When it came to studying abroad, I was looking for an experience that could combine my passions and my studies. I have a double major in Visual Arts and Design, with a minor in Hispanic Studies—so it seemed only natural to look for programs that would allow me to take art classes in Spanish!
Looking for a program with enough options to fulfill my class requirements was not easy. When I found ISA Sevilla, I learned that I could study at the University of Sevilla and take five courses that all apply to my requirements! It was exactly what I was looking for.
The majority of my classes are attended by non-art majors who are curious about art, so I figured it could be helpful to other students (art majors or not) to hear a bit more about what it’s like to study art abroad and how my classes have been thus far.
Photographing the Literary Seville
The first of my five classes is called Photographing the Literary Seville. It’s my only class in English, but I wanted to take it regardless for the subject matter! In this class, we have set dates that our photo projects are due, and then we review and critique each other’s photos. In between due dates, we learn about the history of photography: the discovery of the medium, important photographers, and the logistics of working a camera. I’ve really enjoyed seeing my classmates’ work and presentations about an assortment of contemporary photographers!
Patrimonio Histórico Artístico de Sevilla
My next class, called Patrimonio Histórico Artístico de Sevilla, is about the history of art in Seville specifically! This and the rest of my classes are all in Spanish. It is super interesting to be learning about these works that were inspired by or created right where I have been living and studying, and it is in a very similar format to past art history classes I have taken. We usually do lectures on Mondays, and on Wednesdays, we go out to see landmarks, historic buildings, and museums and talk about them in person.
La Mujer en el Arte
La Mujer en el Arte is another awesome class I’m taking this semester. It is another art history course where we talk about being a woman artist or depictions of women in visual art throughout history. We’ve also gone on multiple field trips and seen lots of artwork that we’ve talked about in class! It also has connected a lot with one of my previous projects in a different art history class about women in the impressionist movement. Another unique thing about this class is that it is taught by two professors simultaneously who switch off every other day or so.
Pintar Sevilla
Then, I have painting! We took the first couple of weeks to go over foundational concepts of drawing, composition, perspective, and the basics of watercolor. Since then, we have been going out to paint Seville on-site for the whole class, each class! We usually end up in different areas of nearby parks, and we get a lot of funny questions and compliments from people passing by. It’s been a lot of fun, and I’ve always wanted to improve at watercolor!
Fotografía: Historia y Técnica
My final class is Fotografía: Historia y Técnica. The name is definitely misleading—it is a very eccentric, creative class style with a super fun teacher. We do a lot of outside projects, like experimenting with mirrors/reflective surfaces and postcards. And we even got to make our own camera obscuras out of shoeboxes to take photos with around Sevilla! We spend a lot of time outside and interacting with each other to take pictures for collaborative assignments.
Something that we’ve actually done in all of my classes has been taking days to watch movies about the topics we have been learning about, like “Exit Through the Gift Shop” by Banksy, or “Finding Vivian Maier.” It has been a fun and educational way to spend rainy days or classes between projects. They also gave us grade updates after midterms through ISA, which I definitely wondered about prior. So far, all are good!
Overall, I love all my classes! My teachers have been incredibly accommodating, knowledgeable, and fun. Most people take four courses, so taking these five at the same time has been a bit of a challenge. My classes start at 11 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. every day, and it is about a 35-minute walk to the university from my homestay. But with all I’ve gotten to learn and experience, all of the awesome classmates I’ve met, and all of my kind professors, it has been absolutely worth it!
Rebekah Roth is a student at Wheaton College Massachusetts and an ISA Featured Photo Blogger. She is studying with ISA in Seville, Spain.