CHID �LEGACIES OF EMPIRES� POWER AND DIVERSITY IN ROME, VIENNA AND BUDAPEST
STUDY ABROAD: WINTER 2026
The world of independent nation-states identified with a single and unified people, language and culture is now being challenged by increasingly accelerated processes of economic and political globalization. ��The goal of this program is to show how this world, which we consider as obvious and relatively stable, is a very recent and fragile historical phenomenon. For many centuries, vast empires comprising diverse peoples ruled and determined their lives and their destinies. ��Many of the ideas, ideals, ideologies and policies of the Roman, Byzantine, Hapsburg Ottoman and Russian Empires are still relevant and often essential in order to understand the often contradictory and unresolved issues of today’s world.
The study and exploration of the legacies of these Empires should also allow the students to acquire new and more refined intellectual and experiential tools and instruments to analyze and comprehend many of the challenging contemporary issues (religious and ethnic conflict, racism, xenophobia, etc.) marking the beginning of the 20th and 21st century.
A part of the program will give the students the possibility to establish direct contact and develop relations with the Roma communities in Rome and in Budapest in order to have a direct experience and a better understanding of a transnational minority, appreciate their heritage and culture, and understand their often difficult situation and challenges in a nationalistic and post-imperial Europe.
EUROPE IN 1914
ACADEMICS
CHID 471A: Empires. Cultural and Historical Legacies (5 credits)
The course will be focused on the structure, significance, and historical evolution of the ideas that shaped the religious, cultural, economic, and military policies of Empires. Special emphasis will be placed on the ideas and ideals of authority, power, commonwealth, just and unjust war, peace, integration, tolerance, and/or repression of ethnic and religious diversity.
CHID 471B Power, Modernity, and Diversity (5 credits).
The course aims at providing a description and analysis of the processes through which the crisis and the dissolution of empires led to territorial and political fragmentation, to the birth of the idea and ideology of the nation-state, and to the development of specific national cultures and political systems. The course will also focus on the conflicts between national identities sprung from the collapse of empires and minority groups and on the dialectic between national sovereignties and their integration within supranational and international structures, with references to the crisis of World War II, the Cold War, and the contemporary tension between nationalisms and the attempt to strengthen the integration of the European Union.
CHID 470 Deconstructing Identities: Roma History & Culture (5 credits)��This class will focus on the genesis of perceptions, attitudes, and notions of self and others. The Roma population represents a unique case of a minority that for centuries and in all the major countries in Europe has struggled to maintain its complex cultural identity enduring prejudice, xenophobia, deportations, and persecutions. After suffering enormous losses during the Holocaust, the Roma communities are still perceived as alien and foreign in most of Europe. As we examine the roots of contemporary issues of religious and cultural tolerance and intolerance, the program will incorporate a forum for discussion and reflection, based on our contact and exchanges with Roma scholars, activists and communities, on the ways in which we imagine and define our own identities - individually and collectively.
PART I : ROME��
WHY ROME?
Rome, as the capital of the Roman Empire and later the center of Western Christianity, provides an unparalleled location to study the crisis and fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity as a new world religion and its role in shaping the culture, art, and literature of the West. It is also an ideal location to study the complexities of Italy as a country and as a recently formed nation-state.
The UW Rome Center �while in Rome we will be lodging in apartments in the historic district of Rome at walking distance from the UWRC, where we will have class
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While in Rome: Exploring Rome of the Caesars, Rome of the Popes, Rome as Capital of Italy.
The Caesars: Capital of the Empire until the IV Century.
The Popes: Rulers of Rome and Central Italy Until 1870
The Kingdom and the Republic: Rome as Capital of Italy
2026: Rome celebrates its 2779 Birthday
PART II: VIENNA
WHY VIENNA?��
Vienna, the former Imperial Hapsburg capital, is the capital of Austria, and one the most culturally rich and fascinating cities of the world: its complex and intricate urban setting, its monuments, museums, and cultural and artistic life are a strong and powerful testimony of its central role in the history of Europe, and of its contemporary central position in the cultural life of the Western world. Vienna also provides the students the possibility to better understand and connect together, at several levels, many elements of their experience in Rome and in Budapest.
