Spring 2009 Travel Offerings

The College reserves the right to change course offerings and scheduling.

In this section you will find a comprehensive overview of Franklin College's Academic Travel course offerings. For the most current list or if you would like to plan your Academic Travel Program, please visit My Franklin.

Academic Travel Programs scheduled for Spring 2009 are as follows:

TVL 201 Northern Switzerland
Professor Parsons

Due to characteristics such as linguistic diversity, local authority, direct democracy, and armed neutrality, Switzerland is commonly regarded as an exception to the rule of national development and of limited importance. The academic travel program within Switzerland focuses on the history and culture of the Swiss-German and Romansch urban and rural communities with emphasis on their relationship to the development of medieval and modern Switzerland. Cities and towns visited include Lucerne, Schwyz, Einsiedeln, Bern, Basel, Zürich, St. Gallen, Appenzell, and Chur. In these are studied historical developments such as the founding of the Swiss Confederation in the thirteenth century, the initiation of the Swiss Reformation by Ulrich Zwingli in the sixteenth century, and the introduction of the federal government in the nineteenth century. In addition to Swiss cultural figures such as Heinrich Pestalozzi, Jacob Burckhardt, Gottfried Keller, Paul Klee, and Alberto Giacometti, students encounter also the legacies of aliens who lived and worked in Switzerland such as Desiderius Erasmus, Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Einstein, Vladimir Lenin, Thomas Mann, and James Joyce. In so doing, students address questions of the identity and role of Switzerland in Europe today.

TVL 234 Morocco: Listening to Morocco, Music
Professor Saveau

(Listening to Morocco, Music between Tradition and Modernity) Jazz legend Randy Weston went to Morocco in the 1960s following a tip that jazz originated from Afro-Moroccan Gnawa. He hasn't returned back home yet. Weston often speaks about preserving traditional music in Africa and shielding it from too many foreign influences. As an expressive form, music is a wonderful way of learning about how cultures negotiate the push and pull of traditions and modernity. In this academic travel, students will learn about how music in Morocco has evolved and survived through conquests, colonization, and globalization. The program will look at various musical traditions from African to Andalusian to Sufi, and see how their commercialization both nationally and internationally has affected them. The point of this travel is to develop an appreciation of Morocco's cultural heritage through its music. The program will meet musicians (both known and unknown), officials, label company owners, music producers, and will attend wedding ceremonies in different regions. Other activities include meetings with university students, hosting by Moroccan families, hiking in the Atlas mountains and visiting the desert. The program will mainly consist of musical performances (Arab.Andalusian, Berber, Gnawa, Aïssaoua, Gnawa fusion) in public and private places. Other activities include visits of Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Roman archeological site in Volubilis, Medina of Fes, Bahia Palace in Marrakesh, evening with students and professors from the Cross Cultural Learning Center in Rabat, music workshop in Meknes.

TVL 244 Liguria / Southern France
Professor Della Corte

Comparative European Cultures The purpose of this Academic Travel is to recognize, compare and contrast aspects of European cultural development in its particular manifestations in the Italian Riviera region of Liguria and in Southern France. In Liguria, students will visit sites including the Bay of Lerici, the Cinque Terre, and especially Genoa. Students will also travel by boat from Portofino to the Monastery of San Fruttuoso and on to the fishing village of Camogli. In the regions north of Genoa, students will be introduced to developments in the cultivation and marketing of olive oil. The second part of the trip will be centered around Nice. The focus of this portion of the course is on mainly 20th century art and artists. Visits will be made to most or all of the following museums: the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, the Matisse Chapel in Vence, the Picasso Museum in Antibes, the Picasso Chapel in Vallauris, the Ferdinand Léger Museum in Biot, the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence and the Contemporary Art Museum in Nice. In Grasse, students will learn about this perfume capital of the world and visit the Fragonard Museum.Themes of the course will include the relationships between visitors, transients and local realities; the rise and fall of the Maritime Republic of Genoa and the tension between regionalism and national identity in these regions.

TVL 247 Venice and its lagoon
Professor Terzi

(History / Economics / Politics / Art / Literature / Environment) This cross-disciplinary academic travel program explores the historical, cultural, and environmental dimensions of the city of Venice from a variety of angles. This includes the origin of Venice as a Byzantine province, the development of political institutions, the origin of banking, the flourishing of commerce, the architecture and the art, and the role of Venice as a world political and financial power. Special attention will be given to the environmental system of the Venice lagoon that nourished and sustained the city of Venice throughout centuries. The symbiotic relationship of Venice with its lagoon will be considered with respect to current environmental questions and problems related to sustainable tourism. The itinerary will centre on Venice, its lagoon, its surroundings, and normally includes a 2-day cruise.

