DIGITAL MAPPING OF CORDOBA TO EXPLAIN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE CENTURIES

Engineering /Liberal Arts Mini-term at the University of Cordoba, Spain  

Introduction  

Union, a college of liberal arts and engineering, has a clear commitment to models of learning that integrate engineering and liberal arts, and that responds to the need to prepare well-rounded professionals for today’s global environment. This web page describes an innovative engineering/liberal arts, computer-interactive, international field research project that has been successfully developed by two Union faculty: Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cherrice Traver, and Professor of Spanish, Pilar Moyano.  A grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, titled “Integrating Liberal Arts and Engineering, Undergraduate Research, and International Study through New Models of Learning”, has been used to develop this multi-disciplinary experience. Its overall objective was to bring together students in engineering, sciences, social sciences and the humanities in team projects involving the development of a geographical information database and map, in order to visualize and document the historical and cultural sites of Cordoba’s 2000 years of history.   These teams are multidisciplinary and each of its members brought different skills to the project task (e.g. technical and computer oriented expertise; background in European and Spanish history and the arts; proficiency in the Spanish language and the culture of Spain).   Participation in this mini-term provided one credit toward graduation. It can be used, in conjunction with 1 or 2 Spanish language or culture courses, to satisfy Union’s General Education “Other Cultures” requirement. 

Next offering: November 24 – December 15, 2007

Information session, 7:00pm, Monday, April 9, Humanities 116

Program objectives

The goals for each of the team members include the following:          

1. To learn about digital mapping and Geographical Information Systems applications while studying the history and culture of Spain, through participation in pre-trip seminars at Union, and a three-week intensive period of lectures and field work at the University of Cordoba.  
2. To develop teamwork skills and cooperation among students of different disciplines so that through the sharing of information and ideas, more complete answers could be found.  
3. To research, in Córdoba, the sites and topics each team developed in its pre-departure proposal.  
4. To document results and keep journals of work and experiences.  
5. To further improve Spanish language skills through immersion in the culture.  
6. To present the results of each teams’ work at the host institution in Córdoba, as well as at the student Steimetz Symposium at Union College. 

Why Córdoba?  

Córdoba’s long history and influences from different cultures and religions, and the many historical sites that have been preserved through the centuries, makes it an extremely complex and intricate city. With approximately 350,000 inhabitants, Córdoba is nevertheless small enough to get to know well. Even today Córdoba retains many characteristics of the Arab and Jewish civilizations that, together with Christianity, accounted for the city’s greatness in the Middle Ages. Seneca, Lucan, Averroes and Moimonides were all born in Córdoba. Established by the Iberians, Córdoba was conquered by the Romans in 156 BC and began to flourish. In 572 AD control passed to the Visigoths, and, in 711 to the Moors. The Great Mosque, renowned as one of the architectural wonders of Europe, was completed in 786.  In 1000 AD, Córdoba was to become the most important city in the West, incomparable with any other European city of the time, not only for its size and the number of inhabitants, but also for the quality of its infrastructures and services. The three ethnic groups which constituted the population of the Córdoba of the time, --Christian, Jewish and Moslem—shared a feeling of citizenship which helped foster a harmonious cohabitation of the three different cultures and religions. It was not until 1236, when King Fernando III’s Christian troops entered the Ajerquía, that this period of tolerance was altered, and Spain’s efforts to convert its entire population to Christianity were continued and then accomplished in later centuries. 

Click on the links below to see more details about the experience and the results of the student projects.

Granada in July 2003. Our tour guide was very good, but his photography skills were lacking...

Baelo Claudia in December, 2004. This time we used our cameras with timers.

Pilar Moyano, Cherrice Traver
moyanop@union.edu,  traverc@union.edu