Pitt in Sydney - Summer

International Internship is an educational experience that gives students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to the workplace and social environment of the host culture, to expand professional skills, and earn academic credits. Students enrolling in this course will intern 20 hours per week and earn 3 credits.

This course examines contemporary Australian cinema and its attempt to describe a uniquely Australian identity. The course thus has two interrelated points of inquiry. First, we will attempt to appreciate the context of Australian cinema – from modes of production to distribution. Second, the course will investigate the notion of an Australian identity as it is expressed in some of the most significant films in the Australian tradition. We will look at Australian genre cinema, the 70s Renaissance and recent transformations in the Australian film industry. The course will focus specifically on the theme of national identity and the growing debates around what constitutes a national cinema. Indeed, a question to be explored is the extent to which Australian films have reflected or determined Australian values. Comparisons with appropriate U.S. values and films are encouraged. 

This course is a creative writing workshop keyed to exploring the experience of travelling and living abroad in Sydney in either verse or prose texts. Along with the writing workshops, we will also read and discuss texts that focus on Australia in general and Sydney specifically from both native and foreign perspectives, noting particularly the literary techniques and strategies that various writers have used to express their experiences and observations. The class sessions will be divided almost equally between the reading and critical evaluation of selected texts and a written response to the stimuli. Half of our weekly time will be devoted to the examination of a text dealing with various authors’ experiences of Australia. These texts will provide us with a forum for discussing each author’s relationship to and the literary expression of place. The other half of our class time will function as a writer’s workshop in response to the set texts: each student will present his/her own work orally (accompanied by photocopies) to the group for reactions, critique, and suggestions for revision. 

This course is offered only during the spring and summer terms.

This course explores the multi-faceted dimensions of human interaction with diverse environments in Australia , New Zealand and the Pacific to illuminate the origins of environmental concerns and current debates in these regions from pre-European contact to now. From the peopling of the Pacific to the challenge of climate change, this course is broad in its scope while concentrating selected issues such as the impact of mining, clean energy futures, our vulnerability to natural disasters and increasing urbanization. In so doing, the intersection of culture and nature is explored. The course is embedded in the environmental humanities , but uses the approaches of environmental history, as well as insights from the disciplines of science, politics, sociology and cultural studies.

This course examines the government and politics of Australia and Australian engagement in Asia. It will do so by surveying similarities with and differences from the North American democratic model and by examining Australia’s substantial and abiding interests in the Asian region. By the end of the course, students will be aware of the magnitude of the influence that the Asia Pacific region has had on Australian foreign policy. Comparisons with the United States of America will be encouraged.

This course is offered only during the spring and summer terms.
This course will explore the causes and consequences of migration for communities, personal identities, national identities, politics, ethics, and the environment. Students will examine various reasons for people-moving and moving people across borders; investigate the myths and controversies involved; develop an understanding of how notions of belonging, citizenship, nationality, nationhood, and ‘the other’ are constructed, proliferated, and manipulated; contextualize Australia’s involvement and reaction to immigration in a global schema; analyze related case studies drawn from both Australian and international examples; and participate in field trips.

This course is designed to encourage students to engage in a critical analysis of the development of modern cities, in particular Sydney. It will trace Sydney's development from a "colonial outpost" into the "thriving metropolis" it is today. The course will examine how the forces of colonization, migration, modernization and globalization have affected the city and its inhabitants. Students will gain insights into the changing dynamics and identities of its inhabitants, and will also look at the forces which have shaped Sydney's relationship with the rest of the world. The course is organized thematically, with each theme examining different aspects of the city. It begins with an introduction to the city, then a discussion of Sydney as a colonial city, moving into an analysis of its identities, impact of migration and finally its commerce, cityscape and urban future. The course ultimately intends to help students contextualize their travels and encounters in the city, and will help them develop informed interpretations of Sydney while they are here.

This course is an introductory course on urban resilience and concepts in sustainability and its principles and the sustainable development of cities in the global, regional, and local contexts. The course will cover the environmental, socio-economic, and structural problems of contemporary cities and their consequences on natural systems and built communities. It provides a framework to examine the challenges of urbanism, issues facing cities and an opportunity to evaluate and explore “solutions”.