TVL 280 New York, Boston
Professor Zanecchia

(Estimated Supplement CHF 1,950) This trip focuses on the history and culture of two major east coast US cities as well as their respective business environments. Boston and New England include corporate meetings as well as visits to major historical sites associated with the American Revolution and the colonial days in the Northeast. Historical sites may include visits to Cape Cod and the offshore islands. The stay in New York City focuses on the global influence of business, culture and communication institutions.Business visits may include the New York or American Stock Exchange, Citibank and Bear Stearns. Cultural visits will include a variety of museums, to include the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art or the Guggenheim. Live events such as a theatre or music performance in Boston or New York are included in the cultural component. Communication visits will include a major television network in New York such as ABC or CBS. Visits to the United Nations and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum are also included in this academic travel.

TVL 286 London: Finance and Culture
Professor Rocourt

Even in the era of electronic communication and technology-based deal-making, modern London still rather easily qualifies as the world epicenter of banking, finance, insurance, risk and property management, commodity markets, and foreign currency trading. It is no accident that Greenwich Mean Time defines the trading and business day around the globe. The strategic goal of the trip will be to comprehend the vitality of the key financial institutions themselves - how they function, what the people actually do, and how the individual firms set strategy in the marketplace. But the tactical approach will be to experience on a daily basis many of the diversions and historical attributes that the region offers, to include the Stock Exchange, the Bank of England, Lloyds Insurance, The Joint Underwriting Association, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup Smith Barney, etc. But students will also experience the theaters, museums, literary markers, historical sights and just plain diversions that make greater London the place of endless discovery that all knowledgeable visitors return for repeatedly.

TVL 291 Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia
Professor Schlein

(History and Politics) This trip focuses on how several of the states that had been part of the former Yugoslavia have been coping with the effects of the Civil War and the following conflicts since 1995. Students travel by bus and visit Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade and Dubrovnik. The students have the opportunity to meet with speakers on the various issues of recent history, ethnic conflict, war crimes and how they are seen in the areas involved, the implementation of the Dayton Accords, reconstruction and relations with the European Union.

TVL 299 Istria and Belgrade
Professor Dudukovic

(History, Politics, Culture and Traditions) The purposes of this interdisciplinary travel program to Istria and Belgrade are twofold. The first part of the trip introduces students to the historical, political and multicultural dimensions of Istria and Croatia from different perspectives. Students are introduced to the historical origins, architecture and the developing tourist industry of Istria as well as the political and cultural life of Istria and Croatia. Related topics include analyses of the economic transition currently in evidence in Croatia as well as the Croatian educational system. The second part of the trip exposes students to the rich historical and cultural dimensions of Belgrade, the former capital of Yugoslavia and currently the capital of Serbia. Salient aspects of Serbia are stressed, to include its economic, demographic, cultural, linguistic, and political milieu as well as current transitional changes in this post socialistic country. Students will gain on-site experience which goes far beyond the information which can be found in the print media or on the Internet. Meetings with government representatives and private business managers, interviews with ordinary people and visits to the refugee camp are planned. The itinerary will center on Pula, Opatia, Brioni, Postojna, Motovun and Belgrade.

TVL 304 Cyprus
Professor Mottale

(Ethnic division, its causes and attempts at resolution) Students will be introduced to millenarian civilizations of Cyprus and will become acquainted with the Turkish and Greek cultural components on the island. This travel program will focus on the history, culture, politics, and arts of this island and its final evolution from a British colony, to a divided and segmented republic with membership in the European Union. Politics permitting, students will be visiting the main urban centers on both sides of the divide such as Larnaka, Limassol, Nicosia, and Famagusta. A particular focus will be placed on the synthesis of civilizations that have come to influence the cultural and physical landscape of the area. Emphasis will be put on salient aspects of Classical Greek civilization, its symbiosis with Roman rule, and the evolution of Byzantine imperial domination, Orthodox Christianity and Crusader rule, through Venetian hegemony, and Ottoman-Islamic control. Students will also be introduced to the modern dynamic elements of the island, shaped by a British presence that lasted almost ninety years and still persists to this day. The final aim of this academic travel is to gain an insight into the multifaceted historical identity of the Cypriot population.

