Centre-in-Strasbourg, 2008-2009

The Centre-in-Strasbourg program is located in Strasbourg, France, just across the Rhine River from Germany, four hours by train from Paris, and about an hour north of Switzerland.  Strasbourg, with a metropolitan population of 400,000, has been called “the crossroads of Europe” because of its location at Europe’s center.  Its famed Gothic cathedral, begun in 1176 C.E., sits on this island-city’s highest spot—the same spot on which sat a Roman fort when Julius Caesar was in the area during his Germanic campaigns of the first century B.C.E.  Strasbourg’s political importance grows each year with the increasing importance of the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the Court of Human Rights that are located there.  Students interested in this program will be particularly interested in the two Strasbourg “Travel Journals” on the Centre website, written by Rebecca Bush ’06 and Ben Beaton ’03.    

Eligibility

Any rising sophomore, junior, or senior who has not yet participated in a residential, long-term study-abroad program may apply.  Centre accepts about twenty students each term who qualify on the basis of academic seriousness, social maturity, and faculty recommendations.  The selection committee retains the right not to select students who have had run-ins with the Student Life Office for their campus behavior.  The committee’s list is approved by the Dean of Student Life and the Associate Dean before students are notified.     

While this is not a language program, the selection committee will probably give preference to students who have studied French.  Students selected for the fall term who have never studied French take beginning French while in Strasbourg; students selected for the spring term who have never studied French must take French 110 for a grade during the preceding fall term.

Centre Director for 2008-09

Next year’s Strasbourg program will be directed by Dr. Ian Wilson, Assistant Professor of German and Humanities, who has extensive experience traveling and living abroad.   He was awarded a Fulbright to pursue research in Vienna, Austria and has also lived in Germany.   Though a scholar and teacher of German, his first foreign language was French, and he has continued his study of the language and culture of France and French-speaking countries ever since.  

Living Arrangements in Strasbourg

Home-stays with French or German-speaking families are now the norm for those with advanced language skills and those who want to improve their fluency rapidly.  Students in home-stays typically have dinner two or three times a week with their home-stay families.  Centre also rents three apartments, all conveniently located in the downtown area within a fifteen-minute walk of the Centre office and classroom.  These apartments are fully furnished and include linens, a television, a kitchen with cooking utensils and dishes, a washing machine, and a telephone.  Because these apartments are in regular apartment buildings amidst French families and not a college dormitory, Strasbourg students must be super responsible about noise: no loud music or even loud talking in the evenings.  This has been a problem in the past; if we lose these apartments, it would be extremely difficult to find good ones close to the center of the city that will rent to students. The same, common-sense fire-safety rules about no candles or smoking or Halogen lamps that apply on campus apply in the Strasbourg apartments.  Students who break their signed apartment agreement will be responsible for finding and paying for housing themselves

Classroom Facilities in Strasbourg

The Centre classroom area is located at the very center of town, just off the main square, Place Kleber.  It includes a classroom that looks out on the Strasbourg cathedral, a study and lunch room, a computer room with a small library, the coordinator’s office, and a storeroom.  The noiseless, eco-friendly electric tram stops directly in front of the building.

Courses Offered during 2008-09

All students will be assigned a French course at the appropriate level and the Humanities course, taught by Prof. Wilson, European Cultures of Memory . This course will focus on culture, politics, and history through the lens of recent thought on theories of collective memory, memorials, and museums.   It will follow up on the broad themes developed in the freshman Humanities sequence and seek to unite readings and films, students' own personal stories, classroom experiences, planned group excursions (including field trips in and around Strasbourg and the trip to Paris), and students' independent travel experiences.   The course will draw on fields including literature, film, art, music, history, anthropology, and politics.   To prepare for living abroad and for this specific class, there will be three required meetings this spring and some assigned summer reading.   In addition, you will select two of the following three courses:

a. Art History 370: North European Art from the Early Christian Period to the Renaissance. A study of the paintings, mosaics, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, early Christian basilicas, Romanesque churches, and Gothic cathedrals.   Includes visits to churches and museums in Strasbourg, Alsace, Germany, and Switzerland.   No prerequisites

b.  Government 461: The Construction of Europe.   This course capitalizes on Strasbourg's location at the geographical center of Europe and as the home of the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the Court of Human Rights.   The course emphasizes issues of human rights and includes trips to various Strasbourg institutions.   No prerequisites; taught by Prof. Pierre Nuss.

c. Twentieth-Century Continental European Literature .   This course surveys the major developments of continental European twentieth-century literature and serves as a literary introduction to many of the European countries you will visit on your travels.   An emphasis will be placed on prose, but drama and poetry will also be included.   No prerequisites; taught by Prof. Wilson.   ( Students eligible to take 300-level German courses will participate partially in this course but will do additional work in German for German credit; they will not be able to register for both the German course and Twentieth-Century Continental European Literature. )

Internet, Laptops, & Cyber-cafes

Computers are less available in Strasbourg than they are on the Danville campus.  There are two computers with internet connections in the classroom computer room that students may use to make personal travel arrangements and send and receive email on a limited, sign-up basis.  Although you may turn in all work hand-written, if you own a laptop, you should definitely take it. 

