UHON 1999

Travel Seminar: Peru

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
CRN 22253 • Spring 2018 • 1 credit hour
Tuesdays 4:30–5:20

Dr. Gregory O'Dea

Classroom: Fletcher 212 Office: Honors House 204

Phone: 423-425-4166 Hours: MTW 2:00–3:00
Email: gregory-odea@utc.edu and by appointment

Catalog Description:
Individual or group project. On demand. Prerequisite: department head approval.

The Course
UHON 1999 – Travel Seminar is designed to prepare and support students during a ten-day learning
experience in Peru. In this course we will attempt to "read" the map of our travels by exploring some of
the geographic, cultural, artistic, historical, and literary contexts of this nation.

Student Learning Outcomes – after completing this course, students will be able to:
• Describe the significance of some important built environments in Peru
• Describe their own perceptions of Peruvian culture, gained both through research and personal
experience
• Plan for efficient travel to and through unfamiliar place
• Engage consciously, creatively, and mindfully with an unfamiliar place

Dates of travel: May 10–20

Course Fee: $1600: payments due December 9 ($500), February 13 ($550), and March 6 ($550)

Materials: The following materials are required:

• A current travel guide to Peru. I recommend Fodor's, Frommer's, and DK Eyewitness.
• A physical field journal – size and form is up to you, but I recommend 5"x8" Moleskine-type
notebooks for portability, and for the convenient pocket in the back.

Class Meetings: We will hold five classes prior to the trip to discuss:
• Particulars of travel (calendar, itinerary, hotel accommodations, "best practices" for international
travel, rules and regulations, etc.)
• Assignments you will complete to fulfill the course requirements
• Peruvian history, environment, and culture
• Art and architectural history of particular relevance to the built environments we will visit
Course Assessments and Requirements: Your final grade will result from your performance on these
assignments:
• Peruvian Culture Presentation ......................................... 300 points
• Field Journal .................................................................... 300 points
• Travel Portfolio ................................................................ 400 points

Please note: all students will be assigned a grade of "Incomplete" at the end of the semester. A standard
letter grade will be assigned after you submit your final Travel Portfolio.

Grading Scale: A= 90–100 points; B= 80–89; C= 70–79; D= 60–69; F= 50 or below

Peruvian Culture Presentation

Working in groups of three, students will prepare a 15-minute presentation (Powerpoint, Prezi, etc.)
on a significant aspect of Peruvian history, environment, or culture, to be delivered in class. Your
presentation should make clear why the topic is important, and deliver substantial information based
on multiple documented sources of research (i.e., you’ll need to get well beyond Wikipedia). Be sure
to include carefully chosen images, graphics, etc. and, where appropriate, highlight connections to our
itinerary. Each student in the group should have an equal hand in the research, presentation creation,
and presentation.

Field Journal
Each student will keep an individual "field journal" before, during, and after our travels. The journal
should be a physical notebook in which you record observations, questions, ideas, reflections,
historical information, and even sketches and found objects. I recommend a 5x8 Moleskine-type
notebook, as they are portable, durable, and have a pocket in the back where you can store ticket stubs
and other objects you might want to keep. Plan to carry your journal around with you while in Peru.

You are required to write at least a one-page journal entry per day during the trip (preferably more),
and of various types. A few journal entry topics are assigned; for most entries, though, the topics and
contents are up to you.

Assigned contents – your journal must contain the following:

Before the Trip:

• An entry in which you reflect on some things you already know about Peru, some things you
want to learn more about, and how you might go about learning what you don't yet know.

During the Trip:

• Daily entries (at least) reflecting on your journey – what you've seen and heard, what it makes
you think about, questions prompted by your experiences, connections to aspects of your own
life. Try to take a variety of approaches to these entries; they shouldn't just list things you did
each day. Instead, use your journal as a means of engaging consciously, creatively, and
mindfully with what is happening around you. Write detailed descriptions of a street scene,
record snippets of dialogue, draw maps and sketches – experiment.
• A sketch of a scene, a building, or some other site you visit. It doesn't have to be good, but you
must attempt it. The idea is to get you to see and record differently than you do with a camera.
 • A poem about an experience you have. Again, it doesn't have to be good; it can even be
humorous. The idea is to get you to think and describe things differently than you probably do
in a prose journal entry.

After the Trip

• An entry in which you reflect on what you learned, how you learned it, why that learning
matters, and how the knowledge you've gained might lead to further experiences (academic,
personal, professional, service, etc.). How did this journey help you see something in a new
way? (For this entry, it's important to return to your pre-trip entry and think about how
differently you might write it now.) This entry should be multiple pages long.

Travel Portfolio
You will present all of the assignments described above in an electronic Travel Portfolio. The design and
contents of the portfolio are mostly up to you, but it must include the following:
• Your Peruvian Culture Presentation
• Well-selected original photos of your visits to major sites, clearly captioned and accompanied by
reflections from your Field Journal
• All specifically required Field Journal entries, and selected scanned pages from your daily entries.
I recommend using Google Sites, Weebly, or Wix to create the portfolio — whatever you use to create
your Honors College Learning Portfolio (and of course, you should include a link to the Travel Portfolio
in your Learning Portfolio. You can find links to lots of video tutorials on how to use these platforms on
YouTube.

Technology Requirements: Access to computer and internet. Proficiency with Microsoft Word or other
word processing software; proficiency with Microsoft Powerpoint or other presentation software.

Technology Support: If you have problems with your UTC email account or with UTC Learn, contact IT
Solutions Center at 423-425-4000 or email itsolutions@utc.edu.

Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend all scheduled class meetings.
Absences must be excused in advance by the instructor, unless caused by a documented
emergency.

Policy for Late/Missing Work: All assignments must be completed on time in order to
receive full credit. Late work will be penalized one full letter grade for each day it is late.

Student Conduct Policy: UTC’s Academic Integrity Policy is stated in the Student
Handbook.

Honor Code Pledge: I pledge that I will neither give nor receive unauthorized aid on
any test or assignment. I understand that plagiarism constitutes a serious instance of
unauthorized aid. I further pledge that I exert every effort to ensure that the Honor
Code is upheld by others and that I will actively support the establishment and
continuance of a campus-wide climate of honor and integrity.

Communication: Class announcements will be made through UTC Learn

(http://www.utc.edu/learn/) and via email. Please check your UTC email and UTC Learn
at least daily). If you have problems with accessing your UTC email account or UTC
Learn, contact the Solutions Center at 423-425-4000. The instructor is most easily
available via email, and will usually respond to student emails within 24 hours.

Course Learning Evaluation: Course evaluations are an important part of our efforts to
continuously improve the learning experience at UTC. Toward the end of the semester,
you will receive a link to evaluations and are expected to complete them. We value your
feedback and appreciate you taking time to complete the anonymous evaluations.

Class Schedule
January 23 Introduction to travel seminar; travel guidelines; discussion of assignments.
February 20: Incan Art and Architecture
March 20: Group Presentations - Round 1
March 27: Group Presentations - Round 2
April 10: Travel nuts and bolts; pre-trip Field Journal entries due (bring journal to class meeting)
June 15: Travel Portfolio due (email link to gregory-odea@utc.edu)