TVL 305 Paris: Experiencing Literature
Professor Ferrari

Urban development and the arts in the 19th and 20th Centuries This program explores a wide variety of visual and narrative representations of the city of Paris, with an emphasis on the 19th & 20th centuries. Student travelers to Paris will follow in the footsteps of some of the city's most culturally influential past inhabitants: from Charles Baudelaire to Ernest Hemingway, from Eugène Atget to Agnès Varda. In preparation for our on-site visits and lectures, our on-campus investigation will pause to consider the significance of artistic movements ranging from French Symbolism, to Surrealism, to Existentialism, to New Wave film. What role does the city of Paris play in inspiring the articulation and evolution of these movements? What are some of the common characteristics that link together the various representations of Paris that we will be looking at? What is it that seemingly enables Paris to transcend the role of urban backdrop and, often, become both protagonist and muse? Students will be expected to make oral presentations throughout their stay and keep a diary/scrapbook in which they will be asked to react to and interact with the unique cityscape which is the Ville Lumière. Knowledge of the French language is strongly recommended.

TVL 306 Bavaria: Laptop and Lederhosen
Professor Pyka

Focusing on the Bavarian capital Munich, this course seeks to explore urban planning and urban development of a European city from the Middle Ages to the Present. It asks in which way the interplay of tradition and modernity has structured not only the mindsets of the population, but also the physical shape of cities. The examples explored in the pre-trip seminar as well as on the spot are the medieval urban centre of Nuremberg in Franconia with its long history of urban independence and self confidence of its citizens, and the state's more modern capital Munich, chosen as the residence of the Bavarian elector-princes and later kings. Both cities were deeply involved in the architectural fantasies of National Socialism and therefore also in West German attempts post-war to deal with this legacy by architecture. Thus special attention will be given to the impact of social cultural developments on the urban sphere, as well as to the use of tradition and history for urban planning and architecture.

TVL 309 Umbria
Professor Zdanski

(Making and studying art) This course will explore the art of Umbria in Italy in the context of the territory and its traditions. The 'centerpiece' of the course is a seminar on ceramics at La Fratta, local artist Luca Leandri's studio () near the town of Deruta (Perugia), one of the centers of ceramics production in Italy. Umbria is a region of breathtaking natural beauty, and can boast of a long standing cultural heritage, starting from the ancient Umbrians and the Etruscans (masters of the terracotta tradition par excellence), and extending through the Romans, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the area and its history in a unique way, by making a form of art that the region is famed for, and by visiting some of its art centers (Perugia, Assisi, Citta' di Castello, Gubbio, Orvieto and Spoleto) and some of its places of natural beauty (Lago di Trasimeno, Le Marmore waterfall, Fonti di Clitunno, Monti Sibillini). The trip will also provide an opportunity to see how contemporary life and art in this region draw upon or depart from this wealth of art and culture.

TVL 318 Slovak and Czech Republics
Professor Bulcroft

An examination of contemporary Slovak social structure, relationships and culture as an example of current social conditions and culture in post-Soviet Central European society. This tour will incorporate seminars with leading experts on Slovak society and culture; visits to major business/work organizations (HP; US Steel); tours of significant urban and rural areas of Slovakia; student conducted interviews with Slovak students at two major universities to explore issues around youth, relationships and family life; and a close examination of the conditions and issues facing the Roma (including the potential for a service learning day in the Roma community in Eastern Slovakia). Interspersed with these experiences will be an opera performance at the Janecek Theatre in Brno (Dvorak's Czech peasant opera - "The Jacobin") and opportunities to explore historical and cultural sites in both the Sovak and Czech Republics (churches, museums, buildings, castles, monuments, etc.). Locations in Slovakia will include: Bratislava, Banska Stiavnica (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Banska Bystrica, Spania Dolina, Vlkonec, Levoca, Spisska Kapitula, Spissky Hrad (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Zehra, Presov, and Kosice. Locations in the Czech Republic will include: Brno, Prague, and Ceske Krumlov (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Depending on time and weather conditions, there may also be an opportunity to engage in winter recreational activities in the High Tatra mountains of Eastern Slovakia.

