2001

Civil War Alumni College aboard the Delta Queen Steamboat From Nashville to Chattanooga

May 14 - 23, 2001

Professor James M. McPherson h70, George Henry Davis '86 Professor of American History

Five generations have passed since the conclusion of the Civil War, and yet this singular event in the history of our country is still with us. Every year hundreds of books and magazine articles probe every aspect of the conflict. Civil War Round Tables and Lincoln Associations continue to increase their memberships. And annually, at state parks and historic sites, thousands of Americans don Union blue or Confederate gray, shoulder their Springfield muskets, and reenact Civil War battles.

The Civil War Alumni College, May 14 - 23, 2001, is a voyage into our nation's past. Aboard the Delta Queen steamboat we cruise the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, exploring some of the most crucial and poignant battlegrounds of the "War Between the States"-Stones River, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, and Chattanooga. Specially designed excursions and presentations offer a unique glimpse into the violent conflict that tested the mettle of a new nation and its definition of freedom-the Civil War.

Other highlights include a living-history farm in the Land Between the Lakes region; the birthplace of W.C. Handy, "Father of the Blues"; and the historic neighborhoods of Paducah, Kentucky, and Huntsville, Alabama. Our College dramatically concludes in Chattanooga, around which the famous battles of Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge took place.

Gods and Heroes: Mythology in the Greek Isles

July 26 - August 4, 2001

Professor Georgia Nugent '73, Associate Provost

No traveler can really see Greece in a single trip. Despite its relatively small geographical size, Greece encompasses many separate and distinct worlds. Our voyage will give us an opportunity to glimpse several of these different worlds. Some sites we will visit, like Delphi and Olympus, are renowned throughout the world; others, like the tiny mountain village of Makrinitsa, or the ancient spa of Edipsos, are little known. Our travels will not only take us to differing geographical sites but, effectively, to different eras in Greek history. Our major emphasis will be on the storied antiquity of Greece--Delphi, the center of the earth sacred to Apollo; Olympus, the mountain dwelling place of the gods; Pelion, where the centaur Chiron educated the young Achilles, and many more. But we will also encounter the Byzantine past, particularly in the extraordinary hilltop monasteries of Meteora. And, throughout our journey, we will enjoy the Greece of today, with its peaceful village squares, inviting small harbors, azure skies, and warm evening breezes. The 34-guest Callisto enables us not only to explore in comfort but also to put in at lovely small islands that large cruise ships can't reach. Whether a first-time visitor to Greece or a seasoned Hellenophile, participants in this Alumni College will discover one of the country's most beautiful, diverse, and unspoiled regions

Alumni Summer School Exploring Opera: Performance and Art

July 2001 (dates to be announced)

Featuring Princeton Faculty in Music, Literature, and Art

Join us on campus this summer for an enriching three days exploring opera, performance and art.

The Summer School features performances from the New Jersey Opera Festival at McCarter Theater. Mornings and afternoons are devoted to lectures and discussions of the musical, literary, artistic, and historical background of each opera. Evenings conclude with opera performances at McCarter Theater. Participants are encouraged to enjoy the leisure and cultural offerings of campus during free time.

On-campus housing and dining options are available.

The Opera Festival of New Jersey has not yet announced its 2001 season. Please stay tuned for more information, as the performance and academic schedules become finalized.

Politics and Nature in East Africa: A Princeton University Alumni College

August 14 - 27, 2001

Professor Jeffrey I. Herbst '83, Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Chair of the Department of Politics
Professor Daniel I. Rubenstein, Professor and Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Join Princeton faculty on an Alumni College expedition to explore the politics and wildlife of two of Africa's most fascinating countries. Your journey through Kenya and Tanzania will capture the continent's remarkable diversity of politics, wildlife, and geography. Jeffrey I. Herbst '83, Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Chair of the Politics Department, and Daniel I. Rubenstein, Professor and Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology will bring their considerable expertise to guide the expedition. Professors Herbst and Rubenstein are veteran Alumni College leaders, having led Colleges in South Africa in 1997 and in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe in 1999.

This Princeton adventure begins as you fly from New York to Nairobi, Kenya, for an in-depth exploration of the political history and culture of this multi-faceted city. Continue by private aircraft to the conservation research areas of Mpala and Lewa Downs, where you will have the opportunity to meet with resident Princeton researchers and explore while also searching for Kenya's plains game and predators. From Lewa, you will enter the Rift Valley for the first time, flying by private aircraft over the flamingo-covered soda lakes into the famous Masai Mara for big-game viewing of the wildebeest and zebra migrations.

Fly from Masai Mara past snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro to Tanzania. Transfer by light aircraft to the Ngorongoro Crater, which lies within the heart of the Great East Africa Rift Valley. Your accommodation, located on the crater rim, will provide excellent views of the crater. Spend two days observing big game on the crater floor.

From the Ngorongoro Crater, fly by private aircraft to the island of Zanzibar, just off the coast of Tanzania. Spend your final three days exploring the island's historic cities and pristine beaches, before your international return flights to the U.S.

We hope you will join Professors Herbst and Rubenstein and your fellow Princetonians on this educational exploration of modern Africa.

In the Wake of Lewis and Clark: History, Engineering, and Environment

October 24 - 30, 2001

Professor David Billington '50, Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of Program in Architecture and Engineering.

Beginning as a trickle in the high alpine meadows of western Canada, the Columbia River flows through great, forested mountains and down desert canyons. Joined by the Snake River, it rolls with increasing force through fertile farmlands, past snow-covered volcanoes, and finally knifes through a mountain range to complete a 1,200-mile journey to the sea. This is the grand gateway to the west, pioneered by Lewis and Clark, roamed by fur traders, and traversed by courageous settlers as they forged their way over the Oregon Trail.

Along the Columbia River and her tributaries, a watershed the size of France, more than 100 dams have been built in just over 50 years, creating the world's largest hydro-electric plant. Water diverted for irrigation has transformed a desert into a breadbasket. Navigation locks with some of the highest lifts in the world enable barges to transport wheat and wood products from an "Inland Empire" that extends all the way to Idaho. The benefits of these astounding achievements have not come without costs. Despite fish ladders and other efforts to assist the salmon around the dams on the their return to their spawning beds, this seemingly inexhaustible resource is now in serious decline. The causes and possible solutions are currently the subject of study and debate, with enormous potential consequences to the entire Pacific Northwest.

Our voyage out west will be led by Professor David Billington '50, renowned Professor of Engineering at Princeton. Professor Billington will lecture upon the structural features of the locks and dams that mark the journey, as well as the heated policy debate surrounding the issues of engineering, environment, and economy. Professor Billington will be joined by staff historians and naturalists who will enrich the academic program through their presentations on local wildlife and the historical journey of Lewis and Clark.

The Alumni Council produces Alumni Colleges to showcase the strengths of the University. Each program offered to alumni and friends of the University is unique and specially designed with this goal in mind.

Questions regarding Alumni Colleges? Contact Christine Hollendonner, Assistant for Alumni Education, 609-258-5854, chollen@princeton.edu.

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This page is maintained by Domingo Monet '93 (monet@princeton.edu) for The Alumni Council.

Last Update: August 29, 2000