Luther College
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Luther offers many immersive courses that include or focus on sustainability, as well as the opportunity for a student to develop their own immersive experience. The majority of these immersive experiences take place over the course of 4 weeks during J-term, though some span a semester. The following immersive courses that focus on sustainability are listed as examples: 1. Earth and the Environment in Italy: ENVS 230: Earth Systems and the Environment: This course is designed for students who are looking for a rigorous program built around field-based projects that focus on the interactions between the major earth systems: the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere (including humans). One of the learning objectives is "to deepen knowledge in the earth sciences and in the interactions between people and the environment through the use of hands-on field-based activities and collaborative small group projects," helping students form sustainable relationships with the environment and with one another. 2. Bio 140/240 Ecology of the Southwest: This course focuses on the ecology of the Southwest desert, particularly on the adaptations of organisms to arid conditions and ecological aspects of human water use. Time is spent discussing current environmental challenges and solutions, as well as the difficulty of devising economically and socially feasible solutions in a desert environment where water is limited. 3. Paideia 450: People and Parks: Pastoralism and Conservation in East Africa (Tanzania): This course examines the tension between the national parks movement and pastoralist societies through the lens of the Maasai people in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya. Of particular interest is how wildlife conservation efforts and ecotourism have impacted the relationship of Maasai to their environment, in turn causing rapid cultural change such as shifts from herding to agropastoralism and wage labor; modification of coming-of-age rituals; and increasing adoption of formal modes of education and Christianity in place of or alongside traditional modes and beliefs. From bases near the city of Arusha and the small town of Monduli, we will study “traditional” Maasai culture and examine the ways in which the Maasai of northern Tanzania are adapting to changing social, political, economic, and environmental conditions. All locations visited will help students explore points of intersection between wildlife conservation programs, ecotourism, and pastoralist societies. 4. Environmental Studies 240: This course examines environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest and the policies that are used or proposed to address them. Case studies – on issues such as wilderness, endangered species, mining, hydroelectric dams, water rights, public lands management, logging, and outdoor recreation – will be used to better understand the political process in the United States, the role of economics in addressing environmental issues, and the particular challenges in human-nature relations within the intermountain west. The course will be taught at Holden Village, an ecumenical retreat center in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. 5. Political Science 239: Development, Inequality and Race in Brazil: Brazil is a complex country. Blessed with abundant natural resources, it has constantly failed to transform this potential into sustained economic development. The economic growth that happened in the past century has exacerbated long lasting inequalities that date back to the colonial period, with the legacy of slavery still looming large to this day. These inequalities, when analyzed more deeply, show that race is still a major aspect of the country’s struggle for social and economic development. This class will take students to four Brazilian cities to explore the relationship between development, inequality, and race in Brazil. By visiting the former colonial capital (Salvador in the Northeast of the country), the former imperial capital (Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast region), the current capital (Brasília, in the Center West region), and a city by the Amazon River (Belém, in the Northern region), students will learn about the historical contexts that have created Brazil as a nation while also seeing first hand the economic, social, cultural, and racial diversity of the country. 6. Communication Studies 239: Environmental Communication in Belize: This course examines environmental communication and the public sphere in Belize with particular focus on the significant role of eco-adventure tourism in the country. Topics that will be reviewed, analyzed, and critiqued include the study of environmental rhetoric and discourse, media and environmental journalism, public participation in environmental decision-making practices, varying regulatory factors, social marketing and advocacy campaigns, environmental collaboration and conflict resolution, risk communication, and representations of nature in popular culture and green marketing. Information on these subjects will be drawn from lectures and discussions, as well as from visits with government officials, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), eco-tourism venders, tourists, and other key stakeholders. These undertakings will provide an understanding of how individuals, institutions, societies, and cultures craft, distribute, receive, understand, and use messages about the environment to influence attitudes and initiatives related to its use. 7. Biology 245: Ecology of Ecuador: This course is an immersive and hands-on introduction to the ecology, evolution, and natural history of the Amazon rainforest, Andean cloud forest, and Galapagos Islands, with students spending most of the time outdoors on field studies. We review basic principles of ecology (e.g., species interactions, productivity, succession, and coevolution), evolution (e.g., natural selection, speciation, colonization, and island biogeography), and natural history (e.g., identification and observations of common tropical plant, bird, mammal, and insect taxa) as they pertain to the habitats we visit and study. Students also learn about the threats to these habitats and complexity surrounding their conservation. Students are exposed to some of the customs and diverse cultures of the country through programs and our guides who are Ecuadorian naturalists, conservation scientists, and academics. 8. Paideia II. P. Green Europe: Advanced Models of Sustainability: This course explores environmental sustainability in Europe, where many nations are significantly ahead of the U.S. in the development of renewable and low-carbon energy sources (wind, solar, biomass, and nuclear power), as well as in the education of citizens about the conservation of nature in the context of global warming and climate change. We will consider long-term ethical and practical issues associated with alternative energy sources and public policies designed to increase their use. There will be a special focus on Germany, the largest economy in Europe, where strong influence by the environmental movement led to a government-mandated phaseout of nuclear power and significant investments in renewable energy sources. The situation in Germany will be compared with other countries in Europe, such as Denmark, Norway, or the United Kingdom. 9. Social Work 239: Imagining a Sustainable Future: Scandinavian Models: What kind of future do we expect, and want to create, by 2050—given issues like global climate change, population and food, globalization, resource depletion, and environmental destruction? This travel course to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark will explore Scandinavian models and Scandinavian culture to help us understand what might be coming and what we can do to create the kind of world we want to live in.