RST 250E ST:Sacred Journeys:El Camino deSantiago

Study Abroad: Hundreds of millions of pilgrims journey every year to destinations like Jerusalem, Mecca, the River Ganges to name only a few. The Way of St. James, or El Camino de Santiago, is one of these sacred journeys located in northwestern Spain. A pilgrimage since the 9th century, the Camino in recent decades has become a popular pilgrimage route for Christians and non-Christians alike. This course will examine pilgrimage through the narratives and journals of the pilgrims themselves. We will discover their motivations for making these arduous journeys - healing, penance, adventure - and share in what they discovered in the natural, cultural, and architectural landscape along their routes. This course will include 5 weeks of classes during the Spring semester in preparation for making a pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain. In the final phase of the course students will walk the last seven stages of El Camino.