In Strasbourg as in all major European cities, there are many cyber-cafes where, for a small fee, you may make your personal travel arrangements and send and receive email. There is an excellent, inexpensive cyber-café two minutes from the classroom.  Some students get a Yahoo or Hotmail account in addition to their Centre account, which is accessible off campus through https://exchange.centre.edu/exchange. 

Grades / Independent Studies

Mid-term warning grades of D or U are issued after the seventh week of the regular term, just as in Danville.  All Strasbourg courses count in the GPA, just as in Danville.  The Pass-Unsatisfactory option is not available in any Centre study-abroad program.  Only students whose schedules require that they take a particular course not offered in Strasbourg in order to graduate on time have the possibility of arranging an independent study with a professor in Danville. 

Apartment Contract and Upkeep

You are required to sign an apartment contract after the Coordinator’s apartment orientation and to keep your apartment clean and in good order throughout the entire term.  The day after the mid-term break, the Director will make a mid-course apartment inspection to determine things that need to be repaired or purchased.  The Director and Coordinator will inspect your apartment on the last evening of your stay and will assess all apartment members equally the money needed to replace broken items and/or pay for professional cleaning.  A second inspection occurs the day after you leave, to make certain you’ve stripped the linens from your beds, totally cleaned out your refrigerator, not left wet towels to mildew, taken out all of the trash, etc.   

No Overnight Guests in Apartments

Because of liability issues, no overnight guests may stay in the Centre apartments, even for a single night.  No exceptions can be granted to this rule.  Infraction of this rule will result in your immediate dismissal from the program with none of your semester’s tuition returned.   The Director will be happy to provide you with a list of Strasbourg hostels and hotels of all price ranges for any guests who may visit.

Travel Dates; Optional Weekend Travel

FALL students should book their tickets to fly out on Tuesday evening, September 2nd,  2008, and meet Dr. Wilson in the Frankfurt, Germany, airport on Wednesday morning.  (All flights to Europe arrive the following morning.)  A chartered bus will then whisk you down the Rhine valley to Strasbourg, where you will get settled into your apartment or homestay.  The first twelve days of the program are devoted to orienting you to living in another culture and to learning about Strasbourg—as well as Alsace, France, and the European Community.  You will have time to practice the French you will need to get around and get a head start on one or more of your courses.  Centre will arrange (and pay for) a weekend excursion to Paris from Thursday-Saturday, September 11th-13th, near the end of this orientation period.  The regular class schedule begins on Monday, September 15th, and follows a weekly class schedule of Monday-Thursday through Thursday, December 11th. 

Students who have bought a 60-day Eurailpass Youth Flexi may activate it after 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 25th, allowing them the option of traveling in small groups during seven weekends plus the ten-day fall break from October 17th – 26th.  During your time away from Strasbourg, you must let the director know ahead of time where you will be in case of an emergency.  Students remain in the Strasbourg area before September 25th and after November 23rd, when the 60-day optional travel period concludes.  There will be a Thanksgiving-in-France celebration at the end of November. 

The final examination period is Friday-Sunday, December 12th-14th; the final apartment inspection is the evening of Sunday, December 14th; and a chartered bus will take you back to the Frankfurt airport in time to catch flights back on Monday, December 15th, 2008. 

SPRING students fly out on Tuesday evening, January 27th, 2009, and meet Dr. Wilson in the Frankfurt airport on Wednesday morning.  (All flights to Europe arrive the following morning.)  A chartered bus will then whisk you down the Rhine valley to Strasbourg, where you will get settled into your apartment.  The first twelve days of the program are devoted to orienting you to living in another culture and to learning about Strasbourg—as well as Alsace, France, and the European Community.  You will have time to practice the French you will need to get around and get a head start on one or more of your courses.  Centre will sponsor (and pay for) a weekend excursion to Paris from Thursday-Saturday, February 5th-7th, near the end of this orientation period.  The regular class schedule begins on Monday, February 9th, and continues on a Monday-Thursday schedule through Thursday, May 7th.     

Students who have bought a 60-day Eurailpass Youth Flexi may activate it after 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 26th, allowing them the option of traveling in small groups during seven weekends plus the ten-day spring break from March 20th - 29th.  During your time away from Strasbourg, you must let the director know ahead of time where you will be in case of an emergency.  Students are expected to remain in the Strasbourg area before February 26th and after April 26th, when the 60-day optional travel period concludes.       

