Ever since my first year at Princeton, I’ve heard about courses that include University-sponsored trips abroad for its students. This was shocking news to me. A free trip across the world as part of our curriculum? It sounded too good to be true. Come to find out, these classes really existed—and I’d eventually be enrolled in one!
This past fall break, I was part of a lucky group of 10 students who were able to travel to Tokyo, Japan for the course ANT437: Gaming Blackness: The Anthropology of Video Games and Race. Given the heavy Japanese influence on the video game industry, this trip was a perfect way to tie in course themes to tangible, cultural experiences. And it was nothing short of amazing! We had the opportunity to see various shrines and monuments, visit arcades, and even participate in a Q&A with executive Shu Yoshida of Sony Interactive, among many other cool things. We even got to go to Tokyo DisneySea on our last day! These activities and excursions offered us a unique chance to immerse ourselves in Japan’s rich culture, while also applying what we’ve learned in the classroom to real-life.
There are usually a few classes each semester that offer trips like mine. Other destinations have included Paris, Ethiopia, Greece, Ecuador, and many more. Granted, these courses tend to have a cap of about 10-12 students each and are by application only. While preference is sometimes given to students who are majoring in the department offering the course, this shouldn’t discourage you! Our trip, for example, was an Anthropology course listing and included a few Anthropology majors like myself, yet also students from a diverse set of departments, such as: African American Studies, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Mathematics, and Operations Research and Financial Engineering. That is to say, definitely don’t be dissuaded by a course in a department different from your own major of study. If you’re interested in the topic, shoot your shot and apply! And, of course, work hard on your application and tell the professor exactly why you’re passionate about it. Since these are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, there are a lot of students vying for the limited spots, so showing your enthusiasm and how the course will contribute to your academic journey is always a good idea.
The trip was especially special for me as a senior. After first hearing about these types of classes as a freshman, I hoped and prayed that I’d have the chance to take one of them before I graduated. After all, how often do you get to say you traveled on Princeton’s dime? But semester after semester, I never found a class with a trip that really piqued my interest — until this one! It just so happened that this course not only aligned with my major, but my personal research interests, as well. As someone planning to center her senior thesis around media/digital anthropology and how humans find community in online spaces, it seemed like fate that this class was being offered for my final year at Princeton. Not only that, but it was also the first time I’ve gotten to travel outside of the country in nearly 10 years! All of this culminated in a truly unforgettable experience that I’m incredibly grateful to Princeton for and will cherish forever. What a way to kick off the beginning of the end of my Princeton journey!