Past Road Trips 2009-2010
A Tour of Historic Black Nashville
Join Professor Ifeoma Nwankwo (English) and author/historian Dr. Tommie Morton Young for an authentic tour of historic sites in Nashville, including Underground Railroad stations, black colleges, businesses, antebellum churches, and more. Get to know Nashville and learn more about the impact of residents and visitors such as W.E.B. DuBois, Arna Bontemps, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Aaron Douglas, Oprah Winfrey, Carl Rowan, Ted Rhodes, and Wilma Rudolph. Bring lunch money. October 10, 2009
Past Road Trips 2008-2009
Highlander Research and Education Center
The Highlander Center has a special place in regional history, having played a prominent role in movements for social change in Tennessee and other parts of the South from the moment of its founding in 1932 until the present day. In the 1930s it was deeply involved in labor organizing; in the 1950s and 1960s, it made important contributions to the civil rights movement; today it has become active in immigrant rights. Staff members of the Highlander will meet with us to discuss the different phases of Highlander history and to assess the course of the Center’s development. The trip will be led by James Stahlman Professor History Gary Gerstle. October 28, 2008
A Tour of the Hermitage
Join Professor Jane Landers (History) for a tour of The Hermitage, the historic plantation of Andrew Jackson. Learn about Jackson’s little-known war against the Black Seminoles of Florida through the life of one of his enslaved captives, Polydore, also known as Fernando. As we tour, we will consider the how history and archaeology can help recover the history of enslaved people. Brunch at Monell’s Restaurant will follow the tour. September 13 , 2008
Pleasant Hill Shaker Village
Join Professor Roger Moore (English) and friends as we tour a nineteenth-century Shaker community and consider Shaker beliefs, art and architecture. Lunch will be served at Pleasant Hill. September 27, 2008
Past Road Trips 2007-2008
A Tour of Belle Meade Plantation
Join Professor Richard Blackett for an afternoon at the Belle Meade Plantation, a thoroughbred nursery famous for breeding and training championship race horses. Lunch at Martha’s will precede the tour. March 22, 2008
Nashville Houses of Worship
Join Professor Robin Jensen and friends from Vanderbilt's Center for the Study of Religion and Culture for a tour of six or seven of Nashville's historic houses of worship. Each stop will include a musical offering that reflects the character, personalities, or traditions of the site's worshipping community. We will go by bus from inner city to the outer suburbs as we consider the relationship between architecture, music, and religious practice. The tour will include visits to Downtown Presbyterian Church, Christ Church Cathedral, Corinthian Baptist Church, Vine Street Church, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. An optional extra stop at Congregation Micah is scheduled for 4:30-5:30 p.m. Lunch and afternoon snacks will be provided. February 16, 2008
A Tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame
Join Professor Dale Cockrell (Blair) for an afternoon at the Country Music Hall of Fame to learn about the role class plays in American music. An authentic southern family style dinner at Monell’s Restaurant will follow the tour. September 19, 2007
A Day Trip to the Farm
Join Professor Susan Kevra for a day trip to The Farm, a cooperative living community. A vegan lunch will be provided at The Farm. Participants will enjoy a guided tour of The Farm and then a choice of workshops to attend on organic growing techniques. October 14, 2007
Road Trips 2006-2007
A Tour of the Vanderbilt Commons and a Discussion of its Green Architecture
Join the Commons' architects for a tour of the new Commons site and learn about
LEED ("Leadership in Environmental Engineering and Design) and how to "score" a
building for environmental efficiency.
A Trip to a Native American Pow-Wow in Clarksville
Join Professors Dana Nelson (English) and Dan Usner (History) for
a day at the Native Cultural Circle's 9th Annual Intertribal Pow-Wow.
Learn about the dancing, singing, drumming, and regalia as you enjoy
the performances, fine indigenous arts, and food of this fascinating
cultural and competitive event.
A Freedom Ride to Montgomery and Birmingham
Join Freedom Rider veterans and faculty experts on the Civil Rights
era for a weekend journey from Nashville to Montgomery and Birmingham,
Alabama. Learn about this important movement from the people who participated
in it as we tour key civil rights sites such as Birmingham Civil Rights
Institute and the 16th Street Baptist Church. Co-Sponsored with the Office
of Active Citizenship and Service and the MLK Lecture Series.
Music in Memphis
Join Professors Dean Masullo (American Studies) and Rob Nasatir
(Spanish at Fisk), both active blues musicians, for a day trip to Memphis
and an exploration of its rich musical heritage. Stops include Sun Studio,
the Staxs Museum of American Soul Music, and Beale Street. The day concludes
with ribs at the Rendezvous.