France: Felix Shouse Tourino (Learning on Excursions)
Program: Academic Program in Aix-en-Provence, Academic Year
On the 7th of February, I went with my program to visit the memorial site of Le Camp des Milles, a former internment camp near Aix-en-Provence. During the visit, a guide explained to us the camp’s origins as a tile factory and the two subsequent ways in which it was used as an internment camp during World War II: first by the French government to hold Germans and Austrians, and then by Vichy France under German occupation as a transit camp for Jewish people. The guide explained the various sections of the site and how they were used, including areas where people slept and ate and areas where the internees set up theatres and entertained themselves by drawing on the camp walls. The tour finished with an explanation of the process by which genocides occur, and how we can all identify early signs of authoritarianism, prejudice, and hatred in order to prevent tragedies like the Holocaust from occurring again in the future.
I found the outing incredibly informative and quite related to my course material at Sciences Po-Aix. Last semester, I took a course on 20th century French history and much of that knowledge was helpful as context while learning about the Camp des Milles and its usage by the 3rd Republic and Vichy France as an internment camp. This semester I’m taking a broader survey of modern French history, but WWII still occupies a large portion of the course material, and so the visit was interesting within the context of learning more about French collaboration with and resistance against Nazi Germany.
Felix Shouse Tourino
Program Name: Academic Program in Aix-en-Provence
Major: History and French
Hometown: Saint Joseph, Minnesota
One of my academic goals is to conduct research on my senior thesis while in Aix-en-Provence. I want to write about the French colonization of Algeria, and the Colonial Archives are located in Aix-en-Provence. This will allow me to research my senior thesis subject on-site while simultaneously studying abroad!
I chose my program because I wanted to experience a full year of language immersion. I want to improve my French skills as much as possible, and a year in France at a French university will give me the best opportunity to do so!