Field schools
Greek and Roman Studies archaeology fieldwork seminar (GRS 495) in Greece. Photo: Brendan Burke
Ethnohistory Field School with the Stó:lō
I-witness Field School at the Dachau concentration camp memorial site.
Colonial Legacies Field School in South Africa
Break out of the classroom!
This field school changed my life. Not only did I learn about the Holocaust and memorialization in an exceptional environment with wonderful students and incredible group leaders, but I learned about people, humanity and that the two do not necessarily always coincide. This program has given me two invaluable gifts: a direction for my degree and future studies as well as new standards of tolerance and humility.
I-witness Holocaust Field School participant
At the University of Victoria, you can combine travel with hands-on learning in a field school.
You can earn credit while learning about colonial legacies while visiting South Africa, about the Holocaust while touring memorial sites in Europe, and about ancient civilizations while working on archaeological sites in Greece and Turkey—all led by UVic professors who are experts in the field.
The Colonial Legacies Field School South Africa (HIST 468)
Spend three weeks in South Africa. Learn on the ground about impacts of colonial histories in everyday life and on rural and urban landscapes; sustainable rural development; apartheid and reconciliation; grassroots anti-poverty initiatives; community responses to HIV/AIDS; gender and development; land, labour and global economy; and modes of historical memory.
The school consists of one week of intensive classroom study at UVic, and three weeks in South Africa. 3rd and 4th-year students from all disciplines are welcome to apply. Travel awards and scholarships are available. Read more about the field school, the research and the participants.
Additional information and application deadline: Dr. Elizabeth Vibert
I-witness Holocaust Field School (GMST 489)
The Holocaust Field School Project explores the ways in which the Holocaust has become memorialized in Central Europe. Following one week of intensive study at the University of Victoria, you will spend three weeks in Central Europe exploring various memorial spaces in three different countries (Germany, Austria, and Poland)—from the sites of former concentration camps to the stumbling stone project, from former ghettos to railway stations, from cemeteries to T-4 euthanasia sites, from museums to memorials. Read more about the field school, the research and the participants.
Additional information: Dr. Helga Thorson / website
Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project Excavation at Eleon (GRS 495)
This archaeological project investigates an unexplored settlement in central Greece (Boeotia), dating primarily to the Mycenaean (ca. 1700-1150 BC) and Classical (6-4th c. BC) periods. The site is ancient Eleon and is operated within the orbit of the major Greek city of Thebes. As a student volunteers, you will participate in all aspects of fieldwork, learning excavation techniques, recording methods, and artifact analysis. This hands-on program offers experiential learning of an actual archaeological dig and is therefore physically strenuous. Read more about the field school, the research and the participants.
Additional information: Dr. Brendan Burke / website
Classical Studies Abroad (GRS 395)
This course takes place in Greece, and in some years, Turkey as well. Students study archaeological sites and monuments from a wide range of chronological periods, some very famous (Olympia, Delphi) and others less well-known. They are able to see parts of Greece that would be impossible to visit on their own. While the focus is on prehistoric and Classical Greece, attention is also paid to later periods of Greece's history and its modern age. Presentations, quizzes and a research paper are part of the course work. A background in Greek and Roman Studies is helpful but the field school is open to students from all disciplines.
Additional information: Dr. Brendan Burke
Ethnohistory Field School (HIST 528)
This six-week intensive community-based History course is for graduate students only. Four weeks of the course take place in the Stó:lō communities near Chilliwack, B.C, where you will move into the host First Nations’ community to do research.
Additional information: Dr. John Lutz / website
UVic in Paris
This field school, offered by the Department of French, explores Paris, Chartres, Versailles and the neighbouring provinces of Brittany and Normandy all the while earning 3 units of third-year UVic credit.
Additional information: Dr. Stephen Martin / website