A conspicuous feature of modern Greece—the culture (especially the literature) as well as the physical setting—is the irruption of the ancient past into the present. Here it is possible, as the poet Yannis Ritsos observes, for a woman washing clothes in a river, while sheep are grazing nearby amid the marble ruins of an ancient temple, to “spread her husband's underpants on Hera's shoulders.” You can even find an ice cream sundae called Persephone, decorated as it is with pomegranate seeds. Of course even the mundane will seem exotic to first-time travelers in Greece, and a major objective of this course is to experience city and village life on foot and through public transportation and to appreciate the food, music, dance, and religious practices and other customs. But how the ancient past is imagined as well as seen to be present will be our theme—as it has been for such famous travelers as Lord Byron and Henry Miller, whom we’ll read. In the 20th century Greece produced many celebrated poets, and with a selection of their work also at hand, we'll foot our way through Athens, hike the sacred slopes at Delphi, and in the Peloponnesus—where Mycenaean culture and classical antiquity (Roman as well as Greek) and Byzantine Greece, with its ornate churches and monasteries, and Venetian Greece, with its lofty fortresses, all intrude on the modern scene—we’ll “drink the sun” (at a picturesque seaside resort) while “reading the ruins.” Along the way we'll learn some Greek history and consider Greece’s aesthetic and intellectual contribution to the ancient and modern world. We’ll also consider the intercultural experiences of those famous earlier travelers, Byron and Miller, at the sites where they recorded them; and we’ll reflect with Greek poets of the modern age on the uneasy relationship of the present to the ever-present past. By the end of the module, students will be able to talk informatively about distinctive features of ancient ruins and modern life in Greece and the conjunction of the two—and even to speak and read a little of the language.

At the end of World War I, Parisians danced in the streets with British, Canadian, and American soldiers to celebrate the end of the war. The party continued into the roaring 20s, when artists like Cocteau, Picasso, Chagall, and Man Ray; intellectuals like André Gide and Colette; performers like Josephine Baker; and expatriates like Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald flooded Paris's cafés and bistros. Whereas Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin loved Paris during the 18th century as the city of Light and Reason; Ernest Hemingway and the Lost Generation of the 1920s and 30s were attracted to Paris as a site of artistic energy and cultural tolerance; Americans today flock to Paris as the city of high fashion, high art, and great cuisine. In short, Paris for Americans has always stood for the embodiment of "the good life."

This module—"Americans in Paris: The Quest for the Good Life"—will examine numerous texts by American writers, artists, musicians, and intellectuals about Paris. We then ask Centenary students to compare and contrast their own experience of Paris with readings from American writers, musicians, artists, and intellectuals who have been visiting and writing about France since the 18th century.

Students will live and study in Paris for two weeks and in the process get to know one of the major world cities. Students on this module will be asked to reflect intensely on how the Paris of their experience will compare and contrast to the Paris of Jefferson and Franklin, the Paris of Mark Twain, Henry James, and Mary Cassatt, as well as to the Paris of the Dadaists and the Surrealists, the Paris of Hemingway and Fitzgerald and the other American modernist artists who inhabited Paris between the wars.

On some level we will live as tourists: we will visit the great Parisian museums; we will hear wonderful music in ancient churches; we will stroll along the grand boulevards and admire the rationality of Parisian urban life—all of which Americans have always done. On another level, however, we will try to live as the Parisians themselves: we will buy bread and cheese and ham from the corner markets; we will wash our clothes in the hotel Laundromat; we will enjoy the grand spectacle of Parisian life walking by us as we sit in a sidewalk café and drink our espresso. All the while we will be reading, observing, taking notes, and talking to whomever we can about our impressions and our thoughts.
The ultimate goal of this class is not only to learn about another culture, in this case one of the great cultures of the world, but to use that knowledge to reflect seriously on our own cultural background and heritage and to try to answer the question: "what does it mean to live 'the good life'"?

Students will explore the major cultural traditions of Southern Haiti, including aspects of Haitian Vodou practices and beliefs. This module fulfills the requirements for Culture credit. Students will receive this credit by interacting with native Haitians in Les Cayes, including students at Big House and Darivager childrens’ homes, members of the communities surrounding these homes, learning basic creole, and purchasing food in a local market.

