Art and Archaeology of the Inca Cosmos

with study abroad in Peru Spring Break

 

Deadline for financial aid XXXXXX!

 

ITDS 1156 Introduction to Non-Western Cultures, or

ANTH 5555U/G Selected Topics in Archaeology

 

This course offers a seven-day study abroad experience as the fulcrum component of a regular, spring semester, three-credit hour course for CSU students at all levels. Unique among ancient world civilizations for its high-altitude tropical setting, the Inca dominated diverse cultures straddling South American desert, mountain and tropical forest biogeographic regions. Andean civilizations prospered without market economies, currency, a writing system, or the wheel. Their idiosyncrasies have even forced historians and anthropologists to reconsider conventional definitions of “civilization” and “the state.”

 

Falling during Spring Break, the seven-day trip to Peru breaks the semester neatly in half rendering a three-stage experience beginning with an introduction to the nature of Inca society and the organization of their vast Andean empire through classroom literature and lectures. The course will focus on principles of Andean ideology and political power as expressed in art and architecture. The primary destination is the Inca capitol city of Cuzco (or Qosqo), built in the shape of a puma and revered as the axis mundi, or center of the Andean cosmos. Following the trip, students will meet for a series of seminar-like discussions where each will present their independent research on a prominent aspect of Inca culture identified before or during the trip.

 

In terms of  travel, the student’s Study Abroad consists of an ”emersion experience” into the Hispanisized ruins of sacred Cuzco, visits to intact and restored temples, shrines, and rural estates in the surrounding mountains, and a day to wander and contemplate the ruins of Machu Picchu. It’s purpose is to force students, through sheer visual impact, into confronting an alternative reality, very distant in time and space, yet clearly human and conforming to its own internal logic. In addition to their own sensory experiences, students will gain cross-cultural perspectives by reading literature left by the first Spanish conquistadors who chronicled their own observations, but frequently misunderstood important principles of Andean social, political and economic organization. Consequently, students will experience mild ”culture shock” at an emotional level, while gaining an intellectual understanding of ”culture shock” as it was experienced by sixteenth century Spaniards.

 

1.     Description of the academic component including type and number of credit hours to be awarded, number of contact hours, methods of evaluation, course title(s) and number(s), and examples of course-related activities / excursions outside the classroom.

 

This is a standard three credit-hour course, with a 10:1 student:teacher ratio. The class will meet for four 3-hour lectures on selected Friday afternoons prior to travel. The seven-days (six tour days) of travel should count as full and intensive eight-hour days of outdoor ”class-room” time. Following the trip, class will meet twice more  so that students may present their research. Students will be graded on their class participation at all stages, one exam prior to travel, and their research term papers submitted at the end of class.

 

2.     Projected number of students and faculty members

 

One faculty member, one travel assistant, and ten (10-12) students. See itinerary below…

 

 

 

 

 

 


Columbus State University Study Abroad

Cuzco and Machu Picchu, Peru

 

Dates of Travel: Saturday, March 8 to March 15, 2010

 

Columbus State University (CSU) Travelers: 12 students and one professor (Dr. Church)

 

Sat 0            LIMA

            Flight AtlantaLima (not included in the tour price)

            Late arrival in Lima

            Private transfer to your hotel

            Overnight in Lima                                                                    

 

Sun 0           LIMA

            City tour: from Huaca Pucllana to Plaza de Armas. Visit to San Francisco Convent and the        catacombs.

            Lunch at El Bolivariano (included)

            Visit to the National Museum of History, Archaeology and Anthropology

            Overnight in Lima

 

Mon 0         LIMACUSCO

            Transfer to the airport

            Flight to Cusco

            Transfer to the hotel

            Morning to rest and get used to the altitude

            Afternoon walking tour around town (Cusco and San Blas).

            Visit to Koricancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun

            Overnight in Cusco

 

Tue 10             SACRED VALLEY – AGUAS CALIENTES

            Visit to the Inca shrines Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo and Tambomachay

            Transfer to the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba Rivaer

            Visit to Awanacancha Project (Traditional Textile techniques and alpacas, llamas, etc)

            Box Lunch (included)

            Visit to Pisac Market. Incredible arts and crafts dirt cheap.

            Overnight in the Sacred Valley

 

Wed 11                       SACRED VALLEY – AGUAS CALIENTES

            Visit to Chinchero, Royal estate of Emperor Pachecuti

            Visit to Moray (huge, enigmatic circular terraces)

                        Lunch (included)

            Visit to Inca Royal estate and shrines at Ollantaytambo

            5:00 pm Dinner at Hotel Pakaritampu

            6:10 pm Backpacker train to Aguas Calientes

            7:50 pm Arrival in Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu

            Overnight in Aguas Calientes

 

 

 

Thu 12             MACHU PICCHU - CUSCO

            Early visit to Machu Picchu

            Time to climb Huayna Picchu

            Backpacker train back to Cusco

            Arrival in Poroy. Transfer to Cusco by bus (shortcut)

            Overnight in Cusco

 

Fri 13              CUSCO – LIMA

            Transfer to the airport

            Flight to Lima

            Transfer to the hotel

            Time on your own for shopping or visiting museums

            Night in Lima (even though you leave the hotel at 9:00 pm it is considered as 1 night)

            Dinner show with Peruvian buffet and traditional dances

            Transfer to the airport and departure by midnight.

 

Sat 14              LIMA - ATLANTA

            Flight to Atlanta (not included in the tour price)

 

CONFIRMED HOTELS

 

LIMA                          La Hacienda                            http://www.bwlahacienda.com/

 

CUSCO                       Residencia del Sol                    www.laresidenciadelsolcusco.com

 

SACRED VALLEY     San Agustin Monasterio Recoleta  www.hotelessanagustin.com.pe

 

AGUAS CALIENTES  Inti Wiñay Wayna                     www.grupointi.com