The 2008 RWC Summer British Study Abroad Program has been determined and will focus on the hot topic of evolution. Biology Professor Mark Otten will teach a course on “Evolution: History and Processes,” while English Professor Mike Roos will teach a creative writing course titled “The Evolutionary Self.”The program will take place entirely in England, though students will have the opportunity to do independent travel outside of England during two free weekends.
The Biology course will be a 3-credit hour freshman level study abroad course with application to a wide variety of programs. Both non-science and science majors may apply the course as a natural science or general elective. The course will explore the historical development of evolutionary thought and theory from classical times to the present, with emphasis on the Darwin-Wallace concept of natural selection and on the development of the modern synthesis. A combination of traditional lecture and class discussion, group activities, individual research/readings, and field trips will provide opportunity for student learning through a variety of modes and in a variety of settings. No pre-requisite will be required.
In the Creative Writing course, students will use the study abroad experience as a means to examine the process of the evolving self. First, the students will develop, in a general way, twin definitions of evolution and of the self and then will apply the general definitions to the particulars of their own view of self and personal development. The aim will be for students to develop an increased awareness of our effort “to make sense of experience, to make meaning of life.”
Students will keep a detailed daily journal of their experiences from beginning to end in the program. The focus of the journal will be both to describe the experiences of each day and to analyze the way these experiences affected them.
The program is tentatively set to run from June 15 through July 9, 2008. Accommodations will be at beautiful and exotic Harlaxton Manor in the heart of England.
The cost of program may vary but is expected to be around $3,000 for the travel portion of the program, not including tuition. Deadline for applications is February 1, 2008.
For more information, contact Professor
Mike Roos at (513) 745-5764 or .