Over Dickinson’s spring break, Professor Arnedo, Professor Aldrich, and their students made the trip to San Sebastián, Spain as part of the “Living High: Food Literature and/as Culture in the Basque Country” globally integrated program. According to Dickinson’s Center for Global Study and Engagement, “Globally Integrated Courses link the study of a global theme or issue in a semester-long course with the opportunity to build on and deepen understanding of the issues through fieldwork or research at a global center or site.” The nine-day trip included some students from Professor Arnedo’s 231 class “Gastronomy and Health in the Basque Region” and Professor Aldrich’s 299 class “Basque Literature and Cinema, and Beyond.”
The trip’s primary goal was for students to understand the importance of high cuisine in contemporary Basque culture. Although students from the two classes did many activities together, some experiences were unique to the two classes. Spanish 231 students focused on food, food culture, and the alta cocina movement. Spanish 299 students saw places central in Fernando Aramburu’s Patria and Xabier Gutiérrez’s El aroma de crimen, two novels that students read prior to departure.
