Washington and Lee University
EN-12: Continuing Education

Sustainability related courses were chosen from community education partnership, Alumni College and Traveller Programs:
Alumni College: we encourage you to satisfy your enduring curiosity about the world, to think with us about history, philosophy, literature, the arts and sciences, and current events while engaging the expertise of the W&L faculty.

Family Adventure in Science:
Share W&L and Lexington with your children and grandchildren in our special family-oriented campus program, built around amazing explorations and discoveries with the W&L faculty. Now in its 12th year, this program is specially designed for children ages 8-14, their parents and grandparents.
Are you ready for an active scientific treasure hunt in the outdoors? Grab your hiking shoes and notepad because the clues may be a challenge to find. Each one will lead you to the next exciting segment of our three- day adventure on and around campus. We'll explore a creek bed for critters and discover how rich in life a simple neighborhood creek can be. Want to see how rivers erode bedrock in a cool science lab, then discover how it has actually happened on the river? We'll hike along the Maury River through a towering forest of broadleaf trees and study the rock record written in the limestone cliffs along the river's banks. Get ready for a picnic lunch on a rock that is more than a million years old! It could lead you to a discovery of what makes a plant thrive in certain areas of our back campus, or it might help you investigate the critters that live in streams and rivers. Like bugs? We can find them and learn more about their habitat and why it is important to keep it healthy for them.
If you're curious and love adventure, this is the program for you. We'll learn some basic outdoor skills, such as knot-tying and how to read a map with a compass, and collect stories to tell your friends back home, along with lots of useful knowledge for your next adventure. This program will feature short field trips and laboratory sessions led by W&L science faculty. Parents and grandparents accompany their children and participate in nearly every phase of the program. Space is limited, so we encourage early registration.

The Literature, Music, and Art of the Harlem Renaissance
America is a nation of many voices. At key moments in our history, when social forces, popular culture and political life have coalesced, these separate voices have come together to form new national expression, new artistic achievement. The Founding Era is one example; so too is the American Renaissance of the 1850s. The period of the Harlem Renaissance in the early 20th century is another. Within a few decades, American art and culture flourished in ways that are still influencing our understanding of ourselves as a nation.
At the end of World War I and continuing into the Great Depression period of the 1930s, African-American artists created a community of art and cultural achievement that was remarkable. Fueled by the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South into the great cities of the Northeast and Midwest, the Harlem Renaissance brought together literature, music, visual art, dance and other art forms in an explosion of creativity. Harlem itself became the focal point not just of African American art, but also of the nightclub scene, as the Cotton Club, Small's Paradise and Connie's Inn became centers of music, dance and social life. Political life was quickened, as the NAACP and Urban League grew in stature partly through their support of Harlem artists.
The leaders of the Harlem Renaissance form a virtual who's who of African American cultural achievement: Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. DuBois, James Weldon Johnson and many others. Great jazz musicians formed a central part of the Renaissance. Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington, singers Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday, and the great dancer and fashion icon Josephine Baker.
In this program, we'll examine the historical causes and context of the Harlem Renaissance. We'll survey the major achievements of the movement, including Hughes's great lyric poetry, Hurston's fiction and the seminal essays and art of the movement. We'll also enjoy selections from the music that defined the Age of Jazz. Finally, we'll consider the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how this signal event continues to shape American thought and art to this very day. Serving as faculty will be Lena Hill, dean of the College; Michael Hill, professor of Africana Studies; and jazz expert and performer Damani Phillips, from the University of Iowa.

Traveller, W&L’s adventure program, you'll get to know the world firsthand, to experience different cultures inside their borders, to appreciate different world views, and to savor the inspiring beauty and history of other lands.

Galapagos Islands
Designated the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, the Galapagos Islands have been described as a "unique living museum and showcase of evolution." The Islands are home to a fascinating array of wildlife inhabiting an unspoiled ecosystem, and living in unusual harmony with their human visitors.
This exciting journey features a day of guided touring in Quito, Ecuador, plus a comfortable cruise through the archipelago with intimate access to endemic species. Expert naturalists will guide you through the wonders of this national park, whale sanctuary, and marine reserve.

Wildlife Safari to Botswana
Naturalist-led trip to Botswana to experience and hear about the natural history and ecosystem of the area.

Japan in Bloom
Japan's dramatic coastlines, volcanic mountain ranges, and misty forests so often depicted in Japanese art reveal a country of extraordinary diversity and natural beauty. The soaring mountains of the nation's interior range combined with the proximity of her craggy coastline create deep valleys with swift rivers and pristine lakes. Scattered throughout the countryside are quiet villages, and yet, within a short distance by high-speed rail, teeming cities rise in steel and neon. Throughout her vast archipelago, Japan is also a country of varying climates, hot in summer, cold in winter, with spring and fall sweetly mild. Our objective on this 10-night cruise from Tokyo to Kyoto and beyond is to savor both the exquisite natural beauty of Japan in spring as well as the delicate complexities of her many traditions.

