This summer, the Florida State University Honors Program launched a new study abroad program in London for students to discover the history and legacy of the Roman presence in Britain.
The Honors Global Experiences program, administered through International Programs at the FSU London Study Centre, immerses students into the past through site visits and experiential learning.
Fifteen Honors students spent four weeks in London and surrounding areas during July and August while they took the class “In the Footsteps of the Ancients: Roman Britain,” one of the interdisciplinary Honors Signature Courses offered within the Honors Program. Students in the Honors Program are required to complete one Honors Signature Course to graduate with honors.
Honors Associate Director Michael Furman designed the course specifically for the London experience and took students to places that feature Roman archaeological remains, including Bath and the British Museum and an overnight trip to Hadrian’s Wall, a 73-mile-long fortification system constructed in the second century AD.
“As an ancient historian, I know that there is a difference between reading about something in the classroom and being able to reach out and touch it,” Furman said. “By immersing students in the physical spaces of the ancient world, the past becomes tactile. As a professor, this is the most fulfilling experience of my academic career, as I am able to watch my students be pulled into the past and engage with the shared experiences of being human which transcend millennia.”
Outside of class, students were able to explore other sites in the area, including stops at Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London, a show in the West End theater district and high tea at the Austen Museum in Bath.
For history and media communication studies student Jeffrey Lubinski, the opportunity to go to London enhanced his experience in the Honors Program.
“There is no better way to experience a new culture, learn about its past and make lifelong friends than with this program, and I am greatly honored to have been part of the inaugural trip that highlights all the wonderful aspects of FSU Honors,” Lubinski said. “As a history student, being able to see and interact with ancient Roman sites was inspiring, as I felt truly connected to what we were studying in the classroom.”
The Honors Program has steadily grown in the past four years, more than doubling from an incoming class of 400 students in 2021 to over 900 incoming students expected for this academic year.
The Honors Global Experience in London is planned again for next summer, and Honors Program leaders say these types of opportunities help FSU give academically ambitious students the best possible experience.
“I’m proud we were able to offer Honors students the incredible opportunity to take a course in London this summer,” said Craig Filar, associate dean of Honors, Scholars, and Fellows. “Studying abroad offers ambitious students a chance to get off campus and engage in the type of intellectual and personal growth we embrace in the Honors Program. I’m grateful to Associate Director Furman and the students for taking on this exciting challenge.”
For more information about the University Honors Program, visit honors.fsu.edu.
To learn more about International Programs, visit international.fsu.edu.