Program Overview
Program Overview
The French Way: for 1,000 years this medieval route has guided pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela where the remains of the Apostle, Saint James are buried. During this seminar, we’ll explore the historic, artistic, social, economic, and religious development of the Camino de Santiago along with the history of Spain. We’ll begin with a set of lectures and discussion sessions in two of the most important cities on the French Way, Burgos and Leon, combined with site visits to emblematic locations related to the pilgrimage. Then, we’ll participate in a guided practical walk along the last 100 kilometers of the route, paying special attention to architecture, sculpture, painting, gastronomy, and music along the way. Group explanations, guided self-reflection, and analysis of psychological trends all add to this unique experience.
Program Activities
Program Activities
Through lectures, discussion sessions, site visits, tours, and walking the last 100 kilometers of the Camino de Santiago, participants will explore the historical, economic, social, and World Heritage-cultural context in which thousands of pilgrims from all over the world have journeyed on foot across northern Spain.
Program Objectives
Program Objectives
During this seminar, participants will:
- Explore the ways in which the Camino de Santiago has influenced the religious, sociocultural, artistic, and economic dimensions of Spanish life.
- Examine the role of pilgrims within the last 100 years from the perspectives of ideology, motivation, economy, and tourism.
- Analyze the role played by the Camino de Santiago in spreading values over national borders.
- Reflect on the socioeconomic metamorphosis of the pilgrim that has occurred over the last century and the subsequent reinvention of the concept of “pilgrimage” in 21-century Spain.
- Analyze the importance of Burgos, the historic capital of Castille, along the French Way.
- Reflect on the phenomenon of pilgrimage as a means of understanding medieval Spanish literature, music, and art.
- Explore the influence of Arabic Mudejar architecture on the Camino de Santiago as a way to consider multi-religious coexistence.
- Analyze the roles of the hospitaleros and Pilgrim Houses on the Camino de Santiago in its 1,000 years of history.
Seminar Locations
Seminar Locations
Seminar sites include Burgos and the last 100 kilometers of the French Way (Sarria, Portomarín, Palas de Rey, Arzúa, and Arca), ending in Santiago de Compostela; participants fly in and out of Madrid.