Bear Solitaire w Dr. Leon Chartrand

GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD (Lead)

ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to protect rhinos, elephants, cheetah and other animals from our giving away their locations to poachers and tourists, specific details will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here.

At Woltemade Farms (4 nights): nightly soccer matches, sun-downers, campfire meals, wildlife trekking, medicinal plants walk, game drives, sustainable farming methods, semi-precious stone mine, swimming, Sunset wildlife watch at the water hole.

Guest Lodge near Tsumeb (1 night), wildife safari, Sundowner.

Guest Camp near Outjo (1 night), wildlife safari, Sundowner

Etosha National Park (1 full day): all-day wildlife safari to see elephants, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, oryx, kudu, impala, springbok, wildebeest, hyena, jackal.

Camp near Damaraland (2 nights): elephant trekking, Damara Living Museum, SunDowner

Erongo Region Bushcamp (2 nights): San Bushman Rock Art and animal trekking, Sundowner, San Bushmen Living Museum.

Undisclosed Wildlife Sanctuary and Orphanage (3 nights): lion-feedings, safaris to see hippo, elephant, giraffe, hosts of antelope, lion pride, SunDowners, visits to the Rhino Orphanage and to the local school.

FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; TBD

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits

TBD, 3 Credits, CORE PHIL 200, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

THEO 332 (Chartrand), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $4,275 includes roundtrip international airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, vehicle safaris, elephant/wildlife trekking, ATV rentals, boat safaris, San Bushmen and Damara Living Museums/Village visits, Rock Art tours, Lion-feeding, Rhino Orphanage, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $3,342 ($557/Credit Hour x 6 Total Credits, separate from Program Fee)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 13 Students

GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD, Frank Ebersole

ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to minimize overuse impacts upon a sensitive arctic landscape, specific locations of our hikes and basecamp will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here. Students will be expected to avoid tagging specific locations of activities upon their return to cellphone service and thereafter.

We arrive in Fairbanks, Alaska for an overnight. After “gearing up” and “fooding up”, we meet Wright Air Service the next day and take an air charter service flight to Arctic Village, where we will spend the night.

From Arctic Village, we will fly using Helios Bush Plane Services into Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at a location along the North Slope of the Brooks Range somewhere 250 miles above the Arctic Circle.

Helios will drop us off at a spot where we will set up a basecamp, our home for the next seven days. From basecamp we will explore the vast arctic tundra in all directions via hiking with access by satellite phones only. We will fly fish for grayling and salmon and gather edible berries (learning to identify the different kinds). We will develop skills in communal survival techniques and live as a small community in one of the most remote places on Earth. We will have plenty of food and plenty of crystal clear glacial water to drink. There will be coffee, too! We can expect to see grizzly bears, caribou, wolves, stoats, Dahl’s sheep, porcupine, Eagles, and migrating birds on this expedition. We will learn about the impacts of climate change and energy usage on caribou migrations in this region as well.

On the seventh day, weather permitting, Helios will come to pick us up and return us to Arctic Village. From Arctic Village, we will return via Wright Air Service to Fairbanks for our last two nights, feeling a sense of great accomplishment.

FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; Charlie Barrett, PhD

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits

PHIL 200 (Barrett), 3 Credits, CORE PHIL 200 Perspectives, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

THEO 388 (Chartrand), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200 Perspectives, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $3,290 includes roundtrip airfare to Fairbanks, Wright Air Charter Service to Arctic Village, Helios Bush Plane transport into Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Permits to access ANWR, all lodging (in Fairbanks), group gear (including tents, sleeping pads, cooking gear, tarps, fishing equipment, ground transportation, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 12 Students

GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD (Lead)

ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and show respect for Greenlandic and Icelandic peoples and, of course, to minimize overuse impacts upon a sensitive arctic landscape, specific locations of hikes and activities will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here. Students will be expected to avoid tagging specific locations of activities.

Arrive in Reykjavik, Iceland for our first night and fly from Reykjavik to Ilulissat, Greenland (2 nights). Briefly explore Reykjavik and Ilulissat.

The Eqi Glacier: We depart on an Icebreaker ship from Ilulissat, sailing up the Davis Straight and through Disko Bay, around massive icebergs, on the way to Eqi Glacier (the most active glacier in the world!) Here, we will stay in yurts at Eqi Basecamp for three nights, listening to the frequent thundering of massive ice calving from the glacier into the bay. While at Eqi, we will hike onto the glacial moraine and learn about the history of this glacier’s advance and retreat within the context of why this is a significant event in climate change science and in the future impacts of Greenland upon the world.

The Greenland Iceshelf, the Polar Icecap. Here, 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle with 24 hours of Summer Sun, we take the hike up 2000 feet to walk upon the Greenland Iceshelf, the place famous now for concerns regarding climate change. We will walk in the footsteps of famous Danish and French explorers to this area.

Return to Ilulissat, Greenland. Our return from Eqi via Disko Bay and the Davis Strait affords us three nights stay in the Village of Ilulissat at a time when the National Greenlandic Inuit Games are being held. Here, we will visit the Greenlandic Arctic Museum and the Famous Knud Rasmussen Museum of the Arctic. We will also undoubtedly meet Greenlandic Inuit peoples with expectations to learn their perspectives on climate as well as meet the famous Greenlandic dogs, famous for their rugged endurance during -50F conditions. We will also kayak in the Greenlandic Sea.

We return to Reykjavik, Iceland for five days to stay in various lodges as we visit Vatnajokull, Snaefellsjokull and Jokulsarglijufur National Parks, all three of which are famous for their geology phenomena and incredible vistas. And all through this experience, we will focus on the perception of these magnificent places and peoples of Iceland and Greenland within the context of climate change due to causes in faraway places and how Icelanders and Greenlanders are adapting to such changes

FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; Karim Tiro. PhD

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits

HIST 200 (TIRO), 3 Credits, CORE HIST 200 Perspectives, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

THEO 332 (Chartrand), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200 Perspectives, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $4,900 includes roundtrip international airfare, all lodging, Eqi basecamp stay, iceshelf guides from World of Greenland, Greenland Travel, ground transportation, roundtrip icebreaker ferry from Ilulisatt to Eqi, Glacier-calving experience, visits to Iceland National Parks, Greenlandic Museum and Inuit visits, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 12 Students

GUIDES: Joe Hetzer

ACTIVITIES: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience, to minimize impacts to habitat and wildlife—to “keep Yellowstone wild”—specific locations of hikes and activities will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here. Students and participants will be expected to avoid tagging locations of activities on social media as well.

