Fifteen years ago, English professor Dr. Caroline Cherry began a capstone class called Text in Context in which students would take a mid-semester vacation to go on an exploration of culture and history in London.
As the years went on, more destinations were added, including the 2008 trip to Ireland and last year’s trip to Italy.
Now satisfying the FA280 credit, the London trip still goes on, with the current addition of a tour of Paris.
On this eight-day trip, with four days in London and four days in Paris, students will not only see some of the greatest sights in these two countries, but they will also get to construct their own schedules to include more places that they are interested in.
Leaving on Feb. 26, the first stop will be in London. There the travelers will have the opportunity to see such places as Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London and Saint Paul’s Cathedral.
Walking tours of the White Hall section with tours of the Tate Modern Gallery, National Gallery and Globe Theater, which are required for the students taking it for credit, are also included.
One of the key elements of the London tour is the requirement that students make a list of places they want to visit on their own. Not all of the sightseeing time will be as a group, so students can go see places that are interesting to them that are not specifically on the tour, such as the British Museum, Museum of Natural History and Victoria and Albert Museum.
From London, the group will take a train to Paris. There they will explore Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Sacre Coeur, Versailles and other major tourist attractions.
There will be a guide with the group most of the time.
“This year we’re focusing on material culture, things you can see, art and architecture and sculpture, basically,” Cherry said. “I want (the students) to have some knowledge of the context of these works.”
Going along with the students will be several faculty and staff members, some who will be bringing along friends or family members as well. The trip costs $2378, including airfare, hotel arrangements, transportation, breakfast and one group dinner. All 20 people going on the trip will return on March 7.
Though you can no longer sign up for the class, people still wishing to join the trip are more than welcome to contact Dr. Cherry at ccherry@eastern.edu for more information.