Juniors Abroad 2006
Course Title: The Yucatan Peninsula, La Ruta Maya
Faculty: Viki Defferding
Meeting Night: Thursday
Our focus will be history and culture of the ancient Maya and earlier civilizations. We will visit several archeological zones in Mesoamerica. We will begin at the ancient site of Teotihuacán near Mexico City to give us a sense of just how ancient, powerful and far-reaching were the teotihuacanos. We will also tour the National Museum of Anthropology to help us understand the ancient Maya Civilization and visit the historical center of Mexico City where we will observe representations of its foundation as Tenonchtitlán through monuments, murals and the Templo Mayor museum. We will then head to the Yucatan Peninsula where we will tour the ancient sites of Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Cobá and Tulum. We will conclude our trip on the Maya road in Copan, Honduras where we will visit the ancient Copan site and visit a "modern" Maya-Chorti Indian Village. Throughout the trip, students will have opportunities to focus on architecture, art, history, religion and culture of these ancient Maya city-states. We will climb many pyramids and hike through several archeological zones. Some of our activities will include a swim in an ancient underground sinkhole, various water sports in the Caribbean, a horseback trek to a Maya Indian Village and a swim in natural hot water springs. We will see and experience today's Mesoamerican society as it reflects its ancient indigenous roots. Additionally we will attend several worship services and become acquainted with some local pastors, missionaries and residents.
GEED 365B - The Netherlands, Belgium and France
Course Title: Art, History, and Politics in the Low Countries
Faculty: Sue O'Donnell, Clella Jaffee
Meeting Night: Monday
This trip will travel to Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Bruges, Belgium; and Paris, France. 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 Parisâ?¦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. In France, we'll see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay 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.
GEED 365C - Ireland/Northern Ireland
Course Title: Ireland: Writers and Reconcilers
Faculty: Lon Fendall and Kathleen Heininge
Meeting Night: Tuesday
Ireland is a fascinating destination for many Americans. For some, it is the country of their ancestors' birth and a place to discover their family roots. For others, it is the home of some of the greatest writers in modern times-- George Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney, Oscar Wilde, and Sean O'Casey. Still others associate Ireland with its folklore, including shamrocks, leprechauns, and St. Patrick's Day. And for others, Ireland means great Celtic music, ancient and modern.
This course and the trip will look at some of these dimensions of "Irishness" and much more. It will include all of Ireland, the part now known as the Republic of Ireland in the south and the part called "Northern Ireland," a province of the United Kingdom. The trip will consist of a circle around the island, beginning with a number of days in Dublin, one of the world's great cultural centers. From there the group will move northward into Northern Ireland, with some stops along the way and a few days in Belfast, the other great Irish city. The circle continues along the amazingly beautiful north coast, with one of the stops being Corrymeela, one of the centers of Christian peacemaking and reconciliation. The circle continues on westward and southward, with further stops in Derry, Donegal, Sligo, Galway, Limerick City, and Waterford City.
In this course students will read and discuss a book of short stories by James Joyce and a play by Brian Friel. They will also read and discuss a book about conflict in the north, called Making Sense of the Troubles. The readings, the course, and the trip reflect the interests of the leaders. Lon Fendall teaches global politics and peace studies and has on a number of previous trips to Ireland interacted with people in the north who are part of the conflict and of the peacemaking process. Kathleen Heininge is a literary scholar with a specialty in Irish literature, particularly drama. She has many relatives in Ireland and has been there more times than she can count.
GEED 365D Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic
Course Title: Christianity, Culture, and Conflict
Faculty: John Bowman
Meeting Night: Monday
Students taking this Humanities course will select one of three topics (Christianity, Culture, or
Conflict) to research and share results with the class. A focus on Christianity will include significant religious leaders and movements that shaped and nurtured people in the countries visited. Culture studies will focus on art and music that flourished in our selected cities. A focus on Conflict will expand awareness and understanding of the social events and political ideologies that impacted people's lives in our chosen regions. Students will also study and view materials in an attempt to assess how the three topics can be related to perpetrators, victims, and bystanders during the Holocaust.
All students will learn basic knowledge pertaining to all three topic areas in order to establish an informed perspective from which to engage in thoughtful discussion before and during travel. A basic understanding of proper pronunciation and interpretation of practical German words (names, cities, and short "survival" level phrases) will be learned by the entire group in relaxed role-plays. Sleeping accommodations will include a restored hotel, hostels, and homestays in Berlin. Numerous modes of city transportation will be experienced. We will use fast and comfortable trains for intercity travel.
