J-Term 2011: Where will you go?

Professors announce J-Term study tours for 2011

Students interested in traveling during J-Term 2011 will choose from such varied destinations as West Africa, Greece, China, Barcelona and Berlin. Carthage faculty members have announced the following J-Term study tours.

Please note: All trips are tentative. Costs are estimates, and may or may not include all trip expenses. Travel dates will vary. Please contact the professor for details. Some courses may be full already.

January Trips

ARGENTINA & BRAZIL
Eco- and Ethno-Tourism in Argentina and Brazil

Political science professor Jeffrey Roberg and neuroscience/psychology professor Penny Seymoure team up again for J-Term 2011. In this course, students will explore the beautiful environment of northern Argentina and the Iguazu waterfalls of Argentina and Brazil. Students will visit Buenos Aires, Ibera Lagoon, Puerto Iguazu, and the Iguazu Falls National Parks in both Argentina and Brazil. Students will learn about the indigenous Mbya Guarani people who live in the rainforest near the waterfalls. Students will also engage in service projects in the Mbya Guarani communities of Kaagui Pora and Yryapu.

Cost: Approximately $3,000
Informational meeting: 12:10 p.m. Friday, April 30, in Lentz Hall 225
Contact: Prof. Seymoure or Prof. Roberg

COSTA RICA
Biodiversity, Brains and Behavior

This J-term trip is an opportunity for curious students to study the ecology of tropical America first-hand while learning about the evolution of nervous systems and social behaviors. The study tour will be led by biology professor Scott Hegrenes and psychology and neuroscience professor Dan Miller. Students will learn about unique aspects of tropical rainforest ecosystems (relative to our temperate deciduous forest biome) in addition to studying animal behavior. Students will learn the neurobiology and variation in sensory and social systems of insect to primates. Through field observations of social animals such as leaf-cutter ants and howler monkeys, students will learn about and compare the evolution of social interactions.

Cost: Approximately $1,800
Informational meeting: 4 p.m. April 14, Straz 218
Contact: Prof. Hegrenes, Prof. Miller

GERMANY & POLAND
Berlin and the Holocaust

Students will investigate the Holocaust — its development, consequences and implications — in this interdisciplinary course that includes both religion and history. Religion professors Romwald Maczka and Thomas Long will lead students on an 18-day tour of historic sites in Germany (Wansee, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrueck, and Buchenwald) and Poland (Auschwitz and Cracow Ghetto). Students will also visit theatres, museums, castles and cathedrals.

Cost: Approximately $2,500
Note: This J-Term course is fully booked.

GHANA, SENEGAL
West Africa: The Roots of African American Religion

Religion professor David Musa and social work professor Danielle Geary will lead this J-Term study tour to West Africa. Students will explore slave castles, study African art, and experience the rich African culture. There will be opportunities to volunteer within the communities and spend time on a college campus in Senegal. The trip will include tours of Goree, Senegal: The Slave Island, as well as slave castles in Ghana.

Cost: Approximately $4,000
Informational Meeting: 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 4 in Clausen Center 111
Contact: Prof. Musa or Prof. Geary

GREECE & ROME
Divine Design: Architecture and Religion in Greece and Rome

Religion and classics professor Daniel Schowalter will lead a three-week tour of southern Greece in January 2011. Prof. Schowalter will team up with Michael Nelson, an art historian and active field archeologist at Queens College (CUNY), to teach the course. The tour will include visits to Athens, Corinth, Epidauros, Pylos, Olympia, Delphi, the Island of Crete, and other great sites. "We will look at the ancient remains and consider what we can learn about the culture by studying how they were built," Prof. Schowalter said during a J-Term Information Fair March 31. Requirements include reading, site presentations and a study journal.

