EUROPEAN STUDIES

As Professor of History of Art, Steve Kershaw ran the European Studies Classical Tour for Rhodes College and the University of the South for over a decade.

European Studies was a sixteen-week program offered jointly by Rhodes College and The University of the South (Sewanee) in the USA that took place from mid summer through early Fall. It was a full semester of study abroad and offered the unique experience of studying in a variety of locations in Europe. Students chose between two academic options, or "tracks", within European Studies. Steve Kershaw taught for Option One: Ancient Greece and Rome: The Foundations of Western Civilization. This provided a broad study of the culture and thinking of Ancient Greece and Rome, intended both for Classical Studies majors and those who are not specialist classicists. It was designed to show the fundamental contribution made by the arts and science of the Ancient World to modern Western civilization.The options ran through four phases:

  1. At the University of the South: three weeks
  2. In York and Durham: ten days (European Studies began with a two-day stay in Edinburgh, Scotland).
  3. At Oxford University, Lincoln College: six weeks (with an optional mid-term weekend in Dublin.) Students studied Roman Literature for three weeks with Steve Kershaw as part of this program.
  4. Travel throughout Europe and in London: five weeks, where each option had a separate travel itinerary specifically tailored to its subject matter. Steve was the professor for this tour.

Students received a detailed, inter-disciplinary study of this crucial epoch in the history of Western European civilization; and students were given an unequalled opportunity to visit many of Europe′s greatest monuments, cities, landscapes and works of art, including a private visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel in Rome. Participants of European Studies were uniquely offered a number of privileged entrances on the Continent; in Britain, students enjoyed visits to a Shakespeare production at the Globe Theatre in London and to a major London ballet or opera. These special opportunities were arranged by European Studies through long-established contacts in Europe.