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Through "The Making of Modern Paris" seminar, students studied Parisian literature, art and history. Over spring break, they travelled to Paris and experienced firsthand some of the places they had studied. | Courtesy of NonOmnisMoriar/Wikimedia Commons

While many students use their vacation time to relax and take a break from classes, a small group of Penn students spent their most recent spring break in the Ville Lumiere continuing their education.

The seminar, entitled “The Making of Modern Paris,” allowed students to study Paris through an interdisciplinary  and then enrich their learning experience by exploring the city during their spring break. The class is taught by French professor Andrea Gouletand urban research and education professor Eugenie Birch.

“We wanted to combine literary and artistic representations of the city of Paris with history of architecture and reflections on how urban planning has changed the shape of the city and the way the city is experienced by people who live there and travel there,” Goulet said. “Together we’re trying to look at how Paris’s past informs its present and its future.”

Working with literary and visual texts, students learned about the Haussmannization of Paris, the Grands Projets of François Mitterrand and food distribution within the city in preparation for the trip to Paris. Once abroad, they explored the city and visited a number of sites related to their studies, including Centre Pompidou, Montmarte and Parc de la Villette.

The class was originally created as a result of the Andrew Mellon Foundation’s Humanities, Urbanism and Design Initiative, which promotes collaboration between the Penn Institute of Urban Research, the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Design. This semester was the first time the class became affiliated with Penn Global, however.

“I felt comfortable in the city,” College senior Laura Ruiz-Colon said. “The program gave me the opportunity to have a taste of the summer abroad experience.”

With the support of Penn Global, students and their professors were afforded the rare chance to explore the Rungis International Market, a large whole-sale market on the outskirts of the city.

While most days were composed of walking tours, students were given a free day in order to involve themselves with the topic of their “site project.” This project, which began during the first half of the semester, required students to pair off and conduct research on a place of their choosing in the city.

“We asked them, in pairs, to go and engage actively with the site,” Goulet said.

After returning to Penn, students will combine their learning in Paris with the research they do at Penn to produce a project. Chosen topics include the Palais Royal and the city’s Covered Passages, shopping malls built in the early 19th century.

Students in the seminar praised the experience.

“It was an awesome experience and I would recommend it to anyone,” College sophomore Rachel Brock said.

College junior Nya Wilkins agreed.

“It’s the best spring break that I’ve ever had,” she said.

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