With Jackson Hole as our home base for the first three nights, this includes: a late-night campfire in a remote, magnificently picturesque location. It also includes self-exploration hikes and group hikes above tree-line to a summit. Upon that summit, students will have a view of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that belies words.

Throughout this expedition, students will be on wildlife drives everyday where encounters and sightings of grizzly and black bear, moose, elk, big horn sheep, bison, mule deer are less-than-a moment’s notice of possibility.

Two days in Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, to see geysers, mud volcanoes, majestic lakes, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the famous wildlife havens of Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley.

Three days in Cody, Wyoming to experience the World Famous Cody Nightly Rodeo and to hike in the wildest country of the contiguous United States, including the Northwest corner of Yellowstone NP, Beartooth Pass, and the North Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness.

Spanning Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, this is an intimate experience of wildness that transcends the tourist experience. It is here that students can see the night sky like never before while warming themselves by campfire and sharing in stories.

The expedition concludes with a return to Jackson Hole for three nights to include an additional late-night campfire and opportunities to ride trails on horseback or swim in glacial lakes. The expedition concludes with a whitewater rafting experience down the Snake River Canyon.

FACULTY: Marcus Mescher; Esmerala Nastase, PhD, Rita Rozzi

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits (9 Credits Possible, Students must choose 2 of 3 courses, but can enroll in all 3 courses).

THEO 388 (Mescher), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200 Perspectives, ERS, Enviro Sci/Studies, Humanities Elective, Peace Studies, Free Elective

MATH 125 (Nastase), 3 Credits, CORE Math Perspectives, Free Elective, a unique way to receive credit in math principles in understanding geology, wolf pack behavior, and a host of other options.

ENGL 205 (Rozzi), 3 Credits, CORE ENGL 205, ERS, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $2,590 includes roundtrip airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, wildlife drives, campfire experiences, Yellowstone and Grand Teton Park permits, whitewater rafting, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 14 Students

GUIDES: Joe Hetzer

ACTIVITIES: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience, to minimize impacts to habitat and wildlife—to “keep Yellowstone wild”—specific locations of hikes and activities will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here. Students and participants will be expected to avoid tagging locations of activities on social media as well.

With Jackson Hole as our home base for the first three nights, this includes: a late-night campfire in a remote, magnificently picturesque location. It also includes self-exploration hikes and group hikes above tree-line to a summit. Upon that summit, students will have a view of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that belies words.

Throughout this expedition, students will be on wildlife drives everyday where encounters and sightings of grizzly and black bear, moose, elk, big horn sheep, bison, mule deer are less-than-a moment’s notice of possibility.

Two days in Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park, to see geysers, mud volcanoes, majestic lakes, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the famous wildlife havens of Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley.

Three days in Cody, Wyoming to experience the World Famous Cody Nightly Rodeo and to hike in the wildest country of the contiguous United States, including the Northwest corner of Yellowstone NP, Beartooth Pass, and the North Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness.

Spanning Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, this is an intimate experience of wildness that transcends the tourist experience. It is here that students can see the night sky like never before while warming themselves by campfire and sharing in stories.

The expedition concludes with a return to Jackson Hole for three nights to include an additional late-night campfire and opportunities to ride trails on horseback or swim in glacial lakes. The expedition concludes with a whitewater rafting experience down the Snake River Canyon.

FACULTY: Rita Rozzi; Jonathan Gibson

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits

ARTS 1XX (Gibson), 3 Credits, CORE Creative Perspectives, Free Elective (and an opportunity to utilize your creativity to express experiences of wildness and the Yellowstone landscape).

ENGL 205 (Rozzi), 3 Credits, CORE ENGL 205, ERS, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $2,590 includes roundtrip airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, wildlife drives, campfire experiences, Yellowstone and Grand Teton Park permits, whitewater rafting, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 14 Students

GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD (Lead)

ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to protect rhinos, elephants, cheetah and other animals from our giving away their locations to poachers and tourists, specific details will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here.

At Woltemade Farms (4 nights): nightly soccer matches, sun-downers, campfire meals, wildlife trekking, medicinal plants walk, game drives, sustainable farming methods, semi-precious stone mine, swimming, Sunset wildlife watch at the water hole.

Guest Lodge near Grootfontein (1 night), guided Cave Excursion, Sundowner.

Guest Camp on Kavango River (1 night), Mbuzu Village Visit, Sundowner

Undisclosed River Lodge along the Kavango River (3 nights): Two full days in Bwabwata and Mahangu National Parks for all-day wildlife safaris to see elephants, cape buffalo, zebra, giraffe, oryx, kudu, impala, springbok, wildebeest, jackal, lions. Sunset boat tour on Kavango River to fish for tiger fish and to see hippo, crocodiles and migrating birds. Okavangu Village Walk to learn how to cook a traditional meal.

Camp near Erongo (1 night): Sundowner and bushbaby and dik-dik trekking.

Undisclosed Wildlife Sanctuary and Orphanage (3 nights): lion-feedings, safaris to see hippo, elephant, giraffe, hosts of antelope, lion pride, SunDowners, visits to the Rhino Orphanage and to the local school.

FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; Steve Yandell, PhD; David Gerberry, PhD.

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits, with option to choose among two of three courses offered.

MATH 125 (Gerberry), 3 Credits, (CORE Math Perspectives, Free Elective). This is a course on the principles of modeling wildlife populations and wildlife habitat.

ENGL 205 (Yandell), 3 Credits, CORE PHIL 200, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

THEO 332 (Chartrand), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $4,390 includes roundtrip international airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, vehicle safaris, elephant/wildlife trekking, boat safaris, tiger fish excursions, Mbuzu and Kavango Village visits, National Parks visits, Rock Art tours, Lion-feeding, Rhino Orphanage, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee, 9 Credits are also possible)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 13 Students

PROPOSED GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD (Lead)

PROPOSED ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to minimize over-tourism, specific details will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here with the understanding that our participants shall not use social media to tag or give reference to specific locations.

