This article provides an interesting analysis of how the idea of Europe or traveling to Europe has been transformed in American minds, and how this transformation affects students and their decision to study abroad. The author brings in multiple authors, most notably Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, and Henry James, whose literature is indicative of the views Americans have of Europe. Woolf paints a romantic picture of study abroad, which makes the idea of traveling to Europe to learn feel elitist and more like a vacation than a time to study.
Woolf, Michael. “The Baggage They Carry: Study Abroad and the Construction of ‘Europe’ in the American Mind.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, vol. 21, Frontiers Journal, 2011.
About the Author: Michael Woolf is the Deputy President Strategic Development at CAPA, the Global Education Network and serves on the Curriculum Committee of the Forum on Education Abroad. Woolf is definitely experienced in the field of study abroad, particularly that of American students attending university in Europe, which makes this article a good resource for my research.
Key Terms:
Baggage: The author uses the term "baggage" to talk about the preexisting ideas that students and travelers alike take along with them when they travel to Europe for the first time. In most cases, this exists as some kind of fairy tale, romanticized version of Europe.
Magic Kingdom: Woolf uses Disney's Magic Kingdom as an example of how Americans have re-imagined Europe into the current, romanticized idea of the continent. The park is largely based on the Grimm fairy tales, following a more story-like architecture as opposed to reality. This idea is perpetuated in the other versions of Magic Kingdom in Europe, which are not representative in the "real world" countries in which they exist.
Quotes:
"What the student continues to seek (and the study abroad industry continues to promote) is a form of cultural density perceived to be more complex and historically located than that available in the USA" (292).
"we certainly recognise [sic] that Europe is perceived as a place where American students may remake and reform their identities" (293).
"America is perceived as frantic movement; Europe is quasi-romantic invention: a neo-stasis seen from the distant perspective of the mountain top" (303).
This article is valuable to my research because it provides an interesting look at the way Americans view Europe and its vast variety of cultures, in a way that is connected to higher education but more so focused on a general lens of the environment. The author focuses heavily on the idea that Europe is romanticized in the American eye, and an education abroad in Europe often focuses on teaching the past of those countries rather than the present, making it seem even more distant from the reality of current times. Although most of these preexisting thoughts are not held by Americans consciously, they certainly affect their decisions to make the choice to study abroad or stay closer to home.
Woolf, Michael. “The Baggage They Carry: Study Abroad and the Construction of ‘Europe’ in the American Mind.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, vol. 21, Frontiers Journal, 2011.
About the Author: Michael Woolf is the Deputy President Strategic Development at CAPA, the Global Education Network and serves on the Curriculum Committee of the Forum on Education Abroad. Woolf is definitely experienced in the field of study abroad, particularly that of American students attending university in Europe, which makes this article a good resource for my research.
Key Terms:
Baggage: The author uses the term "baggage" to talk about the preexisting ideas that students and travelers alike take along with them when they travel to Europe for the first time. In most cases, this exists as some kind of fairy tale, romanticized version of Europe.
Magic Kingdom: Woolf uses Disney's Magic Kingdom as an example of how Americans have re-imagined Europe into the current, romanticized idea of the continent. The park is largely based on the Grimm fairy tales, following a more story-like architecture as opposed to reality. This idea is perpetuated in the other versions of Magic Kingdom in Europe, which are not representative in the "real world" countries in which they exist.
Quotes:
"What the student continues to seek (and the study abroad industry continues to promote) is a form of cultural density perceived to be more complex and historically located than that available in the USA" (292).
"we certainly recognise [sic] that Europe is perceived as a place where American students may remake and reform their identities" (293).
"America is perceived as frantic movement; Europe is quasi-romantic invention: a neo-stasis seen from the distant perspective of the mountain top" (303).
This article is valuable to my research because it provides an interesting look at the way Americans view Europe and its vast variety of cultures, in a way that is connected to higher education but more so focused on a general lens of the environment. The author focuses heavily on the idea that Europe is romanticized in the American eye, and an education abroad in Europe often focuses on teaching the past of those countries rather than the present, making it seem even more distant from the reality of current times. Although most of these preexisting thoughts are not held by Americans consciously, they certainly affect their decisions to make the choice to study abroad or stay closer to home.
What Woolf seems to be talking about is a new version of what, in the 18th century, the English used to call "the Grand Tour," where young men (typically) toured Italy, France, and various other European locations in search of cultural refinement and "finishing." There is an interesting little YouTube video that describes it as quite parallel to the "gap year" experience of some students today:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv9al35xtsA
Wikipedia offers a pretty good page on the phenomenon also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour
It seems that Americans going to Europe might be after the same sort of experience, which maybe they have romanticized.....
See also this short film:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QbDYLhJNYw
The comparison to the "gap year" seems apt, as Else (who wrote about that) found that gap years in general are a phenomenon of affluent students. So it is very ironic if it is true that mostly affluent students pursue European education when it is actually cheaper than US education.... But that might be the case due to the language requirements to make that sort of thing successful.