VIENNA SUMMER SCHOOL, 52ND ANNUAL
PROGRAM (4 credits/session)
Director: Stephen Hemenway, English Department
Associate Director:
Janis Gibbs, History Department
Full Program: May 14
to June 26
First Session (Orientation & Classes): May 14 to June 4
Second Session (Orientation & Classes): June 4 to June 25
In 2008, the Hope College Vienna Summer School is 52 years
young. This summer’s two sessions are
open to qualified applicants of any age who have completed at least one year of
college at an accredited institution. The
minimum grade point average for acceptance is usually
around 3.00. Normally, a student on
disciplinary probation is ineligible. The program has a maximum of 55 students
per session.
The academic program features twelve courses and the option
of independent studies, each for four semester hours of credit. Students may enroll for one course in either
one or both of the two consecutive sessions.
Enrollment for most courses is limited to fifteen students; a course
with low enrollment may be canceled.
Non-Hope students receive Hope
College transcripts which
are sent to their home colleges for transfer of credit. Full tuition is charged whether a class is
audited or taken for credit.
Classes are held at the Austro-American Institute of
Education in the heart of Vienna. German-language courses are taught partly in
German with English explanations of grammar.
All other classes are taught in English and require no previous study of
German.
Dr. Stephen Hemenway will lead the program for the 33rd consecutive
year. Dr. Janis Gibbs will serve as
Associate Director. The first-session group
will depart from Grand Rapids to Vienna on Tuesday, May 13. Students may fly directly to Vienna apart from the
group but must arrive by 9:00 a.m.,
Wednesday, May 14, to join the bus ride to Moerbisch, a seaside village near
the Austro-Hungarian border, for orientation.
A similar group flight for second-session attendees will leave Grand Rapids on Tuesday, June
3. Those arranging their own transportation
must arrive in Vienna
by 9:00 a.m., Wednesday,
June 4, for orientation.
In addition to the orientation sessions, Dr. Hemenway will
lead weekend excursions to Salzburg (Austria) and Prague
(Czech Republic) during the
first session and weekend trips to Budapest (Hungary) and the Austrian Alps, as well as a day
trip to Bratislava (Slovakia), during the second
session. Return flights from Vienna
on June 5 and June 26 have been reserved, but other return cities and dates can
be arranged.
Applications, scholarship forms, and a special brochure
are available from Ms. Kendra Williams (Room 116 in the Fried
International Center,
Martha Miller Center
(kwilliams@hope.edu); Dr. Stephen
Hemenway (Lubbers 310 or hemenway@hope.edu);
Dr. Janis Gibbs (Lubbers 330 or gibbs@hope.edu);
or the English Department Office (Lubbers 338).
FIRST
SESSION--ORIENTATION & CLASSES: May
14 to June 4
Art 110 or 295/Hist 131 or 295 - Austrian Art and Architecture
This art history course focuses on the rich treasures of the
Baroque and Rococo, for which Vienna
with its vast cultural resources provides an ideal classroom and
laboratory. Austrian artifacts from
Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Biedermeier and Modern periods are also
examined. Most classes are held in the
museums, palaces, monasteries, and churches of Vienna.
The instructor, Dr. Beatrice Ottersboeck, a noted art historian who
obtained her Ph.D. from the University
of Pittsburgh, has taught American
students in Vienna
since 1968. The course fulfills the Arts
I (Art 110) or the Cultural Heritage II (Hist 131) general education
requirement or may count as an elective art or history course.
Hist 131 or 295 –
Modern Austrian History
This course fulfills the
Cultural Heritage II (Hist 131) general education requirement or can be taken
as an elective (Hist 295). It focuses
on Modern Austria from the decline of the Habsburg Empire, through the two World
Wars, up to the post-Waldheim era and Austria’s entry into the European
Union. Dr. Herberth Czermak--a Ph.D.
from the University of New Hampshire, professor-emeritus at the University of Vienna’s Institute for Translators, and
a teacher on the staff of many American programs overseas--has taught in the
Vienna Summer School since 1987. Museum
visits, walking tours, other excursions and films help make Austrian history
come alive in this course.
Mus 101 or 295/Hist 131 or 295 – Vienna’s Musical Traditions
This Music History course focuses on Vienna’s contributions to classical music
(Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, Mahler, Schönberg, etc.) and the
development of the opera. Students may
earn credit for Music 295 or History 295, or fulfill the Arts I (Mus 101) or
Cultural Heritage II (Hist 131) general education requirement. Dr. Wolfgang Reisinger, a Viennese native
with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kansas,
will teach the course. Dr. Reisinger is
Church Music and Organ Consultant of the Archdiocese of Vienna and a professor
of organ at the Vienna Church Music Conservatory. He recently composed music sung during Pope
Benedict XVI’s September 2007 visit to Austria. Students’ homework includes attendance at the
world’s finest operas and concerts.
