May 2025 Travel Courses
Applications for May Term 2025 travel courses are due on Monday, September 30, 2024. You are still welcome to submit a late application in the event that there are seats available in a course after all on-time applications are considered. Please note that for late applications, you will likely not hear back about its status until after the usual mid-October notification timeframe.
Note that more information about each of the courses, including dates, better fee estimates, advertising posters, and videos, will be posted as the summer goes on. We recommend waiting until September to apply.
Submiting an application does not guarantee that you will be accepted into any of the travel courses that you select and rank on your application and there are usually more students applying than there are available seats in Intensive Learning travel courses. Use the essay prompt(s) provided and read the selection criteria for the courses you intend to select on your application. Travel courses are courses first and foremost; they are not vacations or trips that just happen to have content and skills development. Your essays should clearly address the essay prompt for the specific course and talk about your interest in the course and its content.
If there are questions or concerns at any point, a student should contant the office of Academic Affairs and/or follow the policies with regards to the College's process regarding student complaints (for the latter, note that complaints must come directly from our students and not any interested third party).
INQ 177-TA How the Word is Passed: Black History in the South
Instructor: Dr. Karin Kaerwer
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $3,200
Travel Dates: May 11 – May 30, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
1. This course will involve a deep examination of the horrific history of enslavement in the United States. Describe your understandings and readiness to investigate these deeply emotional topics.
2. We will be traveling to three different U.S. cities, describe your travel experiences to date. Finally, what draws you to this course? Why are you interested in this particular experience?
Brief Description: Is the history taught in U.S. public schools the whole story? This course will explore the stories people and institutions tell regarding the U.S. history of slavery through experiential, place-based pedagogy. The class will read an inspiring text, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith in order to illuminate the history neglected by textbooks in public schools. We will then travel to sites in Virginia, DC, and South Carolina to see for ourselves.
Selection Criteria: Some travel experience recommended, plus openness to different perspectives
INQ/CJUS 277-TD New Orleans: Legacies of Oppression and Resistance
Instructor: Dr. Sarah Murray
Prerequisite: None
Fee: $3,000
Travel Dates: May 8 – May 23, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
Describe what the words "oppression" and "resistance" mean to you. How would you go about engaging with these topics?
For example: Do you have personal experiences of oppression? How do you engage in resistance in daily life?
Brief Description: This domestic travel course invites students to look beneath the surface of New Orleans as a tourist destination. We will trace the development of the city and will situate the present in historical and cultural context. As part of this course, we will critically analyze the roles of oppression and resistance in Louisiana with emphasis on slavery and colonialism. Finally, we will sample some of the things that make New Orleans unique—cuisine, music, architecture, public celebrations, funerary practices.
Prior knowledge of New Orleans or criminal justice not required.
Selection Criteria: No First Year Students, Students must be able to walk outside in the sun and humidity for an hour or more; openness to experiences outside your own (new food, new music, etc.)
CLOSED: INQ 277-TL: Basic Leadership Practices: Focus on the Disney Company
Instructor: Dr. Betsy Parkins
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $2,900
Travel Dates: May 18 - May 23, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
Describe a moment when you demonstrated leadership in a challenging situation. How did you navigate the obstacles, and what did you learn from the experience? Explain how participating in the "Basic Leadership Practices: Focus on the Disney Company" course will help you further develop your leadership skills. Your essay should be no longer than 250 words.
Brief Description: Step into the magic with "Basic Leadership Practices: Focus on the Disney Company"! This exciting course takes you on an unforgettable journey to discover the secrets behind Disney's legendary leadership. Learn to navigate the thrills and spills of today’s fast-paced world, all while exploring the creative and innovative strategies that make Disney a global powerhouse. Dive into captivating lectures, hands-on activities, and the highlight of it all – a 5-day adventure to Disney World in Florida! Experience three exclusive workshops at the Disney Imagination Campus, where you'll unlock the skills to lead with imagination and confidence. Get ready to be inspired, have fun, and transform your leadership style in the most magical place on Earth. Enroll now and let’s make some leadership magic together!
