This is the Way

Catalog description

In this course, students embark on pilgrimage. We will learn by doing. Students will travel with professors to Spain for two weeks to walk the final 100 km of the Camino de Santiago, the 1000-year old pilgrim trail, to earn their Compostela. Along the journey students will keep a journal to record and reflect upon the connection between mental health, mindfulness, conscious awareness, and body movement in the present. Students will engage in dialog with fellow pilgrims (peregrinos) along the way and be asked to reflect on the culture, history, anthropology, and architecture of pilgrimage and how it affects the geography and people where it takes place. Extended stays will occur in the towns of Santiago and Madrid. In Santiago, students will examine and explore the history and architecture of ancient cathedrals, monasteries, and art and cultural museums. Upon returning, the experience is completed by reflection upon individual meaning.