Williams-Mystic
Encyclopedia
Williams-Mystic is the name most commonly used for the Maritime Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport. Based at Mystic Seaport
in Mystic, Connecticut
, USA, it is an interdisciplinary semester of study for 20 college sophomore
s, juniors and seniors. Williams College
and the Mystic Seaport Museum founded Williams-Mystic in 1977. Since that time, over 1300 graduates from more than 100 different home colleges and universities have participated in the program. Learning experiences are immersive and hands-on, including original scientific and archival research and three field seminars.
Opened in September 2007, the 8000 square feet (743.2 m²) Carlton Marine Science Center (CMSC) houses our marine sciences courses and offers state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research of estuarine and coastal processes. Science projects incorporate data collected from the Mystic River
, surrounding marshy habitats, and even the rocky intertidal zone in nearby Westerly, Rhode Island.
History research is conducted in the Collections Resource Center of Mystic Seaport, where students are able to access a variety of primary sources including journals, seamen's papers and logbook
s, as well as rare volumes of local Connecticut history.
Students additionally participate in maritime skills courses taught by Mystic Seaport staff. These offerings include small-boat handling, celestial navigation
, chantey
singing, shipsmithing, boat-building, and demo squad. Students work on the seaport ships, going aloft to set and furl sails on the Charles W. Morgan
and Joseph Conrad
, working the capstan
and windlass, and setting out on the river in 19th century whaleboat
s and fishing dinghies.
. During the offshore voyage, students live and work much as 17th century sailors might have done, sleeping and working watch-on-watch and learning to man the sails. Students also conduct science research in the ship's lab, analyzing data retrieved from both near-coastal and deep sea sampling. The fall semesters sail the North Atlantic, and the spring semesters sail the Straits of Florida
.
For many years, Williams-Mystic's second field seminar was a four-day stint on Nantucket which afforded an opportunity to examine the whaling history of the island and the current questions of ecology, human use, and erosion.
In Fall of 2004, Williams-Mystic took its first trip to the Mississippi Delta
, exploring the unique ecology and culture of the region. After a Katrina
-related hiatus, the seminar has resumed, allowing students to once again see alligators, sample the cajun food, talk to the fishermen, and now to see the devastation of the storms and the determination of the survivors first-hand.
The third field seminar is a visit to the Pacific coast. During the fall seminar, in California, students visit John Steinbeck
's Cannery Row
, take a whale-watching trip, stand before a cove that the Charles W. Morgan visited in her whaling days, and another that may have sheltered Sir Francis Drake
. They see the container shipping pier in San Francisco; they walk under the Armstrong Redwoods
and stand at the cliffs down which redwood timbers were once sluiced into waiting ships. In the spring, students visit the Pacific Northwest with stops in Seattle, Portland, and Coos Bay. They have class at the base of the Space Needle in Seattle, take a tugboat out through the Port of Tacoma, visit the Bonneville Dam, spend the night on a lightship, observe sea lions, study the rocky intertidal zone, and dispute the state of salmon fisheries.
Professors take their courses on the road (and sea) for each seminar, delivering their lectures in a wide variety of locales. Wherever they go, they seek to explore the connection between humans and the sea.
Because students are taking the same courses, they often find themselves studying, working, and taking study breaks collaboratively.
In their free time, students explore Mystic and the surrounding towns, enjoy running trails, the Mystic Aquarium, and other institutions such as Mystic Pizza, Drawbridge Ice Cream, and the Green Marble Coffee House. They take to the roads with Bikes for the People and to the waters with Boats for the People, a flotilla which currently includes a rowing scull, wooden rowboat named The Green Flash, and a small sailboat called the Half Hitch.
When not in class, the CMSC provides students with a 24-hour research and study space, and Sturges Cottage provides a community space with cable tv, a foosball table, and basic workout equipment. Students also receive Connecticut College ID cards, allowing access to the college's library, cultural events and athletic facilities.
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
in Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
, USA, it is an interdisciplinary semester of study for 20 college sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
s, juniors and seniors. Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
and the Mystic Seaport Museum founded Williams-Mystic in 1977. Since that time, over 1300 graduates from more than 100 different home colleges and universities have participated in the program. Learning experiences are immersive and hands-on, including original scientific and archival research and three field seminars.
Academics
Williams-Mystic is staffed by five professors and a teaching assistant. All students take courses in Maritime History, Marine Policy, and Literature of the Sea, and choose either Oceanography or Marine Ecology. Literature is taught in a tutorial format. Policy, history and science classes all culminate with final project based on research conducted throughout the semester using the collections and facilities of Mystic Seaport.Opened in September 2007, the 8000 square feet (743.2 m²) Carlton Marine Science Center (CMSC) houses our marine sciences courses and offers state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research of estuarine and coastal processes. Science projects incorporate data collected from the Mystic River
Mystic River
The Mystic River is a river in Massachusetts, in the United States. Its name derives from the Wampanoag word "muhs-uhtuq", which translates to "big river." In an Algonquian language, "Missi-Tuk" means "a great river whose waters are driven by waves", alluding to the natural tidal nature of the...
