This year Plan II Honors is sponsoring a Maymester program that will be taught by Government faculty member Sean Theriault.  This will be the third time the Maymester titled Pope Francis’s Catholic Church: The Making of the Modern Papacy – Rome, Italy has been offered for which students can earn four credit hours for LAH 350 and LA 119, plus they can earn two core Flags (Independent Inquiry and Writing).  The program aims to take a deep dive into the Papacy and the Catholic Church as a political, historical and of course religious organization (detailed description below).  The LAH 350 course is cross-listed with a Plan II Jr. Seminar (TC 358) and a GOV Seminar (GOV 379S) so students can use the program for credit for multiple academic pursuits (if applicable). The program runs June 1-29, 2020, additional details on budget, funding, course requirements, etc…are on the websites below.

We have four information sessions coming up and will be at tomorrow’s Study Abroad Fair (10am-3pm Gregory Gym Courtyard).
– Mon. Sept. 16 1-2pm, RLP 1.302E
– Wed. Sept. 25 4-5pm, RLP 1.302E
– Mon. Oct. 14 1-2pm, RLP 1.302E
– Th. Oct. 31 12-1pm, RLP 1.302 E

Here are two useful links:

• Study Abroad Website: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/abroad/student/pgm_list/detail/nlogon/1349/
• Program Website: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/plan2/current_stdnts/abroad/italy.php

The deadline to apply for 2020 Maymesters is slightly later this year, November 15; application information can be found here:  https://global.utexas.edu/abroad/apply/how/faculty-led

Program Description: This program offers the unique opportunity to explore first-hand the history and politics of papal succession and church policy in Rome, Italy. Specifically, we will concentrate on Pope Francis, the Holy See, the Vatican, and the world that it serves. The course will introduce, describe, and analyze how the Church makes its decisions and why. In addition to a regular classroom schedule, we will visit the great churches of Rome, meet with the Princes of the Church, and observe the church’s far-reaching influence. By the end of the course, students will have developed an understanding of the Church as a historical, religious, and political organization. Local program staff in Rome will organize orientation and housing and support students throughout the program’s duration.

Dear Liberal Arts Honors student:

This letter is to invite you to consider the Frank Denius Normandy Scholar Program on World War II (NSP) as a part of your educational experience at The University of Texas at Austin.  The Normandy Scholar Program, which is entering its 29^th year, is open to all majors on campus and does not require a foreign language.  It offers one-semester (Spring 2018) of intensive study of the causes, course, and impact of World War Two followed by a three week-long faculty-led trip to the most important World War Two sites in London, Normandy, Paris, Berlin, Lublin, and Warsaw.  Students who meet the program requirements and are looking for an extraordinary educational opportunity are invited to inquire and apply.

We would like to encourage you to come to the NSP table at the Study Abroad Fair to talk to former Normandy Scholars about their experiences in the program and come to an Info Session about the program.

Study Abroad Fair: Tuesday, September 12, Gregory Gym Plaza, 10 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Information Session on the Normandy Scholar Program and the History Honors Program, with pizza: Wednesday, September 13 at 5:00 in GAR 1.102

If you would like to acquaint yourself with the program, please view the NSP web site: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/history/normandy-scholars/overview.php (listed on the left-hand side of the History Department home page).  There you will see testimonials from past students, such as this one:

“I came to UT seeking unique, life-altering experiences. The Normandy Scholar Program exceeded all expectations. Though advertised as an in-depth study of the Second World War’s history, the primary accomplishment of the NSP and its incredible professors is teaching what history is – an ongoing experience comprised of, among other things, obscured and uncomfortable truths, conflicting narratives, veneer-like collective memories, and the pressing need to seek and preserve knowledge.  Most importantly, the Program, and the history it covers, is about people: those you study, whether as abstract masses or as individuals; those you work and learn alongside, who will swiftly transition from strangers to friends, friends to something akin to family; your professors, who will push you, inspire you, and encourage you as likely no other teachers ever have or will; finally, it is about yourself – challenging yourself to think and perhaps feel as you never have before, discovering previously unknown aspects of who you are and what you’re capable of, how you can contribute to the historical experience.  The Normandy Scholars Program, from the first day in a small classroom overlooking San Jacinto Street to your final night of celebratory reminiscing and bitter-sweet farewells half a world away from where this adventure started, is nothing less than life changing.”

–Bryson Kisner

For further information, please contact the Director of the Normandy Scholar Program, Dr. Charters Wynn at wynn@utexas.edu, or you can visit the History Department’s Undergraduate Advising Office, Garrison Hall, Room 1.140, 471-7670.

NSP Application Deadline: Monday, October 9.  The application is available at http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/history/normandy-scholars/application.php.