The final examination period is May 8th-10th, the final apartment inspection is the night of May 10th, and a chartered bus will take you back to the Frankfort airport in time to catch flights back on Monday, May 11th, 2009.

Program Cost

The cost (tuition & fees, room, board) for the Strasbourg program is the same as for study in Danville, except for a $350 surcharge that helps to cover some of the additional costs of housing in France.  A $100 book charge covers all books you will need in Strasbourg, where students routinely share copies of books and articles.  In addition, students pay for their own airfare and make their own reservations to the Frankfort airport, where the Director will meet them with a chartered bus.  Recently, students have been able to find round-trip air tickets for about $520; some have found www.studentuniverse.com  and www.statravel.com helpful in this quest.  You can expect to spend about twice as much on personal expenses as you spend in Danville.               

All financial aid arrangements (both merit and need-based) remain in effect.  Students with remaining loan eligibility are eligible to borrow additional money for these additional educational expenses.  Remember that you may be able to save some money by canceling your automobile insurance while abroad, since you may not drive a car or other motorized vehicle while on a Centre abroad program.

Food Money and Eating

Students studying abroad are charged for the regular Centre board plan.  They are then given food money at regular intervals while abroad and learn to shop in the markets and prepare most of their meals in their apartment kitchens.  In the past, students have become experts at finding inexpensive, fresh ingredients and preparing simple, healthy, and delicious fare.  To prepare for the program, you should practice preparing a few recipes before you leave.   Centre will pay for occasional group meals, for the excursion to Paris, and for the two art and architecture trips that all students take.

Pre-Registration / Convocation Credits

While in Strasbourg, you pre-register for future courses via email with your regular advisor.  You will automatically receive six convocation credits for your time abroad.

Eurail Tickets

Information on Eurail tickets, which may only be purchased in the U.S. before you leave, is available at http://www.euro-rail.org .   Participants in this program are not allowed to purchase the consecutive day, unlimited Eurail pass; our experience has shown that this is disruptive to the program's schedule and goals.   If you wish, you may purchase a "EurailpassYouth Flexi," which allows you ten (or fifteen) days of travel within any 60-day period.   Because the dollar remains so weak against the Euro, the cost is $518 for 10 days ($680 for 15 days) as this is being written (November, 2007).   In earlier years, many Centre-in-Strasbourg students purchased the 15-day pass, but with very inexpensive RyanAir flights leaving from the nearby Karsruhe/Baden-Baden airport, more recent Strasbourg students have felt that a 10-day train pass was sufficient.

Study Abroad Medical Insurance

Students studying abroad through any Centre program receive travel and accident insurance at no additional cost.   Centre's Study Abroad Insurance, while provided through EIIA (Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators), is administered through AIG Assist.   Every student studying abroad with Centre College receives an AIG Assist contact and information card as well as a passport sticker.   Each has the Centre insurance policy number, which is the only information needed to receive services. The categories of coverage provided are: accident and sickness ($100,000 limit with a $250 deductible); emergency medical evacuation and emergency family travel ($100,000 limit); accidental death and disability ($200,000 limit); and repatriation of remains ($100,000 limit).   For specific questions, please contact the International Programs office at 859.238.5287 or lisa.nesmith@centre.edu

Application Procedure

Pick up the application and two faculty recommendation forms at one of the three study-abroad information meetings or from the cabinet just outside the Career Services office in Carnegie.  Hand out your faculty recommendations at the very beginning of CentreTerm in early January to allow your recommenders plenty of time.  Then hand-deliver (do not use campus mail) your completed application to the Study-Abroad office in Carnegie by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 6th.  You will be notified of your status by e-mail on February 26th.       

$350 Deposit by Monday, March 3rs            

In order to hold your slot, you must pay the nonrefundable $350 deposit plus the $100 book charge (or $450) at the Cashier’s Office in Boles Hall by noon on Monday, March 3rd.  Nota bene:  If you later decide to withdraw from the Centre-in-Strasbourg program, the $350 non-refundable deposit is, by definition, not refundable.

Obtaining a Passport; Obtaining a Visa

If you do not currently have a passport that will remain valid for at least one month after your return, you must begin the process of obtaining one as soon as you are selected , since it can sometimes take six or more weeks.   You can now do this at the Danville post office at the bottom of Main Street.   The main reason those without passports must begin the process immediately upon being selected is that you need to have a passport in hand in order to obtain the required French visa from the French Consulate in Chicago.   The International Office will help you do this with specific directions for filling out the various forms and by delivering your passports and all the paperwork to the Consulate, as is required.   The approximately $85 cost of obtaining the required short-stay visa will be added to your semester bill.