January Term Travel

We have grown up with models of the solar system, but what was it like to make the discovery that the sun does not orbit the earth? We have seen dinosaurs in museums, books, and movies, but what did it mean to discover the first dinosaur bones?

We will explore the history of Western science from Copernicus through the 20th century, and visit sites in London and Paris that were central to scientific discoveries and developments in astronomy, chemistry, physics, geology, biology, and more. We will examine some cultural and religious factors that facilitated or hindered scientific development. And we will consider the impact of various scientific discoveries within the framework of knowledge at the time of discovery.  

On campus, we will engage in reading and discussion. Readings give an account of the history of science for a lay audience, while the class periods will emphasize the relevant scientific concepts. In London and Paris, we will visit the home of Charles Darwin; explore the labs of Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur; see equipment used by Lavoisier, Faraday, Boyle; and visit the final resting places of Newton, Rutherford, Herschel, and Hawking; and stand on the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Instructor: Valerie Burke

We will try to understand decadence, and why Venice was a symbol for decadence, from a number of angles. We will try to understand cultural aspects of Venice through classic and modern works of visual art, music, and literature that made it a symbol of decadence, as well as consider the physical decay of Venice and its place in today’s environmental crisis. Finally, we will look at how Venice is looking to become a better city by limiting tourist decadence. In addition to exploring Venice, we will spend a couple of days exploring the lagoon on sailboats. We will also visit Padua, Trieste, and Duino, nearby cities that reflect the theme of the course. In his novella Death in Venice, Thomas Mann suggested the oppressive problem of decadence for modern culture. What Mann called decadence at the beginning of the 20th century has perhaps become normal life for us today, such that we are no longer aware of modern decadence as a falling away from anything. Can we recover this awareness? What is “decadence”, and is there a way to find meaning in the midst of a decadent culture, or is it really something to avoid? And why is Venice the symbol for decadence?

It is understandable that Mann chose Venice as the setting for his book. After Venice’s empire began to slip away in the 1400’s, the city has been forever sinking and its elegant buildings rotting. Its decadence has long been part of its appeal. Since the days of the grand tour (16th -19th century), a lady or a gentleman from Northern Europe on their way to get an education in Rome would make sure to stop in Venice, as much for its loose living as for its scenery. Its foggy canals, courtesans, and gothic shadows made it the passionate, romantic alternative to classical harmony and clarity. Its un-classical art with its mix of Eastern and Western influences was typified by a hazy picturesque or by excessive, voluptuous color. As the enlightenment gained ground, Venice was an escape. Once a center for rationalism, liberty, and commerce, it became the city of sentimentalism and idleness. In the early 20th century its elegant cafes became the place for romantics and modernists from all over the world to reflect on the incoherence they detected in European humanism. Venice was also central to the history of music, and continues to be a world capital of contemporary art. At the same time, Venice has always also been in physical decline. The salty moisture in the air, and the annual flooding known as acqua alta eats away at the buildings as the city slowly falls ever deeper into the sea. This year its submerged piazzas called attention to rising sea levels across the globe. Despite desperate attempts to save it, Venice lives on borrowed time. The coronavirus essentially shut down Venice’s tourist business and brought to the fore new questions. Why did Venetians (or anyone) want hordes of tourists rushing through their city? Might the city not be a better place if they could get rid of cruise ships and crowds of people taking selfies in front of gondolas? Could they survive without it? We will study our theme through a combination of: (1) Seminars and lectures on classic and modern texts, operas, and a major recent book in urban studies (this year we are making the readings shorter than last year’s version of this course, so as to allow us time to see Venice). (2) Excursions with preparatory lectures that explore the art, architecture, history and culture of Venice, (3) two day exploration of the lagoon of Venice and its environs by sailboat. We will learn a lot of Venice’s history and environment by understanding how the laguna shaped the life of the city. (4) We will visit Padua, with its ancient university, its art, the beautiful city center, and we will sample its cuisine together. (5) We will visit Trieste, like Venice an important center for modernism and a meeting point of cultures. You will be living in dorm accommodations right in the heart of Venice, which is especially beautiful in January, when the fog creates the magical atmosphere for which the city is so famous. The dorm is a modern building built within the walls of a ruined medieval church. It has two large courtyards and a basketball court/soccer field. In an adjacent building is a dorm for Italian university students. We will meet them early in the program so that if you want to, you can make friends with Italians your own age and get to be a part of Italian life. But you will mainly be living in a community setting with your fellow SMC students, so you will have a lot of support to help you feel at home in a foreign country, and create lasting friendships.

Instructors: Br. Charles Hilken & Gabe Pihas

The Utah/United States Film Festival was inaugurated in 1978 to lure the film industry to Utah with retrospectives and celebrity panels. Sundance Institute took over in 1985 transforming the festival into a showcase for emerging artists. The box office success of “sex, lies and videotape” in 1989 established the festival as the premiere independent film marketplace ranking it among the top five film festivals in the world. Renamed Sundance Film Festival in 1991, it became a magnet for studio execs, distributors, and agents who charged into Park City to wine, dine and sign new talent. In 2023, 111 feature films selected from 4,061 submissions from 37 countries screened with an in-person attendance of over 80,000 and 500,000 online views. Always evolving, a record number of films directed by women and people of color have premiered at Sundance since 2020. In 2021, Tabitha Jackson became the first woman and person of color to serve as Director Sundance. In 2024, Eugene Hernandez will take over the helm as festival Director. In this course, we will study the history of Sundance within the context of the evolution of American independent film. Our focus will be on films created by, for and about those marginally represented, stereotyped and caricatured in mainstream movies: women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and diversely abled persons. We will analyze films on their own terms as well as through the dual lenses of film studies and theology/religion. From January 18 to January 28, students will attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. All students interested in learning more about independent film and the film industry are welcome in this course.

