2023-2024 Off-Campus Courses

Wilderness and the Arts - ENG 347 

Leslie Hankins

Encounters with boundaries in the wild have shaped art and culture. What better way to study those encounters than on the boundary of the wilderness that inspires writers, artists and photographers? The class will journey to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, to the Wilderness Field Station at Ely Minnesota on Low Lake, where we will immerse ourselves in the glorious late August-September outdoors, study meditation, write journals, read literature, study ecopoetics & photography, make the Japanese art of suminagashi (floating ink) and create Japanese stab binding journals. We will consider the interplay between our own encounters with the wilderness and the artworks about the wilderness that we study. Through journaling and discussion, the class will reflect upon indigenous ways of relating to the world, through the insights revealed in Braiding Sweetgrass by Kimmerer, as well as art and meditation as ways of relating to the wilderness. To capture our own responses to the wilderness, we will keep journals/portfolios of projects involving writing, literary analysis, meditation, and photography. The class will be inspired by photographers Jim Brandenburg, Tokihiro Sato & John Daido Loori who create art from their encounters with the wilderness. We will also read and reflect upon selections from the writings and paintings of Emily Carr, the Canadian wilderness writer and painter of the first half of the 20th century, and read some Thoreau and Hemingway and writings by American women writers and discuss them over campfires and dinners, and by the lake. We will canoe around the Field Station on lovely Low Lake. You may be a seasoned camper, a neophyte, or something in between, but we will all work together to make the course and our trip memorable as we interact with other courses at the Field Station for the Cornell Wilderness Term. The Field Station is primitive, rustic, and rather raw. (Latrines, for starters.) Be ready to embrace the absence of 24/7 electricity, cellphones (except for photo taking), showers, and tech-distractions from full attention to being. We gain immersion in breathtaking beauty, stunning silence, physical challenges of hoisting and canoeing, and moments of sublime revelation—plus camaraderie. (“Wake up! Are those wolves howling?! There must be a dozen of them!”). 

Course Cost (includes transportation, lodging, activities and meals): $1260. This course fee is reduced to $760 if applying to Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $125 due April 17. Students must be in good academic, disciplinary, and financial standing with the College at the time of registration and one month prior to the beginning of the course. Details of this policy are available in the catalogue.

Topics: Anthropology of the Environment at the Wilderness Field Station - ANT 256 

Jill Davis

This course takes place in Minnesota at the Wilderness Field Station located on Low Lake in the Superior National Forest, adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). The BWCA is a unique, extensive chain of nationally protected fresh-water lakes in which motorized vehicles are prohibited and development is restricted. Conflicts over land use, however, persist in the region. Prominent environmental groups have identified campaigns to protect the BWCA as among the top three national priorities and are especially concerned about proposals to expand mining. Hot debates over land use and environmental protections have enveloped the region bringing to light questions such as - how do we balance wilderness protection, economic development, and recreation? This course examines ongoing debates over environmental meanings, regulative authority, development, and activism, with a concern for understanding diverse and conflicting perspectives. Through immersive activities we work to examine environmental and socio-cultural conflicts and triumphs in the Boundary Waters and beyond. Activities include canoeing, hiking, possible camping expeditions, meeting with local activists, organizations, and businesses, visiting museums and heritage centers, and generally engaging in a variety of immersive events and activities.

Course Cost (includes transportation, lodging, activities and meals):$1260. This course fee is reduced to $760 if applying to Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $125 due April 17.

Theater and the Arts - THE 349

Scott Olinger 

The study of American art and culture, focusing particularly on theatrical performance, opera, and dance. Typically includes backstage tours, museum and gallery visits, and workshops with local actors, designers, and other theatre artists. Taught in Chicago. 

