“You see a very different area of the world,” is a sentence Dr. Michael Roy, associate professor of psychology at Elizabethtown College, uses to describe his trips to South Africa.
Roy is leading the Peace and Conflict Studies May term trip to South Africa this semester. During the two week trip students visit Johannesburg and Cape Town to examine the transition South Africa has made from apartheid.
Students will be able to “see how people live in very different situations,” said Roy. “You get to see firsthand how they are dealing with the transition. The problems these people are dealing with are still very evident.”
Roy has been to South Africa four times and was involved in an Elizabethtown College group that set up music programs there. “I am fairly familiar with the school in South Africa,” said Roy who believes this trip is a “great fit between the two subjects,” of peace and conflict studies and psychology.
I believe students will gain perspective from this trip,”
The May term program includes opportunities to go on trips to museums, Robben Island (where Mandela was held in prison) and to peace centers. Students will see the transition out of apartheid and how people have been dealing with the changes. “I believe students will gain perspective from this trip,” added Roy.
Roy’s favorite part about visiting is being able to “talk to people, firsthand, who have lived through this.” He mentioned how people are so welcoming and open. “People will take you into their home and give you a great meal.”
There are an unlimited number of spots on this trip, and Elizabethtown College alumni are welcomed, as well.
For more information or to reserve a spot, contact Dr. Roy by Feb. 14 at roym@etown.edu or 717-361-1331
717-361-1331.