2012 Chautauqua Short Course Program
Sponsored by
Center for STEM Education
The University of Texas at Austin
James P. Barufaldi, Ph.D., Director
Center for STEM Education
E-mail: jamesb@mail.utexas.edu
http://www.edb.utexas.edu/csme/
Additional information contact
Gail Seale, Coordinator
Phone: 512-232-6202
gails@mail.utexas.edu
NOTE: We encourage early registration so we may confirm that a course as “made,” as soon as possible. Early registration enables participants to purchase less expensive airline tickets and request travel support from their institutions. To reserve your space, a $100 registration fee must be sent in advance to Dr. James P. Barufaldi, Chautauqua Field Director's Office, UT Austin (D5500), Austin, TX 78712. In the event a course does not make, the registration and course fees are refunded or may be transferred to another course (IF your cancellation is at least one month prior to course date). Proceeds may be used in general support of the College of Education, the University of Texas at Austin.
ANCIENT ASTRONOMY AND CULTURE IN NORTHERN BOLIVIA: LAKE TITICACA, THE ISLAND OF THE SUN AND EQUINOX AT TIWANAKU
Dr. Edwin Barnhart, Maya Exploration Center
Dates: March 17 - 22, 2012
Note: Participants will be responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from La Paz, Bolivia. Current airfares are running $1000-1200. A course fee to cover in-country costs for lodging, transportation, breakfasts, and entry fees, estimated at $1100, will be paid by the participants. Meals during the week and other incidentals will cost an estimated additional $200. To reserve your space, a $100 registration fee must be sent in advance to Dr. James P. Barufaldi, Chautauqua Field Director's Office, UT Austin (D5500), Austin, TX 78712.
Course Description: This brief adventure to Northern Bolivia is timed to the March equinox, autumn in South America. Course participants will learn about the Aymara people, the ecology of Lake Titicaca, the Island of the Sun, and the astronomical alignments of Bolivia’s greatest archaeological mystery – the ancient city of Tiwanaku.
The course will begin and end in the world’s highest capital city, La Paz, at 12,000 feet above sea level. Striking out the next morning for Lake Titicaca, the group will arrive to Copacabana on a Sunday in time to witness the parade of people waiting to have their colorfully decorated cars blessed in front of the Basilica de Virgen de la Candelaria. A two hour boat ride at dawn the next day will take course participants for a hike across the Island of the Sun to the place where Inca mythology states that the god Viracocha first called forth the Sun and Moon to rise. That evening they depart for Tiwanaku, arriving just in time to watch the sun set over its temples. That evening Dr. Barnhart will present a lecture about the debate surrounding Tiwanaku’s true antiquity and purpose.
The next morning will be March 20th, equinox, and special permission will grant the group access to the ruins before dawn. Standing in the center of the Kalasasaya Temple, they will watch the equinox sun rise through its central eastern doorway. After a thorough tour of the rest of Tiwanaku and its onsite museum, the course will head back to La Paz in time to explore its famous Witches Market. The course will come to a celebratory close that evening in La Paz with a final group dinner. Flights the next day will get participants back home on a Wednesday night.
For people interested in the following subjects: Ancient culture, astronomy, ecology, religious studies, architecture, geography, archaeology, anthropology, history, art history, sociology, philosophy and other related social sciences fields.
Prerequisites: While not a requirement, participants are encouraged to have at least some knowledge of ancient Andean culture and modern day Bolivia. Dr. Ed Barnhart can recommend readings for those interested in learning more before the trip. The tours will involve climbing ruins in high altitudes and cold weather. Participants in weak physical condition are encouraged to build strength and stamina before the trip. Consult your physician about the possibility of medicines to abate the effects of high altitude.
For people interested in the following subjects and college teachers of: religion, culture, astronomy, mathematics, geography, archaeology, anthropology, history, sociology, philosophy and other related social sciences fields.
Prerequisites: Participants are encouraged to have at least some knowledge of Ancient and Modern Maya culture. Ed Barnhart can recommend readings for those interested in learning more before the trip. The tours will involve hiking in hot, humid weather and the ceremonies while involve hours of standing. Participants in weak physical condition are encouraged to build strength and stamina before the trip.