Cost: Approximately $4,300
Contact: Prof. Schowalter

GUATEMALA
After the Peace: Causes and Consequences of the Guatemalan Civil War

History professor Stephanie Mitchell and Modern Languages professor Ed Montanaro team up for this study tour to Guatemala. Students will study the roots and aftermath of the Guatemala Civil War. Students will visit a community of people displaced by the war, and also spend time in Mayan communities that have been thrust into the global marketplace. Other destinations include Antigua and the ruins of the Classical Mayan city of Tikal.

Cost: Approximately $2,200
An informational meeting was held on April 12.
Contact: Prof. Mitchell and Prof. Montanaro

HAWAII
Conservation of Hawaiian Diversity

Tracy Gartner, professor of biology and geography and earth science, leads a study tour to Hawaii in J-Term 2011. Students will travel to the youngest (Hawaii) and oldest (Kauai) of the Hawaiian Islands to learn about how Hawaii's climate, topography, geomorphology, hydrology, soils and land use history have shaped the establishment, evolution and development of plant and animal communities. The course will also explore the impact of invasive species and other environmental threats, and learn about conservation efforts to preserve biological and cultural diversity on the islands.

Cost: Approximately $2,650-$3,250
Informational meeting TBA
Contact: Prof. Gartner

JAPAN
Food, Politics and Policy in Japan

Political science professor Jonathan Marshall will take students to Japan in January 2011 to study how politics and the state have affected the Japanese diet in contemporary era. The itinerary includes Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Eiheiji, Kanazawa and Tokyo. The course will examine the role that the market economy, imperialism, self-sufficiency policies, and Japan's integration into global trade have played in transforming what Japanese people have consumed over the past 150 years. Students will explore how these changes influenced global markets and food resources, and they will learn how the transformation of the Japanese diet has affected public health and consumer tastes. Participants will also compare the food traditions of the Kansai, Hokuriku and Kanto regions.

Cost: Approximately $4,000
Informational meeting: Tuesday, May 4 (time and place TBA)
Contact: Prof. Marshall

LONDON, BARCELONA
Sports Journalism: European Football England and Spain

Communication and digital media professor Jon Bruning leads this trip, which will focus on sports journalism, both print and broadcast, in Europe. Students will attend and report on games, visit club museums, and explore the culture of football in Europe. Assignments will include a variety of articles and short videos. Prof. Bruning said the trip will most likely consist of 8 days in London and 8 days in Barcelona. Depending on football schedules, day trips may include other cities in England (Manchester) and Spain (Madrid). Students will also visit non-sports museums and cultural sites, and will have regular free time to explore the cities.

Cost: Approximately $2,400
Applications will be available April 15, and are due May 1.
Contact: Prof. Bruning

NAMIBIA
Namibia: A Sociocultural Journey

This study tour will be led by music professor Peter Dennee. More information coming soon.

Cost: Approximately $3,600
Contact: Prof. Dennee

NICARAGUA
Biology and Geography of Nicaragua (January and Summer 2011)

Biology professor Patrick Pfaffle and geography professor Matt Zorn will team up for this annual trip to Nicaragua. Because of the course’s popularity, it will be offered in June 2010, January 2011 and June 2011. (The June 2010 course is full.) Students travel to the island of Ometepe, Nicaragua, where they spend two weeks studying tropical ecology, visiting historical sites around the island and country, and volunteering in rural medical clinics. Watch a video about the trip.

Cost: Approximately $2,200
Informational meeting TBA
Contact: Prof. Pfaffle, Prof. Zorn

TURKEY
At the Crossroads of Religion and Material Culture: Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman Responses in Art, Architecture, and Culture

This study tour will be led by Prof. Yamine Mermer, religion, and Prof. Christine Renaud, classics, religion, and women and gender studies. Students will examine how Byzantine and Seljuk art, architecture and culture influenced the Ottomans in Turkey. Students will visit important Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman sites in Turkey, as well as Istanbul, Bursa, Kutahya, Konya and Cappadocia. The course will enable students to develop a sophisticated understanding of the meeting of culture and religion in the art and architecture of these eras, and how to interpret architecture of sacred spaces.

