Juniors Abroad Trips 2007
GEED 365A - London to BerlinCourse Title: World War II in Europe
Faculty: Robin Baker and Jim Foster
Meeting Night: Wednesday
Junior's who select this course will walk the major battlefields of World War II in Europe and evaluate the role of the war in the development of world history over the past 50 years. In addition to studying the military campaign students will examine closely the psychological impact of war on the human condition. We will begin the tour in London and visit the Imperial War Museum. Students will then follow in the footsteps of Allied soldiers to Portsmouth as they boarded vessels to attack the German fortresses at Normandy. From Normandy we will move to Paris to visit Napoleon's tomb and the French War Museum along with a number of Cathedrals and grand art galleries. After Paris we will move to Brussels where we will go to Arnhem to study Operation Market Garden. We will spend time in Bastogne and see where the Americans stopped the German advance during the Battle of the Bulge. From Bastogne we will travel to see the famous Siegfried line and the grave of General George S. Patton. From there it is on to Frankfurt and then by plane to the city of Berlin. While in Berlin we will see the last remnants of the Third Reich and visit the concentration camp Sachsenhausen. From Berlin it is goodbye to Europe and World War II and back to Portland Oregon. The experience of European war will be highlighted in films such as The Battle of the Bulge, Saving Private Ryan, A Bridge Too Far, Das Boot, and Band of Brothers. Students will also select one book which examines World War II and complete a brief book review.
GEED 365B - Rome to Berlin
Course Title: On Earth as in Heaven; how Christians have planted the kingdom of God within European culture, from Rome to Berlin.
Faculty: Roger and Sue Newell.
Meeting Night: Monday
This trip is a conversation with history and with local believers in the cities where the three great traditions of Roman Catholic (Rome, Assisi), classic Reformation (Luther(Wittenberg/Berlin) and Calvin (Geneva) and the Radical Reformation (Anabaptists in Zurich and Berlin) were launched. Their legacy for Modern Europe as well as the global church will be explored. Of special focus will be conversations with local believers in each locale as well as a visit to the Taize Community where these divergent traditions live side by side in communion and outreach to the young people of Europe and the World. Along the way there will be three days of rest and relaxation in the heart of the Swiss Alps (Interlaken/Beatenberg). Because of the number of places visited and the frequent use of public transport, including night trains, it will necessary to pack light.
This trip visits key European cities where different models of Christ and culture were launched into Europe and provides intentional space for reflection and discussion so that the journey will be a modern day pilgrimage to the defining roots of contemporary Christianity. Amidst ancient ruins, Medieval and Reformation grandeur, modern political realities and stunning natural scenery, we will explore: in Rome how the persecuted early church became the foundation of the Christendom model of Roman Catholic, in Geneva where under Calvin the Reformation message of Luther first acquired political power; in Zurich, where the Reformation clashed with the radical anabaptists; in Leipzig, Wittenberg, and Berlin, where Luther's Reformation began and how despite all secular expectations continues to engage European society--from Bonhoeffer and the Church's resistance to German Fascism, to the St. Nikolai church in Leipzig, which led and inspired the nonviolent movement to end Communist rule in East Germany. Meanwhile a visit to the Taize community's lived reconciliation between these divergent churches will raise provocative questions for a global Christian witness to the nations.
1. Week One: Early and Medieval Christianity. We begin in Rome where the apostles Paul and Peter were martyred, where the early church worshipped underground in the catacombs, and where the church eventually arose to the pinnacle of worldly power with its splendor still evident at St. Peter's Cathedral, the most magnificent church in Europe, as well as next door in the intimacy of the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo's artistry still overwhelms. Visits to these places of martyrdom and triumph will be our focus for four days. Moving 90 miles north we will spend a day and a half in the Umbrian hilltown of Assisi, where Francis, Clare and a wandering band of "God's troubadours" revived the implementation of God's kingdom come on earth within the materialism, power politics and Crusading mentality of Medieval Christendom. In this first week we will have traveled from the church's beginnings in apostolic martyrdom to Medieval splendor, ending in the countryside simplicity and devotion of St. Francis and his movement that impacted all of Europe. We end with a weekend in Burgundy, France where the community of Taize welcomes thousands of young Europeans each week, in a modern day Pentecost of nations and denominations, seeking to return to the source of Christian faith in the risen and crucified Christ. Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians from Europe and worldwide share worship and hospitality in a community which has significantly revisioned church and national relations in Europe and worldwide.