About your instructor: Dr. Ed Barnhart has worked in Mexico and Central America for the last twenty years as an archaeologist, an explorer, and an instructor. During his four years as the student of Dr. Linda Schele (world renowned for finally breaking the Maya code of hieroglyphics in 1973) he developed a strong background in Maya hieroglyphics, calendar systems, iconography, and archaeoastronomy. During his graduate career, South American iconography and shamanism were also major foci of his studies. From 1998 to 2000 he was the Director of the Palenque Mapping Project, an archaeological survey that discovered over 1000 new structures in the Maya ruins of Palenque. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and is now the Director of the Maya Exploration Center, a non-profit research center based in Austin, Texas and Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. He and his team are currently investigating archaeoastronomy and ancient geometry in the ruins of Central America, South America, and Cambodia. Visit www.mayaexploration.org for more information about Dr. Barnhart and the Maya Exploration Center.
SCIENCE, THEOLOGY, AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION
Dr. Charles M. Wynn, Sr., Eastern Connecticut State University and
Arthur W. Wiggins, Oakland (Michigan) Community College
Held on the University of Texas at Austin campus, Austin, Texas
Dates: June 7-9, 2012
Note: Participants will be responsible for arranging their own transportation. A course fee of $140 (in addition to the $100 registration fee) will cover course related expenses. To reserve your space, a $100 registration fee must be sent in advance to Dr. James P. Barufaldi, Chautauqua Field Director's Office, UT Austin (D5500), Austin, TX 78712.
Course Description: When a scientist says, “The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection is the most plausible explanation for the diversity of life,” how does he or she support that hypothesis? How does a religious person support belief in “a personal God who answers prayers”? To help answer these questions and in the process gain a better understanding of the nature of science and theology, the reasoning process used by scientists to support hypotheses about the natural world will be outlined and then compared and contrasted with its theological parallels. The workshop will then discuss input from members of the Abrahamic faiths who have attempted to reconcile science, theology, and the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection: David Kay, Conservative Rabbi in Florida, Howard Van Till, a Christian who is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Physics at Calvin College in Michigan, and T.O. Shanavas, M.D., a Muslim who is a pediatrician in Michigan. Each participant will receive a copy of And God said, “Let there be evolution!”: Reconciling the Book of Genesis, the Qur’an and the Theory of Evolution, co-edited by Wynn and Wiggins, which includes contributions from Kay, Van Till, and Shanavas.
For college teachers of: all disciplines. Prerequisites: none
Charles M. Wynn is Professor of Chemistry at Eastern Connecticut State University. Arthur W. Wiggins is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at Oakland Community College in Michigan where he was Head of the Department of Physical Sciences. Their critically acclaimed science trilogy, The Five Biggest Ideas in Science, The Five Biggest Unsolved Problems in Science, and Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends and Pseudoscience Begins has been translated into eleven languages.
SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN THE ANCIENT INCA EMPIRE: MACHU PICCHU AND THE INTI RAYMI SOLSTICE FESTIVAL IN CUZCO, PERU
Dr. Edwin Barnhart, Maya Exploration Center
Dates: June 16 - 25, 2012
Note: Participants will be responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from Cuzco, Peru. Current airfares are running $700-1200. A course fee to cover in-country costs for lodging, transportation, breakfasts, and entry fees, estimated at $1700, will be paid by the participants. Meals during the week and other incidentals will cost an estimated additional $250. To reserve your space, a $100 registration fee must be sent in advance to Dr. James P. Barufaldi, Chautauqua Field Director's Office, UT Austin (D5500), Austin, TX 78712.
Course Description: The home base for this course will be Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. At 11,000 feet above sea level, the first two days of the course will be spent adjusting to the altitude by attending lectures and visiting only nearby museums. The lectures will cover Inca culture, astronomy, and their little understood khipus, bands of colorful knotted strings known to represent numbers, and probably other information. From studying the khipu, participants will see the Inca had developed a base 10, positional counting system, along with the concept of zero. The travel scope will then expand, first to the ruins around Cuzco, then by train to the ruins of Machu Picchu for two days. On the way back from Machu Picchu, a day will be spent in the ruins and modern Inca villages of the Sacred Valley.