Contact: Prof. Renaud or Prof. Mermer
Informational meeting: 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, Lentz 225
Applications and $600 deposit due May 19 in Business Office.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, BAHRAIN, AND OMAN
Political Economy of the Arab World

Economics professors Yuri Maltsev and Robert Schlack will lead this J-Term study tour. More information coming soon.

Cost: Approximately $2,750
Informational meeting: 7 p.m. Sept. 7, Niemann Media Theatre
Contact: Prof. Maltsev or Prof. Schlack

Summer Trips

CHINA
The Chinese Silk Road — May/June 2011

Biology professor Dan Choffnes and geography professor Wenjie Sun team up for this study tour, which is planned for summer 2011. Students will follow the 2000-year-old trail of cultural and economic exchange in modern China. Students will visit Beijing, Xi’an, Dunhuang and Urumqi (anticipated). Estimated travel dates are May 24-June 10.

Cost: Approximately $3,500
Informational meeting: 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, Straz B4
Contact: Prof. Sun or Prof. Choffnes

NAMIBIA
Namibia: Service Learning at Oonte OVC — June 2011

This study tour will be led by music professor Peter Dennee. More information coming soon.

Contact: Prof. Dennee

NEW YORK STATE
Intro to Geology: Field Experience New York State — June 2011

When it comes to geology and history, New York has it all, says Prof. Jane Mac Alla Livingston. Prof. Livingston is a music professor here at Carthage, but she has a background in geology and teaches courses in the science for J-Term. For this study tour, Prof. Livingston will lead students on a tour of New York state, from the Hudson Valley to Lake Champlain, from the Adirondacks to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Students will see Niagara Falls and the Catskill Mountains, and spend three days camping and whitewater rafting on the Delaware River. Students will also visit New York City, where they will see a Broadway show and explore the city. Expect a lot of hiking, and visiting landmark historical sites. Students will spend one week on campus, then at least 17 days in New York.

Cost: Estimated to be less than $2,000
Informational meeting: 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, JAC 252
Contact: Prof. Livingston

NORTHERN ISRAEL
Archaeology at Omrit in Northern Israel — May-June 2010 and 2011

Dan Schowalter, professor of religion and classics at Carthage, leads an annual archaeology study tour to northern Israel every summer. Students spend four to five weeks participating in the excavation of Omrit, an ancient Roman temple first built around 40 BCE. Students experience all aspects of the ongoing excavation, including uncovering and identifying architecture; cleaning, drawing, photographing and classifying finds; and working on reconstruction and restoration. Students also have the opportunity to visit other historic and sacred sites in Israel. The excavation is co-sponsored by Macalester College. Tentative travel dates for 2010 are May 25-June 29.

Cost: Approximately $3,300
More information: Omrit web site
Contact: Prof. Schowalter

ROME
Villa delle Vignacce Excavations in Rome — Summer 2010 and 2011

Classics and religion professor Christine Renaud leads students on this summer J-Term course in Rome. The Villa delle Vignacce is a previously unexcavated villa in the suburbs of Rome. Covering five acres, it has become one of the most exciting digs in Rome. In the last four seasons, Prof. Renaud and her students have uncovered underground chambers, statues, and a luxurious bath complex. Experience is not necessary. The course fulfills Carthage Symposium, Writing Intensive and Humanities distribution requirements, and major requirements in Classics.

Cost: Approximately $4,000
Contact: Prof. Renaud

Read more J-Term stories

2011
J-Term 2011: A Time to Explore
Understanding AIDS
Crime in Media
Shakespeare in Rome
The Sociology of Adventure

2010
J-Term 2010: On-Campus Courses
Video: Ecology and Tropical Medicine in Nicaragua
"The Magic Flute" — An Opera in 3 1/2 weeks
No Idle Hands: The Social Context of Knitting
Telescope Making
Up in the Air: An Introduction to Aviation and Meteorology

2009
Art Meets Biology in Arizona
Forensic Science
Unearthing the Past in Omrit

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