Selection Criteria: The ideal students for this program are passionate about leadership, eager to learn, and ready to work hard. They should be innovative thinkers who enjoy tackling challenges and are excited about Disney’s unique approach to leadership—not just the trip. If they thrive in collaborative settings and take lessons seriously, this program
CLOSED: INQ 277-TC The Azores & Lisbon: Ecotourism & Sustainable Agriculture
Instructor: Dr. Andreea Mihalache-O'Keef
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $4,800
Travel Dates: May 11 – May 25, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
The experiences of this course include: helping out on an eco farm, urban walking tours, hiking a volcano crater, picnic cooked on lava vents, swiming with dolphins, boat tour, visit to a tea plantation and factory, visit to a pineapple plantation, and talking to local tourist providers about their activities and approach to sustainability. Please answer each of the prompts below, BRIEFLY:
1) which of the activities above appeals to you the most and why? (2 sentences)
2) which of the activities above would challenge you the most and why? (2 sentences)
3) which activity are you most reluctant/worried about and why? (2 sentences)
4) how will you navigate your most worrisome activity with our group? Please address: what will you do; what will you communicate and to whom; what will be your ideal outcome in the situation; and how will you respond if your ideal outcome doesn't happen. (3-4 sentences)
5) if one of the locals invited us to a meal and served us foods we haven't tried before, what would you do and why? (2-3 sentences)
6) why do you want to travel? (3-4 sentences)
Brief Description: How can food and tourism be done sustainably? In this all-inclusive, 15-day course, we will travel to Portugal, stopping on São Miguel island (Azores) and in Lisbon, to learn from organizations involved in agritourism and sustainability work. We will also participate in the programs these organizations offer (walking tours, helping out on an eco-farm, pineapple tastings, whale watching swimming with dolphins, tea plantation tours, and cooking traditional dishes picnics in lava vents, etc.). Our lodgings are very close to one of the amazing beaches on the island and we will visit several others. Our three-day stay in Lisbon will provide a point of comparison for the design and impact of tourist experiences.
We will draw on poli sci and environmental studies frameworks to organize and interpret our observations. Assignments may include a field journal, travelogs, interviews, and a community engagement plan for a local organization.
Dr. Mihalache O’Keef will be delighted to provide more information and to show you ALL her Azores photos. Reach her at mihalache@roanoke.edu or https://calendly.com/dr_okeef . Or, for a quick overview of some of the sites that make the Azores magical, watch this 10-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr6QuubYeRQ
Selection Criteria:
1) Explorer mindset when thinking about this travel course (e.g., curiosity, willingness to immerse and try new things)
2) Flexible eating
3) Team-minded
4) priority may be given to students who don't have travel experience but display characteristics 1-3 above
Expectations: Be open to experiencing new things and mindful of local customs and hospitality; be prepared for spending time outdoors (walk, hike, swim, work on the farm).
CLOSED: INQ/SPAN 277/377-TB Mujeres Argentinas Contemporáneas: Su Legado Cultural, Lingüístico y Sociopolítico en la Sociedad Moderna
Instructor: Dr. Ian Michalski & Dr. Dolores Flores-Silva
Prerequisites: SPAN 201 or Instructor Permission
Fee: $4,600
Travel Dates: May 4 – May 21, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
1. What is your experience with traveling overseas and engaging with cultures other than your own?
2. In Argentinean culture, it is common to greet someone with a handshake and in many cases a kiss (or two) on the cheek. How do you feel about this cultural practice? When interacting with new acquaintances in Argentina, how might you choose to greet them?
3. Our May term course in Argentina will include living with host families. How do you imagine yourself making the most of such an opportunity?
