Brown University sits atop College Hill in Providence, directly across the street from RISD, where I was a student and I am currently teaching. Brown and RISD have a long-standing policy where students from the two schools can cross-register for classes. It was not uncommon in my day to have at least one Brown student in almost every class I took. It would have been (and still would be) quite a stretch for me to be accepted into Brown, so it was cool –– in theory –– that I could be allowed to take an Ivy League class. The problem was, I could never get into any of the classes I tried to get into!

Fast-forward over 16 years, and now there is a group of Brown students doing a group independent study course about Avatar. (There was a somewhat similar student-run course being offered at University of California, Berkeley some years ago.) Tomás, from this group, contacted Nickelodeon to run the syllabus by us. Mike and I were very impressed. It is incredibly exhaustive and ambitious. I’m not sure I could pass this class!

A few of the students are hoping to follow up the spring class with an even more ambitious immersive study trip this summer to various locations that provided inspiration for the series. Depending on the funds they can raise, they also hope to bring additional artists along, chosen by the fan community. To cap it off, they plan to pour all of their experiences and what they learn into a book. It is, again, AMBITIOUS.

Avatar means a lot of different things to people all over the world, of all ages. But I can tell you, as I teach a group of RISD students just down the hill, I am reminded that it seems to mean something a little extra special to some members of this current generation of college-age kids. They grew up watching the first series. My friends and I grew up mostly on glorified animated toy commercials, at least as far as our kids TV offerings went. We certainly feel a strong sense of nostalgia for that stuff, but it doesn’t seem to resonate quite the same way as Avatar does with the young people who connected with it. Mike and I, and everyone else on the crew, were so immersed in the task of just making the show, with our noses very close to the grindstone. It is humbling and bemusing to look around all these years later and see the shock waves of its effects on people’s lives.

You can check out the link above or below to learn more about this trip/project, how you might become a part of it, how you might help, or how to follow their adventures. I wish them luck and a safe, rewarding trip! Here is a word from Tomás below:

“We are a group of 5 friends who want to keep the Avatar spirit alive by actually traveling the world to learn all four elements. We want to then place everything we learn into your hands through a book titled, "The Lost Scrolls of the White Lotus.” Check out our crowdfunding campaign page and join our community of fans as we explore the elements ourselves. Together, we can become the Order of the White Lotus.“ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-lost-scrolls-of-the-white-lotus/x/9497561