IES Abroad Vienna Summer – Music History & Performance

I had the distinct and singular pleasure of studying abroad this past summer in Vienna. I found this experience to be profoundly thought provoking, and having been a part of the IES Study Abroad program was unquestionably one of the highlights of my academic career so far. During my time abroad, I participated in a Novice German class, as well a Psychology and Society course that explored numerous topics and focused on the techniques and philosophies of many of the world's leading psychoanalysts. In addition to didactic classroom studies, there were several class excursions which allowed for a richer and very meaningful learning experience. On one such trip my class visited the Freud Museum, devoted entirely to psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and his life and career. Arguably the high-point of my experience abroad was a class trip to Budapest. This trip included a visit to the 'House of Terror', aptly named due to its involvement with the Nazi interrogations of suspected Jewish sympathizers during World War II. My favorite part of this trip was a visit to the Ferenczi Museum, an institution dedicated to Sandor Ferenczi, a contemporary of Freud who shared many of his ideas and techniques before later developing his own system of psychoanalysis.  IES Study Abroad has given me the opportunity to become a more well-rounded individual and student, and I encourage any student to broaden their horizons by considering IES Study Abroad.