Returning to Cuzco in the late afternoon of June 23rd, participants will join thousands of people in the in the Plaza de Armas to celebrate the June Solstice. Parades run through the streets all weekend with every village in the region represented by their own troop. The climax of the festivities occurs on sunday at noon – Inti Raymi. The crowds lift up the current Inca and his wife (yes, they are truly recognized as descendants of the ancient royalty) and carry them up the mountainside to the shrine of Sascahuaman. There, in front of a massive crowd and televised on Peru’s national TV, the Inca sacrifices a black llama. The past 500 years of acculturation mean nothing that day. Cuzco and its quechua speaking inhabitants are still and will always be, Inca.
The course’s last two days will be spent in Cuzco and back in Lima. The day directly after the festival will be in Cuzco where participants will learn how to construct their own Inca khipu, relax, and give the other festival goers a chance to vacate the city. The last day will be a tour of Lima, with an early flight from Cuzco down to the coast and a private bus to bring them around the city. Flights back to the USA typically leave around midnight from Lima international airport.
For people interested in the following subjects: Ancient culture, mathematics, astronomy, religious studies, architecture, geography, archaeology, anthropology, history, art history, sociology, philosophy and other related social sciences fields.
Prerequisites: While not a requirement, participants are encouraged to have at least some knowledge of ancient Inca culture. Dr. Ed Barnhart can recommend readings for those interested in learning more before the trip. The tours will involve climbing ruins in high altitudes and cold weather. Participants in weak physical condition are encouraged to build strength and stamina before the trip. Consult your physician about the possibility of medicines to abate the effects of high altitude.
About your instructor: Dr. Ed Barnhart has worked in Mexico and Central America for the last twenty years as an archaeologist, an explorer, and an instructor. During his four years as the student of Dr. Linda Schele (world renowned for finally breaking the Maya code of hieroglyphics in 1973) he developed a strong background in Maya hieroglyphics, calendar systems, iconography, and archaeoastronomy. During his graduate career, South American iconography and shamanism were also major foci of his studies. From 1998 to 2000 he was the Director of the Palenque Mapping Project, an archaeological survey that discovered over 1000 new structures in the Maya ruins of Palenque. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and is now the Director of the Maya Exploration Center, a non-profit research center based in Austin, Texas and Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. He and his team are currently investigating archaeoastronomy and ancient geometry in the ruins of Central America, South America, and Cambodia. Visit www.mayaexploration.org for more information about Dr. Barnhart and the Maya Exploration Center.
ANCIENT CUTURE AND MODERN ECOLOGY IN PERU: THE PARACAS DESERT, THE BALLESTRAS ISLANDS, AND THE NAZCA LINES
Dr. Edwin Barnhart, Maya Exploration Center
Dates: July 6 - 11, 2012
Note: Participants will be responsible for arranging their own flights to and from Lima, Peru. Current airfares are running $700-1200. A course fee to cover in-country costs for lodging, transportation, breakfasts, entry fees, and flights over the Nazca and Palpa Lines estimated at $1400, will be paid by the participants. Meals during the week and other incidentals will cost an estimated additional $200. To reserve your space, a $100 registration fee must be sent in advance to Dr. James P. Barufaldi, Chautauqua Field Director's Office, UT Austin (D5500), Austin, TX 78712.