We will visit great museums of art, cathedrals, significant historical sites ( Brandenburg Gate, the "wall, "The German Reichstag, Auschwitz Concentration Camp,) music concerts featuring diverse styles, , castles, palaces, and 1000 year-old Wielieczka Salt Mine. We will also experience the thousand-year-old Hanseatic town of Gdansk, nestled near the extensive beach along the Polish Baltic coast, and the quaint hiking and ski resort of Zakopane in Poland's Tatra mountains. Throughout our tour, scheduled group visits to sites of great historical importance will be balanced by opportunities for spending your free time people-watching, sampling local food markets, seeing a movie in English with Czech or Polish subtitles, discovering craft shops, and other "relaxed" meandering with a few of your friends.
GEED 365E - Italy/Switzerland
Course Title: The Church and the Culture of Its Time
Faculty: Manfred Tschan and Tim Tsohantaridis
Meeting night: Wednesday
This course will explore the Christian church in the context of the culture of its time. How radical was the gospel of Jesus during the golden age of the Roman Empire? How dominant was the Church at the birth of the Renaissance? How did the strength and independence of cities make it easier for the Reformation to succeed? After getting some answers in the classroom, we will explore those themes while sharing recreation with Italians in Tuscany, and interacting with young Swiss in an English class. The trip will be organized around 5 main locations. We will start in Rome (3 days), travel to the Etruscan coast of Tuscany (7 days), where we will take day trips to Pisa, Florence, and the hilltop towns of Volterra, San Gimignano, and Siena. Next we will visit Venice (2 days), the High Alps of Switzerland (5 days), and Western Switzerland (3 days). Travel is by vans, so the trip is not well suited for people who get carsick or who can't pack light.
GEED 365F Russia
Course Title: Russia: Orthodox and Unorthodox
Faculty: Ludmila Praslova; Tim Timmerman
Meeting Night: Tuesday
The trip will focus on of history, art and culture, and modern life of Russia. Geographically, the trip will be within Northern European Russia, specifically including the cities of Moscow, Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Vyborg (the only western-style medieval fortress in Russia), surrounding rural regions, and the autonomous Republic of Karelia. Karelia has a distinct ancient culture, different from both Russian culture and from the culture of neighboring Finland.
Your learning experiences will include understanding of how geographical, political and religious forces over the centuries have shaped modern Russian culture and worldviews. This will specifically include understanding the role of the following forces in development of Russian culture: a) Russian Orthodox church; b) geographical and cultural positioning on the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and c) the role of Russia in the World War 2. We will also visit the must-see sites such as the Red Square and Kremlin in Moscow and Romanoff's palaces and Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg.
In addition to general cultural learning, special emphasis will be also placed on experiencing the life style, culture and concerns of Russian families and students through home stays, church activities and interactions with university students. May Russians, especially the younger people, will know some English, but you can't always count on it, so you will need to learn basic Russian vocabulary and Cyrillic alphabet in preparation for the trip.
GEED 365G Ireland/England
Course Title: The Future of Christianity in Ireland and England
Faculty: Robin Baker and Mark Weinert
Meeting night: Wednesday
PLEASE NOTE: This trip will be going in June. Spring athletes will have first priority. However, there is usually room for others.
Students in this juniors abroad experience will examine the historical development of the Christian faith in the cultures of Ireland and England from Celtic times to the present. Students will develop an understanding of a variety of the different expressions of the Christian faith from the ancient Celts in Ireland to more modern Christian movements in Dublin and Ireland. In addition to studying the historical development of the Christian church in these areas, students will visit and interact with Christians in present day churches in Ireland and England. We will gain an appreciation for the challenges faced by churches in an increasingly secular part of the West. We will try to determine what the churches see as their mission and role in their cultures. Students in the course will also study two of the greatest Christian intellectuals of the 20th Century, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and examine how they confronted their world for Christ. In addition to reading some of the work of Tolkien and Lewis, we will visit key historical sites in Oxford associated with both authors.
Our trip will begin in Ireland where we will visit Dublin, Galway, the Aran Islands, and the beautiful Wicklow Mountains. We will ride the ferry to Wales where we will visit ancient monastic sites and then travel on to the famous city of Oxford. We will walk in the footsteps of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien and travel to the home of Shakespeare. We will move through the English countryside and end our trip in the city of London. In addition to visiting various churches we will enjoy the culture of Ireland, Wales and England. We will see castles and palaces, visit museums, attend sporting events, and experience as much of England and Ireland as we can in 21 days.
