Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Media, Reformation, and Modernity Tour

Our Wheaton In The World tour is now official, and we are going to Germany and Switzerland from May 23 to June 23, 2010, after one week of intensive on-campus instruction.

This blog will host the readings, lectures, itinerary, and contact information of the group leaders, and should serve as a reminder to any students who are wondering what's next, where they should be, or what we're doing.

We'll also post pictures, video, and updates throughout the trip so you can see it with us.

We are 15 undergraduate students from Wheaton College, Instructor Leroy A. Huizenga (2 credits, "Theology of Martin Luther") and Leader/Instructor Read Mercer Schuchardt (4 credits, "Media, Reformation, and Modernity"). Dr. Huizenga has lived in Germany and is fluent in the language. Dr. Schuchardt has lived in Switzerland and speaks passable French, some German, and even less Italian.

The tour aims to connect our Christian students to their European Protestant heritage through in-depth study and experiential on-site instruction in the overlaps between new technology and religious practice, and the legacy of these new cultural forms 500 years later. Students will be given deep understandings of the history and workings of the clock, the printing press, commodity money, transportation methods & routes, and communication systems, as well as the theology of Martin Luther, Jean Cauvin (John Calvin) and Huyldrich Zwingli. They'll also get to see, touch, and taste some of the most wonderful things about Germany and Switzerland, from an "insider's" perspective thanks to our previous lives there.

It's a very exciting trip, and an idea whose time has come. We're honored to be launching this academic adventure on the 150th anniversary of Wheaton College.