Department of Communication & Theatre Arts
Old Dominion University
Welcome
Welcome to Study Away in Seattle and our Spring Break Class Projects.
Offered in 2022, 2024, and with plans for Spring 2027, this website serves to archive and present our collaborative class projects. This course experience takes a critical cultural studies approach to exploring the organizational policies and gendered communication. Follow our journey through student reflections, highlighted visits and guest speakers, and a curated class gallery of the sights, sounds, and experiences of Seattle, WA.
News & Scholarship
Milo Went to College, We Went to Seattle: Enacting Punk Ethics in Queer Pedagogy and Digital Space
A forthcoming presentation accepted for the 2026 Punk Scholars Network annual conference in Las Vegas, NV.
Abstract: How do we enact punk ethics of resistance within academic practice, particularly in spaces and among identities that dominant cultures seek to erase? This presentation examines a collaborative project from LGBTQ+ Organizational Culture in the Pacific Northwest, a study-away course at Old Dominion University, which invited students to document and reflect on queer spaces within Seattle as a living text (Ahmed, 2020). Drawing from punk’s DIY ethos and queer archival theory (Lothian, 2012), the project positioned students as creators of counter-archives that resist institutional containment and state-sanctioned narratives. The course trained students to engage with, witness, capture, and narrate spaces, communities, and lived experiences in ways that resist both historical and digital erasure.
Smells Like Team Spirit: Students' Reflections from a
Study Away in Seattle Communal ePortfolio
HumanitiesX, DePaul University’s Experiential Humanities Collaborative, and the University of Arizona’s Department of Public and Applied Humanities are delighted to present Alison Lietzenmayer and Megan Mize’s workshop “Smells Like Team Spirit: Students’ Reflections from a Study Away in Seattle Communal ePortfolio.”
Drawing on their Seattle study-away program, they’ll show how real-time, sensory-based reflection helps students capture fleeting insights and ground abstract concepts in embodied experiences, while a communal ePortfolio model shifts the dynamic from hierarchical instruction to collective authorship, building trust and deepening critical inquiry.
See a copy of their presentation here
From the Classroom to the Board Room: How Corporate Culture Impacts LGBTQIA+ Support
For the first part of the semester, students analyzed Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) of Pacific Northwest (PNW) headquartered corporations. They examined organizational content such as ads, promotions, policies, and other artifacts in order to analyze these corporations’ cultural branding through the lenses of gendered communication and organizational communication, as well as the intersection between the two. This set students up to see the ways in which the LGBTQ+ community is actually supported by these companies – in society, at home, and at work.​
ODU Instagram: Spring Break 2024 Study Away Highlight
Through Seattle Experience, ODU Students Engage, Inquire and Grow
“Exploring LGBTQ+ organizational culture in Seattle was an immersive journey that transcended textbook knowledge,” co-teacher Megan Mize, PhD (Director, eP & Digital Initiatives) wrote. “Walking alongside students as they interacted with policy influencers and community advocates highlighted the transformative potential of education in action.”
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Project Description
Through the co-creation of a collaborative course ePortfolio, we aim to transform traditional learning by fostering a communal reflection space. Through shared experiences during our trip to Seattle, we'll build a vibrant course community that challenges norms, emphasizes the collective over the individual—queering reflection. This collaborative ePortfolio celebrates diversity, amplifies voices, and promotes a deeper understanding of LGBTQ experiences.
Our Partners
Our class community is grateful for the support of the following offices who share our commitment to
high impact practices like Study Away that allow for experiential learning.
