Visiting Lecturer Lauren Fogle Leads History Department鈥檚 First Study Abroad Course
Image by Deirdre Hutchison
07/22/2022
By Ed Brennen
Rising 824 feet above Scotland鈥檚 capital city of Edinburgh, the ancient volcano known as 鈥淎rthur鈥檚 Seat鈥 looked 鈥渁bsolutely insurmountable鈥 to Visiting Lecturer Lauren Fogle and her students.
But after weathering a global pandemic 鈥 and then airport delays and a train strike 鈥 to embark on the History Department鈥檚 first-ever study abroad course, they weren鈥檛 about to turn back.
鈥淚t was tiring to get to the top, but now I can say I walked up an extinct volcano,鈥 rising senior Sarah Lindtveit says of the 20-minute hike.
鈥淭hat was the biggest highlight of the trip for me,鈥 adds rising senior Matthew Downey. 鈥淭he view of the city was amazing.鈥
Lindtveit and Downey were among 16 students who traveled to England and Scotland this summer for Fogle鈥檚 two-week, three-credit study abroad course, 鈥淭opics in History.鈥
An expert in medieval European history who has taught at UML since 2009, Fogle says that students would often half-kiddingly ask when she was going to lead a study abroad trip 鈥 usually after seeing photos of her travels while in graduate school (she earned a master鈥檚 and Ph.D. from Royal Holloway, University of London).
鈥淎nd then during the COVID year when we were all on Zoom, it wasn鈥檛 a joke,鈥 she says. 鈥淭he questions became more pointed, like, 鈥楴o, really, when are we going?鈥 And so I said to myself, 鈥極K, let's do it.鈥欌
Working with the International Experiences & Study Abroad Office and nonprofit educational travel company Stone & Compass, Fogle designed an itinerary that covered London, Oxford, Winchester and Edinburgh. Students visited historic sites such as the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum and Edinburgh Castle.
Image by Deirdre Hutchison
Downey, a political science major from Babylon, New York, found the sites related to World War II 鈥 including a visit to Winston Churchill鈥檚 underground War Rooms 鈥 of particular interest.
鈥淪eeing how fresh this history still is within the minds of Europeans was a big shocker for me,鈥 says Downey, who had traveled internationally once before. 鈥淭his experience definitely made me more aware of the world around me.鈥
It was the first time abroad for Lindtveit, an elementary education major from Methuen, Massachusetts. She took 鈥淲omen in the Middle Ages鈥 with Fogle last spring and knew 鈥渇rom the very first day鈥 of class that she had to join her study abroad course.
鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to study abroad, and I thought going to Scotland and England would be great first steps,鈥 says Lindtveit, who took a day trip with classmates to Paris by Eurostar train on her free day. 鈥淭his was an adventure for me, and it allowed me to see that international travel is not as terrifying as I thought.鈥
An avid reader, Lindtveit鈥檚 research topic for the course was the original manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a 14th-century masterpiece of Middle English literature 鈥 which she saw on a visit to The British Library.
鈥淕etting to go into the treasures gallery of the library was magnificent. Seeing all the old manuscripts and books was absolutely amazing,鈥 she says.
Image by Deirdre Hutchison
The group also included Temilade Akinola, Allison Anusauskas, Valentin Boulas, Matthias Hoener, Kennedy McCarthy, Collin Powers, Jennifer Quinn, Madison Rowley, Jenna Saade, Brooke Shapiro, Dylan Stein, Kathryn Tripp and Emma Valentine.
Honors history major Deirdre Hutchison, who was born in Ireland and lived in England for 10 years before moving to the United States to raise her family, served as Fogle鈥檚 teaching assistant on the trip.
鈥淚 would never have imagined that I would be doing study abroad at my age, but it was an unbelievable experience,鈥 says Hutchison, who wondered if she would be able to keep up with her younger classmates on the packed itinerary. She says the students鈥 excitement about being abroad proved invigorating, though.
鈥淚t's not just about the academics 鈥 it's about that whole transformation of getting outside your comfort zone and, especially when you're young, doing something different,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was wonderful to see that transformation happen and see them grow and be excited.鈥
On the free day, Hutchison and Fogle took a train to Belgium to see the Ghent Alterpiece, a 22-panel religious painting from 1432 that Hutchison had learned about in Fogle鈥檚 class on Nazi Germany.
鈥淭o see something that I鈥檇 studied and written a paper on right there in front of me, it literally brought tears to my eyes. It was spectacular,鈥 Hutchison says. 鈥淥ne of the things it showed me is that nothing鈥檚 impossible; what I learned in the classroom can come to life.鈥
Now that the History Department鈥檚 first study abroad course is in the books, Fogle looks forward to doing it again next summer, this time on a nine-day trip to eastern France, Germany and Switzerland.
鈥淪ometimes it's just about getting out there and getting over your fears,鈥 Fogle says. 鈥淎nd when you do it, now you're someone who travels 鈥 and you're a different person.鈥