One of the numerous ways that Presbyterian College prepares students for life outside the campus is by offering short studies abroad known as Maymesters. These brief trips are generally faculty led programs that last about a month and give students the opportunity to explore another country and gain valuable experiences that will last a lifetime. These academic journeys are separated by departments and by topics of study. Some of the upcoming programs for this year include trips to Germany and France through the English and History department.  Over Spring Break students can soak up some sun and rich culture in Cuba with the Political Science Maymester. Also during the first week in March, History department will be journeying to Istanbul. The business department will set off for PC’s sister university in northern England while the Art and English departments fly south to beautiful Italy.

Despite the brevity of these programs, students use every precious moment to broaden their worldview and learn first hand from the cultures that intersect with their majors and interests.

Edge Hill Maymester

On this Maymester program students will spend time exploring the northwest region of England at Edge Hill University located in the city of Ormskirk. Students will have the opportunity to visit Manchester, Liverpool, Conway Castle, the Lake District and more!

Courses:

Social Justice and Business (BADM 458B)

What rights do individuals have in a free society? What obligations do they have towards others? We will examine these questions from the standpoint of selected classical and contemporary theories of justice such as utilitarianism, libertarianism, and distributive justice and consider their application in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Finally, we will consider the effect of these theories on business regulation in areas such as child labor, affirmative action, the minimum wage, and tax policy.

BADM 458 – Marketing in European Union

This course will focus on the cultural aspects of marketing in a foreign country. We will review and research the basics before departure and continue our studies in North West England at Edge Hill University. The course is open to all majors. Also, it does not have a prerequisite. We will explore the influence of culture, customs, politics, and legal systems on marketing and business. Local markets for autos, gasoline, food, recreation, and housing will be explored. The focus will be on marketing and the economy of the UK and other countries in the EU.

For more information please contact Dr. Cindy Lucking (cblucking@presby.edu) or Dr. Jerry Slice (jkslice@presby.edu)

Italy Maymester

ARTH 258 or 458:

Art and Architecture in Italy- This course surveys art and architecture of northern Italy, focusing on Venice, Ravenna, Florence, Siena, and Rome, created during the great burgeoning of culture

known as the Renaissance. The class examines and analyzes the work within the larger philosophical, theological. and economic contexts of the 14th through 16th centuries, paying particular attention to the role of art and architecture in conveying ideas of power as the individual sought definition and recognition in the face of state and Church power.

ENGL 258:

Landscapes of Italy- A study of Florence and Venice from 20th_ and 2151-century outsiders’ perspectives. We will contrast the often idealized views of Italy from early in the 20th century with the more realistic portraits from the late 201h and early 2151 centuries by focusing on fiction, film, travel narratives, and creative nonfiction accounts.

For more information please contact Dr. Laura Crary (lcrary@presby.edu)

Germany Maymester

ENGL 258:

The Castle- Few structures capture the imagination quite like the castle, so we will explore its depiction in literature and film. We will begin with the castle as medieval keep and site of courtly love by watching Schaffner’s The War Lord and reading from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We will then examine a gothic rendering in The Eve of St. Agnes, and the castle as Romantic icon in Beauty and the Beast. The castle itself becomes fantasy in works like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, A Game of Thrones, and Kafka’s The Castle. In May, we will begin our own fantastical adventure by traveling to Germany to tour two memorable castles along the scenic Rhine and Mosel Rivers, Rheinfels and Burg Eltz. Finally, we will visit the legendary Neuschwanstein Castle, inspiration for Walt Disney’s American dream of Cinderella’s Castle. While in Germany, we will “read” these castles as texts and discover their medieval, gothic, and romantic elements and discern whether each is a burg or schloss, and why that distinction matters culturally and historically.

HIST 258:

“Hitler and the Germans– From the Rhineland to Munich”- Today Germans see Adolf Hitler as the incarnation of absolute evil, a criminal fanatic who caused the Second World War and the Holocaust. And yet between 1933 and 1945 millions of Germans revered Hitler as their beloved “Fuhrer” (leader) and were ready to sacrifice themselves for him. How was Hitler able to garner this broad and unquestionable support among the German people? In our course, we will discuss the special relationship between Hitler and the Germans during the Third Reich. Out course will shed light on what made the Germans’ belief in Hitler so strong and why the loyalty to the Fuhrer lasted until the very last hours of the Nazi regime. While in Germany, we will visit the “Capital of the Nazi Movement” (Munich), the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg, and Dachau, the first concentration camp in Nazi Germany.

For more information please contact Dr. Stefan Wiecki (swwiecki@presby.edu) or Dr. Lynne Simpson (lsimpson@presby.edu)

Cuba Spring Break

U.S. – Cuban Relations: Historical Perspective and Contemporary Reality

This trip will explore the massive changes going on in modern Cuba. As one of only two remaining de facto communist systems in the world, Cuba has recently embarked on a series of reforms measures to strengthen the economy. The measures undertaken by the government, however, come with potential downfalls and this course and trip will examine what those changes mean for the lives of everyday Cubans. Students will understand these challenges by contrasting the lives of everyday Cubans with those of the exile community in Miami to understand the promises and perils of the reforms Cuba has recently implemented.

For more information please contact Dr. Booker Ingram (btingram@presby.edu) or Dr. Justin Lance (jelance@presby.edu)

Encounters Afar: Istanbul (Spring Break)

This course explores the history of one of the world’s most fascinating cities. Throughout the course of the semester we will study first about the significance of this city as the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, followed by an examination of its transformation into Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Turks from 1453 to 1923. The highlight of this course will be a one-week study-trip to Istanbul over Spring Break.

Dates: Feb. 26- March 7

For more information please contact Dr. Roy Campbell (rbcamp@presby.edu) or Dr. Rick Heiser (rrheiser@presby.edu).