2. Week Two: Geneva, Taize, Beatenberg, Zurich. We move on to the lakeside city of Geneva, surrounded by Alps, to study the legacy of the first city in Europe where Protestants held political power. A guided tour of Calvin's Old Geneva, meetings with Christian NGO's, will reflect a fitting legacy to a Reformed vision of a new Christian civilization. Following Geneva, we will have a time of rest and refreshment in the heart of the Swiss Alps near Interlaken and then on to Zurich and the birth of radical Reformation.
3. Week Three: Luther, Bonhoeffer, and the 1989 downfall of East European Communism. Our final week will take us on a pilgrimage: to the birth of the Reformation, the University Church of Wittenberg, where Luther posted his 95 theses in 1517; to the St. Nikolai church where in 1989 the non-violent protests brought down the government and reunited Germany; lastly to Berlin, visiting places of Resistance to Hitler, including the family home of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from which he was arrested by the Gestapo. A visit to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where Martin Niemoller, the head of the Pastor's Emergency League, was incarcerated. Worship on Sunday at die Kirke am der Weg, Germany's largest independent, evangelical/charismatic church.
This pilgrimage to Europe's Ancient, Medieval, and Reformation sources of faith, along with the encounter with modern resistance to totalitarian regimes, will deepen our awareness of the ways Christians have sought to implement in the past the words of the Lord's prayer, "thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as in heaven." They will challenge us to pray them more boldly in the present.
GEED 365C - Italy
Course Title: Italy
Faculty: Alex Pia and Mark Terry
Meeting Night: Tuesday
The purpose of this trip is to enhance the student's appreciation of the richness found in the history, arts, land, and people of Italy, with a special emphasis given to the art produced during Medieval and Renaissance periods in Italy. Students will experience a seven city tour which will mingle sites such as the glorious ruins of the Colosseum, the early Christian Catacombs , and Pompeii with the magnificent architecture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain along with the breathtaking art of the masters: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Students will have extended stays in Italy's internationally known cities of Rome, Venice, Florence, and Milan and aw well as have time to relax in some smaller, picturesque towns such as Sorrento, Sienna, and Assisi. We will visit Lake Como, a beautiful lake with sparkling reflections of snowy peaks and colorful fishing villages. Museum tours, architectural treasures, and historical ruins abound in every city we will visit, and students will be given the preparation needed to equip them to more fully appreciate these treasures as they come into contact with them.
This course will highlight the art and history of Italy and develop clear connections between important elements of our liberal arts education and representative people, events, and art from which they derived. Assignments will include readings dealing with major artists and historical events that have shaped Italy and influenced the western world. Students will write a paper reflecting on The Agony and the Ecstasy, and how Michelangelo's story personifies and brings life to great themes that permeate our understanding of the Renaissance. Students will also be involved in a multi-media group presentation designed to provide our travel group with background information, historical, cultural, geographic and culinary perspectives on intended destinations. The presentation will be accompanied by a written report summarizing their research. In addition, students will gain an appreciation for the culture and the people of Italy by having weekly class lessons in learning practical Italian that will allow them to use common greetings, introduce themselves, ask for directions, and carry on small talk, among other skills. They will also be instructed in how to order meals, understand bus and train schedules, and be aware of cultural norms of Italian society. An additional goal of our study tour will be to enable our students to return to Italy as independent travelers.
GEED 365D - Amsterdam to Paris
Course Title: Art and History of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France
Faculty: Tim Timmerman and Clella Jaffe
Meeting Night: Monday
This trip will primarily travel to Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Bruges, Belgium; and Paris, France although several side-trips will be included. Before the trip, we will examine several artists whose work we will see, such as Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Memling, Rembrandt, Degas, and Cezanne. This will allow students to appreciate the specific works of art and to understand the context in which each artist worked. We will also look at the history of each of the three cities, so that students can understand how they came to be and why each is of historical and present-day importance. Amsterdam has historical links with Europe that go back to the Middle Ages; Bruges was originally a Gallic-Roman settlement in the first century; and Paris is Paris.
Finally, we will look at political factors that will help us understand the current policies and "ways of being" of each city. For example, what effect did war have on current politics? How did the era of empire lead to current day immigration issues? How and why have current political factions developed? Students will do background reading in each of these areas and will do presentations for the class on specific topics. There will also be a written paper and journal assignments.
During the trip, we will visit the Anne Frank House, The Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh museum (containing paintings such as Irises, Sunflowers, and the Bedroom) in Amsterdam. We'll tour the city via canals and meet with local Christians. In Bruges, we'll discover the fabulous architecture and the chocolate factories, with a side trip to Brussels or Ghent. In France, we'll see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and many other well-known sites. We'll have some free time to explore the most fabulous city in Europe! We'll also take a day trip to the beaches of Normandy and reflect on the sobering reality of war; visit Mont St. Michel, which is a centuries old Abbey on a rock; and travel to other sites in Normandy in order to better understand historical French culture.