Originally established as a Roman settlement, Vienna later became the capital of the Habsburg Empire, dominating Central Europe with its power and culture for several Centuries. ��Today is a cosmopolitan and vibrant European Capital where the past and the present and blended in a unique and fascinating mixture.��
�The Hotel is located at walking distance from tram, bus and metro stations and from the Schönbrunn Imperial Palace and city park.
����Lodging: students and faculty will stay in a Hotel in one of the historic districts of the Capital, with buffet breakfast provided every morning from 7.00 to 10.00 PM in spacious bedrooms with Wi-Fi connection and daily room service.
The Hofburg Palace: �one of the several locations of our guided tours.
Winter is a very exciting period of the year in Vienna. Markets and spectacular ice rinks are popular attractions for viennese and travelers alike.
While in Vienna we will visit the main historic and cultural sites, while exploring the Viennese life style.�
PART III: BUDAPEST
�Budapest for centuries stood on the fault line of friction and confrontation between the Holy Roman (and later Hapsburg) and the Ottoman Empires and is today the capital of Hungary, a recently formed nation-state with one of the most unique and peculiar languages and cultures of Europe.�� Hungary struggled for centuries to preserve and maintain its ethnic and cultural identity. It is a fascinating location to carry out the study of the clash between imperial systems and the theme of the quest for national identity and independence. In each of these locations, the courses will be integrated with a coherent and structured program of guided tours to historical, artistic, and cultural sites, museums, etc. ��Special emphasis will be placed on allowing the students to constantly connect historical events and dynamics to their everyday life and experience in Italy, Austria and Hungary
In Budapest we will be lodging in apartments in the very heart of the city, on Andrassy boulevard, just behind the spectacular Budapest Opera House, now recently restored and open for performances and visits.
Castle Hill on the Danube and the Chain Bridge
Budapest: the city on the Danube on the threshold between Western and Eastern Europe
ROME, VIENNA, BUDAPEST: THREE EUROPEAN CAPITALS,�ONE UNIFYING EXPERIENCE
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1) CONTACT YOUR BANK CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NOTIFY WHEN AND WHERE YOU WILL BE ABROAD
2) DOUBLE CHECK THE COMMUNICATIONS FROM STUDY ABROAD AND UWRC.
3) DECIDE WHICH INTERNATIONAL PLAN YOU WANT FOR YOUR PHONE, INTERNET ETC. AND IMPLEMENT IT BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE.
4) YOUR LUGGAGE SHOULD NOTE EXCEED THE SIZE AND WEIGHT THAT YOU CAN HANDLE BY YOURSELF.
5) IF NECESSARY, CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU WILL HAVE THE MEDICATIONS YOU MIGHT NEED FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE PROGRAM.
6) PURCHASE YOUR TEXTBOOKS EITHER IN KINDLE OR HARD COPY FORMAT BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE
7) BE SURE TO HAVE ABOUT 150 EUROS IN CASH BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE
It’s a long flight, crossing 10 time zones�ROME, VIENNA AND BUDAPEST ARE 9 HOURS
AHEAD OF PACIFIC STANDARD TIME��1) via Amsterdam (Delta/KLM)�2) via London (BA)�3) via Paris (Delta/Air France�4) via Frankfurt (Lufthansa)��5) via Philadelphia (several airlines)�6) via New York (several airlines)�8) via Washington DC (several airlines)�9) From Los Angeles (several airlines)��EXPECT TO EXPERIENCE JET LAG FOR AT LEAST 72 HOURS AFTER YOUR ARRIVAL. THIS IS NORMAL. IF SYMPTOMS PERSIST AFTER FOUR OR FIVE DAYS LET US KNOW. �
ARRIVAL IN ROME: JANUARY 3RD
The airport of FIUMICINO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT is located 16 miles southwest of Rome.
Train
There is a direct train connection every 30 minutes with Rome Termini central station via the Leonardo Express. (15 Euros). Once you are there, however you have to take a taxi to the UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON ROME CENTER (10-12 euros). Total cost: about 30 euros.
Taxi
You can take and share a taxi outside the main terminal that will take you to the UW ROME CENTER for a 48-50 euros flat rate.
Taxi in ROME and Fiumicino
Last day of the Program: ��SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2026
if you have any questions, let us know!
RUGGERO TARADEL ORHAN TAHIR
PROGRAM DIRECTORS
END OF PRESENTATION