Interested in a twenty-six day, six-credit, study abroad offering in Europe? Information on the annual “European Capitals” summer European study program is now available. See below for further details and contacts (deadline for registration and deposit is October 21, 2010.)
“European Capitals: Yesterday And Today”
May-June 2012
The Departments of History and American Studies and Political Science and International Affairs are sponsoring, for the twentieth year, a six-credit course that will take a limited number of students to Europe for twenty-six days during the first term of summer school in 2012. Participants can experience the Europe of yesterday, today, and tomorrow by visiting London, Paris, Berlin, Prague and Vienna.
Between May 14 and June 8, participants will visit various cultural, political and historical sites in or near the five cities listed on the itinerary below. The group will also attend several artistic performances (either theatrical or musical) during the trip. There will also be a number of one-day excursions to sites in the outlying suburbs or within an hour train or bus ride.
Course Requirements and Faculty
The unique nature of this educational experience, with its emphasis on “experiential” learning outside the formal classroom setting, makes inappropriate the utilization of such traditional measures of student achievement as tests and term papers. Instead, the faculty will use each student’s performance in class participation, along with the quality of their course journal and their knowledge of assigned course readings to determine individual course grades.
The faculty teaching European Capitals have a wide range of expertise in modern European history and politics and extensive experience in European travel. John Kramer, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, is Mary Washington’s resident expert on modern European politics, with an emphasis on the former Soviet Union and Eastern European. Porter Blakemore, Associate Professor of History, is also a modern Europeanist whose teaching and research fields include diplomatic, military, German and contemporary history. Both Mr. Kramer and Mr. Blakemore have traveled widely throughout Europe and have taken student groups abroad on nineteen earlier occasions.
Course Calendar
Leaving from Dulles International Airport in Washington on May 14, the group will fly to London for a six-day stay, and then travel to the continent to spend five days in Paris, four days in Berlin, three days in Prague and three days in Vienna. There will be four days for travel between London and Paris (by train via the Chunnel under the English Channel), Paris and Berlin (via plane), Berlin and Prague (via bus), and from Prague to Vienna (also via bus). The group will return to Washington from Vienna on June 8.
The Itinerary
We have listed below a tentative itinerary (based to a degree on the trip in the summer of 2010) that should give those interested in European Capitals an approximate idea of the nature of the course they will be taking. However, some of the scheduled activities might be moved from one day to another or be replaced by a slightly different experience
Monday, May 14. Leave Washington for a night flight to London, arriving in the morning.
Tuesday, May 15. The group arrives in London. After checking into the hotel, the faculty will purchase an Underground pass for each student and provides a short orientation.
Wednesday, May 16. In the morning we will take a walk through sections of the city to learn about the American influence in London. In the afternoon there will be a walking tour of Legal London, with its various Inns of Court and Old Bailey.
Thursday, May 17. Excursion to Cambridge for a tour of the university and a stop at the American Cemetery.
Friday, May 18. Morning visit to the Imperial War Museum. In the afternoon, students are on their own for a menu item.*
Saturday, May 19. Tour of the Palace of Westminster with a question and answer session with a Member of Parliament from the British Labour Party.
Sunday, May 20. This day will be free. Students on their own for menu items.
Monday, May 21. Morning train trip, via the Chunnel, from London to Paris. After we check into our hotel, we will exchange currency, obtain a Paris Metro pass, and become familiar with the subway system and the city.
Tuesday, May 22. Morning walking tour of the Ile de la Cité (the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie.)
Wednesday, May 23. Walking tour of Montmartre in morning, afternoon free or for menu item.
Thursday, May 24. Daylong excursion to the chateau of Fontainebleau and possibly a nearby art community.
Friday, May 25. Menu or free day.
Saturday, May 26. Flight to Berlin.
Sunday, May 27. Orientation for Berlin.
Monday, May 28. Tour of the Reichstag and a visit to the German Foreign Ministry for a briefing.
Tuesday, May 29. Excursion to Potsdam. Tour of the Cecelienhof Palace, the site of the Potsdam Conference, and Schloss Sanssouci, the home of Frederick the Great.
Wednesday, May 30. Walking tour of the remaining Nazi historical sites in the center of Berlin. Afternoon menu items.
Thursday, May 31. Bus from Berlin to Prague
Friday, June 1. Walking tour of “The Castle District.” Afternoon free for menu items.
Saturday, June 2. Visit to the headquarters of Radio Free Europe, including briefing and tour of the facilities. Half day free.
Sunday, June 3. All day excursion to the concentration camp at Theresienstadt and then to Lidice, site of a Nazi atrocity.
Monday, June 4. Bus ride to Vienna.
Tuesday, June 5. Tour of the old “Ring” district of Vienna.
Wednesday, June 6.. Tour of Schönbrunn palace. Free time.
Thursday, June 7. Free day.
Friday, June 8. Flight to Washington and then home.
*Menu Items. To allow students to pursue individual interests, the program directors provide a day or half a day in each city for participants to visit one or more sites they select from a menu that reflects historical, political or cultural diversity.
Costs
The cost per student, excluding the tuition costs, will be $5,799.00. These figures are based on a minimum enrollment of eighteen. It is similarly based on an exchange rate of 1 Euro = $1.40, which could result in a price adjustment if the Euro appreciates against the $ beyond this amount. Such an adjustment has been necessary only four times since the inception of European capitals in 1992. All participants must take the European Capitals course. The tuition and fees for Virginia residents is $1,908.00, and the tuition and fees for out of state students is $4836.00. These are the current tuition figures based on a six-credit hour course. All participants must also have adequate medical insurance, which will cost about $60.00 if provided by UMW. And finally, there is a $80.00 fee that goes to the Office of International Academic Services that is used to support such programs. To secure a place, one must make a $1000.00 non-refundable deposit. Students pay their deposit at the Student Accounts Office. The deadline for participation is Friday, October 21. The remaining trip cost will be due in two equal payments on Friday, December 9, the last day of class in the fall semester, and Friday, January 20. The tuition must be paid no later than April 30, two weeks before the group departs.
The Travel Costs Include:
•Scheduled Flights based on a non-refundable fare with a major carrier on guaranteed dates.
•Accommodations in clean and comfortable 2 or 3 star hotels with private bath facilities in the cities. Continental breakfast.
•Most transportation in the five cities.
•All transportation by private bus or by rail on transfer days between cities;
EuroStar Rail between London and Paris, train between Paris and Vienna, bus between Vienna and Venice and also between Venice and Rome.
•The costs of most excursions, artistic performances and site visits described in the itinerary.
What is not included:
•Spending money.
•Lunches and dinners.
•Admission to museums and other sites when not a group activity.
For Information Contact:
Professor John M. Kramer
Department of Political Science and
International Affairs
University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5358
(540) 654-1495; E-mail: jkramer@umw.edu
or
Professor Porter R. Blakemore
Department of History and American Studies
University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5358
(540) 654-1588; E-mail: pblakemo@umw.edu
