UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Imagine a college course where students read and discuss literature about the Chesapeake Bay, acquire canoe paddling skills, and spend days exploring the Chesapeake Bay and one of its tributaries, the Susquehanna River, and related cultures.
At Penn State, the Department of English and Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management offer just that, an immersive adventure that enhances students’ appreciation of the natural world and understanding of how nature, culture and recreation are intertwined. Students enroll simultaneously in the courses Exploring the Chesapeake Bay, ENG 181A, and Recreational Canoeing, RPTM 197, for one distinctive experience.
“Sailing, catching blue crab, eating raw oysters, talking to local watermen, and having the adventure of a lifetime; these are a few of the experiences I enjoyed while on the Chesapeake Bay trip,” said Brooke Fecko, who is majoring in neurobiology. “The class, adventure literature, is all about discovering Bay life through the experiences of various writers and bringing the things we learn to life through trips to the Bay.”
Led by instructors Adrian Benedetti, a doctoral student in recreation, park and tourism management, and Bob Burkholder, associate professor of English, the philosophy of this course is that the intellectual activity of the literature classroom informs and enhances the instruction and physical activity of canoeing and exploration of the culture of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Benedetti said, “I would hope students obtain a more holistic opportunity to experience how we are molding and molded by the natural world around us. How, if we go too far, we may lose not only the natural resource, but the culture that it nurtured. Seeing how most elements are tightly intertwined may help students to think critically and look a little deeper when needing to better understand a place, job or situation. People have very different perspectives, in literature and real life, and what you see on the surface may not be the real story.”
Burkholder said, “I hope students will have a new appreciation of place, their own and the places they visit. I hope they have a deeper understanding of how human culture is tied to the health of the environment. I hope they will enjoy reading and writing more, and I hope they will have experiences that they will remember and reflect on for a long time after the class.”