg Alexandros Vamvoukos, Dr. Alexandros Efklidis, artistic director at the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera at the SNFCC, Dr. Stamatis Shizakis, curator of Exhibition: Theodoros, Sculptor; In lieu of a Retrospective at the EMST Athens, and the Greek Shadow Theater and Athos Danelis.
The trip was generously supported by Andrea Brown, the Caloyeras Center and BCLA.
View the photo gallery of the Spring 2025 course here.