GLOBAL SEMINARS Educational Tours

NEW!
The Roots of Western Civilization
       This is a set itinerary exploring major themes in evocative historical settings - with the particular focus of each tour adjustable to suit the background and interests of each group.
       Students or teachers wishing to recruit a group that shares a particular interest (e.g. theatre, religious history, technology development, family life, etc.) can have a tour adjusted to fit that group. Someone assembling a group of ten or more will travel free.
       [In the future, some groups will be teacher-nominated annually from among their more serious and curious students.]

EARLY MEDITERRANEAN CIVILIZATIONS:
Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Greece, Turkey and Italy [Planning Trip was March of 2000, initial group is traveling in August 2000 (Israel deleted for initial group due to civil unrest).].                                               (tentatively to be available annually in June and/or July)

August 2001 Itinerary

MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE EUROPE:    Italy, France, Germany, Holland and England.                             (tentatively to be available annually in August and/or September)

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IF INTERESTED FOR THE FUTURE   -   THEN PLEASE   RETURN TO THIS LOCATION   PERIODICALLY FOR UPDATES .

REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

The European Tour curriculum is under development during 1999.
Below are listed some initial thought-provoking possible themes.

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future
Fear or Toleration of Diversity
Control or Liberation of Intimacy

TABLE OF CONTENTS - POSSIBLE THEMES & TOPICS
Linking to Full Information Below

Overviews
Pre-History
Classic Civilizations
Medieval Europe
Reformation and Religious Wars
Renaissance
Modern Europe

Overviews

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future:
A History of Europe
Selections from "A History of Europe" by J.M. Roberts. "A good narrative historian must know what to leave out, and few are as discriminating as Roberts (History of the World, not reviewed, etc.). In a relatively short span he offers, in a measured, nicely resonant prose, a survey of the succession of cultures from which modern Europe has emerged, stressing the wider implications and influences of events over local history, and concentrating on the evolution of thought and society rather than on a recitation of political and military strategies. What emerges is a coherent portrait of the forces that have shaped the continent and given it a distinctive identity, as well as the dominant ideas of mass democracies and the unique value of the individual. A lucid, convincing introductory guide, certainly the best such summation currently available" -- Copyright Š1997, Kirkus Associates.
Fear or Toleration of Diversity:
____
Control and Liberation of Romance and Passion:
____

Pre-History

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future:
____
Fear or Toleration of Diversity:
____
Control or Liberation of Romance and Passion:
From Female to Male Gods
Leonard Shlain is an associate professor of surgery at the University of California at San Francisco. Shlain spent seven years writing "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image." This S.F. Chronicle book review says that "He immersed himself in the study of classics, religion, Chinese history and communication theory (Marshall McLuhan's axiom ``the medium is the message'' was a prime inspiration)... [His] intriguing thesis is that literacy changed the way people perceived the world, shifting the balance of power between men and women. The process of learning to read and write, Shlain contends, realigned the human brain by reinforcing linear modes of perception he calls masculine. That, in turn, led to the rise of patriarchal cultures that subjugated women. ... But the past century has seen a huge shift, Shlain says: The advent of visual forms of communication like photography, television and computers has restored feminine modes of perception and helped create greater sexual equality. ... Some critics find the Shlain's theory too pat and dismiss the left brain/right brain idea as pop psychology. Nonsense, he says; try operating on a stroke victim, then talk to him about brain-lobe differences. But on the whole "The Goddess," like "Art & Physics," now in its 18th printing, has been well received."

Jews, Desert Nomads, Made Western Civ. Possible?
Selections from "The Gifts of the Jews : How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels" by Thomas A. Cahill. Commentary by Yossi Prager: "A lively and idiosyncratic tour of the Hebrew Bible, The Gifts of the Jews is written with humor, whimsy, and an engaging sensitivity to literary nuance. But the book aims for more than entertainment. Taking us from pre-biblical civilization through Abraham, Moses, the Ten Commandments, David and his Psalms, the Prophets, and Ruth and Naomi, Cahill drives home a central point: the Jews introduced to the world a radically new conception of reality. Supplanting the ancient view that man's life on earth is cyclical and predetermined (except for the occasional intervention of capricious gods), the Bible teaches that the future is determined by our present actions. This being the case, human behavior is morally significant, man is free, and progress is possible.... His contention that the Bible introduces the "modern" sense of time, history, and the nature of human relationships, that, too, seems persuasive, at least to a lay reader... [But] Time and again, Cahill's reading of the Bible eviscerates the essence of Judaism: the rules, traditions, and practices that for thousands of years have made concrete the otherwise quite generic values he extracts from the text." Also abridged on cassette.

