Study in Europe
| ART W80 French Art from Louis XIV to July 14th | ||
| Based in Paris, this course considers shifts in French society, art, architecture, and town planning that occurred between 1648 and 1848. The mid-seventeenth-century threats to monarchical power ironically laid the foundation for Louis XIV’s absolute rule. The course addresses the migration of power from Versailles back to the city of Paris in the eighteenth century, the implications of Enlightenment agendas that eventually ignited the 1789 Revolution, and a legacy of contested social change that persisted into the nineteenth century. With these two centuries as a focal point, the course also includes a prologue covering events prior to the seventeenth century (particularly the importance of Paris during the Gothic period) and an epilogue looking forward to Impressionism, Post- Impressionism, and twentieth-century avant-garde movements. Major sites in Paris will include St-Denis, Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Musée de Louvre, the Musée de Cluny, the Hôtel des Invalides, the Jardin des Plantes, St-Sulpice, the Panthéon, La Madeleine, the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Rodin, and Garnier’s Opera House. Day trips will take in Chartres, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chantilly, and Nancy. The first few days of the interim will be spent in Grand Rapids with discussion of readings and lectures outlining key themes of the course. The trip itself will last fourteen days. The course seeks to introduce students to 1) the landmarks of French art and architecture, 2) the history of the city of Paris, 3) French culture in the present, and 4) more generally how to approach travelling with cultural curiosity and intellectual rigor. Evaluations will depend upon a test prior to the class’s departure, a book review, a journal kept during the trip, and a final paper. This course may fulfill an elective in the Art History major. This course will fulfill the CCE requirement. Prerequisite: ARTH 102 or ARTH 237 or permission of the instructor. Course dates: January 6-26. | $3228* | Craig Hanson, Art (cah26@calvin.edu) |
| CAS W40 English Language by Rail. (MAY) | ||
| Students explore the dialects of the English Language within a historical context. While in Great Britain, students travel by rail through different regions, collecting samples of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish dialects and visiting important linguistic sites. By collecting samples from each of these regions, students learn about the history of English as it is spoken in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as in the United States. Students must present on the features of the dialect samples they collect and write papers that summarize their readings, analyses of data, and interviews in each region. Students are evaluated on the quality of their papers, presentations, transcriptions and discussions. CCE credit is available with additional readings and journal assignments. This course may fulfill an elective in the Speech Pathology major. Course Dates: May 23-June 10. | $3996* | Peggy Goetz, CAS ( jvwoude@calvin.edu) |
| GERM W80 German Interim Abroad | ||
| Participants engage with and improve their knowledge of the German language and culture on this study experience, which includes stays in Schleswig-Holstein, Berlin, locations in former East Germany, and in the Black Forest. Activities include two home stays, lectures, discussions, interviews, tours, and attendance at cultural and social events. Course participants choose where they will travel independently during the last five days. Course goals include active participation in course activities, gains in mastery of the language, increased understanding of various religious, political, and broadly cultural phenomena of Germany, and growth in intercultural sensitivity. Students will be assessed on their individual vocabulary acquisition, submission of a written portrait (in German) of a guest family, and submission of at least two analytic journal entries. This course may fulfill an elective in the German major and minors. Prerequisites: German 215 and permission of the instructor. Course dates: December 30 - January 27. | $2640* + up to $600 for personal and final-week costs | Corey Roberts, German (fcr3@calvin.edu) |
| IDIS W42 Business, Engineering, and Religion in the Context of European Culture | ||
| In today’s global economy, business practices, engineering design, product development, and product marketing must take the international market into account. This course introduces the students to the business practices and product development in the international market, focusing on business and R & D in Europe. Students will learn how the languages, history, culture, economies, regulations, and policies of Europe shape the business and design process through tours of businesses, engineering research facilities, manufacturing facilities, as well as discussion sessions with leading business executives and research engineers in Europe. A second theme of the course reviews the history of the reformation with visits to Wittenberg, Heidelberg, and more. Locations will include Amsterdam, Brugge, Paris, Trier, Munich, Nurnberg, Prague, Berlin, Leipzig and Bremen. Additional religious and culture locations will include visits to the Begijnhof, The Hague, Versailles, Notre Dame Cathedral, Reims, Dachau, Neuschwanstein, and St. Vitas Cathedral. Evaluation will be based on a daily journal, class participation, and a paper regarding the cultural aspects of the course. This course may fulfill the Engineering Department's International Designation program. This course will fulfill the CCE requirement. Course dates: January 8-28. | $3950* | Gayle Ermer, Engineering Ned Nielsen, Engineering |
| IDIS W45 Italy: Ancient and Medieval | ||