Course Description: This six day travel course will be a fascinating combination of unique geography and mysterious archaeology. Starting out in Lima, day one of the course will be spent visiting museums and the gigantic pyramid complexes preserved as parks within the city. Then a six hour drive south will bring participants into one of the driest places in the world - the northern limits of what Chile calls the Atacama Desert. Paracas is the name of the region and the museum in Ica contains dozens of examples of one of Peru’s great archaeological mysteries – the elongated skulls found in Paracas shaft burial tombs. That evening will be spent in the picturesque Huacachina Oasis and a 12-seater dune buggy will take the group far out into the desert hills for an amazing view of the sunset. The next morning, just one hour from the oasis, the course will be on a boat visiting the penguins and sea lions that live on the Ballestras Islands. The Humboldt Current sweeps up from the south along the Paracas desert, making this incredible eco-niche possible. One more hour south will bring the group to the small town of Nazca where they will have the rest of the day off to explore and relax. The final day of the course will be dedicated to the mysterious Nazca Lines. Early morning flights from the tiny Nazca airport will bring participants four at a time over the arid plains where the massive desert drawings lie. Then later that morning, the group will take a second flight, this time over the lesser known Palpa Lines, said by some archaeologists to be much older than the Nazca Lines. Figures rarely seen, including some human forms, will be seen during this second flight. In the afternoon the course heads back to the north, enjoying a final dinner in Lima’s Larco Mar complex. Flights back to the USA will depart from the Lima international airport sometime around midnight.
For people interested in the following subjects: Ancient culture, ecology, astronomy, religious studies, geography, archaeology, anthropology, history, art history, sociology, philosophy and other related social sciences fields.
Prerequisites: While not a requirement, participants are encouraged to have at least some knowledge of ancient Andean desert cultures. Dr. Ed Barnhart can recommend readings for those interested in learning more before the trip. The tours will not be strenuous, but it will involve hot days in the desert and cold evenings. Remember that July is on the middle of South America’s winter. Rain jackets will not be required!
About your instructor: Dr. Ed Barnhart has worked in Mexico and Central America for the last twenty years as an archaeologist, an explorer, and an instructor. During his four years as the student of Dr. Linda Schele (world renowned for finally breaking the Maya code of hieroglyphics in 1973) he developed a strong background in Maya hieroglyphics, calendar systems, iconography, and archaeoastronomy. During his graduate career, South American iconography and shamanism were also major foci of his studies. From 1998 to 2000 he was the Director of the Palenque Mapping Project, an archaeological survey that discovered over 1000 new structures in the Maya ruins of Palenque. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and is now the Director of the Maya Exploration Center, a non-profit research center based in Austin, Texas and Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. He and his team are currently investigating archaeoastronomy and ancient geometry in the ruins of Central America, South America, and Cambodia. Visit www.mayaexploration.org for more information about Dr. Barnhart and the Maya Exploration Center.
THE VOLCANOES AND IGNEOUS LANDFORMS OF NEW MEXICO
Jim Wysong, Hillsborough Community College
Date: July 18 – 20, 2012
(approximately 24 contact hours course and field work)
Note: Short course will be based out of Albuquerque, NM. Participants will be responsible for their own travel to and from Albuquerque, as well as lodging in Albuquerque. To reserve your space, a $100 registration fee must be sent in advance to Dr. James P. Barufaldi, Chautauqua Field Director's Office, UT Austin (D5500), Austin, TX 78712. Along with an additional course fee of $350 which will cover ground transportation, entrance fees, course materials and supplies.
Course Description:
New Mexico offers one of the greatest collections of volcanic landforms in the United States. Though this fact may escape the notice of the typical visitor, geologists and other earth scientists have long trekked to New Mexico to study the volcanic landscape. From one of the youngest large calderas on the planet, to the easternmost site of recent volcanism on the North American Plate, New Mexico is the perfect outdoor classroom to explore igneous landforms. Our field trips will begin each day in Albuquerque, where a line of volcanoes dot the skyline on the West Mesa. During our travels, we will explore lava caves and hike on one of the longest and youngest lava flows in the Western United States. We will also visit and discuss volcanic necks, hot springs, calderas, and fantastic landscapes carved from massive tuff deposits. At each location we visit, the formation and significance of the feature will be explained, as well as the geologic and tectonic context in which it exists. While the focus will be primarily on the physical landscape, we will also examine the relationship that humans have had with this dynamic land from the time of the Paleo-Indians to present day. For more details see
http://www.hccfl.edu/6546.aspx?umbVersion
For college teachers of: all disciplines. Prerequisites: none.
Jim Wysong is a Professor of Earth Science and Program Manager of Sciences at Hillsborough Community College's Brandon Campus in Tampa, FL. He is actively involved in geographic and geological education workshops and science literacy initiatives. Professor Wysong has conducted past Chautauqua Courses in Iceland, Greenland, New Mexico, Tampa Bay, and the Florida Keys.
