During Wintersession 2012, UM students will have the opportunity to attend an archaeological field school in Belize, Central America. The field experience is being organized by John Douglas, Professor and Chair, and Linda Brown, Instructor, in the Anthropology Department. Belize is part of the homeland of the ancient Maya, and many important discoveries have been made at the Classic Mayan sites of Belize.
The fieldwork will be conducted at Cahal Pech, an important ceremonial center located on an imposing hill overlooking the Belize Valley of western Belize. The UM project will focus on excavating areas relating to the Terminal Classic, A.D. 900 to 1000, a time when rulers attempted to maintain power while facing a declining regional population and possibly severe drought conditions.
The twelve students in the field school will be housed in a hotel in San Ignacio, a small town on Belize’s western border. The course is being offered with the involvement of Dr. Jamie Awe, the leading Belizean scholar on the Maya and the Director of the Archaeology Institute. Beyond hands-on field training for students, the class will feature pre-trip planning/background lectures, evening lectures on Mayan archaeology, field trips to a major Mayan ceremonial center (Xunantunich) and an important ceremonial cave site. Contact John Douglas in the Department of Anthropology for more information. ANTY 491, Sec. 91, 3 Credits, CRN 34038
Contact Anna Prentiss in the Department of Anthropology for more information. ANTY 491/595, Sec. 92/90, 3 Credits, CRN 35450/35451
Saunter streets dotted with a kaleidoscope of brightly painted houses, share a cup of coffee with your Doña during your homestay, learn to dance the merengue, work in community schools and orphanages, construct a floor for a Dominican family, and participate in a re-forestation project. This two-week wintersession course will deepen your understanding of Hispanic culture by exploring issues of education and poverty and com-pleting a series of service learning projects in the south-western region of the Dominican Republic. Contact Lisa Blank in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction for more information. EDU 491, Sec. 90, 3 Credits, CRN 35197
The Community Development Agriculture in New Orleans class will travel to Our School at Blair Grocery (OSBG) school and farm in the lower 9th Ward of New Orleans for 5 days. We will work with staff and students on site and absorb as much as possible about the program. Educationally this class will blend some skills acquisition in urban agriculture with an on-site study of social justice, situated learning and non-profit administration work. We will meet three times before leaving for the trip. At these pre-trip meetings we will discuss a series of readings and watch two documentaries in preparation for our stay in NO. We will have one post trip meeting. Contact Joshua Slotnick in the Department of Environmental Studies for more information. ENST 491, Sec. 90, 2 Credits, CRN 33460
Field study in southest Georgia; contact Carl Seielstad in the School of Forestry for more information. FORS 491/595, Sec. 90, 3 Credits, CRN 35195/35196
Field study in Polebridge, Montana; contact Rick Graetz the Department of Geography for more information. GPHY 144, Sec. 90, 3 Credits, CRN 33025
Study abroad in Ireland; Contact Laure Pengelly Drake in the Davidson Honors College for more information. HC 195, Sec. 90, 1 Credits, 35236
Urban field study; contact Andrea Vernon in the Office of Civic Engagement for more inforamtion. HC 395, Sec. 90, 2 Credits, CRN 34168
Field study at the Condon Work Center, Condon, Montana; contact Kari Gunderson in the School of Forestry and Conservation for more information. PTRM 418, Sec. 90, 3 Credits, CRN 34316