Instructors: Norrie Palmer & Virginia McCarthy

This course offers a portal into the community of Tibetan Buddhists exiled in Nepal – particularly schoolchildren and young monks and nuns. We will study their socio-political realities, community structure, and religious education through readings and daily engagement with them – serving young Tibetan refugees in their school. 

We will learn how and why, after China devastated Tibet in the 1950s, the once-closed country was burst open as thousands of Tibetans escaped to the greater Himalayan region and many subsequently migrated to the West – ultimately spreading Tibetan Buddhism worldwide. We will consider how the Tibetan refugees’ new settlements impacted the cultures in their adopted countries, including Nepal and the United States. We will read and reflect on texts written by political and cultural experts and by the spiritual leaders whose temples we will come to know in Nepal. We will be living in the local community and serving in the refugee school every day, teaching the children English and study skills while getting to know them and understanding how their religion infuses everything about their daily lives and perspectives. Through meta-reflection, we will bring together our experiences and what we’re learning about the Buddhist viewpoints of “Impermanence,” “Bodhicitta,” and “Loving-kindness” – how our actions and thoughts impact those we engage with.

During the fall before traveling, we will study and visit three Bay-area Buddhist centers, offering insight into how Tibetan Buddhism has been adapted to Western culture. Then, while in Nepal, we will experience the political, social, and religious foundations of the community of Tibetan exiles in Nepal’s small city of Pokhara, as well as the Boudhnath neighborhood in the capital city, Kathmandu, that has been settled by Tibetan refugees. Through our Bay Area explorations and particularly our immersion in Nepal, we will consider how the dispersion of Tibetans and the subsequent spread of Buddhism has impacted the world. At the same time, we will be reflecting upon our own cultural, political, and spiritual backgrounds and obligations within the context of the global community.

*This course fulfills the Engaged Learning core requirement.

Instructors: Larry Mermelstein & Tereza Joy Kramer

Read our blog to learn more about our exploration of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal!

This course is designed to explore the research methods, principles, techniques, and theories of Positive Psychology as they apply to the tasks and strategies of life in Denmark and Sweden. Scandinavian countries are consistently ranked as the happiest countries in the world.  The focus of this course will be to discover what it is about these societies that lead their citizens to be so happy. Two themes will guide our activities: (1) the general principles of positive psychology and (2) cultural differences in their application. In examining the food, culture, architecture, business practices and daily life in these countries, we will explore the basis for their very high life satisfaction ratings, as well as examine current societal challenges taking place in Denmark and Sweden in order to consider the ways in which a happy place does not equate to a perfect place.  Activities will include an exploration of “Hygge,” the Danish concept of “coziness/contentment” and”arbejdsglæde,” the Scandinavian concept of happiness at work.  We will also travel north of the arctic circle to experience the darkness of Swedish winter and the winter sports and activities that are integral to it.  We will also experience awe at the stark natural beauty of the region. Weather permitting, we will also see the Northern Lights from one of the best vantage points in the world.

Instructors: Makenzie O'Neil & Emily Hause

What shape should a church have, and how should it be decorated?  What symbols or scenes from the Bible would you feature, and how would you portray Jesus?  What do your answers to these questions say about your understanding of Jesus and theology?  Attempting to answer these questions will take us deep into the study of Christian art and situate you as dialogue partners with some of the world’s most famous artists.

In this course we will study buildings, paintings, and sculptures in Italy that artists over the centuries have created to embody their understanding of the Christian faith. We'll situate the works in various eras of art and architecture, ask what they reveal about how the artists understood the gospel, and consider the influence of these works on our understanding of the Christian faith.

Our primary “texts” will include some of the most famous churches and museums in the world: the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, the Uffizi in Florence, St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, and the Borghese Galleries in Rome.  We will go from studying the earliest Christian art in the catacombs to the beginnings of the Italian Renaissance in Assisi in Florence, to the High Renaissance masterpieces of Michelangelo and Raphael, to the flowering of the Baroque in Rome.  We will also spend days studying the art and cathedrals in the wonderful medieval cities of Siena and Orvieto.

Instructor: Tom Poundstone 

Instructor: Álvaro Ramirez

South Korea is currently ranked as one of the world’s most innovative countries, beating out countries like Japan, Germany, USA, and China. This Course, “Creative Geniuses or Hard Workers: Innovation Insights from South Korea,” is designed to raise awareness of the culture of Creativity and Innovation in South Korea. Special attention is placed on what makes Korean culture so innovative – are they highly creative people or is it rooted in a hardworking Asian culture? As nations increasingly aim to become “creative economies” (Florida, 2002), we look at the role of national culture in two of Korea’s best known creative industries, namely electronics and online gaming, to more deeply understand the local and global business contexts that have made companies like Samsung and NCSoft, some of the most innovative in the world. We will also compare and contrast Korea and other nations on innovation policies, to better understand how national systems of innovation are created.

Participants will learn about Korean creativity and innovation experimentally through international immersion, lectures by local professors and industry experts from Daejeon and Seoul in Korea, interactions with local Korean students, visits to South Korea companies, and meetings with Korean innovators, gamers, and business leaders. Participants are expected to deepen their understanding about:

• The concepts of creativity and innovation, as they apply in the cultural contexts of the South Korea and the US
• The society, politics, culture and economy of South Korea
• The various aspects of economic development that support national systems of innovation in South Korea
• Macro-environmental forces affecting organizational and industry level innovation
• Different business models for bringing new product innovations to market

Instructors: Tina Xiaotian Zhang & Yung-Jae Lee