Download Syllabus - BCA Study Abroad

Course Title:
HIS 205 Vienna: History and Culture at the Crossroads of Europe
Program(s):
Marburg and Vienna
Terms Offered:
Feb-Mar (spring); Aug-Sep (fall); Credits:
July (summer)
Course Requirements/
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Grading:
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Language(s): English with some German
3
Attendance and active participation in all classes, whether two-hour
classroom sessions or two-hour on-site lecture tours with the course
instructors on various topics that shed light on Vienna’s history and
culture as well as intercultural dimensions.
40% of final grade is based on active classroom and on site participation,
written assignments and quizzes.
40% of final grade is based on a final presentation demonstrating
intercultural competence and knowledge of local language, culture and
history.
10% of final grade based on eight mandatory museum visits at students'
expense that tie into the classroom lectures and/or on-site lecture tours.
10% of final grade is based on a 5-page reflection paper completed in
English or German. The title of the paper is “My Journey to My New
Self: Observations of a Foreigner in Europe.” This paper is due no later
than 30 days after conclusion of the student’s study abroad program.
Course Description:
Using Vienna as our intercultural laboratory, this course will introduce students to
the history and culture of Vienna, Austria, which was declared a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 2002. The course focuses on the city as a geographical, political,
cultural, and artistic crossroads at the heart of Europe. Students will also learn
about intercultural competencies, which will help them understand others and
their own cultural motivations.
Student Learning
Outcomes:
Students will become familiar with such historical figures, movements, and events
as Sigmund Freud, Gustav Klimt, Karl Lueger, Adolph Hitler, Theodor Herzl, Karl
Kraus, Franz Joseph, Zionism, anti-Semitism, urban modernism, the fall of the
Austro-Hungarian empire, Hitler’s absorption of Austria, Austrian culture during
the Cold War, and contemporary struggles to define Vienna’s and Austria’s place
in the new, enlarged European Union. Students will encounter these topics not
only in the classroom, but also by visiting important historical sites in Vienna,
connecting the city’s past to its visible present and coming to understand the
manifold ways in which the city’s history helps to shape contemporary reality.
Finally, students will reflect upon these issues in an intercultural perspective and
learn to see in new perspectives. Learning about another culture forces one to
learn more about one’s own motivations. Students will improve their ability to
express the meaning of their encounter with, and deeper understanding of, a
history and culture in addition to their own.
Required Reading List:
Nicolas Parsons, Vienna. A Cultural History;
Carl E. Schorske, Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture;
Patrick Schmidt, In Search of Intercultural Understanding: A Practical Guidebook for
Living and Working Across Cultures
Intercultural handouts will be distributed in class