Class to ride the river

About 15 students from UW–Madison and Edgewood College will study Wisconsin history by following the watery path of French explorers this summer. They’re taking a class on the subject taught by John Sharpless, UW–Madison professor of history.

The original passage took place in May and June of 1673. This month-long sojourn will begin at UW-Oshkosh, taking participants up the Fox River to Omro, Berlin and Princeton to the Wisconsin River at Portage. From there, students will glide – downstream – to the Mississippi, stopping along the way at such venues as Berlin, Sauk City, Spring Green, Muscoda and Prairie du Chien.

Says Sharpless, “What makes this project worthwhile – beyond the obvious opportunity to study the Wisconsin landscape directly – will be the ‘camp days.’ At about two-day intervals we will pause for workshops led by UW faculty either accompanying our group or invited for the afternoon or evening.”

Some of those guests will be:

• Diane Lindstrom, UW–Madison professor of history, leading a discussion on the life and career of Appleton’s (in)famous son Senator Joseph McCarthy, who led the search for Communists in America during the 1950s.
• Patty Loew, UW–Madison assistant professor of agricultural journalism and author of a year-old history of native peoples (UW Press), will speak about Native American storytelling traditions in Wisconsin.
• Robert Birmingham, Wisconsin’s state archeaologist, will guide students through an area of Indian mounds in the Lower Wisconsin Valley.
• Phil Brown, UW–Madison professor of geology and geophysics, will present a campfire lecture on glaciers and the Wisconsin landscape.

In addition, many local historians and ecologists from the towns and villages volunteering their help along the way.

Sharpless says there will be an eclectic mix of students, with majors ranging from art to biotech to education and more. He says there probably will be a range of physical prowess represented as well.

“This will not be boot camp for a Special Forces operation,” he says. “The point is to be educated and have fun, not to test endurance.” However, the ability to canoe, hike, portage, set up and break camp will be part of the deal for everyone, he adds, noting that a support vehicle and communications equipment will connect the expedition with the 21st century.

The summer course “American History: A Journey of the Mind on the Water and the Land” will embark from Oshkosh Tuesday, May 28, and conclude Wyalusing State Park on Saturday, June 22. Sharpless had received a donation of camping equipment and seven Old Town canoes from the Sturtevant, Wis.-based Johnson Outdoor, Inc.