GEED 365E - Rome to Normandy
Course Title:
Faculty: Steve Grant and Clark Campbell
Meeting Night: Monday
This European Study Tour will highlight the art, history and architecture of Medieval and Renaissance Europe by beginning with Ancient and modern Rome. The influences of early Church history and its effect on art and architecture, and the impact of World Wars I and II on Europe will be the trip's major focus. Important museums, architecture and historically significant sites will be included. In addition to visiting Rome and noting its influence on western culture, many other cities and locations to be experienced on the tour will include: Florence, the location known as Cinque Terra, and Venice in Italy; Salzburg and the unique and beautiful Hallstadt in Austria; Paris and the beaches at Normandy, the beautiful Mont St. Michele, and the lush Loire Valley with its incredible chateaux in France. Furthermore, the group will connect with a missionary family southwest of Paris whose ministry is church planting and will be able to attend church services and meet with and worship with French speaking believers.
GEED 365F - Ireland, Wales, England
Course Title: Christian History and Culture in Ireland and Britain
Faculty: Tom and Michele Johnson
Meeting Night: Tuesday
Our course and trip begins by exploring the historic conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and Ireland. We will also visit beautiful places in each country, including the Giants' Causeway and Galway Bay. Some of the world's great treasures of art, architecture, and literature are to be found in the museums and monuments of Ireland and England. Students will research the historical setting of these works and get to see them firsthand in places such as St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Library of Trinity College in Dublin (home of the Books of Kells and Armagh, treasures of early medieval Christianity), the splendid 13th century castles of Edward I in Wales, Roman and Viking history in Chester, York, and Bath in England, as well as the libraries and museums of Oxford and London.
The reading and research the students will do prior to their travel, plus the discoveries they will make during the trip, make for a strong academic and personal experience.
Our Itinerary:
Belfast, Londonderry, and The Giants' Causeway in Northern Ireland
Donegal, Galway, and Dublin in Ireland
Medieval Castles in Wales
Chester, York, and Stratford in central England
Oxford, Bath, Stonehenge, and London in southern England.
GEED 365G - Honduras and Costa Rica
Faculty: Viki Defferding
Meeting Night: Monday
On the trip to Honduras-Costa Rica we will experience tropical rainforests; some that are only accessible by boat, rafts, zip lines and skywalks. Students will see howler & spider monkeys, fluorescent crabs, crocodiles, caimans, poison dart frogs and many different kinds of birds other jungle animals. As a bonus, students will experience sleepy laid-back villages, a bustling modern capital city, lush tropical rainforests & jungles, warm sunny beaches and hot tropical downpours. Together we will work on a definition of ecotourism before the trip and then change it accordingly as we travel into the various eco-parks in Costa Rica. We will worship with local Believers and experience their unique cultural adaptations of the Christian Faith. We will also see the impact of the ancient Maya on the people of Central America today by visiting a Chorti-maya Indian village in Honduras and a Kekoldie Indian village in Costa Rica. The pre-trip readings and studies are to prepare us to be culturally appropriate travelers, knowledgeable about rainforests and ecotourism and to help us ask better questions of the experts that we meet on the actual trip. Spanish phrases appropriate to the trip will also be studied. Each student will do a 10 minute presentation. During the trip each student will also keep a daily journal of his/her thoughts and reactions to the various experiences on the trip.
Trip highlights include:
InBio Park, includes all types of tropical rainforests, flora & fauna
Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica, The Toruguero & Manuel Antonio Preserves
Class III and Class IV rapids on the Pacuare River
Zip line through the rainforest canopy at Monteverde
Volcanoes, Hot Springs, Butterfly & Hummingbird gardens, Coffee/Banana Plantations
Mayan ruins & Indian villages accessible by horseback, rafts & hiking trail.
GEED 365H - China
Course Title - The Future of China
Faculty: Mark Hall and Brad Lau
Meeting Night: Tuesday
China is moving rapidly toward super-power status. Although it remains a communist country, it has largely rejected communism as an economic system. However, the communist party remains in power, and its leadership is authoritarian. As well, by all accounts Christianity is growing rapidly in China-particularly among elites. These realities raise a number of interesting questions: Can a capitalistic economy function under an authoritarian regime that wants to restrict the flow of information and deny the rule of law? Will China eventually abandon capitalism (and, almost certainly, economic growth), or will capitalism undercut the current Chinese political order? Will the government attempt to control or destroy the Church in China? What impact will Chinese Christians have on Chinese politics and economics?
