The University of Southern Mississippi:
Summer at
The Abbey of Pontlevoy
June 12 - July 1, 2005

www.euramcenter.com & www.eurabbey.com

Created by the College of International and Continuing Education at The University of Southern Mississippi and consortium partner universities, Summer at The Abbey offers students the opportunity to explore unique modes of academic immersion in European life and culture. Set in the heart of France’s stunning Loire Valley and its celebrated landscape of chateaux and vineyards, the 1,000 year-old Abbey of Pontlevoy is home to the program. Students will use The Abbey, the village of Pontlevoy and the surrounding European neighborhood as a living, learning laboratory and creative studio.

Credits: 4 credit hours (3 per course, and 1 credit for a required International Studies class)

Price: $3,799 for undergraduate and $3,999 for graduate students, including international air travel, ground transfer to The Abbey, tuition, housing, breakfast or lunch each day, and all required museum visits.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of 28 semester hour minimum, 2.0 minimum GPA, clear academic standing

Eligibility: Final decisions over registration rest with the Director of the Center of International and Continuing Education at the University of Southern Mississippi who has authority to accept or reject all applications.

HISTORY 492/785
MEMORIES OF THE PAST
(3 credit hours)
Oral history and public history represent two of the most vivid ways to learn about the past of any culture. This course will introduce students to both oral history and public history to learn firsthand about the history of France’s Loire Valley, the Abbey of Pontlevoy, and the city of Paris. While at the Abbey, students will receive training in the theory and practice of conducting oral history interviews and will also examine local history through lectures and visits to places of historical significance. The class will also have a chance to learn about the history of Pontlevoy and its Abbey by conducting oral history interviews with the citizens of Pontlevoy. In Paris, students will receive basic instruction in the methods of public history, and using the city as a laboratory, will examine how one of the world’s great cities presents its past to the public.

HISTORY 496/596
CHATEAUX, CATHEDRALS AND CLOISTERS
(3 credit hours)
The Abbey of Pontlevoy is located in the heart of one of the richest and most powerful regions of Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Surrounded by several of the finest Romanesque and Gothic churches in France, spectacular late Medieval fortresses and the most impressive Chateaux of the French Renaissance, The Abbey provides the perfect base from which to study both how the most powerful figures of France lived and how the buildings that they built expressed their power and authority. This course will examine the changing styles of art and architecture between c. 800 and 1650 in France. It will also show how these structures were carefully constructed as stages on which the political and religious figures expressed their authority. Taught By Dr Eric Nelson, Assistant Professor of History at The University of Southern Mississippi, this course is designed to use the region as a laboratory by combining seminars with field trips to the very buildings studied in class.

ENGLISH 422/522
THE BICYCLE AS MUSE
(3 credit hours)
This course will explore ways of writing more and better poetry and/or fiction and/or essays--with a special emphasis on travel as inspiration. The class will travel by bicycle over rolling fields to the small towns and gorgeous chateaux near to Pontlevoy to get ideas and grow close to the beautiful landscape. All levels of writing expertise will be welcomed and encouraged to grow; moderate fitness is required (that is likely to improve as well).

International Studies 497
International Studies course is being designed to bridge together business, cultural, and artistic interests in the Loire Valley area. The series and its weekly events will bring an exciting mix of cultural currents, artistic trends, and social movements to participants. Held on campus and in various locations throughout the region, the series events seek to stimulate thought and discussion on a variety of themes and topics.

Get your passport ready..

Summer at The Abbey makes sense educationally and financially. The French Studies Program qualifies for financial aid in the form of guaranteed students loans. Program fees cover international airfare, housing, tuition, lunches during the week, and program excursions. For specific questions, contact Dr. Douglas Mackaman, Director of The Abbey, at douglas.mackaman@usm.edu. Because space is limited and demand for each session is high, applicants must send the attached form with a $200 deposit by April 8, 2005.

Application Form

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