The Australia Module, Discovering the Land Down Under, allows students the opportunity to interact with the various cultures of the Australian people. Although Australia is commonly referred to as the “land down under,” the country has a significant impact on global economy and business. Formerly agrarian in nature, the economy of the country has evolved so that Australia is now a competitive player in diverse international markets. Originally, native indigenous peoples and convict settlements comprised the majority of the population. Today, the country is primarily populated by people of British descent. That being said, Australia is a tolerant and inclusive society—a nation built by people from many different backgrounds. Vietnam, China, Greece and the United Kingdom are among the main countries from which Australians have migrated. Cultural diversity has become a touchstone of Australia’s national identity. Participants in this module travel to Sydney, Brisbane, Noosa and Cairns, Australia to explore the history, culture and social environment of the country. Interaction with native Australian citizens will take place on a daily basis. Key differences between the social and cultural aspects of the people of Australia and the United States will be examined.

Students will explore the major religious traditions of Northern India, with special attention granted to the traditions and teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Objectives:
1. To study Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Islam in the socio-cultural context of Northern India
2. To study Tibetan Buddhism under several high lamas (Rinpoches)
3. To visit the major temples and shrines of these religious traditions, including the Taj Mahal
4. To establish an email relationship with a Tibetan refugee two months prior to departure and spend significant face-to-face time with their email partner while in Dharamsala, India
5. To provide students an optional opportunity to fulfill their Service Learning requirement while in Dharamsala.

Cultural and Community credit available for this course.

The course will be an analysis of the fauna and flora on a 150 acre finca. It is a working dairy farm surrounded on two of the three sides by a tropical dry forest. The students collect samples of the fauna or flora on the finca and catalog the collection. A special attempt will be made to learn about the natural history of several species to include in the database. In the spirit of Gaviotis, students will participate in sustainable development projects based on methane generation, solar energy, or other projects.

Lectures on the characteristics and formation of Mesoamerica and Nicaragua will be given. The Holdridge Life Zone System and its application to the tropical dry forest will be an important biological focus. Techniques for the collection, care and preparation of specimens will be taught and used during the module.

Trips to several points of interest will be made during the 15 days of the module. Among these will be trips to Granada, Masaya and to a fishing port, La Boquita. Other trips will be to points of biological interests: Lago Nicaragua, Reserva Mombacho, the Pacific Ocean and a tropical dry forest preserve and active volcanoes.

An examination of Native American cultures in the Four Corners Region (NM-CO-UT-AZ): Through study of the cultural and physical environments and interaction with Pueblo, Navajo, and Hopi people, students will examine cultural continuity, change, and adaptation. Examples for study will be drawn from agricultural practices, architecture, arts and crafts, and social organization, and spiritual practice. The course will include a service project on the Navajo Reservation.

By visiting the Mississippi Delta (which cultural critics claim begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and stretches south through the cotton fields along the Mississippi River) students gain an understanding and appreciation of the music, visual art, architecture, mythology, literature, and history of indigenous artists who represent the fullest flowering of culture created in the unique encounters between Europe and Africa, industry and agriculture, and privilege and poverty. The exploration of such cultural productions as Delta Blues, rock and roll, and soul music; Outsider or Self-Taught Folk Artists; and the literature of William Faulkner, Richard Wright, and Tennessee Williams will provide students with the opportunity to make connections between this uniquely rich subculture and the broader American culture it has so profoundly shaped. By the end of the module, students will appreciate the indispensable contributions Delta artists and cultures have made and continue to make to the world the students inhabit.

What is culture? Do cultures exist among non-human animals? And if so, how do we study those cultures? This module invites students to explore the meaning of "culture" and "intercultural engagement" in the context of our relationship to non-human primates. Students on this module will explore key works in cultural primatology and animal studies, and will apply that understanding during extensive observation of chimpanzee social groups at Chimp Haven National Chimpanzee Sanctuary.

Ancient Americans constructed massive mounds and earthworks, some presumably for ritual use, some as part of habitations, some even shaped in the form of animals. Long a source of fascination for the popular American imagination, such sites will be the focus of this course. We will explore what we can know about the cultures that built, inhabited, or otherwise used them, the raw data they offer up about material culture and daily life, and the sorts of speculations and hypotheses advanced by various parties. Exploring a great mystery of American history, we will focus on critical analysis of evidence and on applying a hermeneutics of suspicion to layers of interpretation that have been applied to these enigmatic sites.

This module informs students about Latino culture as it exists in the United States, with a focus on the immediate area of Shreveport and the surrounding ArkLaTex. Among the research questions considered are what are the distinctive characteristics of Latino culture, and what are the difficulties and challenges some Latinos in the Arklatex experience either because of their culture, how they are stereotyped, their ethnic identity, or their civil status?