Tick-tock, tick-tock. Time is quickly running out in college. Soon, real life begins, with things like a new career, starting a family, and becoming a citizen of the world. Everyone makes plans to do things, a bucket list per se, but when reality sets in, a lot of those things get pushed to the wayside. At WT, students are given an opportunity to see the world through the Study Abroad program.

This semester, the study abroad class will visit Athens, Greece, and London, England. The study element in the class is looking at the lens of the Parthenon Marbles, and the focus of their contested heritage. The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles are a collection of classic Greek marble sculptures that were originally apart of the Parthenon Temple in Athens. Thomas Bruce, the 7^th Earl of Elgin received permission to remove the sculptures in 1801 from the Ottoman Turkish Empire, who ruled Greece by occupation at the time. From 1801 until 1812, Elgin removed almost half of the sculptures and returned them to England. Elgin eventually sold the marbles to the British government, who displayed the sculptures at the British Museum of Art.

Greece wants the marbles back. They have built the Acropolis Museum in the hopes that they can one day have all of the sculptures back on display in Greece. The debate stems from who actually owns the cultural artifacts. Every museum across the world has pieces of art that come from other cultures, and some institutions fear that if Britain were to return the marbles, would other museums have to start returning artifacts back to the cultures they originated from.

This semester, the students in the study abroad class will get a rare opportunity: the chance to see the Parthenon Temple, and see where the sculptures originally stood, then go to London and see the sculptures that are displayed in the British Museum of Art.  Dr. Amy Von Lintel is an art history professor at WT and is one of the professors who is leading the trip to Athens and London,  Dr. Kristina Drumheller is the other professor leading the trip.

“The theme to study the Elgin Marbles was designed a few years ago and pitched to the study abroad program, Kris (Dr. Drumheller) came to me because I am an art historian and wanted to team up to lead this class,” said Von Lintel. “I said of course, I thought it was absolutely brilliant, because it fits into my area of interest, it was a natural fit.”

Von Lintel has experience taking students abroad. In 2013 she took 23 students to Scotland. She knows there is a lot that goes into planning a trip of this magnitude.

“Trying to book lodgings, travel and other logistics, it’s a fulltime job,” said Von Lintel. “Once you get to your destination, it’s a lot of fun, but there is a lot of work that goes into the planning of the trip before you get there.”

“I traveled over to Europe two summers ago, and I loved it, and this was an opportunity to go again so I wanted to take advantage of it,” said Abigail Summers, a junior Electronic Media major. “I graduate in December so there isn’t a lot of time left to do something like this.”

“A friend of mine who had taken study abroad before convinced me to take the class,” said Sean Smith, a junior Corporate Communications major. “Plus, going to Athens and London with friends didn’t sound so bad.”

Students from many fields of study are getting an opportunity to study cultures they may not get a chance to study otherwise.

“We thought the Marbles could be a case study into the study of cultural heritage and the idea that heritage can be contested,” said Von Lintel. “The Parthenon Marbles opened that up to what the legal issues are, who has a claim to the marbles are, it’s not just the Greeks and English, it’s a world heritage issue that has long been contested, and the Marbles are a good jumping off point.”

“The curriculum has been pretty challenging at some points, the readings can be really deep and in depth, said Smith. “Reading about the art history as well as the rhetoric has been really interesting.”

“My background with photography helps me to appreciate art, and with this class specifically, the lessons we learn in class can be applied to a lot of different areas,” said Summers. “I really like Greek mythology, so learning about all of the great philosophers like Plato and Aristotle has been a great experience.”

The students will visit many sites during their visit, such as the Acropolis Museum, some of the islands around Greece, the British Museum of Art, and Stonehenge.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the islands of Greece because I haven’t been there before,” said Von Lintel. “I’ve been to Mediterranean islands on the south of France and they are just stunningly beautiful.”

“Because I am a fanatic about Greek mythology, I am really looking forward to visiting Greece,” said Summers. “Getting to see the sculptures in person is going to be a great experience. You can look at images of the sculptures, and not be deeply affected by them. Being able to see them in person and seeing the work that actual humans made centuries ago and to see them still standing will be breathtaking.”

“I am looking forward to seeing London and seeing their culture and how everything works,” said Smith. “I’ve lived with the soccer team for the last three years and they are from all sorts of places, so seeing different cultures really interests me.”

The Study Abroad program offers students many of these great opportunities to learn about different cultures, and important aspects of their heritage. WT students have a chance to study about and learn about other cultures, and to become a world citizen.