Mount Prospect student participates in a Reformation J-Term study tour to Germany

2016 Jan 29

Christine Loeb of Mount Prospect participated in a Reformation J-Term study tour to Germany with Carthage College.

This study tour had three emphases: the 16th century birth of the Lutheran Reformation, German Lutherans and the Nazi Holocaust, and the east-west divide symbolized by the Berlin Wall. The study tour was based in Berlin where students explored the excellent clubs, theaters, museums, and galleries in addition to Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall. Then, a year before the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting the 95 theses, students took a five-day excursion in and around the castles, monasteries, and cathedrals of Thuringia where the Reformation played out. Students also visited the former Nazi prison camps of Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, and the womens camp, Ravensbruck. There they used on-site resources to examine what Lutherans in Germany were doing about the Nazi aggression and genocide.

J-Term is a special month-long period of study in which Carthage students explore subjects outside their majors or minors, discover new interests, and test their creativity through classes held both on campus and around the world. It's a month to experiment, create and dream. Carthage is ranked No. 4 in the nation among baccalaureate institutions for student participation in short-term study abroad.