Explorations in the Holy Roman Empire

• Click here for the syllabus of MEM 3730
• Summer B – 2009
  Note: one week later than the official Summer B!
  July 3 through August 14, 2009
  Program Fee: $3, 665
  There are up to 15 openings in this program
  Write to marywatt@ufl.edu or louthan@history.ufl.edu to be included in a listserve of interested students.

The University of Florida’s MEMS-Mannheim Program in Germany offers students the opportunity:

• to explore the rich political, literary, and artistic history of Medieval Germany during the age of the Holy Roman Empire in MEM 3730, “Explorations of the Holy Roman Empire,” offered in English. MEM 3730 can be cross-listed for credit in History or German Studies.
• to take a one-credit Introduction to "Everyday German" (no pre-requisites), based on self-study and occasional class meetings with a Mannheim instructor for review purposes, thus providing students a convenient way to acquire some basic German language skills while  in Germany.
• to take GER 2243 Interactive Practice, providing students who have completed the Beginning German Sequence (GER 1131, 1104, or their equivalent) the opportunity to pratice and improve their German skills. The GER 2243 in the MEMS in Mannheim program is designed -- for sudents with the linguistic qualifications as a German-language embellishment of the English-language "Explorations of the Holy Roman Empire" course and will include excursions to local sites of interest for Medieval and Early Modern Studies.
  

• to complete a course of independent study in Medieval Studies (MEM 4905) or in German Studies (GEW 4905), under the supervision of the MEMS in Mannheim faculty. The MEMS in Mannheim faculty encourage students to work in small groups on video essays using Windows Movie Maker that incorporate video material and information on a topic of common interest.
  An example of  a GEW 4905 video essay produced in the MEMS in Mannheim program is this one on Holocaust memorials  produced by Emily Bogenschutz, Jessica Holland, and Katy Russell (ca. 16 minutes runtime): http://streaming.video.ufl.edu/~mem2500/Holocaust Project Final.asx.

MEMS in Mannheim is a flexible program consisting of a MEMS component and a German Language component. Although the components are designed to be complementary, students can structure their involvement in the program to place emphasis on MEMS or German if they wish.

Housing

Students will be housed in dormitories of the University of Mannheim. Application deadline is April 1, 2009. The space in this program is limited and applications are considered on a space-available basis, so please apply early.

Contact Information

• Instructors in 2009: Professor Mary Watt (marywatt@ufl.edu) and Howard Louthan (louthan@history.ufl.edu)
  
• Program Coordinator: Will Hasty – hasty@ufl.edu -
  352-392-2105 x212.
• UF International Center: Angela Grindal - agrindal@ufic.ufl.edu - 352-273-1506

Eligibility

Students in good standing who have completed the first semester of their freshman year, have earned a 2.5 GPA on 4.0 scale, and are at least 18 years of age. Students from other universities and community colleges are welcome to apply.
Academic Credits: As this is a UF program, credits taken can satisfy major, minor, and university requirements with prior approval. UF GPA credit will be granted for courses taken with UF faculty.

Transfer credit will be earned with courses taught by local instructors at the University of Mannheim.

Die Stadt Mannheim

The city of Mannheim, located in the Rhine river valley in the historic Palatinate, is close to the ancient Roman limes, the former imperial cities of Worms, Speyer, and Strasbourg, and provides easy access to a wealth of cultural resources that will be explored in program field trips.

• Much larger than the Palace at Versailles that inspired it, the Palace of Mannheim and the nearby palace at Schwetzingen are testimonies from the "Age of Absolutism" that followed upon the confessional conflict of the Reformation.
• Within a generation of the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the poet Friedrich Schiller and Ludwig van Beethoven articulated an artistic vision of the unity of peoples: "The Ode to Joy." The "Ode to Joy" was adopted as the anthem of the European Union in 1972.
• Beethoven's Ninth "Choral" Symphony, the final movement of which includes Schiller's "Ode to Joy," was performed by the Orchestra of Haifa, Israel, together with the Mannheim City Chorus, in the summer of 2007, in front of the palace in Mannheim.  Quicktime movie of performance excerpt.

MEMS in Mannheim . . .

• provides students with knowledge about the rich cultural history of the Holy Roman Empire and the ways in which this history continues to shape contemporary understandings of Europe.
• Weekly fieldtrips in MEM 3730 include excursions to:
  
  • The Roman and early Christian buildings and ruins of Trier, the first "Holy Roman Empire" north of the Alps, where the Roman Emperor Constantine reigned.
  • The King's Hall in Lorsch and a monastic complex that exemplifies Carolingian life, faith, and cultural politics.
  • The cathedral of Strassburg and history of this city between Germany and France that havse become one of the homes of the Euopean Union.
  • Martin Luther sites, the medieval Jewish Cemetery (picture), and the Nibelungen-Museum (picture) in Worms.
  • Palaces from the Age of Absolutism in Mannheim and its vicinity.
  • The Vienna of the Hapsburgs, centuries- long capital of the HRE.

Holy Roman Empire on the Web:

• Society for the Study of the Holy Roman Empire

(Right: A facsimile of the crown of the Holy Roman Emperors kept at Trifels Castle.)

Information on Fees and Financial Aid Opportunities

FEES DUE UPON APPLICATION:
The estimated program fee is $3350. A non-refundable $250 deposit toward the total cost of the program is required at the time of application. The remaining fees are due no later than 30 days prior to departure. Health insurance is included in the program fee. Students receiving financial aid may defer payment for up to 60 days after departure.

Not included in the program fees: Round-trip airfare, additional personal travel and personal expenses, and train transportation to Vienna (for which students are advised to purchase a two-day Eurail Pass before leaving the United States).

Financial Aid

University of Florida students needing financial aid should apply through UF Student Financial Affairs (SFA).
Non-UF students needing financial aid must apply to their home institutions.

Scholarships

The deadline for application for summer scholarships administered by the UF International Center is January 11, 2009. Applications for scholarshps are online. Partial scholarships for UF students are available on a competitive basis through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Honors program, as well as the International Center.

Students apply online at:

www.abroad.ufic.ufl.edu

For more information, contact any of the persons listed above. Major medical health insurance coverage while outside of the United States is included in the program fee.

Contact Information

• Instructors in 2009: Professor Mary Watt (marywatt@ufl.edu) and Professor Howard Louthan (louthan@ufl.edu)
  
• Program Coordinator:
  Will Hasty – hasty@ufl.edu -
  352-392-2105 x 212.
  Dauer 263
• Angela Grindal - agrindal@ufic.ufl.edu
  shill@ufic.ufl.edu - 352-273-1506
  UF International Center (170 Hub)

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