Future Courses

Spring 2026

BIOL 349 – Island Biology

Lead Faculty: Professor Tami Panhuis
Second Instructor: Professor Dustin Reichard
Travel Destination: Ecuador and Galapagos Islands
Prerequisites: One unit of any BIOL course (or BOMI/ZOOL) and permission of instructor
Travel Timing: May 20 - June 1, 2026
Anticipated Student Cost: $4,850

Course Summary: Island Biology devotes a semester to the study of the Galapagos Islands and the processes that shape their unique flora and fauna. We will focus on the theory and processes that relate to island biology, emphasizing evolutionary, ecological, and behavioral phenomena. After extensive study in the classroom, the class will travel to the mainland Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands to observe the ecological landscape that has shaped evolutionary theory and biology since Charles Darwin's first observations. During the travel portion of the course, students will have a unique opportunity to put theory-into-practice by immersing themselves into the plants and animals of the Galapagos Islands and surrounding marine life. All students will conduct an independent research project in the field and share their research through a presentation and final report. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and one unit in BIOL (BOMI or ZOOL).

Capabilities Statement: The trip will include long travel days in the air, on a bus, and in a boat. Students should be comfortable with uncomfortable conditions (e.g., high heat, humidity, sun, rough seas, crowds, and occasional pit toilets).  We will spend a short time at relatively high elevation and a good deal of moderate hiking in warm weather with steep slopes. Participants should be capable of boat travel with rough seas and rocky landings between the boat and the shore. Those prone to seasickness should obtain necessary medicine prior to the trip. Space on the boat is limited, and students should be comfortable sharing a small cabin. As the islands are situated on the Equator and offer little cover, students should be prepared for exposure to intense sun and heat. Good swimming skills are needed for snorkeling, as some areas have strong currents. Certain vaccinations may be recommended or required for entry into Ecuador. We will also be traveling for 14 days, so students should be prepared to be away from home for that amount of time.

BIOL 355 – Plant Responses to Global Change

Lead Faculty: Professor Laurie Anderson
Travel Destination: Alaska
Prerequisites: ENVS 112 or BIOL 122 plus one additional biological science course, or permission of the instructor
Travel Timing: May 12-24, 2026
Anticipated Student Cost: $1,300

Course Summary: Plant Responses to Global Change is an upper-level biology course focused on plant physiological ecology. The course is organized around four major global environmental changes: increases in atmospheric CO2, increases in temperature, increases in nitrogen deposition, and changes in precipitation patterns. We will explore how plants and ecosystems interact with these changes and the implications of these interactions for plant growth and survival, global biogeochemical cycles, and the future of the biosphere. We will also discuss the scientific instruments, experimental designs, field sampling, and statistical/modelling approaches used in physiological ecology studies that have a global change context. The boreal/tundra region of Alaska, which has experienced the most dramatic warming of any location on the globe, will be used as a case study to explore these topics more deeply. We will also consider human influences on boreal/tundra areas and think about how environmental policy, resource extraction, and consumption choices of people influence this environment.

The class will travel to Alaska after graduation in May 2026 for 10 to 13 days depending on flight availability. In Alaska, students will explore the natural landscape to review plants and ecosystem characteristics discussed in class, visit research sites, and talk with scientists, national park staff, and conservationists working in one of the most beautiful and wild areas of the United States.

Capabilities Statement: Travel for this course may involve prolonged strenuous hiking on steep and/or uneven terrain (e.g., moss tussock, wetland, talus field, moraine, glacier ice). Participants should be capable of hiking up to 5 miles in difficult terrain with a 20 lb pack. Hiking boots and a high-quality rain jacket are required for the trip.

ENG 300.7 – Slouching Towards Empire: The Literary Politics of Ireland

Lead Faculty: Professor Nancy Comorau
Travel Destinations: Dublin, Belfast, Derry, and Listowel, Ireland
Prerequisites: None
Travel Timing: May 18 - June 1, 2026
Anticipated Student Cost: $2,470

Course Summary: Slouching Towards Empire: The Literary Politics of Ireland is about the ways that Irish writers have wrestled with the island's national, cultural, and social politics throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Through poetry, fiction, drama, and film, we will consider how Irish literature reflects and refracts the culture and politics of Ireland's people, languages, and histories. We will read and discuss ways that Irish writers have wrestled with the island's national, cultural, and social politics on the page, stage, and screen.

