Revolution and Reconstruction in Europe: France, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland

How can BYU students become the peacemakers needed today: empathetic listeners, compassionate global citizens, Christ’s disciples committed to building bridges of cooperation? Join us as we visit six countries to explore how political and rhetorical forces have created revolutions of war and peace in Europe—and how we can marshal these forces to “renounce war and proclaim peace” in our own contexts (D&C 98:16).

We’ll focus our inquiry in Paris, tracking the ideological tensions that triggered the French Revolution (Versailles, Royal Tennis Court, Place de la Bastille). We’ll analyze monuments (Arc de Triomphe, Pantheon), museums (Louvre, d’Orsay), neighborhoods (Latin Quarter, Montmartre, Champs-Élysées), and government institutions (UNESCO, French Senate) to explore competing representations of French identity and culture shaped by nationalism, colonialism, immigration, decolonization, and globalization. We’ll explore cities and sites throughout France that memorialize world wars (Verdun, Normandy), model reconstruction (Council of Europe and European Parliament in Strasbourg), and reflect ongoing negotiation of cultural and ideological differences (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations in Marseille). We’ll extend our inquiry into five neighboring countries—Belgium (war museums in Bastogne and Waterloo; NATO, the European Parliament, and Parlamentarium in Brussels); Italy (Museum of the Risorgimento in Turin); Luxembourg (Luxembourg American Cemetery); Netherlands (The Hauge's international courts); Switzerland (the United Nations and the Red Cross in Geneva)—where we'll observe transnational struggles to safeguard democratic governments, secure human rights, and promote peace. Throughout, we’ll use our expanding cultural literacy to enrich our understanding of diplomacy.

This six-country study abroad offers transformative learning experiences that will help students develop dispositions of empathy and compassion along with tools to practice the art of reconciliation—in relationships, communities, and nations.

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