Day 21: Check out the Aventure Literature Program at Penn State

Day 21: Check out the Adventure Literature Program at Penn State

Whether you are looking to explore Cape Cod or sail through the Chesapeake, Penn State is offering both opportunities for English and Kines credits through the Adventure Literature program.

This blogger took one of the original courses that both explored literature of the Grand Canyon and the Canyon itself, on a multi-week rafting trip. I can't speak highly enough for this program and the profound impact it has had on my life and on the lives of other students.

For this fall semester, if you are looking to fill your schedule with a little extra work and a lot of extra fun, consider taking or sharing this following course:

Exploring Cap Cod: English 297A

During the semester we will study the history and culture of one of the most celebrated places in the United States. We meet every Tuesday evening at 6:00 in 8 Business Building. In November we will travel to Cape Cod, live for a week at the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Wellfleet Sanctuary, and travel in the footsteps of the Pilgrims and Native Americans who celebrated the first Thanksgiving. We will hike along Coast Guard Beach; canoe on a Kettle Pond; pick wild cranberries in the bogs in the Provincelands; stroll the streets of Provincetown, where writers like Eugene O’Neill and Norman Mailer used to hang out; and take a boat to Monomoy Island, in Vineyard Sound, to see hundreds of basking seals. We will also assist the Wellfleet Sanctuary in the rescue of cold-stunned sea turtles that are stranded on Cape Cod each fall. It’s the experience of lifetime, and it will earn 4.5 credits that can be used to satisfy General Education requirements needed for graduation. There is a course fee to cover expenses, like room, food, and all your transportation. All you’ll need is some pocket money, warm and waterproof clothes, and good walking shoes.

Exploring Cap Cod: English 297B

Four weekend outings during the semester inform and enhance the reading and classroom work. We meet each Wednesday at 6:00 in 10 Business Building. We canoe on both the West Branch and Main Stem of the Susquehanna River; we spend a long weekend on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, sailing on an historic skipjack, studying the culture of watermen first-hand, and enjoying the foods and music associated with Chesapeake life and culture; and then we spend a day in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation planting a riparian buffer in Lancaster County to do our small part to help restore the Bay. You will earn 4.5 credits that can be used to satisfy General Education requirements you’ll need for graduation. And everything is included in the course fee.

In Adventure Literature courses, you learn about culture—philosophy, history, and literature—and the way it is and has been shaped by the environment. Unlike many courses in those disciplines, though, the experiential basis of the courses makes the ideas more concrete and real. Be sure to check out the photos and student comments for each of these courses on the program website www.outreach.psu.edu/adventure-lit. For more information, contact Dr. B at reb5@psu.edu