Each tour is enhanced by University of Rochester faculty who will share their unique expertise to offer an educational lens into the cultures, histories, and landscapes you’ll encounter—making every trip a true extension of your intellectual journey.
Treasures of Peru
August 25-September 4, 2025
Jeffrey Baron ’20 (MA), PhD candidate, Department of History
Jeffrey Baron ’20 (MA) researches treasure-hunting, grave-robbing, and treasure law in the medieval and early modern periods. His dissertation, “Treasure in the Hispanic World, 1500-1700,” draws on archival records from across Spain, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico to explore buried treasure excavations and the laws that governed them. His recent article, “Grave-Robbing as Philanthropy: How Tombs Became Taxable Treasure in Colonial Latin America,” currently in the second round of peer review at Renaissance Quarterly, examines how colonial Peruvian jurists legally classified pre-Hispanic indigenous tombs and funereal artifacts as buried treasure, thereby authorizing a widespread licensed grave-robbing industry. At the University, he teaches “The History of Treasure,” a global study of treasures literal and metaphorical, from prehistoric tombs to El Dorado fantasies to modern international artifact trafficking and repatriation.
Paris featuring the African American Experience
October 18-26, 2025
Cilas Kemedjio, professor of French and Francophone studies
Cilas Kemedjio’s contributions in the fields of Caribbean and African literature and culture, postcolonial theory and transnational black studies have earned him both national and international recognition. He is the author of two monographs, two edited volumes, and over 60 articles. His research on Black Paris and the transnational struggles for Black communities has been translated into two courses: “Black Paris” and “Biographies of Emancipation in the Black World.” These two courses, along with related publications, are part of the broader field of global Black studies, which the University, as a leading research institution, actively supports through its commitment to scholarship aimed at advancing our shared humanity and making a positive impact on the world. From 2010-2020, he served as a director of the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African American Studies and held the Frederick Douglass Professor Chair. In this role, Professor Kemedjio worked tirelessly to expand fields of inquiry into the diasporic and multilingual riches of Africa and the diaspora.
Exploring Australia & New Zealand
Information about the educational enhancements for this tour is coming soon!
Nepal & Bhutan: A Journey to the Himalayas
April 9-22, 2026
Jack Downey, associate professor in the Department of Religion & Classics
Jack Downey first became interested in Himalayan culture through human rights activism as a student in the 90s. Some of his interest was also personal, given that his mother’s side of the family hails from China’s Sichuan Province, which shares some cultural overlap with areas that you will be visiting on this trip. He has spent a considerable amount of time in the Himalaya, including a year living in a Buddhist monastery in the hills outside Kathmandu, where he studied classical Tibetan language and philosophy, before returning to the US to continue formal academic studies at Harvard Divinity School, where he received a master’s degree in theological studies. His PhD work at Fordham University focused on religion in North America, but he has continued to research, write, and teach about Buddhism – which have included guided tours of Tibetan refugee communities in northern India at his former institution, La Salle University. He could not be more excited to share some of his experience, especially since some of the places you will be visiting are profoundly important to the broader history of Himalayan culture.
Catalonia and the Cosmos
Total Solar Eclipse on the Spanish Coast
August 9-17, 2026
Kelly Douglass, associate professor of instruction in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
Kelly Douglass is currently the Director of the C.E.K. Mees Observatory, the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Physics, and runs the NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program in physics and astronomy at UR. While Prof. Douglass’s research focuses on mapping the structure of the universe, she was one of the primary coordinators for UR’s solar eclipse festivities in April 2024 and is excited to share some of the science behind solar eclipses and witness the total solar eclipse in 2026 (hopefully with fewer clouds)!
Croatia & the Dalmatian Coast
October 9-20, 2026
Elizabeth Colantoni, associate professor of classics in the Department of Religion and Classics
Elizabeth Colantoni teaches in the University’s program in archaeology, technology, and historical structures. She is an archaeologist, and her research is focused on the ancient Mediterranean world, particularly Italy in the time before and during the Roman Empire. She regularly teaches courses on Greek and Roman archaeology, archaeological and museum ethics, and ancient Roman religion as well as Latin language courses. She has, since 2007, been taking students to Italy to participate firsthand in archaeological excavations there. In 2025 and 2026 she will be taking Rochester students to excavate at Trebula Mutuesca (near modern Monteleone Sabino, Rieti, Italy), a settlement that thrived during the Roman period and is noted today particularly for the remains of its ancient amphitheater and sanctuary to the Italic goddess Feronia.
Holiday Markets Cruise-The Festive Rhine River
December 9-17, 2026
Tim Peterson, Ann and Irving Norry Curator of Contemporary Art
Timothy Peterson serves as the Ann & Irving Norry Curator of Contemporary Art at Memorial Art Gallery. He is a leading curator noted for premiering major solo exhibitions by an exceptionally diverse slate of fast-rising and established artists including Reggie Burrows Hodges, Ryan Adams, Alison Hildreth, Yashua Klos, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Paula Mpagi Sepuya, Ghada Amer, Wangechi Mutu, Christian Marclay, Uta Barth, Alejandro Cesarco, and Shinique Smith. Peterson previously served as Executive Director and Chief Curator for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (Rockland, Maine), Founding Director and Curator of Franklin Art Works (Minneapolis) and Chief Curator for the SCAD Museum of Art (Savannah), with prior curatorial posts at Lannan Foundation (Los Angeles), the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Provincetown International Film Festival.