| The primary academic objective of this trip is to gain an understanding of the classical context in which western Christianity developed and flourished. Participants visit many sites in Italy, with special emphasis on the urban centers of classical, medieval, and Renaissance culture. On-site lectures address topics in Roman and early Christian history, religion, literature, art, and architecture. The itinerary includes Rome and its environs, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sorrento, Amalfi, Palestrina, Perugia, Assisi, Ravenna, Bologna, Florence, Tivoli, and Ostia. Participants write a take-home test on background readings (available in October), prepare an oral report for delivery at an assigned site, keep a detailed journal, and write a comprehensive essay on one of the major topics covered by the course. This course may fulfill and elective in the Classics major and minor. Optional CCE credit is available for those who meet additional requirements. Course dates: January 5-23. | $4000* | Ken Bratt, Classics Young Kim, Classics |
| IDIS W62 Independent Study at Swiss L’Abri | ||
| L’Abri Fellowship is a Christian study center situated in the French-speaking portion of the Swiss Alps. Founded in the 1950s by the Presbyterian missionary couple, Francis and Edith Schaeffer, it has become known as a place where people with questions about the Christian faith can go for instruction and counsel. Instruction is based on the tutorial system. Typically, students spend half the day in study, the other half working in the community. Up to five Calvin students may spend the month of January at L’Abri in independent study for interim course credit. Students determine the course of their study with their tutors on site. Evaluation for the course is based on a daily journal of readings notes and reflections. This course will fulfill the CCE core requirement. Course dates: January 6 - 26. | $2300* | Lee Hardy, philosophy (lhardy@calvin.edu) |
| IDIS W66 Milestones in Science & Religion: Italy & England | ||
| Italy and England present some of the most significant developments in science, religion and culture. Through on-site visits, this course explores the lives and times of prominent scientists from antiquity through the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, their seminal discoveries as influenced by culture, and their struggles with the Christian faith and the church. Students begin their journey in Rome with an introduction to the history of western science and the Catholic church. Visits include the Colosseum, Museum of Medical Arts, and Vatican City. The class travels to Florence, Pisa and Venice, with particular emphasis upon Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), observing the 400th anniversary of his use of the telescope. Attention also focuses upon Galen, Leonardo da Vinci, Andreas Vesalius, and their European predecessors and counterparts. From Venice, the class travels to London, to explore the lives and contributions of Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and Charles Darwin (1809-1882), and their struggles with their faith and the Church of England. Students celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and 150th anniversary of the publication of "The Origin of Species." Attention also goes to Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, John Flamsteed, William Harvey, Robert Hooke, John Hunter, John Snow, Florence Nightingale, and Alexander Fleming. Visits include homes, museums and historical sites in London, Cambridge, Oxford and Downe. Students read biographies of Galileo, Newton, and Darwin, and select writings of these individuals and other scientists. They learn about crucial experiments, clashing interpersonal relationships, and tensions between science/technology/medicine, culture and Christian faith traditions. Short daily lectures, group discussions and projects focus the issues. Visits to homes, science and cultural museums, cathedrals and universities enhance their learning. Evaluation is based on readings, discussions, journals, and an on-site oral presentation. Prerequisites:: One course in the Physical World or Living World core, or permission of the instructor. CCE credit pending. Course dates: January 5-27. | $3900* | Hessel Bouma III, Biology |
| PSYCH W80 European History of Psych and Religion | ||
| This off-campus, European, dual-discipline course will involve the investigation of sites, museums, archives, and institutes of those individuals who created and contributed to the fields of experimental, clinical and cognitive psychology. The best way to understand these famous scientists and their contributions to psychology is to see where they lived, breathed and worked, thereby permitting a greater appreciation of how their contexts shaped their viewpoints and their theories. Our students’ immersion in the birthplaces of these distinctive schools of psychological thought will help them integrate different areas of psychology in order to form a deep appreciation for the roots of these fascinating fields of psychology. Texts include original readings (translated) by Wundt, Freud, Jung, and Piaget. Additionally, the origins of these “fathers of psychology” are in cities in which the Church Reformers lived and worked, thereby allowing students the opportunity to experience reformation history where it happened. Aspects of reformation history we will investigate include: the Reformation museum in Geneva, Zwingli in Zürich, the Heidelberg Catechism in Heidelberg and the Anglican Church in London. Selected Reformation texts are also included in the readings. Through this experience, we expect our students to articulate the central concept contributions of each psychologist and reformer studied, but more importantly, understand how the cultural and historical context shaped these theoretical perspectives and what that means for a student of psychology and religion today. Student cumulative learning in the course will be evaluated on active engagement in daily group discussions of required readings and site visits, daily reflective journal entries and a final presentation and paper summarizing their personal learning objectives. This course may fulfill an elective in the Psychology major. Prerequisites: PSYC 151 and REL 121 or 131. Course dates: January 6-26. | $3580* | Blake Riek, Psychology Julie Yonker, Psychology |