Wild Alaska
There's a land where the spiritual relationship with the natural world remains an integral and vital part of daily life, where one can follow the paths of indigenous predecessors by foot and by sea and imagine both the beauty and challenge of a simpler lifestyle. From the spectacular majesty of North America's highest peak to the dramatic coastlines rich with marine wildlife and massive glaciers, the stunning wonders of Alaska await you.
Here's a plan: Let's meander the roads of Denali National Park and behold the snow-capped mountains of the Alaska Range while keeping a keen eye out for the area's ubiquitous wildlife. We'll discover that grizzlies, caribou, and moose coexist with wolves, marmots, willow ptarmigan and the myriad bird life. Human populations also coexist: five Northern Athabascan Native groups share wildlands with descendants of the Gold Rush. As we come to know wild Alaska, we'll enjoy exclusive access to deluxe wilderness lodging in the heart of the Kantishna region. Fully guided nature forays, hiking, gold panning and mountain biking will provide opportunities for an even deeper understanding of the nation's 49th state.

Wild Baja: the whales of Magdalena Bay
In this compact natural history expedition, we'll enjoy six extraordinary days in the company of majestic grey whales. This is not an ordinary whale-watching experience. We literally anchor among the whales in Bahía Magdalena, where mothers and calves relax after the longest mammal migration on earth.
We'll see and hear them around the ship and venture out in expedition-landing craft for exhilarating up- close encounters. Magdalena's 70-mile-long bay will offer us ample opportunities for interactions. While whales are likely to be the highlight of our voyage, the Baja Peninsula is home to so much more. We'll paddle through intricate mangroves aboard sea kayaks in the narrow channels of the Hull Canal or peddle fat-tire bikes along the remote beaches of Boca de Soledad.
We'll beachcomb endless crescents of sand, studded with thousands of sand dollars on Isla Magdalena. Here also, we can view the many species of birds, including magnificent frigate birds and diving pelicans, in this world-renowned birding region. Throughout the voyage, we'll choose from our favorite locations to hike in small groups and kayak peaceful shorelines, engaging with the region in the most immersive, educational, and enjoyable way possible.
The National Geographic Sea Lion is ideal for exploring Magdalena Bay. Intimate and inviting, her scale fosters a rewarding sense of community and esprit de corps, accommodating just 62 guests in 31 outside cabins. Our expert expedition team will illuminate the wonders of the region — desert ecosystems, seabird migrations and whale behavior — from every possible angle. Our expedition leader, undersea specialist, certified photo instructor and naturalists, plus a wellness specialist and video chronicler are all dedicated to ensuring a most rewarding voyage. You're sure to discover, as we have, that, among natural history cruising, Lindblad Expeditions is THE class act.

Antarctica
We'll visit Antarctica during the brief austral summer, when the days are long, temperatures moderate, and the wildlife most active. In this rare untouched environment, the wildlife is remarkably unafraid of humans; visitors are privileged to witness at close range creatures following their age-old patterns and cycles.
Today, more than ever before, Antarctica is accessible to those wishing to know her intelligently. We have chosen a beautiful new ice-class small ship for this Antarctic exploration, the 180-passenger Ocean Victory, a state-of-the-art expedition ship that combines very comfortable accommodations, a superb staff of onboard naturalists, personalized service, and meticulous environmental sensitivity. The voyage's truly exceptional team of naturalists will work with our own expertise to make this a truly unforgettable introduction to the seventh continent.

Patagonian Adventure
This trip includes trekking in a national park, horseback riding with a gaucho across the wind-swept pampas, mountain biking through majestic forest, navigating by boat around a glacier filled lake or visiting an authentic Patagonian estancia.
We'll visit Torres del Paine National Park, whose towering spires of granite, ice fields and glaciers will inspire indelible memories. Here condors ride on currents above the Andes, and foxes, rheas and guanacos give chase across the pampas. Returning to Santiago we'll conclude our adventure with lunch and tasting of select Chilean vintages at the private Kingston Family Vineyards in the Casablanca Valley.

Her-Spania: A Woman's History of Spain
Our recurring theme will be the remarkable women who have helped to shape the history of Spain, from saints, queens and nuns to artists, scientists and lawmakers. Throughout this traditional itinerary, many of the women who inspired the admiration and devotion of Spanish citizens over the centuries will at last have their voice.

Grand Canyon Rafting Adventure
The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is the standard by which all other adventure trips are judged. Its rapids are known throughout the river rafting world: Crystal, Hermit, the legendary Lava River Falls and many more. But a river trip through the Grand Canyon is much more than exciting rapids. It's also the hikes in side canyons to fern grottos, waterfalls and huge natural amphitheaters, the beautiful beach campsites on the river, the blazing canopy of stars at night and the shared experience of the ultimate natural history trip with friends and family. Throughout our trip, knowledgeable guides, steeped in the history of the Canyon, will enhance our appreciation of the highlights.