Ireland has for long been a
popular destination for US-based students seeking to study overseas. However, as
the US government and institutions of higher education are pushing students to
participate in programmes at non-traditional destinations, is the Irish
experience still relevant or valid? This paper explores the reasons why
Ireland became an attractive destination in the first place and critically
evaluates the position of ‘traditional’ locations and their ability to compete with
non-traditional venues and to recruit US students in the future. It will
present the type of research experiences developed countries may offer to field
school students and explore whether such experiences are sufficiently
‘exotic’. It will examine the place of archaeology in general in the
context of the desired outcome and intended goals of the Simon Study Abroad Act
and will suggest that archaeology itself is non-traditional and offers students
meaningful and transformative cultural experiences. In this context, the
research location itself is of secondary relevance.