Title of Course:  Emergence and Evolution: Myth and Science on Turtle Island
 

Instructor(s):  Dr. Marlin Adrian, Religion and Dr. Traci Porter, Biology

 

Description for catalog:

We will travel to the Grand Canyon and other wonders of the U.S. Southwest, explore Native American lands and spiritual traditions, delve into the rich natural history, and investigate different ways of asking: How did all this originate?  What can we gain from various spiritual and religious ways of asking that question? What can we gain from using the scientific method to ask that question?

 

Length of trip and preliminary itinerary (including sites to be visited):

Jan 3, 4, and 7:  Meet at Salem College to discuss religious study, native cultures of the U.S. Southwest, and evolutionary theory and prepare for the trip.
 

Jan. 9 - Fly into Phoenix, overnight Flagstaff

2.      Jan. 10 - Visit Meteor Crater.  Have lunch at Gerardo’s and browse  through Richardson’s Trading Post in Gallup, N.M..  Overnight Best Western, Grants NM.   

3.      Jan. 11 - Continental breakfast included.  Visit Acoma Sky City for a guided tour of the oldest continuously inhabited village in N. America.  Overnight Santa Fe Best Western. 

4.      Jan. 12 - Continental breakfast included.  Travel to Taos and Taos Pueblo for a day of tours and shopping.   Overnight Santa Fe Best Western. 

5.      Jan. 13 - Continental breakfast included.  Visit Chaco Canyon NP, the biggest and most sophisticated of all the ancient Anasazi ruins.  Overnight Bloomfield NM Best Western.  Box lunches included for lunch at Chaco Canyon.

6.      Jan. 14 - Continental breakfast included.  Plan A – Go to Mesa Verde for the biggest and best cliff dwellings built by the Anasazi.  If Mesa Verde is inaccessible, go to Shiprock.

Overnight Kokopelli Inn in Bluff, UT.

7.      Jan. 15. – Visit the Twin Rocks Trading Post then travel to Mexican Hat, the Goosenecks and Monument Valley.  Jeep tour and Navajo cookout in Monument Valley.  Overnight at the Canyon de Chelly Holiday Inn in Chinle, AZ.  Cookout included.

8.      Jan. 16 - Full breakfast included.  Jeep tour of Canyon de Chelly followed by the Canyon overlooks, including Spider Rock after the jeep tour.  Overnight at the Canyon de Chelly Holiday Inn in Chinle, AZ. 

9.      Jan. 17 - Full breakfast included.  Travel to Walpi on 1st Mesa at Hopi for a guided tour.  Visit the visitor’s center at 2nd Mesa,or weather permitting, take a guided tour with Eric Polingyuma of Tawa Park, a 1/4 mile of solid petroglyphs dating back to the Archaic era of 10,000+ years ago, tour Old Oraibi on 3rd Mesa and have dinner at Eric and Jane Polingyuma’s home at Kykotsmovi.   Overnight at Cameron Trading Post Lodge. 

10.  Jan. 18 - Enter the Grand Canyon from the east and stop at Desert View for early morning photos looking west.  Move into the Grand Canyon NP and go to Yavapai Point and the historic El Tovar lodge.  Hike the trail down Bright Angle to the 2nd window.   Overnight Maswick Lodge at the Grand Canyon.  No meals included at the Grand Canyon.

11.  Jan. 19 – Visit the Museum of Northern Arizona.  Return to Phoenix via Sedona, road conditions permitting.  Buffet dinner included on the way.  Overnight Airport Sleep Inn. 

12.  Jan. 20 – Shopping day in Scottsdale. Overnight Airport Sleep Inn.

13.   Jan. 21 - Continental breakfast included, depending on flight time.  Fly home.

Jan. 22 – MLK Day; no classes. Unpack & rest.
 

Jan. 23-25 Discuss trip and information learned.  Work on final paper. Journal due Jan. 25.
 

Jan. 28 – Final paper due.
 

Jan. 29 & 30 – Course summary.

 

Texts to be used for the course: 

TENTATIVE selections:

Alden, P. & Friederici, P. 1999. National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States: Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah. New York: Random House.

Lake-Thom, R. 1997. Spirits of the Earth: A Guide to Native American Symbols, Stories and Ceremonies. New York: Penguin Group (USA).

Steering Committee on Science and Creationism, 2007. Science, Evolution, and Creationism. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Wright, B. 1986. Pueblo Cultures. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers.

                                              

What are the academic goals of this course?

Through exploring different spiritual and scientific accounts of how humans and animals came to their current state of being, the students will learn about ways in which they encounter, evaluate, and incorporate information into their knowledge set.

 

How will these academic goals be met?  Please describe in detail, with a focus on the relationship between the academic goals and activities abroad.  Also describe any pre-travel lectures and meetings that relate to the academic goals.

The students will read and discuss materials concerning Native American culture, biological evolution, and Southwestern U.S. natural history before they leave. While they are on the trip, they will meet many specialists who will share with them information about the native cultures and natural history of the American Southwest. The provided itinerary lists the amazing activities in which we’ll be engaged.

 

How will instruction take place during time abroad, and what spaces/resources will be available abroad for instruction?

The students will be addressed by tour guides, local speakers, and Drs. Adrian and Porter while they are in the vehicles between locations and on location.

 

How will students be evaluated to ensure that the academic goals have been met?  Please describe written and other work assigned before, during, or after the travel period:

Each student will keep a journal that will be part nature journal and part reflections on the locations visited and the course materials. When they return, the students will write a paper that synthesizes information learned on the trip.

….

Has this course been offered before?  When?  No

Enrollment limits:  12 minimum                      16 maximum

Estimated travel expenses by category (please include, at a minimum, estimates for airfare, lodgings, meals, admissions/tickets, and spending allowances)

 

Will you be using a travel/tour company to book your trip?  If so, list the name of the company and their contact information. (If you are still evaluating companies, list those you are considering).

Walk Softly Tours: Tom Tucker, President.

P.O. Box 5510 ♦ Scottsdale, AZ 85261-5510

Phone: (480) 473-1148 • Fax: (480) 452-0942

Web: www.walksoftlytours.com • E-Mail: walksoftlytours@cox.net     

 

Is there any other information that might be useful to the January Term Committee while evaluating your course proposal for approval?  Please remember that the January Term Committee sometimes receives more travel proposals than can be approved.  What makes your course stand out in terms of the Salem College mission statement?

 

It’s an interdisciplinary trip that will attract a variety of students.

 

This tour is open to the public.  Since it is a girl's school, participation is limited to women only.  Course registration fees and other costs related to the college do not apply.  Since there are only 4 seats available, registration is on a strict first come-first served basis.