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 among 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 before embarking. With work by contemporary Greek authors (as well as a travel guide) at hand, we'll move through Athens, with a daytrip to ancient Mycenae and Epidaurus in the Peloponnesus; travel inland by coach to sacred Delphi and the monasteries of Meteora; then ferry to the volcanic island Santorini, "where the world blew up about the time of Minos." Along the way we'll learn some Greek history and consider Greek culture'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 George Seferis and Yannis Ritsos, 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.

North Germany: Bremen. The 2012 module in North Germany (Bremen) offers students the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures, observe city and rural life, and study world-famous works of art and architecture from various centuries. In Bremen, students will meet Germans on a daily basis. Furthermore, meetings are planned which include students and other young people living there. Follow-up discussions will allow for deeper intercultural reflections.

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'"?

It's one thing to read about the developing world. It's another to be there. In this module, students will learn first-hand about the life within and near the orphanages of Les Cayes, a coastal city nearly five hundred years old located on the southern peninsula of Haiti. We won't just watch. Students will work with children and staff at the Bigarrouse Orphanage (aka "The Big House"), teach classes to Haitians, and take classes on Haitian history and culture from many of the same people. Students will visit the local market, hike trails used since before Columbus, learn basic Creole and Haitian history, and critically examine our relationship with Haiti.

This Module 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.

This course is about how personal contact with the natural environment and the cultures that exist within it can facilitate understanding of culture-environment interrelationships. It is also about how eco-tourism seeks to create that contact and understanding. Students will experience three of the world's top eco-tourism destinations in this one module. At each site, students will experience nature, culture, and relationships between the two. Taking advantage of the remarkable convergence of environmental and cultural diversity of Ecuador, the professors will take students to two of the most important ecological sites in the world, the Galapagos Islands, and the Amazon Rainforest, and another site between them, the high Andes. This trip will teach students how the unique characteristics of each of these three ecosystems have shaped cultures that have developed in response to them. This module will also teach students people are led to recognize those effects through the burgeoning industry of eco-tourism and adventure tourism, where tourists personally experience nature and culture by actively engaging them.

Students will explore the major religious traditions of Northern India (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and Islam, with special attention granted to the traditions and teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. In preparation for this one-month course, participants will establish an email relationship with a Tibetan nun or monk two months prior to departure, read two textbooks, view three documentaries, attend several orientation sessions and have an individual meeting with the module instructors. Students will be expected to spend significant face-to-face time with their Tibetan Mutual Learning partner while in Dharamsala, India. Major temples and shrines of religious traditions will be on the itinerary, including the Taj Mahal.

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.

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.