Fly to Buenos Aires and then from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Patagonia. Stay overnight.

Depart on MS Ushuaia Expeditionary Ship across the Drake Passage towards the South Shetland Islands. Moving from Island to Island along the Antarctica Archipelago towards the main continent and the famous Thwaites Glacier (the largest glacier in the world).

Stopping twice daily on various islands and the mainland, this expedition will encounter hundreds of thousands of different species of penguins during breading season as well as leopard seals, orcas, various whales and sea birds.

Students will be sharing the ship common space with Antarctica researchers involved in geological, biological, atmospheric and oceanic research and will experience firsthand the nonpolitical reality of climate change.

After 9 days, we return to Ushuaia and then to Buenos Aires back to the USA.

PROPOSED FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; and TBD

PROPOSED COURSES: TBD CORE Courses would be offered during the Spring Semester course load.

ESTIMATED PROGRAM FEE: TBD, but would include roundtrip international airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, MS Ushuaia ship excursion fees, onboard science presentation fees, meals, snacks, beverages.

ESTIMATED TUITION: TBD, Separate from above proposed Program Fee.

PROPOSED DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit would secure student’s spot. Deposit would be deducted from Program Fee.

PROPOSED LIMIT: Maximum 12 Students

ESTIMATED VALUE: For questions on payment plans, contact Xavier University’s Office of the Bursar. For questions on grants and scholarships, contact Xavier University’s Office of Financial Aid.

PROPOSED GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD (Lead)

PROPOSED ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to protect mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, golden monkeys, blue monkeys, colobus monkeys, elephants, lions and rhinos, and out of respect for the local peoples who benefit economically by the continued survival of these species, we will not be giving away specific locations of our activities. This is not just to minimize over-tourism, but also so as to not alert would-be poachers. Therefore, specific details will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here with the understanding that our participants shall not use social media to tag or give reference to specific locations.

A visit to Kigali, Rwanda’s National Genocide Museum and Memorial.

Two treks into the impenetrable forest to sit with mountain gorilla families.

Treks into the forest to encounter chimpanzees, golden and blue monkeys and colobus monkeys.

A visit to the Mubuku Community Project in Uganda near Merchison Falls to learn about a project focused on sustainable agriculture, clean drinking water, community health and education.

A visit to the internationally recognized and awarded Gorilla Guardians Village in Rwanda to see how a community has committed to the protection and conservation of mountain gorillas through cultural preservation, education and security.

Several wildlife game drive safaris to see lion prides, elephants, hippos, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, impala, springbok, kudu and a host of other antelope.

Visits to Community Markets in Kigali and Musanze to learn how to shop as locals shop.

Undisclosed Wildlife Sanctuary and Gorilla Orphanage

PROPOSED FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; David Reid, PhD

PROPOSED COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits.

ENGL 205 (Reid), 3 Credits, CORE PHIL 200, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

THEO 332 (Chartrand), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

ESTIMATED PROGRAM FEE: $4,650 includes roundtrip international airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, vehicle safaris, elephant/wildlife trekking, boat safaris, tiger fish excursions, Mbuzu and Kavango Village visits, National Parks visits, Rock Art tours, Lion-feeding, Rhino Orphanage, meals, snacks, beverages.

ESTIMATED TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee, 9 Credits are also possible)

PROPOSED DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

PROPOSED LIMIT: Maximum 12 Students

ESTIMATED VALUE: Attempting this program on one’s own would cost ~$14,100/person. For THIS expedition, a student’s total cost is $4,650 (Program Fee) + $3,210 (6 Credits Tuition) = $7,860 total. For questions on payment plans, contact Xavier University’s Office of the Bursar. For questions on grants and scholarships, contact Xavier University’s Office of Financial Aid.

GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD, Frank Ebersole

MILITARY-AFFILIATED: Open to Student Veterans of military service, Active Duty personnel, Reserve/National Guard personnel, Dependents of Veterans, ROTC cadets.

ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to minimize overuse impacts upon a sensitive arctic landscape, specific locations of our hikes and basecamp will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here. Students will be expected to avoid tagging specific locations of activities upon their return to cellphone service and thereafter.

We arrive in Fairbanks, Alaska for an overnight. After “gearing up” and “fooding up”, we meet Wright Air Service the next day and take an air charter service flight to Bettles Airfield where we will spend the night.

From Bettles, we will fly using Brooks Range Aviation into Gates of the Arctic, the least visited of all national parks because of its location and that access is by floatplane only. Here, Brooks Range Aviation will drop us off at a lake along the North Slope of the Brooks Range somewhere 250 miles above the Arctic Circle.

Once Brooks Range Aviation drops us off by floatplane, we we will set up a basecamp, our home for the next seven days. From basecamp we will explore the vast arctic tundra in all directions via hiking with access by satellite phones only. We will fly fish for grayling and salmon and gather edible berries (learning to identify the different kinds). We will develop skills in communal survival techniques and live as a small community in one of the most remote places on Earth. We will have plenty of food and plenty of crystal clear glacial water to drink. There will be coffee, too! We can expect to see grizzly bears, caribou, wolves, wolverines, arctic fox, stoats, Dahl’s sheep, porcupine, Eagles, and migrating birds on this expedition. We will learn about the impacts of climate change and energy usage on caribou migrations in this region as well.

On the seventh day, weather permitting, Brooks Range Aviation will come to pick us up and return us to Bettles Airfield. From Bettles, we will return via Wright Air Service to Fairbanks for our last two nights, feeling a sense of great accomplishment.

FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; Rita Rozzi

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits

ENGL 205 (Rozzi), 3 Credits, CORE ENGL 205, ERS, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

THEO 388 (Chartrand), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200 Perspectives, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $3,290 includes roundtrip airfare to Fairbanks, Wright Air Charter Service to Bettles Airfield, Brooks Range Aviation transport into Gates of the Arctic National Preserve, Permits to access GOTA, all lodging (in Fairbanks), group gear (including tents, sleeping pads, cooking gear, tarps, fishing equipment, ground transportation, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 12 Students

GUIDES: Leon Chartrand, PhD (Lead); Frank Ebersole (Assist)

ACTIVITIES: NOTE: In order to preserve the uniqueness of this experience and to protect rhinos, elephants, cheetah and other animals from our giving away their locations to poachers and tourists, specific details will only be given to the finalized roster and will not be listed here.