In May, Students will travel to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, visiting the capitals Dublin and Belfast, border city Derry/Londonderry, and the Listowel Writers Week festival in County Kerry. We will see sights related to Ireland's literary history and present and consider the ways in which the island's literature and politics intersect. After spending a semester reading 20th- and 21st-Century Irish literature, students will walk in the footsteps of Joyce's Leopold Bloom, follow the paths laid out in Ciaran Carson's Belfast, see the cramped Catholic section of Derry, and hear Irish writers read from their latest works.

Capabilities Statement: Students should be able to walk moderate distances over varied terrain including with their luggage through city streets and on long walking tours. However, we may be able to accommodate disabled students on this trip; please contact the instructor with questions or concerns.

HIST 116 – Introduction to Pacific Asia

Lead Faculty: Professor Xiaoming Chen
Second Instructor: Ms. Lisa Ho
Travel Destinations: Japan and Taiwan
Prerequisites: None
Travel Timing: May 10-22, 2026
Anticipated Student Cost: $2,500

Course Summary: The parent course of HIST 116 fulfills the core competency of "Examine Power & Inequities." It covers the history of modern Japan, Taiwan, (South) Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The optional travel-learning component of the class (.25 credit) will take place at the end of the spring semester right after graduation.

Students in the travel-learning section of the class will spend six days in Japan and five days in Taiwan. Through visitation of various historical sites and participating in traditional cultural activities, they will visualize history and gain further knowledge on the complexities of power and inequities that the Japanese and Taiwan people experienced in the past centuries.

In Japan, the students will visit places such as Tokyo Imperial Palace, the SCAP building, Shibuya, Roppongi Hills Observatory, Mount Fuji, Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto, and Himeji feudal castle in Kyoto. They will also participate in a "Kimono tea ceremony and samurai sword training experience combo" in Tokyo.

The places that the students will visit in Taiwan include: Fort San Dominga (Town of Red Hair People,) the Palace Museum in Taipei, the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei, and the Museum of Nine Tribes of Taiwan Aborigines at Sun Moon Lake. The students will participate in the Baishatun Marching Worship of Matsu in Taichung, and will have dinners at Taipei's famous Shihlin Night Food Market and the Ximending Night Market. (Google it: You can visualize these food markets online!) (It is more than food, actually. While tasting the many varieties of delicious food, the students will learn from Dr. Chen about the history and culture behind the food—especially the connection between Chinese culture and the culture of Taiwan.)

The travel-learning component of the course is open to students who enroll in History 116 in spring 2026, and those who completed this course in 2025, 2024, and 2023.

Capabilities Statement: Some walking is expected on Mount Fuji, during the Baishatun Marching Worship of Matsu, and in the cities of Japan and Taiwan.

NUTR 300.12 – GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEMS

Lead Faculty: Professors Liz Nix and Christopher Fink
Travel Destination: Cuba
Prerequisites: None
Travel Timing: March 7-15, 2026 (Spring Break)
Anticipated Student Cost: $2,000

REL 300.4 – MODERN ISLAM

Lead Faculty: Professor Susan Gunasti
Travel Destinations: Paris and Marseille, France
Prerequisites: None
Travel Timing: May 11-22, 2026
Anticipated Student Cost: $2,020

Course Summary: This course will explore the broad topic of modern Islam, from the eighteenth century onwards. It takes a chronological and geographic approach to the study of modern Islam, beginning with a focus on the Middle East and, to a lesser extent, South Asia. Then, the class will study Muslim communities living in the West. A notable characteristic of Muslims living in the West is that they are numerical minorities living in non-Muslim states, which has profound consequences both for how Islam is practiced in the West and how Muslims relate to the state and its policies with respect to religion and secularism. The literature on Muslims in France is particularly well-developed, and the course will focus on Muslims in France for the latter half of the course.

Capabilities Statement: We will be traveling in an urban environment, using multiple forms of transportation on any given day that will include taking the metro, which can be crowded. We will walk approximately 3-6 miles a day on varied terrain and be on our feet for long periods of time. Students must be prepared to carry their luggage during travel on the streets and for extended periods of time. Please note that air conditioning will not always be available. Knowledge of French is not necessary for this trip. I am happy to work with students who will find these circumstances challenging; please contact me with questions or concerns.