This course will focus on research in the ecology and conservation biology of tropical plants and animals. We will spend three weeks at biological research stations in Andean cloud forest, lowland jungle and the Galapagos Islands. Students should be prepared to work hard, get hot, cold, wet, dirty and odiferous. Course is open to students who have completed BIO 111 or SPAN2XX and instructor permission. For details contact Dr. Marsh, marshd@wlu.edu
The "Celtic Tiger" has become the strongest economy in Europe. The country has benefited from a partnership between government, business, and labor unions. This course has two primary objectives:
To immerse the students into the culture of Ireland - It is only by understating the culture (history, language, religion, literature, theater, and mystique) of this unique country that students will be equipped to study the business of Ireland. There will be excursions to various sites of historical and cultural significance. The course will conclude with a medieval banquet and traditional Irish entertainment at an historic castle. To study various aspects of the business and economy of modern Ireland, including its role in the European Union. Lectures will be given by NUI, Galway faculty and will be supplemented with visits to both national and international businesses throughout Ireland – including the historic Guinness Brewery in Dublin. We will be based in Galway as guests of the National University of Ireland, Galway. A provisional itinerary with additional information is available from Professor Roger Dean, Commerce School #302.
This six-credit course offers an exploration of Hellenic civilization in its many forms-the Bronze Age, the Classical period and the Byzantine era. We will try to achieve an overview of Hellenic art and architecture; to that end, we will be interested in the organic development of Greek culture over the ages. We hope to explore such questions as the development of religion and religious experience over the ages, by exploring, for example, both the Demeter cult at Eleusis and the Christian church at Daphni. We will use Plato as a lens to focus Greek civilization: the possible reflection of the Bronze Age in Plato's Timaeus; Plato's critique of classicism, and his influence on Christianity. For details contact Professor Crotty, Brodsky or Pemberton, crottyk@wlu.edu, brodskya@wlu.edu, pembertonh@wlu.edu
The primary purpose of the program is to develop an understanding of the relationship between the environment and economic development in developing countries. We will investigate the question of how to improve the quality of life of urban and rainforest residents, while preserving the environment. This will be accomplished through a combination of lecture and field observations in Amazonas, Brazil. We will spend time at the university, talk to government and industry officials and visit diverse sites such as a biodiversity reserves, large scale mines, sustainable forestry operations and small rainforest communities. We will spend time in the capital city of Manaus, a modern city of nearly 2 million people, and also go deep into the rainforest by boat.
For details contact Professor Kahn, kahnj@wlu.edu
Immersion in French language, setting and culture. Students take language and culture classes at France-Langue in Nice for 5 weeks (20 lesson hours per week), and live with French families. The program includes excursions to renowned sites, monuments or museums. One week will be spent in Paris on site visits, cultural lectures and events. Students majoring in subjects other than French are encouraged to apply. For details contact Professor Frégnac-Clave, fregnac-clavef@wlu.edu
Daily instruction in Italian by a native instructor attached to the Italian for Foreign Students programs at the Universities of Padua and Genoa. The better part of the first week in Milan. Two and a half weeks in Padua and two and a half weeks in the seaport city of Genoa. Afternoons will be dedicated to cultural outings and an occasional evening to a cultural event. For details contact Professor Youngblood, youngbloodr@wlu.edu
This course is designed to introduce the Japanese language and culture to students with no previous language background. Classes are held at Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange, which is a prestigious Japanese institution, located in Kanazawa. Students live with a host family and can experience typical Japanese daily life. The program includes field trips to points of historical interest and many cultural activities in the afternoon. For details contact Prof. Ujie, ujiek@wlu.edu
A period of direct exposure to the language, culture, and people of Spain. The program includes supervised academic projects, lectures by native authorities, attendance at theater and other cultural activities. Students majoring in Spanish as well as other subjects are encouraged to apply. Formal language instruction is provided in El Puerto and in Madrid by Estudio Internacional Sampere. Students live in private homes both in Madrid and El Puerto. For details contact Prof. West-Settle, west-settlec@wlu.edu
Combining classroom studies and field research, this seminar will examine the basic cultural and religious assumptions that bind the Eastern Band of Cherokees to their homelands. The seminar will include a fieldtrip to the Qualla boundary (the Eastern Band’s present day reservation), eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia during which participants will visit significant sites in Cherokee prehistory and history; learn about the interrelationships among Cherokee cosmology, landscape, and identity from tribal members and local scholars; and listen to members from the Eastern Band discuss the ongoing efforts of their community to maintain and apply traditional ecological knowledge to contemporary life. The seminar will also be visited by writer LeAnne Howe (Cherokee-Choctaw) who has just finished a documentary for PBS on Eastern Band contemporary life.
For details contact Prof. Markowitz, markowitzh@wlu.edu
This is an intensive experience in British theater and the current performance season in London. In addition to a full schedule of theater attendance, the course includes a study of production techniques and selected representative styles and periods of British drama. The Spring 2006 course will offer students both a historical overview of British theater and drama and the opportunity to develop their skills in performance analysis and criticism. Towards this end, students will combine textbook, script and professional review reading, along with regularly scheduled play attendance and theater-related sight-seeing. Students will write weekly critiques of plays, musicals, and other performance events that they attend, and complete projects in dramatic analysis and theater research. For further details contact Prof. Kimberly Jew, jewk@wlu.edu