Course Cost: $2500; Funding for up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $250 due April 17

Literature and Social Justice - ENG 369

Rebecca Entel

The city of Chicago has a harried history of inequality and a rich history of social and literary activism. The city has always been home to writers involved in social justice movements, and it produced the Chicago School of sociological thinking, some of the earliest social science research on the structures of urban life. Using Chicago as a backdrop, this course will question the relationship between literature and activism in the city: what it has been, what it is, and what it might be. Our readings, visits, events, and speakers in Chicago will offer us multiple ways to think about the complex web among writers, writing, social issues, and social change.

Course Cost: $2000; Funding for up to 35% of course fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $200 due April 17. 

Politics of the Past - POL 251

David Yamanishi 

Politics of the Past asks what modern political science has to say about political forms that are no longer with us in the way they used to be: empire (in the form of the Holy Roman Empire, as seen from Vienna and environs), city-states (in the form of Venice), and monarchy (in the form of Spain, as seen from Madrid and thereabouts). In an interdisciplinary fashion, we will learn about the history, modes of using power, means of legitimization, uses of symbolism, and so on to get a sense of the ways in which different forms of political order determine “who gets what, when, and how.” The course will spend about a week on campus, learning about the background of our cities and countries, before we travel.  

Course Cost: $4200; Funding for up to 35% of course fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $420 due April 17.

Spanish III - SPA 103 

Alyssa Selmer

Spanish 103 is the third course in a three-part sequence of introductory Spanish language learning. We will be offering this course for the first time as an off-campus course. Students will have a truly immersive experience learning Spanish in Costa Rica at a language institute, taking classes from native speakers, and living with host families for 3.5 weeks.

Course Cost: $3000; Funding for up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $300 due April 17.

Traveling Economists - ECB 334 

Todd Knoop

Students will understand the incredible economic development of China over the course of the last two generations within the context of a global economy in which extreme poverty is still common, and global inequality between countries is increasing by some measures. There is no better setting to obtain a deeper understanding of growth, poverty, and economic development than China today. We will examine both the theoretical and empirical foundations that shape the way economists understand economic growth in China and around the globe. We will talk with local experts in Chinese development and business, visit local Chinese firms and factories, have a class exchanges with Chinese college students studying at Shanghai’s East China Normal University, a travel to the two major economic powerhouse cities of China—Shanghai and Beijing—but also visit western, rural, and poorer parts of China that still define the lives of most Chinese today. Students will also refine their abilities to think like economists. By focusing on the ways that incentives shape behavior, economists have gained new insights into the determinants of difference across people, cultures, societies, countries, and time. Economics is a powerful tool that can be used to make each of us much more perceptive observers. As a result, developing a deeper understanding of economics is an important part of becoming a better traveler. In the words of Samuel Johnson, “The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” This is exactly what economics aims to do as well, and it is the reason why using economics to enrich our travel can magnify the value of both. In this class in which we travel and learn economics, our goal is to become both better economists and the kinds of travelers that get the most out of their experiences. 

Course Cost: $5500; Funding for up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $550 due April 17.

Advanced Research in Religion - REL 388 

Steven Sacks

This course is devoted to advanced research in the the humanities, which will include development of relevant skills in original research, writing and oral presentation utilizing world class facilities on site at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. Students are expected to complete original primary research which addresses existing research and makes an original contribution that modifies or corrects prevailing academic understandings.

Course Cost: $1100. Funding for up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $110 due April 17. 

Biological Problems - BIO/BMB 485 

Sophie Gillette 

This BIO/BMB 485 capstone research course is a collaborative research effort involving both students and faculty. Students participate in a multifaceted on-going research project focused on how climate change affects coral reefs. Fire coral and their algal symbionts are used as a model system to explore thermal stress and coral bleaching. Course requirements include review of the literature, collection and interpretation of data, and writing a research report. The course takes place on San Salvador Island, one of the outer most eastern islands of the Bahamian archipelago. The island is unique for its history (tied to Columbus’ discovery of the New World), ecology, hypersaline inland lakes and coral reefs teeming with marine life.

Course Cost: $2500; Funding for up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $250 due April 17.