IDS 172 - Empires of the World, Empires of the Mind
This course, which fulfills the Interdisciplinary Studies
Cultural Heritage II requirement (IDS 172), debuted nine
summers ago. Incorporating literature,
philosophy and history from the 16th to the 20th centuries, the course examines
cultural and intellectual developments of Central Europe from the Holy Roman
Empire, through the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to the formation of the modern
state of Austria
after the fall of the German Empire. Readings include fiction
(Grimmelshausen, Kafka), drama (Brecht, Harrison), philosophy (Kant,
Nietzsche), history (Morton), and cultural criticism (Freud). Dr. Janis Gibbs, a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and chair of Hope’s History
Department, specializes in the history of early modern German cities and the
interplay of religious, social, and cultural factors.
Sociology 151 –
Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology
This new course fulfills
the Social Science I (S1A) general education requirement and is a major core
course for the International Studies major or an elective for the Sociology
major or minor. A survey of Southeastern
and Eastern Europe since 1400, the course focuses
on multi-ethnic and multi-religious “melting pots” in the Habsburg and Ottoman
Empires, with special attention to Islamic communities. Dr. Valeria Heuberger, a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna and co-author of a recent book on
Bosnia-Herzegovina, is also a folklorist and art historian. She teaches at the Austrian Institute of East
and Southeast European Studies.
SECOND
SESSION--ORIENTATION & CLASSES: June
4-25
Art 110 or 295/Hist 131 or 295 - Austrian Art and Architecture
See course description under First
Session.
IDS 172 - Empires of the World, Empires of the Mind
See course description under First
Session.
Comm 295 - Intercultural Communication
Intercultural Communication explores how cultural
"programming" affects different areas of life, business and
communication. The course focuses on the
immigrant experience, culture shock, language barriers and biases, and
cross-cultural competence. Each student
becomes a "cultural detective" and prepares and presents a relevant
project. Field trips to the United
Nations, Austrian State Television, Central Bank, etc., supplement class
lectures. Elisabeth Cassels-Brown, M.A.,
a 19-year resident of Vienna, teaches
International Business at Webster University in Austria and has taught in various
capacities for the Hope program since 1992.
Her thesis was on "Achieving Cultural Synergy in International
Business Ventures."
IDS 495 - Senior Seminar - Vienna: Values in Transit
Students in this values-oriented course will listen to and
question the philosophies and life choices articulated mainly by Austrian
speakers: distinguished artists,
business people, clergy, environmentalists, musicians, politicians, psychologists,
and World War II veterans and victims who share their life stories. Students will interact with the speakers and
each other, write response papers, and formulate their personal philosophies
for a “Philosophy of Life” paper. The
class will be guided by Dr. Stephen Hemenway (Ph. D. from University
of Illinois) and assisted by Professor
Jacqueline Heisler, M.A., former director of the Hope College
Academic Support
Center. Prerequisite: at least second-semester junior status.
Independent Study
Projects
Independent study projects that make specific use of the Vienna location are
possible during either session, though second session is preferable. A project worth four credit hours is an
alternative to the listed courses; fluency in German is an advantage. A student must obtain advance approval for
such a project from the appropriate department and from Dr. Hemenway, who
arranges meetings with Austrian resource persons and supervises preparations of
the project reports. Former students have
done independent studies in political science, education, communication,
sociology, theater, music, film, religion and German language.
Scholarships and
Financial Aid
More than $40,000 is available in scholarship awards for
Vienna 2008. One scholarship application
suffices for a student applying for any of the listed funds: Jurries Family Fund, Fried Fund, Mitsos Fund,
Fritz Fund, Hemenway Fund, Snow Fund, Austrian Faculty Fund, and Gibbs Family Fund. Last year more than 20 students received
partial scholarships. Scholarship application
forms are available from Dr. Stephen Hemenway, Dr. Janis Gibbs, the English
Department Office, or the Fried
International Center. Students may also check with Financial Aid to
determine eligibility for guaranteed student loans and other aid possibilities.
PROGRAM COSTS
1. Full
Seven-Week Session with Weekend Trips - $6,200*
Included are tuition for eight semester hours of academic credit, non-credit
German language instruction, housing, breakfast and dinner every day (including
weekends), tram-bus-subway passes in Vienna, orientation and farewell
festivities, and all field trips or excursions required for courses in which
the student is enrolled. Also included
are train and/or bus transportation, hotels, guides, admissions, and special
events for weekends in Salzburg and Prague during first session, and for
weekends in Budapest and the Austrian Alps and a
day trip to Bratislava
in the second session. The student enrolled
for both sessions saves $400.
2. First
or Second Session only with Weekend Trips - $3,300*
Included are
tuition for four semester hours of
academic credit, etc. (see everything listed in first sentence in #1), plus
costs for weekend excursions for first or second session.
3. Round-Trip Flight Estimate: (May 13) $900,
(June 3) $1,300
This fee, paid directly to a travel
agent, is not part of the Hope
College cost. Return dates are negotiated individually.
*Since most weekend trips have direct links to the
academic program, they are included in the overall cost. Students who choose to forgo one or more
trips will be reimbursed in Vienna. The above cost estimates are based on prices
and current exchange rates as projected in October 2007. They may be revised if economic or political conditions
change significantly. Students should
check the separate Vienna Summer School Brochure available from Dr. Stephen
Hemenway in the English Department, Dr. Janis Gibbs in the History Department, or from the International Education office in
116 Martha Miller Center or English Department Office in Lubbers 338.
Please see the
special brochure on the Vienna
Summer School for exact deadlines listed in Calendar
for 2008.