MUS in Europe | MUS in Guatemala | MUS in Europe for Alumni and Parents

MUS in Europe

The Genius of Place
May 27 – June 14, 2008
Mr. Flip Eikner ’77

In his “Epistle to Lord Burlington” (1731), the poet and notable amateur gardener, Alexander Pope, declares this gardening creed: “Consult the Genius of the Place in all.” According to the Romans, each physical place is an outward revelation of its inner “Genius of the Place,” or genius loci, its presiding spirit or garden deity. What Pope means by this literary personification is the distinctive character or
immanent spirit of a place that inspires each garden artist as he or she discretely intervenes to help the place achieve perfection. We will search out this distinctive character or spirit or inspiration as we visit many of the most famous historic gardens in France and England. Works of literature also express unique defining traits – each with its own genius logi, or Genius of the Word, if you will – and, as with gardens, such quintessences evolve with the times and epitomize their eras. Our primary task will be to analyze our readings, identify their defining characters, link these to the historical contexts
that produced them, and, ultimately, define the parallels between the genius loci and the genius logi from any given cultural period. We will learn to “read” gardens in much the same way we read words.

Imagination and Its Whereabouts
June 19 – July 7, 2008
Mr. Nat Akin

"Maybe away from Paris I could write about Paris as in Paris I could write about Michigan."
Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway’s words will guide us through the streets of Paris, the idyllic countryside of France, and then through the storied landscape of southern Ireland. We’ll follow after the American writers of the Expatriate movement who came to Paris to be able to write about their own America of the early twentieth century. Then we’ll travel the Irish countryside to view a vibrant land made even livelier in the pages of so much good modern and contemporary Irish fiction, from James Joyce’s Dublin to
William Trevor’s County Cork. Students will have the chance to reflect on their own important places in a creative writing workshop set against the backdrop of France’s inspiring Loire Valley, hopefully beginning to see for themselves that, as American writer Paul Yoon phrases it in “Once the Shore,” “Maybe going somewhere else was an act of remembrance, of where you were from…. And maybe, just maybe, that in itself was worth doing now and again.”

General Information about MUS in Europe

Casterbridge Tours, based in England, has been organizing educational and cultural tours since 1979 and works with MUS to operate the European tours. Each program includes nine days of seminars at La Giraudière in the Loire Valley in France. There are also nine days of travel throughout Europe to sites pertinent to the study. MUS grants one-half credit for each complete program and there is no language requirement.

La Giraudière
La Giraudière is in the Loire Valley in France, 31 miles from Anger and 43 miles from the Atlantic coast in the Anjou province. It is also one hour and 25 minutes from Paris by TGV. Away from neighboring villages, the main house is on 175 wooded acres with meadows, fields, and flowers. It was built in 1846 on the grounds of a castle destroyed during the French Revolution. The estate bears the name Chateau de la Giraudière in recognition of its former distinction as a castle.

La Loire Valley
The Loire Valley area of France is home to some of the finest castles in Europe. Throughout the summer this area hosts a number of sound and light shows, theater presentations, historical reenactments, and musical concerts. La Giraudière's proximity to Paris, the Atlantic coast, and Chartres makes it possible for students to take day trips to a number of historical sites and world-famous museums. Day trips are carefully coordinated with the seminar so students will experience the art, architecture, and history they are studying first-hand.

For more information on MUS in Europe contact Reginald Dalle or Bill Taylor.

MUS in Guatemala

Spanish Immersion Program

May 27 - June 16.

Mr. José Hernández

MUS grants one-half credit for this program. To participate, a student must have completed Spanish II.

Begun in 2004, the Spanish summer program helps students reinforce and improve their Spanish skills. By participating in intensive language study and living with native host families, students on MUS’s Guatemala program develop their Spanish skills and learn about the Central American culture. Participants go to school five hours a day for three weeks, engaging in educational activities that include reading, writing, listening, and speaking in Spanish. The student-teacher ratio of the classes, which are taught by native Spanish speakers with university degrees, is one to one. While in Guatemala, participants visit museums, ancient Mayan ruins, and old Spanish cities in order to gain a better understanding of the influence of the Mayan and the Spanish cultures on current Guatemalan society. The students live with local host families, further improving their Spanish skills and introducing them to the country’s way of life.

For more information, email José Hernández.

MUS in Europe for Alumni and Parents

The Irish Renaissance: Literature and Landscape

Summer 2009

Mr. Lin Askew

Looking for the “craic,” climbing “bare Ben Bulben’s back,” walking Sandymount Strand in the footsteps of Stephen Daedalus, feeling the wind off the Atlantic on the Cliffs of Moher, hoisting a pint of Guinness at Davy Byrnes just off Grafton Street — we will experience the magic of Ireland through its landscape and literature from the prehistoric age through the 20th century. On our trip, we will explore the Ireland of William Butler Yeats and James Joyce. Sites we visit will include the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, the beautiful scenery of the Famine Trail, Sligo, and Dublin Castle, among many others. Events will include a Yeats candlelit dinner, a literary pub crawl, and a tour of the Guinness brewery. Join Lin Askew for an enriching journey into the soul of the Emerald Isle. Please contact him if you are interested. If you’re curious about the trip, find more information at http://musineuro.wordpress.com/.