NAMIBIA, AFRICA I: "Story of Earth, Story of Us"
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."
How do I prepare? | What do I bring?