Travel is suspended due to Covid-19 but we do hope to return soon. Below is an example of an itinerary from a previous program.

Study Abroad in France 

Three Saturdays in May and/or June (USA) plus

June 15 – July 7 (France)

Elizabeth McGee (Biological Sciences)

Arnaud Bergerol (Global Studies)

The Dordogne region (named after the great Dordogne River) in southwest France is rich in unexpected ways. From the cragged, forbidding precipices which Paleolithic humans called home 40,000 years ago to poor soils that paradoxically yield extraordinary foods from walnuts to truffles, this region is a treasure trove and natural classroom. Join us for this special offering of Biology 101 as we go back in time to study the dramatic cultural and biological transitions that are the hallmarks of human prehistory during this period. In Global Studies 188, we will study food and commerce in regional France – from the family farm and the local marché to global export; learn about and appreciate specific food industries (e.g., truffles, regional cheese, wine, etc.) in the southwestern region of France, and their historical and economic significance; develop an appreciation of and 

This program is open to all undergraduate with an interest in human evolution, international studies, and French food and commerce. In our previous short-term FLP programs to the southwest of France, we have had a broad diversity of majors including business, biology, chemistry, sociology, psychology, health sciences, and economics. Although this program will have a significant experiential component, we will also integrate traditional assignments (including readings and research projects), lectures, and assessments (exams). 

Our tentative agenda is as follows:

June 15 (Wednesday), Paris

Program starts at 8 a.m. sharp!

Excursion: Pâtisserie Crawl Part I

Excursion: Barbes marché

Excursion: Musee du Vin

Excursion: House of Maille

June 16 (Thursday), Paris

Excursion: Pâtisserie Crawl Part II

Excursion: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle & Scavenger Hunt

Free time!

June 17 (Friday), Paris

Excursion: Marche Auguste-Blanqui

Excursion: Androuet Cheese Shop

Picnic lunch at Jardin du Luxembourg

Optional evening excursion: Tour d’Eiffel

June 18 (Saturday), Rouffignac

Travel Day – Paris to Rouffignac-St-Cernin via Bordeaux on the TGV

June 19 (Sunday), Rouffignac

Rouffignac Marché

Lecture: Le Fromage de France

Lecture: Nature of Science & Activity

June 20 (Monday), Rouffignac

Excursion: Le Moulin de Maneyrol

Picnic lunch at Maneyrol

Excursion: Bovetti Chocolate Museum

Lecture: Geology & the Fossil Record

June 21 (Tuesday), Rouffignac

Lecture: The commerce of the farmer’s marché in France

Excursion: Le Bugue-sur-Vézère marché

Lecture: The Walnut Industry in the Dordogne

June 22 (Wednesday), Rouffignac)

Excursion: marché of Sarlat (collect data for What’s in Their Market?)

Lecture: Human Paleo 1 (time TBA; 60 minutes)

June 23 (Thursday), Rouffignac)

Excursion: École Hôtelière du Périgord (a school specializing in cooking and restaurant industry)

Lunch: Jardin des Pecheurs @ noon

Excursion: supermarche for data collection for What’s in Their Market?

June 24 (Friday), Rouffignac)

Lecture: Le Vin de France I

Lecture: Human Paleo 2

Free time!

June 25 (Saturday), Rouffignac)

Excursion: Sarlat marché

Excursion: Chateau Puymartin

June 26 (Sunday), Rouffignac)

Excursion: Grotte de Rouffignac

June 27 (Monday), Rouffignac)

Excursion: Prehistoric Caves of Font de Gaume 

Lecture: Truffles – the Black Gold of the Perigord

June 28 (Tuesday), Rouffignac

Activity: Cheese Tasting

Excursion: Combarelles

June 29 (Wednesday), Rouffignac

Excursion: Les Eyzies & Natural History Museum

June 30 (Thursday), Rouffignac

Activity: Truffle Puzzle

Excursion: Prehistoric Caves of Cougnac

July 1 (Friday), Rouffignac

FREE DAY!

July 2 (Saturday), Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

Excursion: Rocamadour & La Borie d’Imbert

Excursion: Truffle Farm in Cuzance

July 3 (Sunday), Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne

Excursion: Padirac Cave

June 4 (Monday), Bergerac

Excursion: Domaine Haut Pechermant

July 5 (Tuesday), Bergerac

Excursion: Château Corbin

Excursion: St. Emilion

June 6 (Wednesday), Bordeaux

Excursion: Chateau Belingard

Activity: Program in Review

Farewell Dinner!

June 7 (Thursday), Bordeaux

Program ends at 9 a.m.

Both McGee and Bergerol have significant experience teaching SJSU students in France. We have run seven summer programs for nearly 90 SJSU students and alums. The cost of the program is approximately $4000 per student, and includes tuition/registration, Study Abroad FLP fees, health insurance, lodging, meals (with the group), entrance fees to all museums and sites, materials fees, and transportation in France from the time you arrive in Paris to the time the program ends in Bordeaux (airfare to/from France is not included).

If you would like more information or would like to receive a slide show via email, contact elizabeth.mcgee@sjsu.edu. A bientôt!