Students will learn about Istanbul and its position as a bridge and a crossroads between Asia and Europe. We will visit and study the sites and monuments that testify to its rich history and lay the basis for its contemporary cosmopolitanism. During our time in Istanbul, students will learn about Istanbul’s significance as an imperial capital for over a millennium and a half and a modern global city. These layers of ancient and modern, where people and ideas interconnect and where diverse cultures thrive and survive, will allow students to explore select topics of focus including modernity, identity, and migration. In Bursa, building on what they have learned in Istanbul, students will conduct service-learning projects with Syrian refugee students at the Syrien Hilfe community center. Through peer-to-peer engagement and co-learning opportunities with refugee students, Rutgers students will gain a firsthand understanding of the Syrian refugee experience in Turkey, the aspirations of refugee youth, and the challenges and obstacles they face.