Overview

Forever Wild Overview

"Forever Wild was a great experience. Randi Storch and Kevin Sheets were excellent lead professors who put together a truly remarkable week for us in Cortland and in the Adirondacks. Their emphasis on inquiry, their immense knowledge, and their incredible passion for their subjects and their students made the week useful and informative. I would highly recommend this seminar to any teacher interested in wilderness and the Progressives."

–2015 Summer Scholar

J. P. Morgan’s guests no doubt imagined the wilderness as a retreat to a virgin forest with restful and curative powers. But did they also see industrialization transforming the Adirondack region?  Did any of Vanderbilt’s companions, who embraced the raw and untamed wilderness as a test of manhood, nod with a note of irony at the two-lane private outdoor bowling alley erected on the banks of the Sagamore Lake? In what ways was their fantasy of “roughing it” in the wild undermined by the army of cooks, laundresses, maids, and caretakers who worked behind the scenes? Forever Wild explores the meaning of “wilderness” by anchoring the Adirondacks into its historical context to reveal the political, economic, social, and cultural history of this real and imagined landscape.

When will Forever Wild take place?

There are two, one-week opportunities to participate in this unique workshop. You can choose from Sunday, July 7 through Saturday, July 13 or Sunday, July 14 through Saturday, July 20. Because of the remote nature of the camp, you will not be able to join late in the week or leave early. Please indicate your week's preference on your application form.