Carleton University Travel Course “Jerusalem Connections” May 3-23 2023
This course includes group travel in Israel as well as excursions into East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Participants are responsible for all travel costs as well as tuition costs for 0.5 credits in the Summer 2023 session. You must be eligible to travel to Israel (any entrance requirements and any required vaccination status) to participate.
The information that is on this site is now updated for 2023. We are starting to reserve spaces for students for travel. You may apply at any time and applications will be accepted until the course is full. If you are interested in joining the travel course, please contact Dr. Butler as soon as possible with any questions at deidre.butler@carleton.ca
Cost Overview:
LAND:
Students registering for the course at Carleton university (undergraduate or graduate): 2800$ USD
Auditors 3000$ USD
These land costs are highly subsidized. The actual value of the land portion is approximately 3900$ USD.
Course Land costs will be fully reimbursable if the course is canceled due to Covid if Carleton University or Canada deems it unsafe to travel to Israel.
AIR: Group travel: $1700 Canadian
Group travel: Due to changes in international travel we are prioritizing group travel. Traveling with the group means that you have transfers to and from the airport included and we move through security together as a group. Spaces in the course will be reserved first for those traveling with the group. These tickets are offered to Carleton students for $1700.00 Canadian (actually cost is 1789.12). We will be repricing the group tickets in October to see if we can get a lower price. Student group travel seats: 17
Travel with group to Israel but hoping to “deviate”: If the group travel spaces are all used, we will be allowed to have 5 students “deviate” on the return trip and still be considered part of the group. Your deviation must be booked at the time of the group booking (i.e. January) AND must be through Air Canada through our travel agent. This will be on a first come first served basis. Please add your name to the deviations waiting list if you wish a deviation.
Travel on your own to and from Israel (Land only): If you do not travel with the group to and from Israel you may still participate in the course and only participate in the Land portion of travel. Note that you are responsible to be with the course for the full course period of May 3-19, 2022. Land only spaces: 7
COURSE DESCRIPTION
RELI 3850: Religion & Culture in Place: Jerusalem Connections
This third-year travel course invites students to explore the rich history of Jerusalem and its environs and connect that history to the diverse contemporary religious and cultural communities in these places. We will travel throughout Israel with excursions into East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Our traveling classroom will investigate a variety of examples of Religion and Public Life from ancient to modern, from traditional to secular. We will take seriously what it means to think about religion and culture in a particular place. How is Jerusalem, and particular sites in its environs, understood by different groups? How are diaspora identities connected to Jerusalem and its environs? How are they imagined, remembered and experienced in these places?
The course highlights the extraordinary cultural and religious diversity of this place with students encountering Bedouins in the Negev, Christian pilgrims at the Jordan river, Druze in Isfiya, Ethiopian Jews in Northern Israel, visiting the Baha’i Temple in Haifa, staying at a kibbutz in the Galilee, and by meeting and interacting with local students. Our travels will include exploring biblical Israel by participating in archeological day digs at Tel Maresha and at the Temple Mount; tracing the origins of Christianity out of Judaism in the Galilee and in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Galilee; historical and contemporary Islam at the Temple Mount, in Jaffa, and Nazareth; Second Temple Judaism at Qumran and Masada; the history of the Crusades at the ruins of a Crusader fortress in Acre and Herzliya; Jewish mysticism in 17th century Safed, and the significance of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem. Students will explore modern Israel through civil legal questions about religious status and identity at the Knesset and the Supreme Court; learn from activists fighting for gendered religious equality at the Western Wall; hear from LGBTQ, environmental, interfaith, and peace activists in Israeli and Palestinian contexts. This course involves experiential learning. It is also possible to take this course at the 4000 and MA levels.
Course Description RELI 5850: Religion and Public Life in Place: Jerusalem Connections
This MA level travel course invites students to explore Religion and Public Life through the rich history of Jerusalem and its environs and connect that history to the diverse contemporary religious and cultural communities in these places. We will travel throughout Israel with excursions into East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Our traveling classroom will investigate a variety of examples of Religion and Public Life from ancient to modern, from traditional to secular. We will take seriously what it means to think about religion and culture in a particular place. How is Jerusalem, and particular sites in its environs, understood by different groups? How are diaspora identities connected to Jerusalem and its environs? How are they imagined, remembered and experienced in these places?
The course highlights the extraordinary cultural and religious diversity of this place with students encountering Bedouins in the Negev, Christian pilgrims at the Jordan river, Druze in Isfiya, Ethiopian Jews in Northern Israel, visiting the Baha’i Temple in Haifa, staying at a kibbutz in the Galilee, and by meeting and interacting with local students. Our travels will include exploring biblical Israel by participating in archeological day digs at Tel Maresha and at the Temple Mount; tracing the origins of Christianity out of Judaism in the Galilee and in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Galilee; historical and contemporary Islam at the Temple Mount, in Jaffa, and Nazareth; Second Temple Judaism at Qumran and Masada; the history of the Crusades at the ruins of a Crusader fortress in Acre and Herzliya; Jewish mysticism in 17th century Safed, and the significance of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem. Students will explore modern Israel through civil legal questions about religious status and identity at the Knesset and the Supreme Court; learn from activists fighting for gendered religious equality at the Western Wall; hear from LGBTQ, environmental, interfaith, and peace activists in Israeli and Palestinian contexts. This course involves experiential learning.
Course Information
Instructors & Speakers
This year’s course is offered by Professor Deidre Butler in collaboration with Professor Pamela Walker (History), with guest lectures by international scholars and activists as well as local faculty through partnerships with Tel Aviv University, Ben Gurion University and Hebrew University.
Who is Eligible?
The trip is open to all undergraduates, graduate students, auditors, as well as students from other universities through transfer credits. There are no pre-requisites. Students will have the opportunity to travel independently for research and exploration over the last long weekend of the course. Students who do not wish to take the course for credit can audit instead, as long as they pay the Carleton audit fee (which is the same fee as taking the course for credit).
BGInS Carleton students:
The course is eligible for the international experience requirement and for the international travel bursary.
Course Travel in country:
We will travel as a group for all course requirements. The course runs daily from morning to late afternoon most days with some evening programming. You will have free time most evenings, Friday afternoons (to prepare for the Sabbath when most things are closed in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv), Saturday days (until sundown). The professor and guide will help you learn how to use public transport and orient you to the area wherever we are traveling so that you can enjoy free time. Note that we are still scheduling the Israeli guest speakers and will continue to do so even until departure. Be advised that even if an evening is marked as free time we may need that time to book one of the guest lectures from local scholars.
Free time to travel and pursue research before return to Ottawa: Due to the difficulties of travel on the Jewish sabbath in Israel, the course always ends on a Friday afternoon. In order to reduce airfare costs we are traveling back on a Tuesday (May 23). This allows a short period for independent travel in country or to nearby destinations (many students travel to Petra, Jordan for example). You are responsible for your own travel costs (and 4 nights lodging/ +meals) during these last few days or may depart as soon as the course is complete if you are not traveling with the group flight. Students often make plans to travel together and share accommodations to save on costs and this part of travel can be planned as we are closer to the date of travel.
Safety: We are very conservative about the health and safety of student travellers and will quickly modify the itinerary if there are any concerns about traveling to any area at any time. Please speak to Dr Butler if you or your family have any concerns.
Modest Dress
We will advise you when modest dress is required for entry into religious spaces (women: long skirts/sarong and shoulders/upper arms covered, men: long pants, short sleeves, and hat).