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ASU Summer Program - Romania and Central Europe

THE PROGRAM  July 5 - August 5, 2012 The fourteenth annual summer program in Romania and Central Europe is a four-week session at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, designed to give participants a comprehensive view of the rich and unique cultural history of Pre/Post Communist Central Europe. It combines features of a traditional study abroad program and excursions, with emphasis on language, history, politics, cultural studies, and cultural geography, among other academic disciplines. The classroom work is completed by an intensive program of guided visits to museums, historical sites, and other outstanding centers of European cultural heritage and by a one week cultural trip to the capitals and important cities of the former Austro Hungarian Empire: Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Bratislava. Also included in the program are visits the Black Sea and the Republic of Moldova. Poster for 2012 Summer Program is fourthcoming. LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS While in Romania, housing is based on double occupancy in traditional dormitory rooms with private bathrooms.  During excursions abroad, students will be housed in student dormitories or hostels. LOCATIONS  THE BLACK SEA: Travel to the historical town of Constanta, a feminine replica of Constantinople, to partake in a city tour, visit the mosques, and see Ovid's statue. Stay overnight in Mamaia, one of the Romanian Black Sea resorts. TRANSYLVANIA: The capital city of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca, where the ASU program is located, is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural city of about 400,000.  Situated in the northwestern part of Romania, Cluj is built on the site of a Roman castrum, half-way between Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, and Budapest, the capital city of Hungary.  It holds Gothic and Byzantine style churches, nearby monasteries, and an old downtown area, with medieval, Baroque and turn of the century buildings.  In addition to Cluj, the program will include visits to other cities of Transylvania, such as Sighisoara (the birthplace of Dracula) and Bran, to visit Dracula's castle.  Also included is a three-day stay in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, to visit Ceausescu's People's Palace, currently housing the Romanian Parliament, and numerous museums and cultural sites, as well as a two-day trip to the painted, medieval monasteries of northern Moldavia.

CULTURAL TRAVEL IN EAST - CENTRAL EUROPE  An essential part of the academic program, the cultural trip will include guided visits to the former capitals of the Austro-Hungarian empire:   BUDAPEST, sightseeing tour of the Hungarian capital, the Buda and Pesta sides, along the Danube River, the old Synagogue, and traditional dinners with gulash and gypsy musicians for two nights.  VIENNA, sightseeing and visit to Schoenbrun Castle,summer residence of the Hapsburg royal family, as well as dining in the Grinzing, the traditional Viennese woods made famous by Johann Strauss's music. PRAGUE, a visit of the city, with sight-seeing/walking tours of the Old Town Square, Mala Strana (The Little Quarter), Charles Bridge, the Hrad and the Balustrade Theatre where dissidents actors led by Vaclav Havel began their protest against enforced Stalinism in 1977. BRATISLAVA, sight-seeing tour of the new Slovak Capital, including the Old City and the famous St Martin's Cathedral where the Habsburgs monarchs were crowned. The program also includes visits to Bulgaria (The Black Sea Coast and seaside resorts, Varna and Albena) and to the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet region of the USSR.

COST OF THE PROGRAM The program fee for summer 2012 is $2,848 (subject to change) which includes: housing, 2 meals per day, organized cultural travel to all these countries, museum fees and guided tours. There is no difference between instate and out of state tuition. Not included: Tuition for a minimum of 6 credit hours, airfare (approx. $1,100), and personal expenses. The program may allow for time which can be spent in non-program activities. Participants may wish to travel, sightsee or participate in activities or events in which they have a personal interest. Please note that the participant is fully responsible for making arrangements and for all costs of transportation, lodging, food and additional expenses associated with any non-program activities. ELIGIBILITY The program is opened to qualified students interested in Romanian language and the culture and politics of Central Eastern Europe who desire to study, travel and experience different customs, foods, and ways of life.  Students from other US universities are encouraged to apply.  Students signing up for the program do NOT need to take Romanian language courses. Applications are currently accepted through May 15, 2012.

$350.00 deposit fee required for enrollment. Tuition and fees are not included with the program cost.
Please continue to check the website for details and feel free to contact Prof. Ileana Orlich or Dacian Barbosu

If you are not currently enrolled at ASU, you must apply for admission at ASU before completing the Study Abroad online application.

