The World Is Our Classroom
Dublin/Galway 2013
Paris 2012
Rome/Tuscany 2011
Buenos Aires 2010
Barcelona 2009
London and Bath 2008

At Spalding, we believe that the best writing springs not just from talent and drive but from a rich accumulation of life experiences. Spalding’s innovative summer semester allows students to explore a different international locale each summer, extending their understanding of the customs, people, and literature of diverse cultures the world over. The 2012 summer residency returns to the place of our very first summer residency in 2007, Paris.

Curriculum

As in the fall and spring semesters, the Summer 2012 semester focuses on the serious study of creative writing. During the Paris residency, our classroom sessions take place at Reid Hall, the historic Paris home of Columbia University, in the Sixth arrondisement (district). Students attend workshops in their area of concentration—fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults, screenwriting, or playwriting—offering peer and faculty feedback on workshop members’ writing. Students attend lectures on the craft of writing, plan future writing and reading in consultation with their mentor, attend panel discussions about publishing and other topics, and attend plenary lectures about principles that apply to all forms of creative writing. In Paris, the Program Book in Common is The Greater Journey: Americans by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster, 2011); faculty and genre books in common are to be announced. Faculty and student readings round out the curriculum.

Following the Paris residency, a nine-month semester at home gives students ample time for their writing and reading. From home, students work with their expert teachers in an intense, individually tailored course of independent study. Students may complete the MFA degree by attending only the summer semesters, or they may mix summer semesters with those beginning with residency in Louisville. The Paris residency builds on our experience conducting residencies in Paris in 2007, London and Bath in 2008, Barcelona in 2009, Buenos Aires in 2010, and Italy in 2011.

Events and Exploration

Our Paris residency combines the study of writing in the classroom with three days off campus, set aside for exploration of French culture and the sister arts. The first day off campus allows students to visit museums on their own and perhaps take an optional literary walking tour, tracing the steps of American expatriates from Hemingway and Fitzgerald to David Sedaris. Students receive a museum pass granting admission to four of Paris’s most important museums: the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin, and the Pompidou Center.

Students may spend a second day off campus exploring Paris independently, or they may choose between two optional guided excursions: a trip to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet; or a visit to the Loire Valley, with a stop at the cathedral at Chartres as well as the spectacular Château de Chenonceau.

Near the end of residency, the group travels together to Versailles, visiting the opulent palace and grounds in a guided tour culminating with a musical fountain display.

The MFA group dines together twice, at an opening meal on arrival day and at a closing meal. Free evenings and long lunches (most are two-and-a-half hours) provide additional time for students to explore the city as they wish.

Housing and Guests

The Spalding group will stay in two three-star hotels, one in Saint-Germain des Pres and one in the Latin Quarter—within fifteen minutes’ walking distance of each other and of our classroom space near the Jardins du Luxembourg.

Students may invite family or friends to Paris according to the policy explained in the document titled “FAQ – Traveling with EF Tours – the Essentials.” Guests may participate in off-campus activities and meals described above. Guests are at their leisure while students are in class—normally 9 a.m. until 6 or 7 p.m., with a break for lunch. For more information about EF Tours, click here.

 Costs

Tuition for the Summer 2012 semester is $7,500, the same as for Fall 2011 and Spring 2012, and includes the curriculum described above. The EF Tours travel package includes air travel, ground transportation, housing, museum and Versailles entries, a metro pass, breakfasts, and two dinners. Students may opt to purchase a land-only package, which excludes air travel and transportation to/from the airport. Additional meals, tips, optional excursions, and free-time activities are not included in the trip price. To see itinerary and pricing information, click here.

 Enrollment and Deadline

Students register via WebAdvisor for the Summer 2012 semester, then sign up for the Paris trip at efcollegestudytours.com/enroll (enter the trip number, 1123785) or via the toll-free phone number, 1-877-485-4184. Participants flying from airports other than Louisville are advised to call the toll-free number for pricing from their home airport.

Registration for the Summer 2012 semester is open now. Deadline for current students to enroll for the trip is February 1. Incoming students must apply for admission to the MFA Program by February 1. Once admitted to the MFA Program, incoming students have until March 30 to register for ENG610 and sign up for the Paris  trip. Contact Katy at kyocom@spalding.edu for more information.

 Passport Information

If you do not have a passport, or if your passport is damaged, or if it expires before October 15, 2011, you must apply for a new or renewed passport. The length of time it takes to receive a new or renewed passport can be unpredictable. We recommend you check the status of your passport now and, if needed, apply for a new or renewed passport immediately. For more information, visit http://travel.state.gov

For more information about travel to France, visit the U.S. Department of State’s Consular Information Sheet for France site.

For information on travel tips to destinations abroad, visit http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/tips_1232.html

How to Obtain a Spalding Student Identification Card

Spalding students participating in the Paris residency must carry their Spalding Student ID with them. Students who have not attended a residency in Louisville can arrange to have an ID card sent to them through the Admissions Office. Check with Katy at kyocom@spalding.edu for information about how to email a picture for the ID. (top)

last updated 08-17-2011

Spalding University
851 S. Fourth St.
Louisville, KY 40203

MFA Office: (502) 873-4400 or (800) 896-8941, ext. 4400

Fax: 502-992-2409