The Beach, Spring Semester 2012
(4.5 English and 1.5 Kines credits)
English professor provides adventure
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Engage in reading and discussion in the classroom about the cultural and environmental importance of tidal swamps, marshes, and beaches, and then learn more on-site at Francis Marion National Forest and Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. There you will kayak on Wambaw Creek, Bulls Bay, and along the Atlantic coastlines and spend a week exploring the swamps, beaches, and marshes of the area, including archaeological sites associated with Native American life in the region; its rich colonial and antebellum history; the ecology of the uninhabited Bull Island, home to red wolves, alligators, and an incredible diversity of birds and other wildlife; and many of the elements and concerns that contribute to what Low Country culture is today. The class will kayak among five-hundred-year-old cypress trees, sample local cuisines, and come to understand the cultural tapestry of the Carolina Low Country in exceptional depth.
You will look at ways that the beach is represented in the writings of authors such as Rachel Carson, Jan DeBlieu, Loren Eiseley, Barry Lopez, and David Quammen, and we will see how the area we are visiting has been treated in the writings of its native sons: Franklin Burroughs and Archibald Rutledge.
In addition to reading, assignments will include such activities as keeping a reading journal and a journal of your experiences in the field, taking weekly quizzes on assigned reading, and completing a term project on some aspect of the culture or ecology of littoral zones.
An introductory course in recreational and sea kayaking is part of this program, so students will learn the skills they need for their South Carolina adventure in day-trips near University Park during the week prior to leaving for the Low Country.
The outing will be conducted through the auspices of Nature Adventures Outfitters, "Charleston's Most Knowledgeable, Professional, Experienced, and Respectable Kayak- and Canoe-Guided Tour Service." Instructors will teach paddling techniques to the inexperienced kayakers. More information about Nature Adventures Outfitters can be found on the Web at www.natureadventuresoutfitters.com.