GEED 365H Australia
Course Title: Australian Flora, Fauna, Culture, & History
Faculty: Marley Brown
Meeting night: Wednesday
Come experience the "Land down under" where it will be the end of autumn during the three weeks in May that we tour Australia. The focus will be on history, architecture, culture and science (flora & fauna) as we compare and contrast our country to theirs. We will start in Sydney, where we will take a historic walking tour through "the Rocks" exploring the area that was the first European settlement in Australia, considering life as either a convict or a government official. We will visit The Sydney Aquarium (sharks and duck-billed platypus) sees the infamous Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Free time in Sydney can be spent in its museums (Botanical Gardens, Australian Natural History Museum, etc.), parks or beaches. On our way 1600 miles north to the Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef (the only living organism that can be seen from space) we will spend time in the Blue Mountains, and along the eastern coast of Australia (the Sun Shine Coast). A stop at Featherdale Wildlife Park will introduce everyone to many of Australia's unique marsupials we will study - koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and a Tasmanian devil. We will also hear and see the most interesting and colorful birds you can imagine from emus to kookaburras. Come with us and experience the Aussie love of the outdoors - sailing, snorkeling, white water rafting, hiking, visiting eucalyptus (gum) forests, banana and pineapple plantations, beautiful mountain ranges, rain forests, ocean beaches and coral reefs. When we reach our northern destination of Cairns we will visit Tjapukai and learn about the Aboriginals, Australia's original inhabitants for over 40,000 years. Australia's most awarded Aboriginal cultural attraction showcases the culture of the rainforest people of Tropical North Queensland through dance, stories and song. Our last stop will be Kuranda, a rainforest village rich in culture and science. We will stay with local church members, at church camps, and youth hostels, eat Aussie Barby (BBQ) and enjoy the opportunity of being immersed in the Aussie culture.
GEED 365I France, Switzerland and Germany
Course title: Conversations with European Christianity, Ancient and post-Modern
Faculty: Roger and Sue Newell
Meeting Night: Monday
This course is a European conversation which begins with a study of the main themes, persons and events of the Reformation in Europe. It moves on to live conversations with church leaders, organizations and personal friends scattered around the places we will visit. Our conversation will look at how the newly enlarged European Community has emerged out of the shadow of two World Wars, and a Cold War competition to where it is now becoming the great alternative model to the "American way of life." The course is designed for students to interact with local leaders and European students at each of our locations, concluding with a memorable Bratwurst feed and Bible study evening with students from the University of Munich. Through informal conversations and arranged discussions, students will gain a new awareness of European Christianity and how its witness can help American Christians respond more faithfully to the Gospel.
This trip involves an unusual mixture of large and small historic cultural centers, as well as some of the most stunning rural scenery in the world. Along the way, students will stroll through the soccer fields surrounding Paris' Eifel Tower, travel on a high speed train through rural France, join with hundreds of young European Pilgrims drawn to the little village of Taize, in search ofa genuine Faith. In Geneva we visit Calvin's cathedral, the Red Cross and the World Vision headquarters, followed by riding bicycles (for free!) through the lovely gardens along Lake Geneva. We will go hill-walking and feast our eyes for 3 days in the heart of the Swiss Alps, exploring an underground lake just for fun. Then on to Basel, Switzerland's oldest university town, touring the old town, meeting more students and also going on a half day trip to Colmar, Alsace-Lorraine, where Grunewald's Isenheim altarpiece continues to overwhelm its visitors. Even after all this, Salzburg never disappoints as one of the most visually stunning cities in the world. We end in Munich, Bavaria's capital, amidst stunning alpine scenes, world class museums, the fairy tale castle of Neunschwanstein and the nightmare Concentration Camp of Dachau.
GEED 365J Uganda/Tanzania
Course Title: The Endangered Wildlife of East Africa
Faculty: Paul Chamberlain and Steve Grant
Meeting night: Monday
This course will focus on the endangered wildlife of East Africa. Students will have opportunities to explore a variety of rich and distinctive ecosystems, such as jungles, tropical rainforests, tea plantations, savannas, and marine habitats. We will study the fascinating story of the endangered mountain gorillas in southwestern Uganda and examine efforts to save these unique animals. This will be accomplished through readings and through a visit to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where we will go on a "gorilla trek" for miles through dense jungle, to observe some of the last mountain gorillas in the world. We will then turn our attention to observing and studying some of the incredible and diverse wildlife of East Africa. In particular, we will study the efforts to save the elephant from extinction due to poaching. We will visit Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, undeniably the greatest wildlife habitat in the world. We will finish our trip with a visit to the ancient and historical spice island of Zanzibar.
To add to the cultural flavor of the course, students will have the opportunity to visit the capitals of Tanzania and Uganda, Dar es Salaam and Kampala, and to interact with the local folk in a variety of environments. These will include a visit to an African village, lectures from park rangers and African professors, a visit to the Uganda Christian University, and interaction with our African guides each day.
Tanzania and Uganda are, at the same time, relatively young countries (the British left in the early 1960's) and very old countries (tribalism is still very prevalent), and thus have a distinct culture and unique history. We will also learn about the history of this area of Africa as it has emerged from colonization by the British and Portuguese, struggled through the turbulent and violent times of Idi Amin, and emerged into the relatively peaceful times of present day East Africa.
Important: This trip is primarily a camping trip. We will be camping much of the time, which means sleeping in tents on the ground, very primitive toilets (holes in the ground), and cold showers, if they are available. If you sign up for this trip, please be prepared to rough it!!
<