Renew Your Quest - An Intellectual Summer Retreat for Adults
July 15 - 20, 2012

Join us for our "Renew Your Quest" summer program for adults. You'll get to experience the intellectual electricity of a Quest seminar, and enjoy the spectacular natural setting of our campus, staying in our luxurious condos and eating both on campus and at local stops of interest.

We will offer the academic courses outlined below from 9 am to noon each day. In the afternoons and evenings you will be free to explore our beautiful local area or participate in guided hikes, excursions, and optional activities including lectures and discussions of educational philosophy and pedagogy.

Course Options:

Mathematical Moments (Ryan Derby-Talbot)
The sentiment that the universe is, as Galileo said, "written in the language of mathematics" is a common precept of our modern worldview. To what extent is this statement accurate, and how did it come about? In this course we will explore several "mathematical moments" of the past millennia (such as the conception of prime numbers, the connection of geometric pictures to numbers, and the development of chaos theory), and see how these moments link to synchronistic ideas in science and philosophy, as well as connect to conundrums and unsolved problems of our current day. No mathematical prerequisite is needed, just a willingness to engage in meaningful inquiry.

French Twist (Luce Mélançon)
This course addresses the needs of students who are at an intermediate level in French and who wish to improve their communicative competence through realistic interaction, using meaningful, contextualized language. In other words, I'm promising you the most fun you've ever had in your French class! We explore the spoken and written word through literary excerpts, songs, poems, magazine articles, websites, art games, journaling, improvisations, cartoons and videos. The communicative activities proposed will involve collaboration, peer teaching, creative thinking, problem solving and rotational leadership. In order to ensure a homogeneous class, please contact Luce Mélançon, the instructor, at , to assess your level of French.

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Political Language, Media, and Political Thinking (Eric Gorham)
How do politicians employ and deploy words to achieve their objectives? What role has media played in politics and how has this changed? How do North Americans think about politics? These are the central questions in this course. We will examine whether or not "the medium is the message" and how messages are conveyed in modern political discourse. Combining classic texts in political theory, media and communication studies, and linguistics, this course will help us come to grips with the variety of ways politicians, pundits, and experts direct public opinion in Canada and the United States. We will do so through engaged discussion, short multimedia presentations, participatory classroom activities, and collaborative facilitation.

The Evolution and Acquisition of Language (Megan Bulloch)
Language acquisition is a hotly debated topic because our beliefs about the evolution of language and cognition are at stake. In this course, we will explore three theories of language acquisition and what these theories imply about language evolution. Some language theorists suggest that acquisition occurs because we have brains that are predisposed to learn language. Others argue that our brains are not so specialized, but rather are powerful generalized learning machines. Still other language theorists propose that language acquisition is driven by our need to interact with other social creatures. Each of these theories imply different selection pressures and underlying theories of cognition.

The Dynamic Geology of the Sea to Sky Corridor (Steve Quane)
LIMIT: 14 students
Embedded in rock outcroppings and magnificent mountain vistas along the Sea to Sky Corridor is a remarkably complex and dynamic geologic story. The goal of this course is to write a script for that tale by investigating the major geologic events that shaped the landscape. We will collect our evidence during a series of field excursions to answers questions such as: How can the Stawamus Chief tell us the Quest campus was under ice in the last glaciation? Why do the lava flows on the way to Whistler take unique columnar shapes? No geologic background is required, just a willingness for adventure.

Cost:

$850 (single-occupancy room, most meals, local transportation, and tuition)

$700 (shared-occupancy room, most meals, local transportation, and tuition)

$400 local commuters (includes tuition, lunches, evening lectures, and activities)

Enrolment: Minimum ten / maximum of twenty students per class.

Contact Information: / 604.898.8039

Download 2012 Adult Summer Program Application Form [PDF, 480 KB]