Although travel courses will not be leaving for at least another year, now is the time to start looking into travel courses for the 2012 winter term.
Every year, the Pacific University faculty from various areas of study chooses to lead trips that take their lessons out of the classroom and into the world.
These courses are offered during the Winter III and summer terms, often with a mandatory preparatory course in the preceding semester.
This means that students should be aware of which trips they want to take almost a year in advance so that they can register for the appropriate classes.
For example, if a student wanted to take a WIII 2012 travel course, they would need to take the preparatory course during the 2011 fall semester. This excludes photography courses, which requires a follow-up course rather than a preparatory course.
The same goes for summer trips: if students want to take a summer travel course, they need to sign up for the spring prep class during fall registration.
Often, the prep class will count as a four-credit class with the actual travel portion of the class counting as a separate two-credit class.
The main purpose of the prep courses is to give students a foundation of background information on the destination. Students familiarize themselves with the culture, history and day-to-day practices of the destination and how it is significant to the subject being taught.
While some destinations are available on an annual or bi-annual basis, others may be offered only once, so students who intend to travel should plan out their schedules in advance.
Some courses are continuing as usual from past years, but 2012 has some new subjects and destinations in the works.
First, there is a 355-level anthropology/sociology course to Trinidad, the southernmost island in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela. Instructors Aaron Greer and Don Schweitzer are leading the WIII course, which will center around social work.
Another new course still in the works for next year is a trip to South Africa being organized by professor and Director of the Center for Gender Equity Martha Rampton. Details for the trip were unable at the time of publication.
Confirmed Courses:
Class Culture and Cuisine
France, WIII – Cheleen Mahar and Chris Wilkes
Social Work
Trinidad, WIII – Aaron Greer and Don Schweitzer
Theater
London, WIII – Tal Sanders
Literary Perspectives
Spain, Summer – Brent Johnson
Art 204 Drawing
Hawaii, WIII – Patricia Cheyne
Biology
Ecuador and the Galapagos, WIII – David Scholnick
Biology 450
Costa Rica (must have completed 1 year of biology), WIII –
Ed Alkaslassy and Pam Lopez
South Africa (being organized), WIII – Organized by
Martha Rampton
Photography
Vancouver, Canada Summer – Jim Flory
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