Description: This book explores unique and out-of-the-box faculty-led student travel, whether abroad or domestically. Contributors argue in favor of unique and innovative forms of undergraduate student travel, travel that eschews the all-too-ubiquitous pre-packaged and overpriced programs ...
Brief description: Jeff Birkenstein is an Assistant Professor of English at Centralia College, USA. Birkenstein's major interests lie in American Literature post-1865, American and world short story, the short story sequence, and cultural and food criticism. He is the co-editor of nine titles, including American Modernism (Re)considered (Bloomsbury, 2025), Significant Food in American Literature, (2024), Connections and Influence in the Russian and American Short STory (2021), and Social Justice and American Literature (2017).
Review Quotes:
"Classroom on the Road takes a deep dive into the most meaningful kind of learning, that which truly immerses one in new cultural waters and results not only in new knowledge but also profound personal growth. The diversity and nuance of exchanges grappled with in this excellent collection show how experiential learning abroad can both be mindfully guided and open to transcendent serendipity. In the process, the book makes a timely argument for intercultural immersion in higher education in order to grow ourselves and our societies to be more self-aware, more just, more communal, and more fun." --Tema Milstein, Author of "Routledge Handbook of Ecocultural Identity" and "Environmental Communication Pedagogy and Practice," University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
"Classroom on the Road provides its readers with rich pedagogical insights on what has increasingly become one of the cornerstones of undergraduate (and in some cases, graduate) education: the opportunity to study abroad. This collection is an impressive gathering of faculty voices from a range of disciplines, all sharing what it means to create, lead, and teach students about global citizenship. By providing readers with a collection of essays that truly span the globe in their focus--from Ireland to Vietnam to Russia to the Middle East to the United States--Gendelman and Birkenstein underscore how the classroom awaits us, and our students, everywhere. As these essays demonstrate, the study abroad classroom offers students an experience unlike any other: one in which learning takes place in situ, one that offers students a transformative experience vis-à-vis their understanding of identity, diplomacy, public memory, and tourism. Classroom on the Road is an excellent resource for the new and the seasoned alike in the world of faculty-led study abroad programs." --Ann Ciasullo, Professor of English and Women's & Gender Studies; Chair of English Department, Gonzaga University "Classroom on the Road is a unique compilation of philosophical, experiential, and pedagogical reflections on studying abroad. Its diverse essays describe not just the practical methods and financially feasible models, but also the broader questions that both educators and students should address: Why is studying abroad important? How does it affect the student-traveler - and the country they visit? What is an "authentic" travel experience, if it even exists? How can one travel ethically, or at all, in a world marked by inequality and environmental destruction? The book's emphasis on the "learning of travel" is especially timely in the current political climate, where the informal diplomacy of American student travelers can make a difference. Essential reading for any study abroad course." --Natasa Kovacevic, Eastern Michigan University