The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Selections from "A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam." From New York Times: "Witty, informative and contemplative: Ms. Armstrong can simplify complex ideas but she is never simplistic." From the publisher: "This fascinating account of the development of the idea of a single god in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam debates the centuries-old question of whether God created people, or people created God... Will make you think about where we've been--and where we're going." From Gail Hudson for Amazon.com: "We learn that the definition of God is constantly being repeated, altered, discarded, and resurrected through the ages, responding to its followers' practical concerns rather than to mystical mandates. Armstrong also shows us how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have overlapped and influenced one another, gently challenging the secularist history of each of these religions." Also abridged on 4 Cassettes.

Classic Civilizations

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future:
____
Fear or Toleration of Diversity:
____
Control or Liberation of Romance and Passion:
Love and Friendship: Hebraic vs. Hellenic Roots
Says controversial Allan Bloom: "In ancient Hebrew, there is no distinct word for friend; it is the same as that for neighbor or a fellow. By contrast, Plato and other Greek writers are full of tales of friends. And I would go so far as to say that the Greeks invented friendship, friendship as it is defined by Montaigne, the free choice of total association without consideration of family or other legal ties. Friendship involves the possibility of conflict between itself and family, each bidding for the higher place. Of course, the claims of family were well known to the Greeks, and there were various and powerful expressions of anger at this new kind of relationship, which seems to have been connected somehow with that other new discovery of the Greeks, philosophy. To the extent that friendship expressed a longing for natural freedom, it is easy to see an erotic element in it. ... To make another overbold statement, it was the Greeks who invented politics... The invention of politics is a liberation from the family order although it may result in almost as total a subjection to the political order... Thus we are the heirs of two great teachings abou the place of Eros or love in the life of man, the one passed down to us by the Bible, the other by the Greek philosophers, poets and historians of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C." From Kirkus Associates (Copyright Š1993): "We cannot love properly today, according to Bloom, because we have lost the proper words: The classical conception of love was essentially sacrificial and heroic, whereas the modern mind cannot envision human relations as anything other than as a contractual agreement. ... He fails to ask the question that his entire argument begs: Why did the classical view, for all its virtues, fail to sustain itself?"

Medieval Europe

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future:
How the Irish Saved Civilization Selections from "How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe" by Thomas A. Cahill. .Review by Amazon.com: "In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known 'hinge' of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the West's written treasury. When stability returned in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning, becoming not only the conservators of civilization, but also the shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture." Also abridged on cassette.
Fear or Toleration of Diversity:
____
Control or Liberation of Romance and Passion:
Passion/Romance vs. the Wasteland of Inauthentic Lives/Arranged Marriages
As explored most accessibly by Joseph Campbell, the founding myths of Europe's second mellenium (c1000AD...) saw European civilization, at least the chivalrous courtiers (chivalry overlapping with adultery) and the wandering troubadours that connected them, struggled free of the wasteland of inauthentic lives and arranged marriages - seeking a role for romance, love and passion. So Tristan nobly longs for Isolde, lost to an arranged marriage. So Parsifal sets out seeking the Holy Grail [authenticity? spirituality?].

Reformation and Religious Wars

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future:
____
Fear or Toleration of Diversity:
____
Control or Liberation of Romance and Passion:
____

Renaissance

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future:
The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II
"Fernand Braudel has woven together a fascinating tour around the Mediterranean of the 1500s, explaining the rise of the Ottoman Empire, how Egyptians made iced drinks, why Algiers became the capital of piracy, how the banking system created the first transcontinental roads, and much more. This book immerses the reader in a new world full of rich details and suprising connections." [from a reader review]
Fear or Toleration of Diversity:
____
Control or Liberation of Romance and Passion:
____

Modern Europe

Conserving the Past or Creating the Future:
____
Fear or Toleration of Diversity:
____
Control or Liberation of Romance and Passion:
____

Our list of Themes, Sources and Destination Ideas
is continually being revised and expanded.
Please visit again periodically
Let us know the type of ideas and destinations of interest to you!