, surrounding marshy habitats, and even the rocky intertidal zone in nearby Westerly, Rhode Island.
History research is conducted in the Collections Resource Center of Mystic Seaport, where students are able to access a variety of primary sources including journals, seamen's papers and logbook
Logbook
A logbook was originally a book for recording readings from the chip log, and is used to determine the distance a ship traveled within a certain amount of time...
s, as well as rare volumes of local Connecticut history.
Students additionally participate in maritime skills courses taught by Mystic Seaport staff. These offerings include small-boat handling, celestial navigation
Celestial navigation
Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that has evolved over several thousand years to help sailors cross oceans without having to rely on estimated calculations, or dead reckoning, to know their position...
, chantey
Sea shanty
A shanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships...
singing, shipsmithing, boat-building, and demo squad. Students work on the seaport ships, going aloft to set and furl sails on the Charles W. Morgan
Charles W. Morgan (ship)
Charles W. Morgan was a U.S. whaleship during the 19th and early 20th century. Ships of this type usually harvested the blubber of whales for whale oil, which was commonly used in lamps...
and Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (ship)
Joseph Conrad is an iron-hulled sailing ship, originally launched as the Georg Stage in 1882 and used to train sailors in Denmark. After sailing around the world as a private yacht in 1934 it served as a training in the United States, and is now a museum ship at Mystic Seaport in...
, working the capstan
Capstan (nautical)
A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...
and windlass, and setting out on the river in 19th century whaleboat
Whaleboat
A whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. It was originally developed for whaling, and later became popular for work along beaches, since it does not need to be turned around for beaching or...
s and fishing dinghies.
Field Seminars
Exploration of America's coastlines is at the heart of the Williams-Mystic experience. Each semester begins with a ten-day offshore cruise on board the Corwith CramerCorwith Cramer (ship)
The Corwith Cramer is a tall ship owned by the Sea Education Association sailing school, named after SEA's founding director. Her home port is Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA. She was designed by Wooden and Marean specifically for SEA and was constructed by ASTACE in 1987 in Bilbao, Spain...
. During the offshore voyage, students live and work much as 17th century sailors might have done, sleeping and working watch-on-watch and learning to man the sails. Students also conduct science research in the ship's lab, analyzing data retrieved from both near-coastal and deep sea sampling. The fall semesters sail the North Atlantic, and the spring semesters sail the Straits of Florida
Straits of Florida
The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys and Cuba. The strait carries the Florida Current, the beginning of...
.
For many years, Williams-Mystic's second field seminar was a four-day stint on Nantucket which afforded an opportunity to examine the whaling history of the island and the current questions of ecology, human use, and erosion.
In Fall of 2004, Williams-Mystic took its first trip to the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
, exploring the unique ecology and culture of the region. After a Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
-related hiatus, the seminar has resumed, allowing students to once again see alligators, sample the cajun food, talk to the fishermen, and now to see the devastation of the storms and the determination of the survivors first-hand.
The third field seminar is a visit to the Pacific coast. During the fall seminar, in California, students visit John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's Cannery Row
Cannery Row
Cannery Row is the waterfront street in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California. It is the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973...
, take a whale-watching trip, stand before a cove that the Charles W. Morgan visited in her whaling days, and another that may have sheltered Sir Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
. They see the container shipping pier in San Francisco; they walk under the Armstrong Redwoods
Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve is a state park of California, USA, preserving of Coast redwood trees . The reserve is located in Sonoma County just north of Guerneville, California....
and stand at the cliffs down which redwood timbers were once sluiced into waiting ships. In the spring, students visit the Pacific Northwest with stops in Seattle, Portland, and Coos Bay. They have class at the base of the Space Needle in Seattle, take a tugboat out through the Port of Tacoma, visit the Bonneville Dam, spend the night on a lightship, observe sea lions, study the rocky intertidal zone, and dispute the state of salmon fisheries.
Professors take their courses on the road (and sea) for each seminar, delivering their lectures in a wide variety of locales. Wherever they go, they seek to explore the connection between humans and the sea.
Student life
Students live in co-op style housing in historic houses owned by Mystic Seaport. Students frequently cook and eat together, and are often found bursting into appropriately salty song. These houses are steps away from Mystic Seaport's riverside grounds, which offer unique opportunities to explore the nation's largest maritime museum at any hour of the day.Because students are taking the same courses, they often find themselves studying, working, and taking study breaks collaboratively.
In their free time, students explore Mystic and the surrounding towns, enjoy running trails, the Mystic Aquarium, and other institutions such as Mystic Pizza, Drawbridge Ice Cream, and the Green Marble Coffee House. They take to the roads with Bikes for the People and to the waters with Boats for the People, a flotilla which currently includes a rowing scull, wooden rowboat named The Green Flash, and a small sailboat called the Half Hitch.
When not in class, the CMSC provides students with a 24-hour research and study space, and Sturges Cottage provides a community space with cable tv, a foosball table, and basic workout equipment. Students also receive Connecticut College ID cards, allowing access to the college's library, cultural events and athletic facilities.