Place as Text: Paris & Provence

Most people spend their whole lives meaning to go to France. You could go this Spring Break.

Over Spring Break, we will move between two of the most compelling environments in the world. In Paris we will spend three days exploring the city on foot, learning to see it not as a backdrop for photographs but as a living record of French history, culture, and everyday life. We will then travel south by high-speed train to Provence and the Côte D’Azur. There we will spend three days on the Mediterranean based in the ancient port of Antibes. During our time in Antibes, we will spend one day exploring nearby Nice. We will also spend a day split between Menton, one of the least-touristed towns on the Riviera, and its neighbor Monaco, a place like no other.

Each morning during our time in France, we will start our workday learning how to read the world around us; its neighborhoods, markets, architecture, and history as they are written into the streets. By mid-afternoon each day we will be done with our fieldwork, meaning that the rest of the day is yours. You will be able to explore Paris on your own terms, and to experience what the Côte d’Azur has to offer. A CCSU faculty member will be there to provide as much, or as little, help as you need to make those explorations possible.

The academic framework for the course is the City as Text method, developed by the National Collegiate Honors Council. It trains students to ‘read’ communities as if they were a text, helping them to observe, interpret, and understand those environments and the people who live there. It is an approach that makes you a better observer of the world around you. In this case, that world just happens to be in France.

The course carries General Education credit and is open to all CCSU students, regardless of major or academic background. No French language or prior travel experience is required.

Enrollment is limited. If you want to go to France and earn academic credit for doing it seriously, this is a fantastic way to do both. If you have ever thought about going — and wondered if this is the right time — it is.

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