ARCHAEOASTRONOMY AND GEOMETRY IN THE ANCIENT TEMPLES OF JAVA, INDONESIA: BOROBUDUR, PRAMBANAN, AND YOGYAKARTA
Dr. Edwin Barnhart, Maya Exploration Center
Dates: October 9 - 16, 2012
Note: Participants will be responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from Yogyakarta, Java in Indonesia. Current airfares from the USA through Singapore or Jakarta are running $1500-2200. A course fee to cover in-country costs for lodging, transportation, breakfasts, and entry fees, estimated at $1600, will be paid by the participants. Meals during the week and other incidentals will cost an estimated additional $200. To reserve your space, a $100 registration fee must be sent in advance to Dr. James P. Barufaldi, Chautauqua Field Director's Office, UT Austin (D5500), Austin, TX 78712.
Course Description: Sometime during the 9th century AD the incredible Hindu and Buddhist temple complexes of Central Java were abandoned and their creators moved east. For the next thousand years they lay under increasingly deep layers of volcanic ash, virtually disappearing from the face of the Earth. Though they have been found and slowly uncovered over the last century, few studies regarding their nature have been conducted. Sanskrit texts found here and there provide their names, when they were built, and the kings that commissioned them, but little is known of the culture that used them. This eight day course will investigate the architectural elements of temples of Central Java with a focus on finding evidence of ancient astronomy and geometry. The timing of this course was specifically chosen to coincide with zenith passage in the region - October 13th at 7.5 degrees south latitude. Previous Chautauqua courses to Angkor, Cambodia found good evidence of zenith passage knowledge and the trail now leads back to Java, where the first king of Angkor was known to be held captive before establishing the Khmer Empire in 802 AD. Dr. Barnhart theorizes the same zenith passage oriented architecture will be found in Central Java. Yogyakarta will be the home base for the course, with day trips visiting the temple complexes of Borobudur, Prambanan, and a number of others in the region. Previous studies at Prambanan (said to be the largest Hindu temple complex in the world) have already found evidence of an ancient awareness of zenith passage and for that reason the actual day of zenith passage will be spend there. The other focus of the course will be the search for geometry in temple designs. Simple measurement experiments will be conducted to determine if certain proportions, generally called “sacred geometry” can be found to repeat with the architecture. In addition to the temple visits, the course will visit local museums, markets, outdoor theatre productions, coastal villages, and the still active Volcano Merapi which looms over the city of Yogyakarta.
For people interested in the following subjects: Ancient culture, mathematics, astronomy, religious studies, architecture, geography, archaeology, anthropology, history, art history, sociology, philosophy and other related social sciences fields.
Prerequisites: While not a requirement, participants are encouraged to have at least some knowledge of ancient and modern Javanese culture. Dr. Ed Barnhart can recommend readings for those interested in learning more before the trip. The tours will not be strenuous, but will involve long, hot days in humid weather. Participants are encouraged to consult their personal physicians about any vaccinations that may be required. Indonesia allows tourists from the United States a “visa on arrival” to visit Java for 30 days for $25.
About your instructor: Dr. Ed Barnhart has worked in Mexico and Central America for the last twenty years as an archaeologist, an explorer, and an instructor. During his four years as the student of Dr. Linda Schele (world renowned for finally breaking the Maya code of hieroglyphics in 1973) he developed a strong background in Maya hieroglyphics, calendar systems, iconography, and archaeoastronomy. During his graduate career, South American iconography and shamanism were also major foci of his studies. From 1998 to 2000 he was the Director of the Palenque Mapping Project, an archaeological survey that discovered over 1000 new structures in the Maya ruins of Palenque. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and is now the Director of the Maya Exploration Center, a non-profit research center based in Austin, Texas and Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. He and his team are currently investigating archaeoastronomy and ancient geometry in the ruins of Central America, South America, and South East Asia. Visit www.mayaexploration.org for more information about Dr. Barnhart and the Maya Exploration Center.
Please email your completed application to
gails@mail.utexas.edu
Proceeds may be used in general support of the College of Education, the University of Texas at Austin