Field School in East-Central Europe
The Field School in East-Central Europe is cross listed as Anthropology/Sociology 4030. It is worth six upper-level credits, and it combines academic study with field trips to locations in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe. The course has no formal prerequisites, and it doesn't require any specialized knowledge of the cultures and languages of this region. But prospective students should be mature, healthy, adaptable, and respectful of cultural differences.
The information topics covered are:
Program & Locations
Living Conditions
Fieldwork
Cost
Application
Program & Locations
The course runs for approximately four weeks in May, with Prague (Czech Republic) as our point of arrival and departure. The 2012 itinerary includes destinations in eastern Slovakia and western Ukraine with an optional excursion to Auschwitz in southern Poland.
The highlights of the program are extended visits to Romani (Gypsy) settlements in Slovakia and a Rusyn village in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. Read the Syllabus for a detailed introduction to individual communities, and follow this link for descriptions of individual countries http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/ .
Living Conditions
The locations on our itinerary are all safe and free of political disturbances. In most of them you will find well-stocked stores which carry many of the consumer goods available in Canada. Restaurants are plentiful, with food and drink cheaper than in North America or western Europe. For accommodation we will make use of university residences, simple hotels and local types of housing. In some locations the accommodation will be a pleasant surprise. In others, notably the Romani settlement of Svinia, it will be decidedly rustic.
Fieldwork
As a field school, Anthropology 4030 requires all participants to engage in individually designed field research. No previous experience is expected, and you choose a suitable topic in consultation with the course professor.
Cost
The basic program fee is $2,475. This includes all course-related travel in Europe, accommodation with breakfasts and some additional meals. Tuition (regular TRU course fee), travel insurance, and airfare from Canada to Prague are extra. Since TRU students qualify for a $500. travel subsidy, the net program fee becomes $1.975.
Application (see note below)
If you are seriously interested in this program, please follow this sequence:
- Attend one of the information sessions scheduled for the fall of 2011 semester;
- Submit the application form
once you have decided to apply for admission. Pease read the instructions carefully as incomplete applications delay the process;
- If admitted, you will be informed about the schedule of payments and other important issues via email.
Contact
For further information, please contact
Dr. David Scheffel
Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road
Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8
(250) 828-5182
Email dscheffel@tru.ca