At Woltemade Farms (4 nights): nightly soccer matches, sun-downers, campfire meals, wildlife trekking, medicinal plants walk, game drives, sustainable farming methods, semi-precious stone mine, swimming, Sunset wildlife watch at the water hole.

Guest Lodge near Tsumeb (1 night), wildife safari, Sundowner.

Guest Camp near Outjo (1 night), wildlife safari, Sundowner

Etosha National Park (1 full day): all-day wildlife safari to see elephants, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, oryx, kudu, impala, springbok, wildebeest, hyena, jackal.

Camp near Damaraland (2 nights): elephant trekking, Damara Living Museum, SunDowner

Erongo Region Bushcamp (2 nights): San Bushman Rock Art and animal trekking, Sundowner, San Bushmen Living Museum.

Undisclosed Wildlife Sanctuary and Orphanage (3 nights): lion-feedings, safaris to see hippo, elephant, giraffe, hosts of antelope, lion pride, SunDowners, visits to the Rhino Orphanage and to the local school.

FACULTY: Leon Chartrand, PhD; Kelly Swope, PhD

COURSES: 6 Total CORE Credits

PHIL 200 (Swope), 3 Credits, CORE PHIL 200, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

THEO 332 (Chartrand), 3 Credits, CORE THEO 200, ERS, Env Sci/Studies, Peace Studies, Humanities Elective, Free Elective

PROGRAM FEE: $4,390 includes roundtrip international airfare, all lodging, ground transportation, vehicle safaris, elephant/wildlife trekking, ATV rentals, boat safaris, San Bushmen and Damara Living Museums/Village visits, Rock Art tours, Lion-feeding, Rhino Orphanage, meals, snacks, beverages.

TUITION: $535/Credit Hour, 6 Total Credits (separate from Program Fee)

DEPOSIT: $400 Nonrefundable deposit secures student’s spot. Deposit deducted from Program Fee.

LIMIT: Maximum 14 Students

Overview: To learn about Navajo peoples, it is essential to have Navajo people as our teachers. This is true in education, and it is true in life. This First-year Seminar (CORE 100) will take students to awe-inspiring places, including a hike into the Grand Canyon, as well as hikes through Antelope Canyon, high desert, ponderosa steps and within some mystical canyons of the Navajo Nation. We visit Pueblo ruins to witness Anasazi life still expressed in ancient dwellings, rituals sites, and petroglyphs. Our Navajo guides will introduce us to the landscape's story by leading us on hikes in Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly to reflect on how the human story is integrated within the life, Earth and Universe stories and, in so doing, emphasize the primary community that brought us into being and, even now, nurtures us in every aspect of human quality of life. This will be followed by a sweat lodge ceremony so we may discover that what we do to the other-than-human, we do to the human; that what happens to the outer world, happens to the inner world. 

Credits: 3 CORE Credit Hours. CORE 100: "House of Dawn: Navajo & Hopi Nations and the Grand Canyon" (counts as First-year Seminar).

Enrollment: Max 13

Security Deposit: To secure your spot, a $600 nonrefundable deposit is due by Jan 10, 2022. This deposit is included as part of the Program Fee. Once submitted, it will be deducted from the total Program Fee amount listed below.

Costs: ~$1,995 All-Inclusive Program Fee. Includes: airfare, lodging, ground transportation, Navajo guide fees, National Park and Navajo Tribal Park access fees, group meals, snacks, beverages, course materials, etc. Tuition costs are absorbed into the full-time tuition for Spring, 2022 Semester. Therefore, participating students must be enrolled as full-time students. This means students must be registered and enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours (which would include the 3 credits for this expedition) for Spring Semester 2022. Also, if registering for the 3 credits for this expedition results in the student's course load exceeding 18 hours, then the student will be required to pay the required fees for excessive credit hours as defined by Xavier University's Registrar). NOTE: Program Fee is approximate and projected forward for 2022 based on 2014-2021 fees. This fee may slightly vary due to Covid-19 impacts. Security Deposit will be deducted from this Program Fee once submitted.

Where do we go? Region C: Grand Canyon National Park, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Painted Desert, Canyon de Chelly and Pueblo Cliff Dwellings, Navajo Nation, Hopi Nation, Chaco Canyon. To learn more about these places, click here. 

What will we do? Backcountry hiking; campfire storytelling and stargazing; desert and canyon explorations, Pueblo site visits; ceremonies; Navajo and Hopi Lifeway lessons, river/creek reflections; 4WD safaris.

What courses are offered?

1.  First-Year Seminar: Navajo Nation and Grand Canyon. Professor: Dr. Leon Chartrand [CORE 100, 3 CORE credits, First-year Seminar] It's all a question of story. It is essential to consider what American Indian wisdom traditions are telling us about our relationship with the other-than-human, the planet and even the Universe. By emphasizing the wisdom from cosmogonic myths like those from the Navajo, Apache and Hopi,  and by drawing upon the knowledge and wisdom of the evolutionary story--the New Story--we aim to help students rediscover the Earth as our primary reality and the Universe as the only self-referent reality. We aim to help students realize that the Universe community, and in particular, Planet Earth, is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects, and that the human is a special mode of conscious self-awareness through which the Universe itself becomes aware of and celebrates itself. And we aim to facilitate this realization by offering Navajo-guided lessons, discussions and reflections in some of the world's most scenic, colorful, majestic places in the Southwest. Throughout this course, we will explore how Navajo stories and rituals have historically provided a visionary guide, a lifeway, for how to live upon the land in a way that is mutually enhancing for the human and the other-than-human. We will, at the same time, explore how, even today, the landscape itself tells the great story, our story, and how this telling reveals the need for re-envisioning a the functional role of the human with regards to the ecological community. And we hope to conclude that it really is a question of having a story that provides a vision for a new era of human-earth relations, a story that welcomes and listens to Navajo voices.

