Following the success of the History Summer School at Paris last year, the School of History is happy to announce that we will be running it again in 2016! If you are a current Stage 2 or 3 student in the School, you have the opportunity to spend five days at the end of June staying and studying at the University’s Paris Centre.
You will travel out to Paris on Sunday 26th June, to experience a week of intensive study
and visit world-famous historic sites, before returning on Friday 1st July.
A week of French and European history through the ages
The Summer School offers you the opportunity to examine elements of French and European history while in the heart of Paris itself. Encountering areas of history you might be familiar with, and others that are entirely new to you, you will take part in sessions specifically tailored for the Summer School, which take advantage of the Parisian setting and the opportunity to visit relevant museums and landmarks across the city.
These sessions will be given by members of staff from the School of History, and offer you a special opportunity to be taught by world-class experts in their fields, on subjects and areas at the cutting edge of historical research.
- Dr Jan Loop: Europe and the Islamic World
- Dr Rebekah Higgitt: Paris: Capital of Science, 1660-1880
- Dr Julie Anderson: Crime, Slime and Grime: The Paris Underground and its Marginalised Members
- Dr Ambrogio Caiani: Honour into merit? France’s Changing Elites in an Age of Revolution, 1715-1870
- Dr Timothy Bowman: French Army and Society, 1792-1945
- Dr Amy Blakeway: Mary, Queen of Scots, France and England
- Dr Emily Guerry: Gothic Art and Architecture: Invention and Imagination in Medieval Paris
There will also be a session on Pathways to Postgraduate Study, to give you some advice on how to approach academic study after your undergraduate degree.
Experience the culture and history of Paris
The seminar sessions are only part of the Summer School experience. Each day you will visit a museum or site in Paris related to one of the sessions covered that day. These include:
- The Institut du Monde Arab
- The Paris Observatory
- The Catacombs of Paris
- The Paris Sewers, or the Musée Dupuytren
- The Musée de la Légion d’honneur
- The Musée d’Armee, Les Invalides
- The Basilica of Saint-Denis
- The Sainte-Chapelle
Of course, staying in the centre of Paris will also give you the opportunity to experience one of the capitals of Europe. You will be free to explore the city after each study day – last year students took in such sites at the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and not to mention many of Paris’ most famous restaurants and bars!
To round out the week, the final day of the Summer School will be taken up entirely with a visit to the Palace of Versailles.
The University of Kent at Paris
The University’s centre at Paris is Reid Hall. Built as a porcelain factory in the 18th century, it has been a place of teaching and research since 1834. Located in the centre of Montparnasse, the historic heart of Paris’ intellectual and artistic life, Reid Hall is just a five-minute walk from the famous Jardin du Luxembourg, and a twenty-minute walk to the Île de la Cité and Notre Dame, both of which you will have the chance to visit and tour on the Sunday after you arrive.
The University offers a number of postgraduate programmes at Reid Hall. The School itself offers an MA in Modern History, wherein your Autumn term is spent in Canterbury, and your Spring term based at Reid Hall. The Summer School will be an excellent opportunity to experience the facilities and social life at Reid Hall and the environs around Montparnasse.
Costs
The Summer School is being funded primarily by the School of History, and so the cost to you will be just £50. This will include travel to and from Ashford International and Paris Gare du Nord on the Eurostar; metro travel around Paris for the week; accommodation in a hotel near Reid Hall; breakfast and lunch each day; and entry into all the historical sites you will visit as part of the study days.
Please note that the accommodation is based on two students to a room.
How to apply
If you would like to apply to attend the Summer School, please submit a 250-word email stating why you would like to attend to history@kent.ac.uk by 12noon, Tuesday 5th April.
Please note places are limited to just 20 students. If you wish to apply, you must be available between Sunday 26th June and Friday 1st July; it is not possible to only attend part of the Summer School.
For more information, or if you have any queries, please contact Jon Beer (J.Beer@kent.ac.uk).