January 22, 2007
Participants enjoy the Museum of Modern Art .
Photo by Kris Zediker.
A table of patrons from The University of Mississippi Academic Traveler program peruse the menu at the Makor Café on the upper west side of New York City and laugh hysterically at the evening’s entertainment.
Their instructor has brought them to “Mortified,” a reading by local New Yorkers from their junior high diaries. One after the other, people approach the stage and bare their most humiliating moments, captured in time by old journal entries, essays, and letters.
“We all enjoyed it so much and probably even more so because it is something we would have never known about or done on a typical trip to New York,” said Janna Kizziah, project coordinator for the UM Legal Education program and participant in the Academic Traveler excursion.
“It seemed like something regular New Yorkers would do for entertainment.”
Located in the Steinhardt Building near Lincoln Center, the reading at Makor Café was just one of the off-the-beaten path attractions that the group appreciated during a recent Academic Traveler trip to New York.
Led by UM art instructor and former NYC resident Laura Antonow, the inaugural Academic Traveler program entertained a group of arts-minded sightseers January 6-11, 2007, in the city that never sleeps. Participants in “City Arts: New York, New York” took private tours of the newly renovated MoMA and the Sotheby’s auction house. They also enjoyed a private architecture tour of Manhattan.
“All of the private tours were wonderful because they gave us the chance to experience New York at our own pace, rather than being rushed with the crowds,” said Kim Ray, project administrator for non-credit programming at UM-Tupelo.
“The architectural walking tour was a wonderful way to learn about the city, but also be right in the middle of the action. Sotheby’s was also intriguing and something I would not have gotten to do on my own. We were even able to observe an appraiser from the Antiques Road Show overseeing the display presentation of some of the auction items.”
Before joining the UM art department in 1995, Academic Traveler director Antonow served as chief lighting designer in the exhibitions department of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Since arriving in Oxford, Antonow has taken seven groups to study art in New York. Academic Traveler participants say Antonow’s extensive knowledge of New York history, art, and geography made the trip an exciting exploration of the city rather than a typical touristy vacation.
“She gave us the opportunity to do things everyday New Yorkers do, like taking buses and the subway,” said Kizziah.
“She kept coming up with places that New Yorkers know but tourists might not think to do. We went to places I wouldn’t have thought of, and to me, that made the trip.”
The Academic Traveler program is the brainchild of Antonow, who envisioned a non-credit curriculum that accommodates travelers looking for an intellectual vacationing experience. Antonow and consultants from The University of Mississippi Division of Outreach designed the program for participants in the large age group between college and retirement.
“The Academic Traveler is somewhere between traveling as a Study Abroad student and taking an Elderhostel trip,” said Antonow.
“This program has more of an educational component and is more moderately priced than similar programs. We try to make the trips very customized so participants aren’t doing the standard attractions in a city. We utilize instructors who have inside connects so people can really have some unique opportunities to travel and learn.”
The next Academic Traveler program is a “Culinary Adventure: Florence, Italy” March 9-15. Participants will travel with UM art instructor and gourmet chef Cory Lewis on an architectural, art, and culinary tour throughout the Tuscan region.
A payroll deduction option is available for Ole Miss faculty and staff. For more information on the Academic Traveler program please visit their website at www.outreach.olemiss.edu/academic_traveler or call Antonow at 662-915-6511.