Overview:  This EXPLORATORY Expedition is about offering profound immersion learning experiences that awaken us to the realities of climate change and its impacts upon the Polar Bear as a “spirit guide” for advocacy and agency. It will be undertaken by Dr. Leon Chartrand during Summer, 2023 and will be the furthest north or south polar expedition possible as we will be only a few hundred miles from the north pole. This Polar Bear expedition will be available for students or alumni for Summer, 2024. Once it becomes available to alumni or students, the goal of this expedition will be to: 1) witness first hand and to learn about the impacts of climate change upon the polar bear; 2) learn about the delicate relationship between the polar bear and global climate change; and, 3) come up with a capstone project that turns the experience and knowledge acquired from the polar bear as a “guide” into advocacy and agency.

Credits:  TBA. 

Enrollment: Max 12 | Adventure Level: 3

Security Deposit: TBA

Costs: TBA

Where do we go? Baffin Island

What will we do?  TBA

What courses are offered? TBA at a later date

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Overview: This EXPLORATORY Expedition is about offering profound immersion learning experiences that awaken us to the realities of the other-than-human, species extinction, and the multi-faceted assault on mountain gorilla conservation with the goal of facilitating advocacy and agency. This exploratory venture will be undertaken by Dr. Leon Chartrand June 10-18 in order to prepare for an annual expedition for alumni and students. Virunga is the oldest national park in Africa. It is also the most biologically diverse containing over 50% of all species that exist on the continent. The inaugural Virunga Expedition will be Jun 10-24, 2023. It is NOT too early to apply early as spaces for this expedition will fill up fast.

Credits:  TBA. 

Enrollment: Max 12 | Adventure Level: 3

Security Deposit: TBA

Costs: TBA

Where do we go? ): Kigali, Rwanda; Grande Barrier, Democratic Republic of the Congo (République Démocratique du Congo); Virunga National Park (Parc National des Virunga) to include the following specific locations: Tchegera Island, Lake Kivu, Rumangabo Mountain Gorilla Orphanage, Mikeno Lodge, Bukima Ranger Post for ICCN (Institute Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) Ranger guided Gorilla Treks, Kibati Ranger Post for ICCN Ranger guided Nyiragongo volcano trek.

What will we do?  Students will embark from Cincinnati via Lufthansa/Turkish airlines to arrive in Kigali, Rwanda where we will be taxied as a group from the airport to the Grand Legacy Hotel or to the Gorillas City Centre Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda. Everyone in our group will check into to the hotel and spend the night. From the hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, we will depart as a group via DieudonnéNkongori’s taxi (recommended by Virunga National Park as a trusted source used by ICCN rangers/employees) on a 3.5 hour shuttle to the Grande Barrier Border Post at the entrance to Virunga NP and the DRC, south of Goma. Here, group members will present our passports, tourist visas and stamped immunization cards and meet the ICCN Rangers. From there, we will be shuttled to Tchegera (VNP) for the evening to relax and prepare for the next six days of activities. The following day, we meet early morning with the ICCN Rangers who will shuttle us to the park headquarters to check into the Mikeno Lodge. After check-in, we will be led by rangers to visit the Rumangabo Mountain Gorilla Orphanage as well as to hike nature trails extending out from Rumangabo. Rangers will then return us to Mikeno Lodge for dinner, discussion and journal-writing. On the next two days, we depart from Mikeno Lodge with the ICCN Rangers to Bukima Ranger Post for lectures followed by 3 hour treks up into gorilla habitat to sit among them. All participants will be required to wear surgical masks to prevent the spread of human disease to the gorillas. Each day after the hike we will receive lessons on bird watching and on the park’s bamboo/conservation projects, which are designed to reduce the mountain gorilla’s vulnerability to extinction. After two days of gorilla-treks, we will meet with ICCN rangers at the Mikeno Lodge and venture to the Kibati Ranger Post, and depart for the Nyiragongo volcano for an overnight climbing/camping experience. This is an active volcano and the hike itself will take our group through different habitats specific to different species of flora and fauna. We will return from the volcano the next evening and be transported back to Mikeno Lodge. We will then return back to Tchegera for two final evenings and meet with DieudonnéNkongori’s taxi at Grande Barrier Border Post for a return to the Grand Legacy/Gorillas City Centre Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda to spend the final night before returning from Kigali to Cincinnati.

What courses are offered? TBA at a later date

Once it becomes available to alumni or students, the goal of this expedition will be to: 1) witness first hand and to learn about the multi-faceted assault on the last mountain gorilla population and, therefore, the challenges of protecting them; 2) learn about the powerful role of a charismatic species in identifying the ecological role of the human as a mutually enhancing species; and, 3) come up with a capstone project that turns the experience and knowledge acquired into advocacy and agency.

IT IS NOT TOO EARLY TO APPLY. SPACES FOR THIS EXPEDITION WILL FILL UP AND EARLY APPLICATIONS ARE WELCOMED.

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Overview: This student expedition is about awakening to the realities of climate change and doing something about it. The Inaugural Expedition will be Dec 26, 2022 to Jan 9, 2023. It follows an exploratory voyage that Dr. Leon Chartrand will take up next year. After that exploratory voyage, the Antarctica Expedition is expected to become an annual Winter Break expedition that will offer profound immersion learning experiences. The goal of this immersion experience will be to allow students to: 1) witness first hand and to learn about the impacts of climate change upon the Antarctic landscape and the wildlife; 2) learn about the delicate relationship between Antarctica and global climate change; and, 3) come up with a capstone project that turns the experience and knowledge acquired into advocacy and agency.

Credits:  TBA.  The course offered will satisfy CORE requirements. Courses being considered include Natural Sciences elective, Historical Perspectives, Philosophical Perspectives or Theological Perspectives.

Enrollment: Max 12 | Adventure Level: 3

Security Deposit and Program Costs: TBA. The Exploratory expedition will help reduce and clarify the costs and necessary deposit.

