Roman Germany

Welcome

General Information

The 2004 SU Summer Study Abroad Program in Italy and Germany is scheduled to run approximately from May 25-June25 and will include not only study in Italy and at Roman sites in Germany but will also include an optional week in Berlin, Germany at the end of the 3 week courses. For much of the program, the base will be the LHK Technical Institute, in the German city of Rosenheim, located in the Bavarian Alps. Designed to provide instruction for serious college students and other interested individuals, this summer program provides students an opportunity to study language and experience the culture of Germany and its predecessor, the Roman Empire, which dominated the area for hundreds of years, leaving an indelible impression on present-day central Europe.

In Rosenheim, students will have housing in the ample student dormitories on the LHK campus with two meals provided daily Monday-Friday. Classes will be taught in two subject areas: history and German. An intensive class centering on Rome and Roman Germany (History 390) will be taught by Dr. G. Ray Thompson. Mrs. Klaudia Thompson will offer a Practicum in German (German 105), which will introduce students to the rudiments of spoken German. She will also teach a course on German Culture (MDFL 245). Regular classes will be held daily. In addition to the usual morning classes, students will meet during the afternoons for cultural immersion experiences at various historical and cultural sites in Germany, Italy, and Austria. Among the experiences will be opportunities to make use of German language skills at the market, the post office, the train station, and local department stores. Everywhere students will be encouraged to take advantage of learning German the easy way – in a natural context of daily activities and transactions.

Fall orientation meetings will be held to determine interest in the program. During the course of the program, there will be cultural orientation meetings, and students will be advised regarding local customs. Students will also be accompanied by the instructors on all program-organized excursions. In general, they will serve as cultural liaisons throughout the program. Expect to do a lot of walking, talking, listening and seeing! The highly successful SU Summer in Italy and Germany Program was last offered in the Summer of 2002. Spaces are limited and are open to faculty, staff and members of the community with first priority going to SU students. The application deadline for the program will be February 9, 2004. Interest meetings will be held in October and November 2003 and again in early spring 2004.

For Additional Information Contact: Mrs Klaudia Thompson
Department of Modern Languages
Phone: 410-573-6522
Fax: 410-543-6237
Email: kmthompson@salisbury.edu

Or

Dr. G. Ray Thompson
Department of History
Phone: 410-543-6244
Fax: 410-677-5038
Email: grthompson@salisbury.edu
Web: http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~grthompson

Courses

Students in the program may earn from four (4) to six (6) hours of SU credit. Classes will be taught in two subject areas: history and German. All students must enroll in one German class and the history class. Students may elect to take either the German Practicum (GER 105) for one (1) hour credit or the German Culture course (MDFL 245) for three (3) credit hours and the Rome and Roman Germany course (History 390), also a three-credit course. An integral part of the instruction will be the examination of the living classical heritage of Germany. Students are encouraged to take advantage of learning German in the natural context of daily activities and transactions. All classes are taught in English and students will attend a series of pre-excursion lectures.

Excursions

An advantage of on-site courses is that students are always “in the classroom”, for wherever they are, students are experiencing various facets of German and Roman history and culture. Excursions may include a variety of sites around Rome in Italy, including the Vatican and Hadrian’s Villa. In Germany, the Summer program will also feature three major chaperoned excursions, one of which is to Roman Trier, one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire. The second overnight is to Roman Cologne, the oldest Romano-German city and Carolingian Aachen, the capitol of the Holy Roman Empire. Excursions to Munich will include visits to museums and the picturesque and exotic Wittlesbach Castles in the Bavarian Alps. Instruction will be provided in transit to these sites and at the sites as well. Students will be expected to familiarize themselves with the art, architecture, and culture of the various periods of Germany as they move through these sites. Built into this academic experience is ample free time to explore sites in Germany: the magnificent medieval cities of Nuremburg, Ulm, Augsburg, and Rothenburg on the Tauber. The Black Forest is nearby as are the Swabian  Alps and the Taunus Mountain range. Lake Constance, a site of great antiquity, is also within easy travel. Since we are constantly “on site”, students will always be learning new aspects of history and culture. The chance of a lifetime awaits! The retentive power of on-site instruction is overwhelming. You will not soon forget the historical and cultural framework, which you experience on site.

Optional Excursions

Optional excursions include Pompeii in Italy, the Austrian cities of Salzburg and Innsbruck, and German sites such as Regensburg, Augsburg, Mainz, Neuss, Koblenz, and Bonn. All these German cities began as Roman cities and each maintains a strong Roman presence. Studying in Germany affords the modern student the opportunity to view first hand the Roman legacy in Germany. For a more modern prospective of German history, students may wish to visit the sites of Valhalla on the Danube, Mad Ludwig’s castles in Bavaria, Potsdam and Berlin. These educational excursions are intended to stimulate students to hone their interest in Italy and Germany and in the many sites in those countries which we will see.

While the academic program officially ends after 3 weeks, an optional five day excursion to Berlin will also be possible for those interested. For an additional fee, students will be able to travel to Berlin and Potsdam to experience the round of daily life in one of the major artistic and cultural centers of Europe. Since Berlin never closes at night, there will be ample experiences for cabarets, concerts, operas, or sidewalk café entertainment. The Charlottenburg Palace with its extensive historical collections from Troy and the world renowned Egyptian Museum, housing the bust of Nefertiti, will be toured along with the palace gardens filled with Graeco-Roman buildings. The Museum Isle containing the great Pergamon Museum with Hellenistic architectural masterpieces is yet an additional treat. The numerous palaces of Potsdam--Sans Souci with its classical motifs and the New Palace, the Chinese Pagoda, Oriental pavilion, Pantheon and other classical and exotic examples of architecture will constantly remind the student of the Graeco-Roman heritage of today’s Germany. During the evenings a stroll along Unter den Linden through the Brandenburg Gate will provide a rich cultural experience for students.

Cost

Tuition and fees and most expenses for the program will be approximately $3,200 for the three-week class experience and there will be an additional cost for travel and lodging for those who elect to take the optional Berlin excursion. We cannot be certain of the exact price at this time since there are potential fluctuations in the exchange rate and possible tuition and fee increases as well. As we approach the actual departure time, a fixed price will be established. Students who plan to stay in Germany or Europe after the program should factor in additional money for the cost of the open-end plane ticket. The approximate amount of $3,200 will include all SU tuition and fees, round-trip airfare, room and board in Germany, program organized excursions (including some meals, hotels, and transportation). Students may want to factor in additional money for additional travel, for souvenirs, and for incidentals.

Instructors

The instructors of the 2004 Summer in Germany Program are Mrs. Klaudia Thompson, lecturer in German at SU and a native speaker. Mrs. Thompson has co-lead many academic on-site classes to Germany. She is familiar not only with the campus at Rosenheimbut also has substantial academic connections in the region.