Practitioner-Taught Courses during Short Term offer opportunities for students to explore more practical and applied areas of study that are available within the core liberal arts curriculum. In this unique academic course, boatbuilder and scholar Douglas Brooks taught students to learn as a traditional Japanese apprentice, honing the skills of observation, discernment, and reflection, as well as imitation – and hammering, chiseling, and knife sharpening. The course ended in a traditional boat launch ceremony.

Boats made at Bates, all the way from Japan