LONDON
PARIS
VIENNA
VENICE
ROME
University of Mary Washington
Summer European Study Program
“European Capitals”
Yesterday and Today
A twenty-six day, six-credit, study abroad offering in Europe
May-June 2007
The Departments of History and American Studies and Political Science and International Affairs are sponsoring, for the fifteenth 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 2007. Participants can experience the Europe of yesterday, today, and tomorrow by visiting London, Paris, Vienna, Venice and Rome.
Between May 15 and June 9, participants will visit various cultural, political and historical sites in or near the five cities listed above. The group will also attend a number of 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, a student’s final grade in the course will be determined by the quality of their performance in class participation, the compilation of a course journal, and their knowledge of assigned course readings. Participants not taking “European Capitals” for credit will, nevertheless, be required to participate as if they were.
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 fourteen earlier occasions.
Course Calendar
Leaving from Dulles International Airport in Washington on May 15, the group will fly to London for a five-day stay, and then travel to the continent to spend five days in Paris, three days in Vienna, three days in Venice and five days in Rome. There will be four days for travel between London and Paris (by train via the Chunnel under the English Channel), Paris and Vienna (also via train), Vienna and Venice (via bus through the Alps), and from Venice to Rome (also via bus). The group will return to Washington from Rome on June 9.
The Itinerary
We have listed below a tentative itinerary (based to a degree on the trip in the summer of 2006) that should give those interested in European Capitals an approximate idea of the nature of the course they will be taking. However, final details of the upcoming trip are incomplete at this time. Consequently, some of the scheduled activities might be moved from one day to another or be replaced by a slightly different experience. The itinerary for Vienna, Venice and Rome is based on what we have done in previous years in those cities.
Tuesday, May 15. Leave Washington for a day flight to London, arriving in the evening.
Wednesday, May 16. The group will first obtain an Underground pass and then 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 Canterbury for a guided tour of the cathedral and then on to Chartwell, home of Winston Churchill, where we will have a tour of the residence.
Friday, May 18. Morning visit to the Imperial War Museum. In the afternoon, students on 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. Evening theater performance.
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 Fountainbleau and possibly a nearby art community.
Friday, May 25. Menu or free day.
Saturday, May 26. Day train ride to Vienna.
Sunday, May 27. Orientation for Vienna and menu item in morning, afternoon walking tour of the historic inner Ring of the city. (One night we will go to a musical performance, probably the opera.)
Monday, May 28. Tour of Schönbrunn palace. Free time.
Tuesday, May 29. Free day.
Wednesday, May 30. Day bus trip to Venice.
Thursday, May 31. Walking tour of St. Mark’s Square and a tour of the Cathedral and the Doge’s Palace.
Friday, June 1. Free day.
Saturday, June 2. Excursion into the Venetian archipelago to visit the islands of Murano and Burano.
Sunday, June 3. Bus ride to Rome with stop at Assisi.
Monday, June 4. City orientation.
Tuesday, June 5. Excursion to Ostia, classical Rome’s port city.
Wednesday, June 6. Walking tour of classical Rome. Afternoon menu item.
Thursday, June 7. Visit to Vatican City. Afternoon free or menu.
Friday, June 8. Menu items and free time.
Saturday, June 9. Return from Rome to Washington and 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 $4,800.00. These figures are based on a minimum enrollment of eighteen. It is similarly based on an exchange rate of $1 = 1.27 Euros, which could result in a price adjustment if the Euro appreciated against the $ beyond this amount. Such an adjustment has been necessary only twice since the inception of European capitals in 1992. The tuition for Virginia residents is $1309.00, and the tuition for out of state students is $3781.00. These are the 2007 figures based on a six-credit hour course. All participants must also pay for travel insurance, which will cost around $100. And finally, there is a $75.00 fee that goes to the Office of International Academic Services that is used to support such programs. To secure a place, one must make an $800.00 non-refundable deposit. Students can submit deposits either to Mr. Kramer or Mr. Blakemore. The deadline for participation is Friday, October 6. The remaining trip cost will be due in two equal payments on Monday, January 15 and Wednesday, February 14. The tuition can be paid as late as the week 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