The Carmel Institute will be sponsoring an AU Course/Trip to Istanbul over winter break from December 19-27. The Culture of Eastern Orthodoxy: From Constantinople to Eurasia will combine pre-assigned readings with visits to museums, galleries, and concerts in Istanbul, Türkiye, to explore the role of Byzantine Orthodoxy in forming the cultural and historical space of Western Eurasia from Anatolia and the Balkans to Russia and Eastern Europe. 

Students in the Washington Consortium of Universities are invited to submit applications to take part in the course. The Carmel Institute covers the cost of students' travel, lodging, and meals. If students from universities other than AU choose to take the course for university credit, they should contact their home university to make those arrangements. 

American University students: Please complete this application form. You will need your passport, your transcripts from all post-secondary coursework in .pdf or image files with your last name in each file name, and your 150-word statement ready to submit the form. See the specifics listed below for students of other universities on the transcript requirements. 

Students of other universities: Please complete this application form, then send your transcripts from all post-secondary coursework (unofficial are fine in a .pdf or image format with the logo of the university visible in the file), in a single email to carmelinstitute@american.edu with your name and "Winter Trip" in the subject line. Please include your last name in all files you send. You may include the required 150-word statement in the application form or submit it in Word or .pdf format in the email with your transcripts.  

ALL three parts of the application (the completed form, your transcript(s), and the 150-word statement) must be submitted by 5pm on October 16, 2024. Your application will not go on to the selection committee until it is complete and the timeframe to review the applications and notify the selected students is very tight. You will receive a confirmation email once we verify that your application complete and has been forwarded to the selection committee. 

If you would like to receive academic credit for this course trip, please contact your academic advisor. Please contact us at carmelinstitute@american.edu if you have any questions or issues with the application form. 

 

In June of 2024, the Carmel Institute sponsored a class-trip to Istanbul, Türkiye, for a group of students from AU, Princeton, the University of the District of Columbia, and the University of Rochester. It explored the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine Orthodoxy.

Before departing from the US, the students read Bettany Hughes' Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities as a general introduction to the history of the Eastern Roman Empire and its capital, Constantinople. The course combined discussions of the book with visits to churches, museums, mosques, and archaeological sites in Istanbul and beyond. In the process, students explored the history of the Byzantine Empire, the evolution of Eastern Orthodoxy, and interconfessional relations throughout the late classical, medieval, and modern era. Dr. Onur İşçi of Kadyr Has University in Istanbul also joined the group on select museum visits, guided some of the tours, participated in discussions, and gladly answered many questions while touring Istanbul.

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