For the editors of this volume, "the edge of the world" is neither a place of physical remoteness where cell phone coverage runs out nor a region of economic marginality. Instead, it is a place of personal transformations, the point of convergence between the individual student's spiritual development and her commitment to global engagement. The formation of such students requires a holistic approach to education, one that connects knowledge with action and heart with head. In the study abroad context, holistic education emphasizes ethical formation, cultivation of empathy, the creation of deep communities, and commitment to social responsibility.

This collection of essays is characterized by the diversity of its voices. The contributors represent a broad range of faith-based institutions and a wide array of academic disciplines. The study abroad programs they describe, scattered across five continents including North America, reflect a variety of models. Gathered into this pioneering collection are essays that theorize about the conjunction of spiritual formation and global engagement, share practices that are already bearing fruit, and identify potential areas of growth and improvement for the future.

Ronald J. Morgan is Associate Professor of History and Director of ACU in Oxford (England) for Abilene Christian University. He holds a Ph.D. in Latin American History from UC-Santa Barbara. Together with his wife Janine (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary), he has lived and taught in Brazil (1984-90) and Oxford (2003-present). His publications include one monograph, Spanish American Saints and the Rhetoric of Identity, 1600-1810 (University of Arizona Press, 2002), and several articles that reflect his interests in Roman Catholic history and Christian spirituality.

Cynthia Toms Smedley currently serves as the Director of Educational Immersions at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Social Concerns. She directs academic seminars that utilize community engagement and classroom learning to examine social justice issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. Prior to this position, Cynthia taught cross-cultural immersion skills and facilitated experiential learning environments at Peking University in Beijing, China, and was the assistant director of the Uganda Studies Program located in Mukono, Uganda. She has also served in a voluntary capacity with Hope International and ChildVoice International. Cynthia has presented on the topic of international service learning in non-traditional locations at national conferences for the Association for the Study of Higher Education as well as the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators' International Symposium.

"For humanity and all of creation to flourish, we must understand our differences and our connectedness, our uniqueness and our relationship. We must learn to become neighbors. This book presents and synthesizes best practices in faith-centered global transformational learning, and charts critical directions for deepening engagement with this field."

- Paul W. Robinson, Director and Professor of the Human Needs and Global Resources (HNGR) Program, Wheaton College

"What jumps out from these skillfully written descriptions of thirteen study-abroad programs at American Christian colleges and universities is the Christian conviction, imagination, and sensitivity to "the other" that has gone into the design of these programs....The aim of these programs is that the students will not only learn about the places in which they find themselves but will themselves be changed - their chauvinism unsettled, their ability to listen enhanced, their horizons expanded, their commitment to shalom deepened. For me, it was inspiring to learn that this is going on."

- Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University and Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia

ISBN: 9780891120476

Pages: 272

Dimensions (inches): 9 x 6

Weight (pounds): 0.95