Explorations in the Holy Roman Empire

• Click here for the syllabus of MEM 3730
• Summer B – 2013
  Note: one week later than the official Summer B!
  July 8 through August 16
  Program Fee: $3, 610
  Write to Professor Hasty, hasty@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 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. A possible independent format is for 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.

Housing

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

Contact Information

• UFIC Study Abroad Advisor: Dena Roberts - droberts@ufic.ufl.edu - 352-273-1518
• Program Directors: Mary Watt - marywatt@ufl.edu
• Howard Louthan - louthan@ufl.edu

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.

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.
  • Nuremberg, with its imperial castle and the Nazi parade grounds to the southeast of town. Here the Holy Roman Empire and Hitler’s infamous Third Reich intersect.
  • The cathedral of Strassburg. This city between Germany and France has become one of the homes of the European Union.
  • Martin Luther sites, the medieval Jewish Cemetery (picture), and the Nibelungen-Museum (picture) in the medieval old city of Worms on the river Rhine.
  • Palaces from the Age of Absolutism in Mannheim and its vicinity.
  • The Vienna of the Hapsburgs, for centuries the capital of the HRE. A special weekend excursion takes us to this city of residential palaces, theaters, museums, and students will have free time to explore its rich and vibrant cultural life.

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 Centerhas passed. 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

• UFIC Study Abroad Advisor: Dena Roberts - droberts@ufic.ufl.edu - 352-273-1518
• Program Directors: Mary Watt - marywatt@ufl.edu
• Howard Louthan - louthan@ufl.edu

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