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Academics : International Education Study Abroad

Study Abroad, Turtle Island Transformed

2006-07 Study abroad program, Turtle Island

 

Program:
Following the structure of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, the seminar has three stages.  The first is an interdisciplinary study of the local region including the town of Northfield, the Pioneer Valley, and the Connecticut River watershed.  Next we will cross the continent by train, following the route that has changed only slightly since the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, in order to visit population centers and important sites in the environmental history of North America.  During their travels, students will read and discuss literature of diverse but related genres such as Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose and Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert:  The American West and Its Disappearing Water, that is specially coordinated to the itinerary.  The term-long field journal project, begun with daily writing and reflection around the Northfield and Mount Hermon campuses, will shift to such varied settings as Adams Street in downtown Chicago, the Muir Woods north of San Francisco, and the banks of the Colorado River at the base of the Grand Canyon.  Finally, students will return to NMH for three weeks of classes and independent research projects, culminating in individual presentations and a common statement about the ethical future of humans on the land. 

 

The Trip:
The group will travel across the United States for three weeks in the middle of the term, accompanied by the two seminar leaders.  Accommodations along the way include homestays, campsites, hostels and a hotel, with maximum opportunities to learn from each other and from our hosts who live and work in the regions we are visiting.  We will depart from Springfield on the Lakeshore Limited train in late April and arrive the next day in Chicago.  After an afternoon’s “environmental walking tour” of the city, we will board the California Zephyr and travel overnight to a weekend of recreation, sightseeing, and history in the Denver/Boulder area.  Another overnight on the Zephyr includes spectacular mountain and desert scenery in the Rockies, the Great Basin, and the Sierras, en route to San Francisco.  After three days in the Bay area, the group will travel south by van on the Pacific Coast Highway, then through the San Joaquin Valley to visit agricultural sites.  The following week features hiking and camping in Death Valley and the Grand Canyon and special tours of Hoover Dam and the Nevada Test Site, with an emphasis on the conflicting claims that various stakeholders have on protected and contested landscapes.  After a free day at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the group will fly home from Las Vegas (the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country --  why?!) to continue their study of how humans interact with the natural environment and formulate topics for individual research.  We will also travel to Acadia, the oldest national park on the east coast, for a weekend of hiking, camping, and reflection about “The Upshot” (Aldo Leopold’s final chapter) toward the end of the term.

Requirements/Credits:
This Senior Seminar is open to seniors by application during the spring of their junior year.  Humanities I is recommended but not required.  Students earn 2 credits, one for English and one for religious studies.  Students may take this seminar instead of or in addition to any senior English course.