Where will we go?  Ushuaia, Argentina; Drake Passage; Antarctica, including the following specific locations: Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, King George Island, Livingston Island, Gerlache Strait, Neumayer Channel, Lemaire Channel, Paradise Bay, Melchior Island, Cuverville Island, Portal Point, Neko Harbour, Pleneau Island.

What will we do?  We will embark upon the expeditionary ship, MV USHUAIA, from Patagonia across the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands, crossing the Antarctic Circle, and then continue through the Antarctic Archipelago and Peninsula to eventually reach the main continent of Antarctica. Along the voyage, disembarking twice a day at various locations, the expedition will visit King George, Livingston, and Pleneau islands, as well as sail through the narrow passages of Gerlache Strait, Neumayer and Lemaire channels, and Paradise Bay. There will be learning activities aboard the ship and place-specific learning activities at the off-ship, ashore locations. These activities will address the Antarctic climate, biology, glaciology, and the impacts of polar ice on climatology and oceanography. Throughout this expedition, students and alumni will witness massive glaciers calving. And because it is the height of breeding season, students will walk among massive rookeries (100,000 pairs or more) of various species of penguin, including Emperor, Adelie, Gentoo. They will visit colonies of elephant, fur, Weddell, crab-eater and leopard seals. They will observe Minke, killer (orca) and humpback whales at close range. And they will see various seabirds, including blue-eyed cormorants and albatross. The Antarctic summer affords nearly 24 hours of sun, so opportunities for experiences are abound, and the Drake Passage will afford students the opportunity to understand how the biological convergence of this passage allows for life to exist here and yet how fragile life is to climate change.

IT IS NOT TOO EARLY TO SIGN UP FOR THIS EXPEDITION. The expectation interest will be high and available spaces will fill up quickly. But keep in mind that the goal of this expedition will be to: 1) witness first hand and to learn about the impacts of climate change upon the Antarctic landscape and the wildlife; 2) learn about the delicate relationship between Antarctica and global climate change; and, 3) come up with a capstone project that turns the experience and knowledge acquired from the expedition into advocacy and agency.

What courses are offered? TBA at a later date.

IF YOU ARE AN INTERESTED ALUMNUS OR STUDENT, IT IS NOT TOO EARLY TO EXPRESS INTEREST IN RESERVING A SPOT ON THIS EXPEDITION. YOU CAN DO SO BY APPLYING EARLY.

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Overview: This expedition is about awakening to the realities of climate change and how to survive in wilderness as a community. With Dr. Leon Chartrand as our wilderness guide and professional tracker, this expedition takes us to Gates of the Arctic National preserve, 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle. This is the wildest of the wild. We explore the landscape's expression through flora and fauna firsthand by air shuttle into a remote area of Alaska for a complete immersion experience. Our goal is to humble ourselves; to witness ten thousand year old indigenous ruins, to reflect on human survival, and to discover human impacts upon even the most remote areas of the world and, in so doing, emphasize the primary community that brought us into being and, even now, nurtures us in every aspect of human quality of life. We discover that what we do to the other-than-human--in this case, migrating birds, caribou, arctic fox, wolves, polar and brown bears--we do to the human; what happens to the outer world, happens to the inner world. This twelve day expedition takes us to one of the most remote places on Earth. We explore wildness firsthand by spending days discovering and reflecting upon how Earth influences our intellectual perceptions, moral imagination, and our sense of the divine. On this trip, students can take advantage of six credits. We drink from ice cold streams and watch birds preparing for their long trek south. We watch wolves and fox forage without ever leaving our base-camp. And each day will involve a hike from basecamp into some new place to discover. A 3 credit graduate-level option is also available.

Credits: 6 CORE Credits. THEO 388: "Wilderness and Religious Imagination” (counts as THEO 200, Theo Perspectives, ER/S, Enviro Science, Peace Studies, Gen Humanities or Free electives) and PHIL 200: "Wilderness and Environmental Philosophy" (counts as PHIL 200 Phil Perspectives, EST or Free elective). 

Enrollment: Max 14 | Adventure Level: 3

Security Deposit: To secure spot, a $1000 nonrefundable deposit is due on a first-submitted, first-secured spot basis. As such, the earlier deposit is submitted the better, as spaces are limited. Also, note deposit is included within Program Fee. Once deposit is applied, $1000 will be deducted from total Program Fee amount. 

Costs: ~$5,728 Program Fee is all inclusive. It includes 6 credit hours of tuition, which is approximately ~$2,778 ($463/hr x 6 hrs) + $2,950 all inclusive travel, which includes commercial airfare, bushpilot floatplane shuttle, lodging, ground transportation, group gear, wilderness access fees, meals, beverages, etc.. Note: 2020 costs are approximate. Estimates based on 2016-2020 increases/year and are subject to slight variation due to Covid-19. Security deposit will be deducted from total Program Fee amount once deposit is submitted.  

Where do we go? Region D: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Bettles, and Fairbanks. To learn more about these places, click here. 

What will we do? Air shuttle into remote area for 7 days at base-camp, backcountry hiking; bear/caribou tracking and observing; fly-fishing; campfire storytelling; daily wilderness explorations from basecamp. To learn more, click here.

What courses are offered?

1. Wilderness and Religious Imagination. Professor: Dr. Leon Chartrand [THEO 388/575: 3 credits undergrad, THEO 200 Core credit, E/RS, Enviro Science, Peace Studies, or general humanities/free elective) / 3 credits grad] Discover the Earth community as primarily a wilderness community that will not be bargained with or made into an object of any kind. Awaken to our sacred Earth by entering into the revelatory power of wilderness. Let your imagination "run wild" on the shores of a quiet alpine lake or on a bear-tracked trail within a seemingly endless pine forest. This course includes lessons, discussions and reflections in some of the world's most wild places. Throughout this course, we will explore how the Paleolithic world of mystery and power brought religious ideas to life in the human mind. We will, at the same time, explore how, even today, the landscape invokes religious imagination and how that imagination plays a fundamental role in how we may address the ecologial crisis. We will also discern how religion imagination has fostered and continues to foster an intimate, viable relation between the human and more-than-human world. We will ask the following: how can religious imagination contribute to a new era of conservation? How does religious thinking (limit thinking) inspire humans to recognize the intimate connection between preserving mystique and safeguarding the earth community? This course can be taken for graduate level credit.