4. Buenos Aires is a large city with lots of entertainment, great food, and cultural events to take advantage of. However, life in a big city requires lots of walking and using different modes of transportation (bus, subway, taxi). What experience do you have with public transportation and/or how do you feel about using it on a daily basis?
5. What do you know about Argentinean culture and what excites you most about this opportunity?
Brief Description: Our course will focus on women writers, their activism, and the linguistic influences of their communities on the formation of Argentine national identities. Students will immerse themselves in Argentinian culture while learning about these influential women and the sociolinguistic context of their cultural production. Based in Buenos Aires, we will also visit the coastal city of Mar de Plata, the Pampa region, and important sites in and around the capital city. Students will live with host families and make use of opportunities to hone their language skills, interact with local communities. By way of these experiences, students will enhance their intercultural competence and discover the value of traveling and studying overseas.
Selection Criteria: Students must be open to having an interculturally and linguistically immersive experience and living with a host family.
CLOSED: INQ/HIST 277-TB Key Moments: Emergence of Germany
Instructor: Dr. Rob Willingham
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $5,200
Travel Dates: May 13 – May 29, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
Please describe your motivations for applying to this course. Why do you want to travel abroad? Why to Germany? What do you hope to get from the trip, and what do you hope to contribute?
Brief Description: This course examines the development of German national identity through studies of several critical stages, including: the Battle of Leipzig, the Revolution of 1918-19 and the Weimar Republic, the terror of the National Socialist regime, and the collapse of the German Democratic Republic and the Berlin Wall. The class will focus on the particular experiences of Jewish Germans, and will emphasize the experience of living like a local rather than a tourist.
Selection Criteria: No knowledge of German required. Must be capable of long walking tours of German cities.
CLOSED: INQ 277-TJ Scotland in Scottish Arts
Instructor: Dr. Dana-Linn Whiteside
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $5,700
Travel Dates: May 8 – May 27, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
We are looking for an engaged and eager group of twelve students to become members of this class. Please explain using specifics why you think we should select you to become one of our cohort. What specifically draws you to our course and why? How do you think you'll connect our course to your own interests?
Brief Description: How have Scottish literary and visual artists helped create a unique identity for Scotland throughout the centuries? What does art possess that resonates so deeply as to help define what it means to be Scottish in the land of Scotland? We’ll explore the art and sites represented in it from misty highlands, craggy coastlines, and ancient castles, to modern, bustling, vibrant cities of granite spires and architectural innovation, as we seek to understand a distinctly Scottish national identity. By the end of our exploration, we will have much to compare with our own country’s artistic representations.
Selection Criteria: Some previous travel experience recommended. The course involves extensive walking (several miles/day), with optional trail hiking.
CLOSED: INQ 277-TF Travel Writing in Italy
Instructor: Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Metz
Prerequisites: None
Fee: $5,000
Travel Dates: May 11-May 23, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
Use this opportunity to reflect upon the importance of our senses in heightening our overall experience in the world. How do you feel your senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell contribute to the way you interact with your environment and the people around you?
Brief Description: This course is designed to provide students with the ability to use writing as a tool of understanding in the context of world travel. More specifically, using a variety of formats-some formal, some not, some very personal, others more objective-students will have the opportunity to trace their encounters with places, peoples, and cultures that are very different than their own and to reflect on their experiences as a means of learning about oneself and one's worldview. Students taking this course need not necessarily be amazing writers, but should enjoy putting words on the page, experimenting with language, and testing both themselves and others.
Selection Criteria: This course will involve mostly moderate walking (some hills and stairs) for 2-8 miles per day. Some of the days will involve strenuous walking (lots of hills, stairs, and uneven terrain) for 2-8 miles a day.
