The Summer 2024 CCJS/MLAW Study Abroad Program in South Africa is currently underway! From June 22 - July 8 they will travel to South Africa to study human trafficking in the region. They will meet with multiple NGOs, learn about human trafficking in the region, and fit in some iconic visits to famous Cape Town sites. Follow along by visiting the blog. Students will post daily.
Human trafficking, while not widely understood, ranks among the most severe and lucrative of criminal enterprises around the world. This course will focus on promoting an understanding of human trafficking in an international context, specifically in South Africa. South Africa is recognized as a source, transit, and destination county for human trafficking.
Students participating in this course will travel to Cape Town, South Africa after completing preliminary readings, online discussions, and a pre-departure orientation. In addition to cultural exploration, students participating in this course will gain an appreciation for the types of human trafficking occurring in South Africa and the consequences of and reactions to it. Readings, lectures, speaking engagements, and interactions with direct service providers and NGOs will be combined to obtain the objectives of this course. We expect this experience to be eye-opening, not only to see the committed work of the NGOs but also the devastating consequences of various forms of trafficking in South Africa.
Dr. Wendy Stickle is the Program Leader and the director of the CCJS undergraduate program at Shady Grove. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2009. She teaches courses related to research methods, criminological theory, juvenile delinquency, and human trafficking. Dr. Stickle is academic advisor to the Montgomery County Human Trafficking Task Force as well as the chair of the Task Force's Education and Outreach subcommittee. Dr. Stickle recently co-authored, with Professor White, the first social science-based textbook on human trafficking. This will be Dr. Stickle' fifth time taking students abroad to study human trafficking. She is especially excited to expose students to this complex global crime that can only be understood fully through international travel.
Christine White is a Senior Lecturer in the Law and Society Minor of MLAW Programs at the University of Maryland, College Park. White earned her bachelor degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and her Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law. White has taught in College Park since 2003 and in 2011 proposed and began teaching the first class at the University of Maryland completely devoted to the topic of human trafficking. White joined the Prince George's County Human Trafficking Task Force in 2013 and served as chair of the Research Committee until 2019. White is excited to travel to South Africa to understand how human trafficking is addressed in this region of the world.
Photo by Jade Shaw