We always have faculty and staff working on potential TREKs. We share them here with an important note: these TREKs are being planned, but could be postponed or completely abandoned for a variety of reasons. There is never a guarantee that any TREK will happen as scheduled.
For Summer 2026
Climate Justice and Religion in the Fiji and Tuvalu
with Brian Webb and Dr. Susan Clayton
June 5-26, 2026
This TREK explores the rich intersections between faith, spirituality, and climate justice in the South Pacific. We will examine the relationship between Pacific culture and the natural environment, with an emphasis on the role that both organized religion and indigenous spirituality play in shaping their views of the natural world. Students will experience first-hand the ways the climate crisis is changing the Pacific through visits with frontline communities, conversations with regional leaders, and direct observation from one of the lowest lying nations in the world. We will learn from climate activists, religious leaders, scientists, indigenous teachers, and ordinary people who are daily being impacted by the challenges of a changing climate.
Global Tokyo – EAST 20200
with Drs. Margaret Ng and Jim Bonk
Hopeful dates: 3 weeks in May 2026
In the context of Tokyo, Japan, students will learn about the complexity of Asian history, politics, identities and ways of knowing, analyze cross-cultural interactions in Asian and their legacies, and learn how the urban and rural geographies influenced the manga and anime artists in production. Students will visit sites that have historic significance in nation-building, sites that reflect or memorialize major shifts in Japanese and East Asian history, and sites serving as inspiration for artistic production in manga and anime (anime pilgrimage sites).
TREK in Berlin: Architecture, Museums, and the Archive
with Drs. Beth Muellner & Evan Riley
Hopeful dates: May 26 – June 16, 2026
Students will learn about and from:
- the history of Berlin’s imperial past, Jewish History, communist past, Nazi past, East German history, queer history, immigrant/Black history as reflected in sites, monuments, museums, collections, and public art projects
- major (German and non-German) debates and theories of cultural memory, cultural geography, and space and place studies
- historians, architects, artists, authors, and curators whose work revolves around issues of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming-to-terms with the past), memory practices & memory culture
- key thinkers of Germany’s intellectual history
Pre-req: German 102, or equivalent placement; exceptions if space allows