Academic Program

Classes are offered Monday through Friday.  Students will receive six or seven ASU credits from the following courses:

SLC 494/598 | Dracula: Between Myth and History (3)

SLC 494/598 | Jewish Culture in Central Europe (3)

SLC 494/598 | Modernity in the Visual Arts (3)

SLC 494/598 | Societies and Cultures in Modern Europe (3)

ENG 494/598 | Societies and Cultures in Modern Europe (3)

ENG 494/598 | Jewish Culture in Central Europe (3)

HST 494 | Societies and Cultures in Modern Europe (3)

POS 494 | Societies and Cultures in Modern Europe (3)

POS 494 | Jewish Culture in Central Europe (3)

REL 494/594 | Jewish Culture in Central Europe (3)

REL 494/594 | Societies and Cultures in Modern Europe (3)

SLC 494/598 | Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Modern Europe

ROM 101 | Elementary Romanian (5)

ROM 201 | Intermediate Romanian (5)

ROM 313 | Romanian Composition/Conversation I (3)

ROM 314 | Romanian Composition/Conversation II (3)

ROM 411 | Advanced Spoken and Written Romanian I (3)

ROM 412 | Advanced Spoken and Written Romanian I (3)

ROM 494 | Advanced Romanian (3)

ROM 499 | Independent Study (1 - 3)

ROM 598 | Advanced Romanian (3)

HIGHLIGHTS OF VISITS AND STUDY SESSIONS HELD OUTSIDE BABES-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY

Bucharest.  Students spend the first day at the Museum of History to attend morning and afternoon sessions focused on the history of modern Romania, from the War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire (1877) to the execution of the Ceausescus and the coup/revolution of December 1989. 

The second day in Bucharest features a guided tour of Ceausescu's People's Palace, the second largest building in the world which one of the ASU students called "a morally tarnished gem of a palace."  This visit is followed by a study session exploring the Communist era, from the abdication of King Michael in 1947 to the aftermath of the Yalta Treaty and the Soviet influence, to the rise to power in 1965 of Nicolae Ceausescu and the years when Romania was known abroad as "Ceaushima."  The discussion session examines such questions as "How did Ceausescu manage to gain control over the country? What was the role of the feared 'Securitate'? What was the international platform Ceausescu used to consolidate his dictatorship?"

The third day in Bucharest includes a visit to the Parliament and the Senate and a meeting with leaders of political parties arranged at the Parliament.  Students discuss the party system and the upcoming elections with local politicians addressing the uneasy options of the opposition, such as Partidul Romania Mare and the disingenious nationalism practiced in the Balkans.

On the way to Cluj students visit the Peles Castle, former summer residence of the Hohenzholern kings of Romania, and the Bran Castle built in the 13th century as a fortress against the Ottoman invasions and later used as summer residence by Princess Ileana of the ruling royal family. 

The night is spent in Brasov, the second major city of Transylvania.  Also known as Kronstadt, one of the seven major Saxon towns of Transylvania, Brasov is filled with medieval and baroque structures and fin-de-siecle backstreets.  Here we visit the Black Church, a formerly Gothic cathedral that became, after Reformation, a citadel of opposition of the ethnic Saxon(German) communityagainst the town's catholic Hungarian community.  The afternoon discussion session focuses on the role of Saxons and Reformation in Transylvania and on the important role of the townspeople organized in guilds that taxed the travelling merchants on their way from Constantinopol to Vienna. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF CLUJ LECTURES 

Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Romania: Intersections and Diversions; Religion and Society in pre and post-Communist Romania. (What does it mean to say that one is Eastern Orthodox Christian? Are all Romanians traditionally Orthodox? What is the role of the Catholic minority? Why have the Greek-Catholics been so important for the Romanian community in Transylvania?) Visit the "Necula" Monastery (Romanian Orthodox) and the Museum of Icons on glass, as well as the St. Michael's Catholic church in the heart of Cluj.

Significant moments in the history of Transylvania
A. Beginnings. Early Dacian settlements of Sarmisegetuza. The Roman conquest of Dacia. The arrival of the Huns and the defeat of Gelu, Vlad and Menumorut.
B. An overview of the rural community in Transylvania. The uprising of Bobilna; the Peasant Revolt of Horia, Closca and Crisan. 
C. The Unification of Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania in 1600 at Alba-Iulia. The Bathorys. The Revolution of 1848. The Piarists. The Latinist School. 
D. The Austro-Hungarian occupation. Blaj 1918. WWII and the Hortyist occupation.
E. The Communist Era. Brief history of the Romanian Communist Party, its Central Committee, the political purges of the 40s. The role of the Warsaw Pact. The Prague Spring (1968) and Ceausescu's speech. Ceausescu's visit to China in 1978 and the turn toward a proletarian culture. The role of the "Securitate." 
F. Post-Communism and political parties in Romania.

Urban culture in Post-Totalitarian Romania.  Discussions with local architects and city councilmen, with an emphasis on the recent archeological discoveries of old Roman vestiges underneath the cobblestones of the townsquare. 

Romanians in the Era of Economic and Political Transition. (NATO, European Union)

Similar lectures highlight the cultural, historical and political issues of Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia and the region of East Central Europe during our cultural travel.