2. Wilderness and Environmental Philosophy. Professor: Dr. Adam Konopka [PHIL 200: 3 credits undergrad, PHIL 200 CORE credit, general humanities/free elective] The Wilderness theme and the science of Ecology are vital to Environmental Philosophy. According to Frederick Jackson Turner, "What the Mediterranean Sea was to the Greeks, breaking the bonds of custom, offering new experiences, calling out new institutions and activities, the ever retreating Great West has been to the United States directly." For "Classical American Philosophy," land, freedom, and democracy are intertwined. So long as there is land, the conditions exist for possibility and novelty. Students will be introduced to major figures and themes in Environmental Philosophy (i.e, New England Transcendentalism, Biocentrism, Ecocentrism, Social Ecology, Eco-feminism, Pragmatic Pluralism, Cosmogenesis, etc) within the context of wilderness experiences, particularly in the Arctic context. The importance of wilderness in the shaping of ideas and the need for its preservation will be emphasized throughout."

How do I prepare? | What do I bring?

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Overview: In partnership with Xavier's Study Abroad, this expedition takes us to the Erongo Region, to famous Etosha National Park, to Mount Etjo Rhino Sanctuary and to the edge of Namibia's Kalahari. With Dr. Leon Chartrand as our primary guide and instructor, we live on a 46,000 acre safari ranch for eight of our 16 days, hosted by the Ritter Family and Ritter Safaris. In addition, we visit an exclusive, guarded rhino orphanage at Mt Etjo Rhino Sanctuary, and we observe +2,000 year old human footprints and remains via ATV safaris in the Namib Desert. We hike to the top of a massive sand dune and reflect upon the resiliency of life and how it makes a living here. We walk with Saan bushmen on a foot safari to learn about medicinal plants, animal-tracking, and building fires. We sit quietly in remote tree-stands at sundown and observe animals moving out of the bush towards watering-holes. We learn from indigenous Namibians by working alongside them in gardens and with cattle. We also take vehicle safaris to see giraffes, zebra, elephants, lions, rhinos, impala, sprinkbok, oryx, kudu, waterbuck and hippos.

Credits: 6 CORE Credits. THEO 332: "Sacred Ground and the New Cosmology" (counts as THEO 200-Theo Perspectives OR Gen Humanities Elective, ER/S, Enviro Science, Peace Studies, Gen Humanities or Free electives) and PHIL 200: "Environmental Philosophy" (counts as PHIL 200 Philosophical Perspectives and as Gen Humanities/Free elective, with approval]). 

Enrollment: Max 14 | Adventure Level: 2

Security Deposit: To secure spot, an $1000 nonrefundable deposit is due on a first-submitted, first-secured spot basis. As such, the earlier deposit is submitted the better, as spaces are limited and will fill up fast! Don’t be left out! Also, note deposit is included within Program Fee. Once deposit is applied, $1000 will be deducted from Program Fee listed below. 

Costs: $6,868 Total Program Fee is all inclusive (includes all travel costs and tuition). It includes 6 credit hours of tuition, which is approximately ~$2,778 ($463/hr x 6 hrs) + $4,090 all inclusive travel, which includes commercial airfare, lodging, ground transportation, safaris, lion-feeding, Khoisan/San guide fees, rhino orphanage, wildlife preserve fees, meals, beverages, travel insur., etc. Note: 2020 costs are approximate. Estimates based on 2019 prices with expected travel/tuition increases and are subject to +/- 2% change. Security deposit will be deducted from total Program Fee amount once deposit is submitted.  

Where do we go? Southwest Africa: Namibia: Windhoek, Woltemade Ranch, Erongo Region, San Village, Etosha National Park, Mt Etjo Safari Preserve and Mt Etjo Rhino Sanctuary, Namib Dessert, Swakopmund, Sossusvlei. To learn more about these places, click here. 

What will we do? Tour Katatura Township, hike sand dunes, ATV tour of Namib Desert near Walvis Bay to include human remains and footprints, explore Etosha National Park, Bushmen led animal tracking and plant identification in acacia/camel thorn bush, tree-stand wildlife viewings at sundown, safaris to see elephants, zebras, giraffes, oryx, kudu , eland and springbok, tour an old mine, eat game meat most nights and learn the ethics of subsistence hunting, play soccer with local villagers, observe lions feeding, visit an exclusive, guarded rhino orphanage, work with locals in a garden and with cattle, visit the San bushmen cultural center. May 26, Dinner, return vans, depart from Windhoek to Cincinnati. May 27—Arrive in Cincinnati.

What courses are offered?

1. Sacred Ground and the New Story. Professor: Dr. Leon Chartrand [THEO 332: 3 credits undergrad, THEO 200 CORE, E/RS, Enviro Science, Peace Studies, or general humanities/free elective) / 3 credits grad] Since our beginning, we've been storytellers. Stories have helped us make sense of the world, of its mysterious phenomena and powers. They've expressed how creation came to be and defined our role within creation. Above all, creation stories penetrate into the depths of the psyche and inform behavior, especially when it comes to how we treat others and the world around us. But, creation stories can lose their effectiveness over time. If new knowledge contradicts or discredits a creation myth, then that story can lose its functional role. That is our great challenge today. We are in trouble now because we are, as Thomas Berry says, in between stories. Not only is the current story being discredited by science, but our current story does not provide the guidance we need for dealing with environmental devastation. It places the human at the pinnacle of creation instead of, as evolutionary and cosmological knowledge reveals, as a derivative of creation. And yet the new scientific story does not yet provide a meaningful context because it deals primarily with how the physical-material world came into being and does not deal with the Universe's psychic-spiritual dimension manifested so eloquently in and through human consciousness. For this reason, a new cosmogonic myth must be shaped, one inclusive of creation stories of our past as well as the empirical knowledge we now have about our universe. It is part of the great work of the human species as we transition from this terminal phase of the Cenozoic Era, the last 65 million years of Earth history, into an Ecozoic Era, where humans become a viable presence. This course, therefore, aims to help us see how a new cosmogonic myth, one that deals adequately with the sacredness of creation within the framework of the evolutionary story, is being revealed by the earth community. 