The academic component of this class focuses on contemporary Chinese politics, economics, and religion. We will read academic books and articles on these subjects and regularly discuss current events in China. When we travel to China we will meet with a variety of political, economic, and religious leaders. We will also visit places of historical and cultural significance in Beijing, Xi'an, Wuhan, and Shanghai (and places in between) including: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum, the Great Wall, the terra cotta warriors guarding the tomb of emperor Qin, Chairman Mao's summer residence, Taihu Lake, Shanghai Museum, and Xintiandi & Shikumen (our itinerary is firm but not absolutely set in stone at this point). Finally, we will schedule plenty of free time for students to explore the various cities on their own.
GEED 365I - India
Course Title: India: Land of Abundance and Poverty
Faculty: Lon Fendall and Kris Kays
Meeting Night: Tuesday
One in six persons lives in India, in space that is one-third the size of the United States. Two of the major world's religions, Hinduism and Islam, have struggled with one another in this region and together they have created a mostly unwelcoming environment for Christianity. As a result, not many Americans have directly experienced the immense varieties of geography, culture, and ethnicity that are found in India. And not many Americans have encountered a social system that is as rigid and pervasive as India's caste system.
The course and the trip will provide an overview of India's history and culture and will emphasize the role of Christianity historically and today. The first part of the trip will focus on the history and culture of the important northern cities of Delhi, Agra (location of the Taj Mahal), Varanasi, and Kolkata (Calcutta). This will include some exposure to Christianity in the north, as well as the dominant Hindu faith. Then the focus will shift to southern India, where there will be a brief encounter with the high tech industry that now flourishes there, as well as the film industry. The trip will end with a number of days of immersion in the rural culture of southern India through interaction with the people being reached by an indigenous Christian ministry in the southern coastal area.
The reading and discussion in the course will deal with some of the heroes of India's recent past, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa. It will explore the history of Hinduism and British colonialism, and will look at the caste system from the perspective of the untouchables.
GEED 365J - Egypt and Ethiopia
Course Title: Pyramids and People - The History and Culture of Egypt and Ethiopia
Faculty: Paul Chamberlain and Mike Magill
Meeting Night: Tuesday
This course will focus on providing an introduction to the history and culture of Egypt and Ethiopia. We will emphasize the place of Christianity in a Muslim world and the archeology of both countries, such as the building of the Pyramids in Egypt and the rock-hewn churches in Ethiopia. While the majority of Egyptians are Muslim, approximately 10 percent are Coptic Orthodox Christians. Ethiopia, on the other hand, is 50 percent Coptic Christian and is often referred to as the "Cradle of Civilization." Of special interest will be the visits to Coptic Cairo and the rock-hewn churches of northern Ethiopia. No study of Egypt would be complete without studying the Great Pyramids of Egypt. As one of the most recognized structures in the world, these ancient wonders of the world will provide a glimpse into ancient Egypt, their engineering practices and their religious practices.
The trip will begin in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Abbaba. We will then travel north to visit the stone churches of Laibela, followed by visits to various with missionaries and their constituents. From Addis Abbaba we will fly to Cairo where we will visit Coptic and Muslim Cairo, and the Great Pyramids of Giza. We will then travel by train to Aswan and take a cruise on the Nile, visiting various sites including the High Dam. We will complete our cruise at Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. We will then travel to Mt. Sinai and the Red Sea. Finally, we will travel to the Siwa Oasis via Alexandria for two nights in the western desert of Egypt.
Note: It is possible, due to the high cost of airfare, that we will not be able to go to Ethiopia and will instead spend that time exploring Egypt.
GEED 365K - New Zealand
Course Title: Exploring the Cultures and Geography of New Zealand
Faculty: Beth Laforce and Terrie Boehr
Meeting Night: Monday
The Juniors Abroad trip to New Zealand in May 2007 will allow the participants to learn about this unique land with diverse geography and peoples. We will study the history of the two major cultural groups of New Zealand- the Pakeha (European-mostly from England) and the Maori (a Polynesian culture group with a history and language that is key to understanding New Zealand). To appreciate New Zealand it is also important to understand and experience the diverse geography that is now familiar to U.S. audiences from the "Lord of the Rings" movies.
We will be traveling throughout portions of both the North and South Islands of New Zealand. We will visit many historical sites in places like Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland. It will also be important to explore the beauty of New Zealand by visiting Queenstown, Milford Sound and by climbing the Franz Josef glacier. We will have many opportunities to be outdoors to enjoy hiking, climbing and many water activities. We will also explore unique sites like a penguin conservatory, the Antarctica Museum, and the Cadbury Chocolate factory. We will also interact with a church with many college students who attend University of Ontago. Finally, on the North Island, we will learn more about Maori culture and New Zealand sheep, visit the National Museum, and visit a New Zealand school.
