The Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg – May Term

Students can spend springtime (mid-May to mid-June) studying in the heart of Western Europe during the May Term.

THE MONTH-LONG MAY TERM

Each May Term, students can choose one of three courses offered by Holy Cross and Clark University professors. Each course features class time as well as field trips to regional sites, and to, depending on the course, nearby countries like Belgium, France, Germany, and/or The Netherlands. Whenever possible, an added dimension will be provided by guest lecturers from the European community. Each course carries one full unit of course credit, is taught in English, has no prerequisites, and can be used to satisfy a common area designation. All courses are open to first year students.
For more information, please visit Clark University's May Term website which will be fully updated by mid-September.

THE LURE OF LUXEMBOURG

Surrounded by France, Germany and Belgium, Luxembourg is located at the crossroads of European cultures and thereby uniquely situated to give students and scholars a varied and stimulating European experience. Mondorf-les-Bains’ own location in centrally located Luxembourg emphasizes this geographical advantage and the international character of the country: the border with France runs through part of the city. Students interested in languages will have an opportunity to practice French and German in their native settings.

GENERAL INFORMATION

2010 Luxembourg Session:
The May Term in The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg will run from 17 May to 11 June, 2010.

Admission, Course Credit:
The program is open to all Clark and Holy Cross students whose studies have not been completed prior to the beginning of the May Term. The selection criteria for admission include: academic performance (transcript required), reasons for participation, and relevance of the course to the student's academic career. Enrolled Holy Cross students will receive normal day college credit (one full unit). Interested students can download and print application forms from the Clark Luxembourg program site or contact the History Department at Holy Cross (see below for contact information).

Tuition Costs and Financial Aid:
The program fee for students from Clark University and The College of the Holy Cross is $4,900. Since only students from Clark and Holy Cross can be subsidized by The Henry J. Leir Charitable Foundations, the fee for students from other schools is $6,300. The fee includes tuition for one course, roundtrip transportation between Boston and Luxembourg, accommodations, 14 set meals per full week, and all field trips associated with a course. Students may undertake optional travel and cultural events during their own personal time and at their own risk and expense. Financial aid is available to academically qualified students on the basis of need.

Courses to choose from in 2010 are:

Cultural Psychology of Urban Living (Prof. Jaan Valsiner) provides students with skills of observational research and semiotic analyses of culturally structured open spaces in urban settings—streets, parks, functional activity centers, etc. Research tasks will be set up for students in four cultural contexts--German, French, Flemish and Dutch (based on field trips). During the Luxembourg stay in the spring, the students will carry out their individual observational studies of public conduct in culturally structured activity settings, and will write a research paper based on their work.
This course fulfills the elective requirement for the psychology major.

Beyond Armageddon: Enmity to Amity in Europe (Prof. William Green) concentrates on the international history of Europe, commencing with the unparalleled disaster of the Great War, 1914-1918, and the ensuing, even more costly Second World War, 1939-1945. Paramount attention will be given to the conduct of warfare in the territories of Northern France, Western Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg (scene of the Battle of the Bulge). The class will visit sites of warfare undertaken in this region, some of them commemorative, some grisly, all of them important, including Verdun, the Maginot Line, and several military cemeteries--French, German, and American. The post war reconstruction of Europe, the onset and development of the Cold War, and the process of reconciliation among former wartime enemies, particularly France and Germany, will be treated. Consideration will be given to the creation of the European Community, and its remarkable expansion at the end of the 20th century. Field trips include Strasbourg, home of the European Parliament, crossroads of French and German culture, and principal city of Alsace.
This course is approved for the Historical Studies Common Area requirement and counts as a European History course toward the History major.

Imagining Europe: Space, Borders, And Cultural Identities (Prof. Stephen Levin). Questions raised in this course include: What is “Europe”? Is it defined primarily by its cultural values? Geographic boundaries? A shared history? A commitment to a set of political ideals? Who decides? The course examines competing ideas of Europe in the contemporary period through readings in journalism, literary fiction, poetry, philosophy, and political criticism. We will be especially interested in how Europe “remembers” the past in its public museums, monuments, and heritage sites; the inclusion or exclusion of Europe’s internal “others” (Jews and Muslims particularly); and the globalization of European languages by “migrant” writers. Field trips are planned to Belgium and Germany.
This course is approved for the Literature Common Requirement.

All courses are taught in English, and are open also to first year students. All are introductory courses and no prerequisites are required.

For More Information:
Informational Meeting October 27, 2009
Deadline for applications is Wednesday, January 27, 2010.
For further information, contact Yolanda Youtsey, History Department, O'Kane 383, 508.793.2465; Uwe Gertz, Henry J. Leir Luxembourg Program, Clark University.