Reporting to Platform 9¾ for the Spring of 2016
MSUM has a unique study abroad program that combines a five-week residency in Oxford, England followed by a 3-week tour of the European continent.
The 2016 Eurospring Program will be lead by Anna Arnar, Professor of Art History who has lived and traveled extensively in Europe. She also happens to be a Harry Potter enthusiast—therefore, in addition to covering the history and culture of Renaissance (this year’s Eurospring theme), she will offer tours of sites where many iconic scenes from the Harry Potter series were captured in film, including the infamous platform 9¾ in London or the “restricted section” of Hogwart’s library in Oxford’s Bodleian Library among other places.
Of course, the Eurospring experience is not just about being a tourist or hunting down Harry Potter sites, but rather about becoming a global citizen. Having the opportunity to live in Oxford, one of the most cosmopolitan university cities in the world, exposes students to people from many different parts of the world. Moreover, students will not just linger on past history but with Arnar’s encouragement, tackle contemporary subjects in their research projects for a collective publication written by Eurospring participants that covers themes such as immigration, healthcare, and environmental policy in modern Europe.
Similarly, for the tour of the European continent, Arnar feels it’s important to keep in mind that cities such as Paris, Florence, Bruges or Prague are not preserved under a glass jar but are vibrant contemporary cities that continue to grow and develop new perspectives on the past. As such, she plans on using the recent book and film Monuments Men and its companion volume Saving Italy by Robert Edsel, as a way to think about ideological uses about the past. Each book highlights, for example, how the Nazis systematically looted art, and particularly Renaissance Art, as a way to shore up their cultural legitimacy. In contrast, Mussolini of Italy (the center of Renaissance art and culture) was far less interested in such visions and sought a different means to build power and legitimacy. The 2016 Eurospring tour will also include a day trip to the city of Ghent, home to the great Northern Renaissance art work by Jan Van Eyck known as the Ghent Altarpiece that was not only stolen by the Nazis (and subsequently hidden in a Salt Mine), but was also looted by Napoleon in the previous century. Although the work has been restored to its rightful home in Belgium, the restitution of cultural property continues to be a pressing issue and subject to contemporary debates and development of international policy.
For more information about the program, please contact Anna Arnar arnar@mnstate.edu or Janet Haak, Director of Study Abroad haak@mnstate.edu