Edinburgh Castle, photo from edinburgh.org
Believe it or not, there are study abroad programs for graduate information studies students! There was a post on this subject on the Hack Library School blog not too long ago, and I have been collecting study abroad opportunities for some time under my “Resources for MSIS students.” But I’ve finally found the study abroad course of my dreams: Follow the Fringe: Documentation and Preservation of Cultural Movements in Media. It’s a course through the University of Maryland, but non-UMD students (like me) are eligible to apply. You’ll spend two weeks in Edinburgh, Scotland during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013, the oldest theater fringe festival and a major cultural event.
This course is far more than just tours of amazing Scottish libraries and archives, although that’s part of it. This seems to be far more hands-on than your typical study abroad MSIS course. You actually document the Fringe Festival, archive the media in the Edinburgh and CalArts archives, and create accompanying metadata. Did I mention you get to live in the gorgeous, historic city of Edinburgh for two weeks?
Applications are due March 1, and requires mailing forms in, so get on this quickly!