Treasures of Peru
August 25-September 4, 2025
Jeffrey Baron ’20 (MA), PhD candidate, Department of History
Jeffrey Baron ’20 (MA) researches treasure-hunting, grave-robbing, and treasure law in the medieval and early modern periods. His dissertation, “Treasure in the Hispanic World, 1500-1700,” draws on archival records from across Spain, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico to explore buried treasure excavations and the laws that governed them. His recent article, “Grave-Robbing as Philanthropy: How Tombs Became Taxable Treasure in Colonial Latin America,” currently in the second round of peer review at Renaissance Quarterly, examines how colonial Peruvian jurists legally classified pre-Hispanic indigenous tombs and funereal artifacts as buried treasure, thereby authorizing a widespread licensed grave-robbing industry. At the University, he teaches “The History of Treasure,” a global study of treasures literal and metaphorical, from prehistoric tombs to El Dorado fantasies to modern international artifact trafficking and repatriation.
Paris featuring the African American Experience
October 18-26, 2025
Cilas Kemedjio, professor of French and Francophone studies
Cilas Kemedjio’s contributions in the fields of Caribbean and African literature and culture, postcolonial theory and transnational black studies have earned him both national and international recognition. He is the author of two monographs, two edited volumes, and over 60 articles. His research on Black Paris and the transnational struggles for Black communities has been translated into two courses: “Black Paris” and “Biographies of Emancipation in the Black World.” These two courses, along with related publications, are part of the broader field of global Black studies, which the University, as a leading research institution, actively supports through its commitment to scholarship aimed at advancing our shared humanity and making a positive impact on the world. From 2010-2020, he served as a director of the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African American Studies and held the Frederick Douglass Professor Chair. In this role, Professor Kemedjio worked tirelessly to expand fields of inquiry into the diasporic and multilingual riches of Africa and the diaspora.
Exploring Australia & New Zealand
Information about the educational enhancements for this tour is coming soon!
Nepal & Bhutan: A Journey to the Himalayas
April 9-22, 2026
Jack Downey, associate professor in the Department of Religion & Classics
Jack Downey first became interested in Himalayan culture through human rights activism as a student in the 90s. Some of his interest was also personal, given that his mother’s side of the family hails from China’s Sichuan Province, which shares some cultural overlap with areas that you will be visiting on this trip. He has spent a considerable amount of time in the Himalaya, including a year living in a Buddhist monastery in the hills outside Kathmandu, where he studied classical Tibetan language and philosophy, before returning to the US to continue formal academic studies at Harvard Divinity School, where he received a master’s degree in theological studies. His PhD work at Fordham University focused on religion in North America, but he has continued to research, write, and teach about Buddhism – which have included guided tours of Tibetan refugee communities in northern India at his former institution, La Salle University. He could not be more excited to share some of his experience, especially since some of the places you will be visiting are profoundly important to the broader history of Himalayan culture.
Catalonia and the Cosmos
Total Solar Eclipse on the Spanish Coast
August 9-17, 2026
Kelly Douglass, associate professor of instruction in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
Kelly Douglass is currently the Director of the C.E.K. Mees Observatory, the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Physics, and runs the NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program in physics and astronomy at UR. While Prof. Douglass’s research focuses on mapping the structure of the universe, she was one of the primary coordinators for UR’s solar eclipse festivities in April 2024 and is excited to share some of the science behind solar eclipses and witness the total solar eclipse in 2026 (hopefully with fewer clouds)!
Croatia & the Dalmatian Coast
October 9-20, 2026
Elizabeth Colantoni, associate professor of classics in the Department of Religion and Classics
Elizabeth Colantoni teaches in the University’s program in archaeology, technology, and historical structures. She is an archaeologist, and her research is focused on the ancient Mediterranean world, particularly Italy in the time before and during the Roman Empire. She regularly teaches courses on Greek and Roman archaeology, archaeological and museum ethics, and ancient Roman religion as well as Latin language courses. She has, since 2007, been taking students to Italy to participate firsthand in archaeological excavations there. In 2025 and 2026 she will be taking Rochester students to excavate at Trebula Mutuesca (near modern Monteleone Sabino, Rieti, Italy), a settlement that thrived during the Roman period and is noted today particularly for the remains of its ancient amphitheater and sanctuary to the Italic goddess Feronia.
Holiday Markets Cruise-The Festive Rhine River
December 9-17, 2026
Tim Peterson, Ann and Irving Norry Curator of Contemporary Art
Timothy Peterson serves as the Ann & Irving Norry Curator of Contemporary Art at Memorial Art Gallery. He is a leading curator noted for premiering major solo exhibitions by an exceptionally diverse slate of fast-rising and established artists including Reggie Burrows Hodges, Ryan Adams, Alison Hildreth, Yashua Klos, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Paula Mpagi Sepuya, Ghada Amer, Wangechi Mutu, Christian Marclay, Uta Barth, Alejandro Cesarco, and Shinique Smith. Peterson previously served as Executive Director and Chief Curator for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (Rockland, Maine), Founding Director and Curator of Franklin Art Works (Minneapolis) and Chief Curator for the SCAD Museum of Art (Savannah), with prior curatorial posts at Lannan Foundation (Los Angeles), the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Provincetown International Film Festival.
Questions?
For more information on these trips or the University of Rochester Travel Club, contact Rebecca Picone, Associate Director of Lifelong Learning & Career Services, at rebecca.picone@rochester.edu
or 585-797-5709.
Questions?
For more information on these trips or the University of Rochester Travel Club, contact Associate Director of Lifelong Learning and Career Programs Rebecca Picone at rebecca.picone@rochester.edu or 585-797-5709.