KIN3254

This is a non-embedded study abroad course that takes place in Kenya during the May or Summer term.

Regular participation in physical activity and sport is essential for positive health outcomes and is a tool readily utilized to empower youth. However, cultural and environmental circumstances can either facilitate or challenge opportunities and efforts among youth. This study abroad global seminar will explore first-hand the Kenyan culture and the unique chances for physical activity and movement made available to Kenyan youth, both males and females. Students will be introduced to different individual and community organizations’ efforts to provide activity opportunities to youth. They will interact with these organizations to learn how physical activity and sport extends beyond just bodily movement and exercise, but provides long-term opportunities for youth. Students will actively learn about the myriad of personal, social, cultural, and environmental challenges that face Kenyan youth to engage in sports and physical activity and how youth navigate these challenges. Students will engage in several service projects and discuss activity in the context of Kenyan culture, while remaining cognizant of their own American culture. All of this work will be completed in the context of exploring the distinctive and specific elements of the Kenyan culture compared to the US culture.

Students enrolled in the course will travel throughout Kenya (capital city of Nairobi to rural, mountainous Iten to centrally-located Mt. Kenya to the coastal area of Mombasa) to experience physical activity and sport from various perspectives including: primary aged children engaged in ballet and football (soccer); high school aged students recruited to participate in sport at prestigious boarding schools; adult athletes who have been engaged in activity since childhood and now handling family life with the love of their sport; and elite runners whose lives revolve around eating, sleeping, and training;

Periodic Summer