PC to launch Lewis and Clark Maymester course

Oct. 18, 2006

Presbyterian College students will have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of famed explorers Lewis and Clark next spring, courtesy of a Maymester course to be jointly taught by two professors and a college administrator.

“On the Trail of Lewis and Clark” is an interdepartmental/history course that will be taught in the spring 2007 by Daniel Professor of Chemistry Dr. Ed Gouge, associate professor of history Dr. Anita Gustafson, and vice president for student life Dr. Bill McDonald.

In addition to a study of the historical significance of the two-year expedition, which began in 1804, the course will include a study of the intercultural dynamics between the Corps of Discovery and the native peoples of the American West, the leadership skills exhibited by Capt. Meriweather Lewis and Lt. William Clark, early 19th Century science and technology, and a comparison of PC’s Honor Code tradition and its relevance to the honor of the expedition’s participants and contemporary expedition scholars.

The course also will include a March visit to Monticello and a trip in May to western Montana to illustrate some of the country that Lewis and Clark explored more than 200 years ago.

“On the Trail of Lewis and Clark” has its roots in a conversation between Gouge and McDonald – both of whom share an interest in the expedition – that evolved into a proposal that also would draw on the talent and expertise of Gustafson, who teaches that period of American history.

“Knowing that others were interested … that just seemed like a natural partnership,” said Gustafson. “… What I really like is linking up with faculty in different departments.”

Over the summer, Gouge and McDonald went on their own fact-finding trip out west to discover places of interest to enhance the course – including the Missouri River, the cliff at Ulm Pishkun, and the Sacajawea Interpretive Center.

Now, the trio said, they are ready to enroll students and will hold an informational session at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, in the Harrington-Peachtree Amphitheater.

McDonald said he is excited about this opportunity, not only for students but also for himself and his colleagues.

“It takes a special campus like PC for this kind of class and partnership to work,” said he said. “It’s a manifestation for me of what it means to be liberal arts and to be a lifelong learner. “

For students to see adult learners also exploring their passions should alone make for a great experience, McDonald added.

“We think it’s exciting for our students to see people who are not traditionally classified as faculty being engaged in the life of the mind simply because they enjoy it,” said Gouge. “We think that’s something that a liberal arts education ought to engender in everybody. This course is a very powerful way of sending that message – that you don’t have to be a historian, per se, to enjoy history and study history, and learn more about history.”

Students who are interested in “On the Trail of Lewis and Clark” may contact Gouge at egouge@presby.edu or ext. 8406; Gustafson at aogustaf@presby.edu or ext. 8499 or McDonald at bmcdonal@presby.edu or ext. 8275.

View flier for the trip >>