Interpreting the City

This course was offered in Spring 2003 in Managua, Nicaragua and again in September 2007 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here are a few comments from students who participated in 2003 and 2007.

Rochelle Joslyn - 2003

“Studying Global & Urban Ministries in

a foreign context has been an incredible

opportunity to gain wisdom and insight not

accessible to students in books or

classrooms. My time overseas for this

class has been filled with opportunities to

explore the intricate details of what

constitutes culture, religion and justice. It has connected textbook and Biblical concepts with real-life circumstances in a way that ensures a very true, deep and dynamic understanding.”

Jon Viducich - 2007

"Interpreting the City: Buenos Aires was by far the most difficult class I have ever taken. It is so easy to learn about suffering, pain, beauty, and salvation in a classroom, but to meet those who are suffering, to feel the pain of poverty and discrimination, to touch the beauty, and to wonder at the salvation God is working in the midst of it all, will be the most painful but beneficial experience a GUM student can have. This course will change one´s perspectives, and will leave students both broken for the poor and passionate about the city."

Elisabeth Kingsley - 2003

“Interpreting the City has been highly beneficial to my

education by exposing me to political and social systems very different from my own. It has allowed me to see God moving in another culture. I have been able to see God's love

and power in the faces of people whose language I cannot speak.”

John Farris - 2007

"Buenos Aires was a fantastic experience! It brought all of the material from our lectures throughout the years into the stunning visual that comes with living in another culture. The information that I´ve taken from this class is thought-provoking because it comes from the locals themselves. This class is about experiencing the very issues that the people of Buenos Aires live with everyday. I recommend this course to anyone who has a longing to step outside the box from their daily college routine and see what God is doing in cities around the world."

Ryan Brault - 2003

“I have gained a better understanding of who it is that really has the power and resources to ‘change the world.’”

Nick Davenport - 2007

"We didn´t just come down and see the sights of Buenos Aires for two weeks; we did so much more. We had the opportunity to be fully immersed in another culture, one that beautiful and thriving. We heard from people who are not only experts on Buenos Aires, but truly love their city with a passion that would be hard to find elsewhere. We learned about all aspects of the city, from the rich with their obvious power and affluence to the poor who make their living from what they can find in the trash. We truly interpreted the city of Buenos Aires on this trip and many of us have fallen in love with it´s culture and beauty."

Amanda Prigel - 2003
“Taking this class has been the culmination of my four years at SPU. It has allowed me the opportunity to integrate all that I have learned in the classroom related to Global and Urban Ministry, and to see theories, theologies, and ideas that I have studied worked out in real life. In order to understand a city as complex as the one we visited in Latin America, I have gone from standing in the midst of horrific poverty, to shaking hands with the president of Nicaragua in his office --

and everywhere in between.”

Annie Nelson - 2007
" Interpreting the City provides students with the opportunity to see first hand what others can only read about in class. It is one thing to look at a map of Argentina and study its systems through textbooks, yet it is another thing entirely to be taught directly from leaders and influential people in the country as you explore the city on foot. As we discovered Buenos Aires, I was able to combine my Global and Urban Ministry minor and my Sociology major to better understand the context in which we were learning. Studying in a new context is not always comfortable at first, because it challenges you to think outside of the box, especially as you meet people who live in ways you could never have imagined. Such an opportunity results in intellectual and spiritual growth and reflection."

For a list of frequently asked questions, please click here.

For an application, please click here.

Interpreting the City - Buenos Aires