Description

Located in Germany's most dramatic landscape and most beautiful city, the Harvard Summer Program in Munich provides a 6-week intensive course on German language and the cultural history of Munich, followed by a 10-day trip to Berlin and Vienna offering intriguing perspectives on that history.

Munich was founded in the early Middle Ages, when it played a vital role in the European salt trade and became the home of the Wittelsbach dynasty. The city is best known for its baroque and rococo art of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; for nineteenth-century kings such as Ludwig I, who built one of the world's great museums (and crazy Ludwig II with his fairy-tale castles); for its efflorescence as the German center of literature and art around 1900, when writers such as Thomas Mann and artists such as Wassily Kandinsky were all the rage; for the darkest chapter in its history, when it was the willing capital of the Nazi movement; for its rise from the ruins of World War II, and the morally bankrupt ideology to which it had succumbed, to become Germany's poster-child city, the Metropolis with a Heart; for the 1972 Olympic Games with their inspiring structures and dispiriting terrorist attack; and for its role as a driving force in contemporary German life and in the world's 4th largest economy.

Berlin with its rise in the Age of Enlightenment, its flourishing in the Weimar Republic, its politically iconic status after WWII, and its transformation into the capital of a reunified Germany offers many contrasts to Munich, while Vienna, as a flashpoint of the Baroque, of 19th-century cultural and political conservatism, and of fin-de-siecle cultural revolution, and an interestingly beautiful city, reveals many parallels to Munich.

Students encounter the cultural and political history of Munich at every turn: from the English Garden, larger than New York's Central Park, to grand avenues with their classical facades, imposing arches, and elegant arcades; from baroque and neobaroque architectural monuments to the monuments of Hitler's rise to power; from medieval city gates, lively city streets, and colorful markets to the glass structures of the Olympic Park; from royal palaces, churches, and cloisters to countless theaters and museums.

Despite its cultural and economic importance, Munich manages not to take itself too seriously. With more recreational offerings than any other German city and, among many other things, its legendary beer gardens, where the city whiles away its long summer evenings under canopies of chestnut trees, Munich presents seemingly limitless opportunities for relaxation and entertainment.

Highlights

German language and the cultural history of Munich

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Subject Areas

• Culture
• German

Cost in US$:

Program Fees Include:

The cost of the program (to be announced) covers the following:

* Tuition
* Course materials
* Room and breakfast
* Scheduled excursions
* Passes for the entire network of Munichs public transportation system

In addition to the program fee, students are responsible for:

* Meals (other than breakfast)
* A health insurance fee (waived if students have US insurance that provides coverage outside the United States)
* Transportation to and from Munich
* The cost of passports and visas (if the latter is needed)
* Any immunizations

Experience Required

yes

Prerequisites: first-year college level German or the equivalent

This Program is open to

American Participants.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Other

Application Process Involves

• Essay
• Letters of Reference
• Transcript
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Harvard Summer School Study Abroad Programs's Mission Statement

Expect a true Harvard experience, engage your intellectual curiosity with Harvard faculty, and study in a range of fields. Harvard study abroad programs are both demanding and rewarding. Because programs are led exclusively by faculty, students find the same Harvard-quality education they encounter on campus in Cambridge. Programs span 5 to 10 weeks and are limited enrollment. All programs are 8 credits, and the credits are accepted toward degrees at most colleges and universities. Harvard study abroad programs are selective. To apply, students must be at least 18, have completed 1 year of college or be a first-year student, and be in good academic standing. Admission criteria are outlined on each program webpage.