TVL 319 Vienna
Professor Gardiner

This 1-credit travel course aims to put Vienna and Budapest on the map for Franklin College students: two cities positioned between Eastern and Western Europe, caught in the contradictions of cultural and fluvial flows that define these most interesting cosmopolitan conglomerates. After a grounding in the historical development of Vienna and Budapest, particularly under the Habsburgs, students will explore the different ways in which each of these cities has developed over time, emphasizing both the radical differences that distinguish these cities from each other and the interdisciplinary synergies that connect them to each other. In addition to pre-travel discussions and the travel itself, students will be required to write a compare and contrast paper that involves a specific aspect of both cities, e.g. the Revolution of 1848; Jewish culture, the Iron Curtain.

TVL 320 The Maltese Islands
Professor Starcher

This travel is about the relationship between national/local identities and sites of historical/cultural tourism, which students will explore with the help of students and professors at the University of Malta. The Republic of Malta is among the European Union's smallest and newest member states. Yet, its current status is just one of the many transformations the Maltese Islands have experienced in a history that dates back even before the Neolithic Period and includes not only the remains of its Megalithic temples but testimony in its landscape, monuments and even language to the passage of the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Romans, Castilians, Knights of St. John, the French and British. Thus, Malta is uniquely placed for reconstructing the history of the Mediterranean and particularly for telling an East-West border story about how the Knights of St. John resisted the Ottoman Turks and in so doing preserved the underbelly of Christian Europe. However, the students on this travel will not be engaged solely in the consumption of cultural artifacts, the consideration of historical renderings and in the enjoyment of a truly beautiful setting. Rather, through conversations and interviews with experts and students of cultural tourism, students will also try to understand how such a rich heritage is perceived by the people who live in Malta. In preparation for the trip, students will review the history of the region and will study specific aspects of Maltese culture, including an introduction to the Maltese language. Students will also read theoretical texts on tourism, travel, culture and visual representation, which are intended to help them conceptualize what they will experience.

TVL 321 Paris: The Visual Culture
Professor Fassl

The Visual Culture of Paris will examine a wide range of visual art movements that originated in Paris or for which the city was a major source of inspiration. The emphasis is on nineteenth and twentieth century art, exploring movements such as Realism, Impressionism and Postimpressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. A major subject of investigation and discussion will be photography and what role it played in the development of Modern art. We will use the Paris and its museums to ask ourselves what role the city, its visual and intellectual culture, played in inspiring the articulation and evolution of these movements? What is the effect of Paris on the creative eye today? Our major project will be a sketchbook in which students will engage with these questions, as well as visual and oral presentations.

TVL 322 The Dominican Republic
Professor McCormick

Academic Travel to the Dominican Republic focuses primarily on the literature and history of the Dominican Republic and Haiti from the invasion of the U.S. marines in 1915. There will be excursions accentuating the island's pre-Columbian heritage (Museo del Hombre) and to the vestiges of Spanish colonialism, i.e. La Isabella, established by Christopher Columbus. We will also visit the first school for women set up in Santo Domingo by Salomé Ureña. As the trip focuses of the relations between the divided nations, we will visit the border crossing across the Massacre River and study the status of Haitians in the contemporary Dominican Republic and in the United States. Literary selections from the works of Danticat, Philoctête, Julia Alvarez, Junot Diaz, etc. This travel may interest students of Latin and Caribbean Literature, contemporary Caribbean history, and American foreign policy.

TVL 323 Scotland: Symbolizing Scottish "Folk"
Professor Vogelaar

Concurrent with the trends of "globalization" over the past 30 years, there has been a re-emergent, if not reactionary, interest in the notion of "folk" (or "local"/"popular") culture. Although the (re)emergence of and interest in folk culture is geographically widespread, it is often associated with Great Britain and Ireland where long clashes over regional independence and class tensions have inspired strong "folk" cultures that have served as powerful sources of identification and allegiance. This program explores the significance of the notion of "folk" in Scottish culture as it permeates Scottish art, humor, music and dance, language and other symbol systems (e.g. tartans, coats of arms) and social practices (e.g. education, cuisine, sports, pub culture). During this travel program will explore the following questions: What does "folk" mean? What is Scottish folk culture? What are its distinct cultural representations? What cultural "work" does it do? In order to explore these questions, we will visit cultural sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh, neighboring Fife, and may include a trip to Aberdeen. Visits and sites many include the National Museum of Scotland, the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the International Comedy Festival, Glasgow's famous "King Tuts," the University of Edinburgh, St. Andrews, a distillery tour, and a soccer match.