Traveling over spring break are students from the following classes;
1) Robinette Cross is taking students to Morocco. The “Gender and Culture in the Middle East and North Africa” (MENA) Senior Seminar explores the elements and evolution of cultures in the MENA region in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Morocco provides an excellent cultural pivot point, joining east and west, traditional and non-traditional, allowing students to explore a unique cultural amalgamation shaped by geography, religion, and colonial experience. This will be the sixth successful Morocco trip led by Ms. Cross.
2) David Barnes is taking students to Belize. Students will spend seven days exploring the ecology, history, and culture of Belize. In the Cayo region, students will explore the rainforest from the ground, from the water on a canoe, and from
the treetops on a zipline. Here, students will begin learning about Mayan culture by touring the Xunantunich ruins and participating in a pottery and cooking class. Students will also tour a hot sauce factory and work on a hand-cranked ferry. Students will then head to the Southern Coast, where they will explore St. Herman’s Blue Hole by floating through the caves in tubes. Students will also tour a chocolate factory and the Garifuna Museum. They will also eat Mayan food and
learn to drum with the Garifuna. Students will also snorkel on the Meso-American reef. They will also visit local farms to learn about Belize’s major exports.
3) Kerry Sheppard is taking students to Iceland and Denmark. Traveling to Copenhagen, Roskilde, and Reykjavik offers a focused, immersive
experience that brings the Viking world- raiders, traders, and settlers-vividly to life. In Copenhagen and nearby Roskilde, students can explore the Viking Ship Museum, where original longships and reconstructed vessels highlight the Vikings’ seafaring prowess, trade routes, and raiding expeditions. In Reykjavik, the Viking legacy is preserved through the Settlement Exhibition and the influence of Norse culture seen in Icelandic sagas and democratic traditions like the Althing.
By engaging directly with these cultural and historical landmarks, students gain a tangible understanding of how the Vikings shaped their world through exploration, commerce, and settlement. This targeted travel experience deepens classroom learning, encourages cross-disciplinary connections, and fosters critical thinking about the lasting impact of Viking civilization.
4) Kara Love is taking students to England. Traveling to London, Bath, and Chawton offers a focused, immersive experience that brings Jane Austen’s world—her life, works, and cultural legacy—to life. In London, students can situate Austen within the broader literary and historical context of Regency England, exploring museums, neighborhoods, and archives that shaped the era’s society and readership. In Bath, where Austen lived and set portions of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, students can walk the very streets she described, visit the Jane Austen Centre, and experience firsthand the city’s Georgian architecture, assembly rooms, and social customs that figure prominently in her novels.
By engaging directly with these cultural and historical landmarks, students gain a tangible understanding of how Austen’s personal experiences and Regency society informed her writing. This targeted travel experience deepens classroom learning, encourages cross-disciplinary connections between literature, history, and culture, and fosters critical thinking about the lasting impact of Austen’s work on both her contemporaries and modern audiences.
Bring back lots of pictures! We look forward to hearing about your adventures.