2. Environmental Philosophy. Professor: Dr. Adam Konopka [PHIL 200: 3 credits undergrad, PHIL 200 CORE credit, general humanities/free elective] The science of Ecology and wilderness immersion are vital to Environmental Philosophy. For "Classical American Philosophy," land, freedom, and democracy are intertwined. So long as there are wild lands and wild animals, the conditions exist for possibility and novelty. Students will be introduced to major figures and themes in Environmental Philosophy within the context of the Namibian Savannah and African cultures. The importance of nature and indigenous cultures in the shaping of ideas and the need for their safeguarding will be emphasized throughout."

Overview: This expedition takes us to remote places. We explore wildness firsthand by venturing off trail to discover how Earth influences our intellectual perceptions and our sense of the divine. On this trip, students can take advantage of six CORE credits. With Dr. Leon Chartrand our guide, we drink from ice cold streams, learn how to fly-fish world-renowned trout streams, track bears in the Teton and Absaroka Wilderness, raft the Snake River Canyon, hike in spectacularly majestic places, and hold evening storytelling by campfires alongside rivers under an awe-inspiring Wyoming night sky. 

Credits: 6 CORE Credit Hours. THEO 388: "Wilderness & Religious Imagination" (counts as THEO 200, Theo Perspectives, ER/S, Enviro Science, Peace Studies, Gen Humanities or Free electives) OR ENGL 205: “Wilderness, Imagination, Place” (counts as ER/S and as elective upon approval) OR PHIL 200: "Wilderness & Environmental Philosophy" (counts as PHIL 200 Phil Perspectives or Free elective). 

Enrollment: Max 14 | Adventure Level: 1-2

Security Deposit: To secure spot, a $800 nonrefundable deposit is due Apr 15, 2020, but the earlier deposit is submitted the better, as spaces are limited. Also, note deposit is included within Program Fee. Once deposit is applied, $800 will be deducted from Program Fee listed below. 

Costs: $4,988 Program Fee is all inclusive. It includes 6 credit hours of tuition, which is approximately ~$2,778 ($463/hr x 6 hrs) + $2,200 all inclusive travel, which includes airfare, lodging, ground transportation, group gear, course materials, wilderness/national park fees, meals, beverages, whitewater rafting, etc. Note: 2020 costs are approximate. Estimates based on 2010-2019 increases/year and are subject to +/- 1% change. Security deposit will be deducted from total Program Fee amount once deposit is submitted.  

Where do we go? Region A: Absaroka Wilderness, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Grand Teton National Park, Gros Ventre Wilderness, National Elk Refuge, Teton Wilderness, Washakie Wilderness, and Yellowstone National Park. To learn more about these places, click here. 

What adventures will we experience? Backcountry hiking; bear/wildlife tracking; raptor lessons; campfire creation storytelling; river/creek/water reflections; fly-fishing; self-guided hikes; lakeside solitude reflections; glacial lake swimming opportunities; whitewater rafting. To learn more, click here.

What courses are offered?

1. Wilderness and Religious Imagination. Professor: Dr. Leon Chartrand [THEO 388/575: 3 credits undergrad, THEO 200 Core credit, E/RS, Enviro Science, Peace Studies, or general humanities/free elective) / 3 credits grad] Discover the Earth community as primarily a wilderness community that will not be bargained with or made into an object of any kind. Awaken to our sacred Earth by entering into the revelatory power of wilderness. Let your imagination "run wild" on the shores of a quiet alpine lake or on a bear-tracked trail within a seemingly endless pine forest. This course includes lessons, discussions and reflections in some of the world's most wild places. Throughout this course, we will explore how the Paleolithic world of mystery and power brought religious ideas to life in the human mind. We will, at the same time, explore how, even today, the landscape invokes religious imagination and how that imagination plays a fundamental role in how we may address the ecologial crisis. We will also discern how religion imagination has fostered and continues to foster an intimate, viable relation between the human and more-than-human world. We will ask the following: how can religious imagination contribute to a new era of conservation? How does religious thinking (limit thinking) inspire humans to recognize the intimate connection between preserving mystique and safeguarding the earth community? This course can be taken for graduate level credit.

OR

2. Wilderness and Environmental Philosophy. Professor: TBD [PHIL 200: 3 credits undergrad, PHIL 200 CORE credit, general humanities/free elective] The Wilderness theme and the science of Ecology are vital to Environmental Philosophy. According to Frederick Jackson Turner, "What the Mediterranean Sea was to the Greeks, breaking the bonds of custom, offering new experiences, calling out new institutions and activities, the ever retreating Great West has been to the United States directly." For "Classical American Philosophy," land, freedom, and democracy are intertwined. So long as there is land, the conditions exist for possibility and novelty. Students will be introduced to major figures and themes in Environmental Philosophy (i.e, New England Transcendentalism, Biocentrism, Ecocentrism, Social Ecology, Eco-feminism, Pragmatic Pluralism, Cosmogenesis, etc) within the context of wilderness experiences, particularly in Yellowstone National Park and the Teton, Gros Ventre and Washakie Wilderness Areas. The importance of wilderness in the shaping of ideas and the need for its preservation will be emphasized throughout."

OR

3. Place, Identity and Imagination. Professor: David Reid [ENGL 205: 3 credits undergrad, CORE ENGL 205 credit, General Humanities/Free elective] The Wilderness has long inspired the imagination of thinkers. In this course, we will consider the possibilities that writers of place provide as they attempt to reimagine the human role in the ecological narrative. We’ll ask the following questions, and more: What role does the literary imagination play in how we view both place and self? How do the stories we tell affect the actions we take? Do our dominant narratives encourage or discourage a sense of alienation or interdependence? Do we still have a sense of place? How does displacement, either figurative or literal, affect our identity? To reorient our own relationship to the environment, we will do some of our own writing. Immersion within the Yellowstone landscape will heighten our sense of connectedness and may inspire us in unexpected ways. Since writing involves the senses as well as language, this opportunity is ideal for taking time to write and practice engaging more deeply with our surroundings. 

How do I prepare? |  What do I bring?

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RESERVE YOUR SPOT