CLOSED: INQ/EDUC/PHST 277-TK PlayHealth: Bridging Playwork and Public Health (UK)
Instructor: Dr. Kim Garza
Program Assistant: Dr. Jonathan McCloud
Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed at least one of the following courses: EDUC 250: Teaching, Learning, and Cognition; INQ 260 How People Learn; PHST 204: Social Determinants of Health; INQ 260 PH: Adolescent Health; PHST 202: Global Health and Culture Or Instructor Permission
Fee: $5,000
Travel Dates: May 12 – May 26, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
Please write a 500 word essay that articulates a favorite and/or meaningful moment in your personal play history. Describe how your play memory connects to the play you observe in children and adolescents today, and explain the role of play in one's mental and physical well-being.
Brief Description: This course explores the intersections of Playwork and Public Health by focusing on the unique context of adventure playgrounds in the United Kingdom and the challenges faced by their counterparts in the United States. Recognizing play as a fundamental human right, the United Kingdom pioneered the establishment of adventure playgrounds during the early 1950s. These spaces embody a philosophy of unstructured, free play in dynamic environments and serve as community hubs providing essential services beyond play. This course equips future educators and public health professionals with insights into diverse strategies for promoting well-being through play, preparing them to navigate the challenges and opportunities in this evolving field.
Selection Criteria: Students in this course must be 18 years of age or above, and be able to walk significant distances in both urban and rural landscapes.
- Students must be able to stand for long periods of time.
- Students must be able to lift and carry all of their luggage (limited to one bag).
- Students must be comfortable using/navigating public transportation, large crowds, and crowded transportation spaces.
- Students in this class must be comfortable working with children and adolescents.
- Students in this class must be able to work outdoors, in variable weather conditions.
- Students in this class must be comfortable with shared accommodations (such as dormitory living, bunk beds, and/or shared rooms).
- Students are responsible for their own luggage, and if/when applicable, the management of their personal medications.
CLOSED: INQ/HIST 277-TA Pausanias' Grand Tour of Greece
Instructors: Dr. Jason Hawke
Prerequisite: None
Fee: $5,650
Travel Dates: May 12 - May 26, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
What does Greece mean to you? Please describe why some aspect of Greece – its culture, its people, its history, or something else – fascinates or intrigues you in such a way that you want to spend sixteen days learning intensively about it, and discuss how you see this course fitting into your education as a student of Roanoke College?
Brief Description: Pausanias, a 2nd-century AD Greek living under Roman rule, visited sites of past glory and wrote an informative travelogue and cultural history of ancient Greece. Students will travel in his footsteps, a journey that will take them to Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Delphi, among other sites. Students will experience firsthand the monuments of ancient Greece and their modern presentation and confront the landscapes that Pausanias describes. In reflecting upon their own reactions and Pausanias’ account of the ancient Greek past and its remains, students will interpret their responses to Greece ancient and modern. By immersing ourselves in Pausanias’ account, and relevant modern scholarship, and visiting the landscapes Pausanias once beheld, we will be able to consider the interplay among the physical and imagined pasts and think about the ways we construct identities through the conversations we choose to have with those pasts and how we conduct them.
Selection Criteria: All students are encouraged to apply; applications are considered primarily based on the strength of essay, general academic performance, and lack of disciplinary problems and with a goal of achieving a balance of interests and personalities. Students are expected to walk multiple miles each day under the Greek sun.
CLOSED: INQ 277-TI Greek Landscape and Literature
Instructors: Dr. Wendy Larson-Harris
Prerequisite: None
Fee: $5,300
Travel Dates: May 8 - May 26, 2025
Specific Essay Prompt:
Why are you interested in a May Term in Greece reading a Classical Greek play and traveling across a variety of regions? What is your prior experience with international travel? We will be living as a group for three weeks - how can you contribute to our group dynamic?
Brief Description:
This course uses a Classical Greek play to structure travel around Greece, following the main character of the play on his travels. We will visit southern plains, northern mountains, Athens, and an island within the context of Greek history and culture.
Selection Criteria:
Be ready to walk, as much as 7 miles a day, on rocky archaeological sites and many, many slippery marble steps.