In preparing for any trip, many questions come up. How you answer these questions depends on the information available to you. In this course we will ask ourselves questions, from the simple to the more complex: What should I pack? How do I plan an international trip? What do I need to know to get around and talk with people? What information do we get about Barcelona and Spain in the US? What are the current social issues in Barcelona? How are these issues reported in the US?  How do I know what I know? This course aims to help you explore the answers to these questions while building your confidence to travel and learn internationally. You will leave this class with a greater understanding of what it means to participate in a global society.”
-- Introductory paragraph from the course syllabus

     In the summer of 2016 a small group traveled from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, USA to Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. This group included  seven undergraduate students and us, two faculty librarians. The students came from disciplines including business, ethnic studies, engineering, human development and family sciences, and communications. These nine people came together to participate in the new OSU class, Information and Global Social Justice. As co-instructors, we had begun developing and planning the class in fall 2014.
     A year later, the student application for the course went live and over the next few months we met with interested students individually. Each student brought their own unique reasons for their interest in this short, immersive, study abroad experience, but common among them was their desire to explore the topic of social justice from a global perspective.
     The pieces collected here represent the final assignments our students completed for this course. Before departing, each student picked a topic to explore in comparison between their home community and in Barcelona. While in Barcelona, they began to refine or shift their focus, honing in on the issues that matter most to them.
     As librarians, we recognize that information comes in many, many forms. Our students used government data, video, interviews, newspaper articles, in-person observation, and other means to collect the information they needed for these comparisons. Far from a culmination, we hope that these reflections spark further interest--in our students, but also in their readers.