univie: winter school 2017
by Alan Emerick
What could make the study of the birth of modernism better than doing so in Vienna, the home of the modernist movements nascency? Enlightenment provided by educators in Vienna whose passions and expertise are unparalleled and rarely witnessed or experienced in universities today. The synergy created by lecture and physical experience, directed by leaders in their fields and curated by progressive and forward thinking administrators and staff, allowed for learning and analysis on a level not associated with a study of short duration.
Becoming acquainted and interacting with students from around the globe elevated the experience by significantly altering the homogeneity of a typical classroom. This created a dynamic that allowed and promoted critical thinking in ways only an international setting can provide.
This course model is hopefully the harbinger of methodology to be implemented by institutions in other countries endowed with important and influential culture and history, as it will without doubt, provide the same unique results accomplished by the Winter School in Vienna.
I can say with a high degree of certainty that individuals who participate and receive high marks at the winter school, will accrue lifelong benefits. The thorough understanding provided by this program and its methodology will be foundational to interpreting elements of transitioning culture and perceiving the relationships and relevance of ideas in contemporary cultures, something one without this experience may have difficulty appreciating or comprehending.
This is an educational opportunity not to be missed and worth any temporal sacrifice.
Alan Emerick, USA, 2017