Comparative Education - EDU 270 

Jill Heinrich 

EDU 270 Comparative Education in Belize is an off-campus course that allows students to teach in local schools in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye in Belize. Interdisciplinary in nature, the course includes sociological, anthropological and historical study of the Belizean people, their school system and their culture. Students will gain familiarity with Hispanic, Creole, Mayan, Garifuna and Mestizo cultures and complete qualitative and ethnographic research born of their off-campus experience. Fieldtrips include a visit to the Lamanai Mayan ruins and a daysail & snorkeling trip to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve which has the second largest barrier reef in the world.

 Course is open to education majors and non-education majors. 

Course Cost:: $3300; Funding for up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $330 due April 17

Gender and Development in India—POL 246 

Professor Thomas 

This is a comparative politics course on gender and development issues among rural and urban Indian women. The course is also cross listed with GSS. Broadly speaking, course goals include analyzing various issues that affect women such as social, cultural, health, economic, and political issues. As such, it is fairly interdisciplinary and appeals to students from a variety of disciplines. We will spend the block in India, in both urban and rural settings. The course involves a moderate amount of walking.

Course cost (includes transportation, lodging, and meals): $4,200

Chicago 

Financial Management Seminar - ECB 352

Huan Cai

This course examines options and futures markets, serving as an introduction to the dynamic world of derivatives. Topics of the course include options pricing models (e.g., the binomial model), trading strategies (e.g., covered calls, protective puts, and spreads), forwards Vs. futures, and risk management.

Course Cost: $550; Funding for up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $55 due April 17.

Costume Design - THE 305 

Jenny Kelchen

Exploration of the role of the costume designer in the design and production process. Building upon skills learned in THE 108 and through script and character analysis, students begin to develop the visual design of clothing for a play using line, color, silhouette, texture, etc. Project work focuses on developing research and rendering skills, as well as budgeting and allocation of costume technology assets. Prerequisites: THE 108 and sophomore standing. Alternate years (alternates with THE 267). (Fine Arts) Four days will be spent in Chicago. 

Course Cost: $750; Up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $75 due April 17.

Gods and Emperors - CLA 274/REL 268

Chris Hoklotubbe and John Gruber Miller

Gods, Emperors, and Philosophers invites students to trek across Greece and Western Turkey as explore and contemplate both the material and textual remains that inform our knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world from the Trojan War and the to the Ottoman empire. This course will visit archaeological sites and modern cities which hold considerable significance for our understanding of ancient Mediterranean religions, imperial politics, ancient and medieval societies, and philosophy, including Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Pergamon, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, and Delphi. This course will give special attention to how both material remains, inscriptions, and ancient texts illuminate our understanding of how ancient and early modern Mediterranean peoples imagined, constructed, and communicated both divine and imperial power. Students will explore how different ethnic and religious communities have responded to discord or imperial rule; discover how (and why) rulers take on divine qualities; contemplate how different communities define justice; reflect on how people have responded to the fear of death. Readings will include selections from Plato’s dialogues, Paul’s letters, Josephus’ history of Jewish experiences under Rome, and the Qur’an. Students will explore ancient cities, palaces, markets, theaters, sanctuaries, basilicas, synagogues, mosques, and museums. Throughout both Greece and Turkey, students will be led by their professors and tour guides across archaeological sites and cities and even be given the opportunity to give a mini-tour themselves on site.

Course Cost: $4500; up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $450 due April 17.

Investigating Germany’s Pasts and Present - GER 270

Tyler Carrington

This course will explore the cultural, linguistic, social, political, and environmental foundations of Germany and Austria. Students will engage hands-on with cities, buildings, artifacts, and archival materials, and will dive headlong into the visual, culinary, and sensory treats by spending one week each in Vienna, Munich, and Berlin. Course instruction is in English and is open to all students, regardless of language ability. See course website blogs.cornellcollege.edu/ger265 for more details. 

Course Cost: $4500; up to 35% of the fee available through Ingenuity in Action. Nonrefundable deposit of $450 due April 17.