Music and Philosophy Students Travel to Vienna

During the Spring 2023 3-week term, two classes traveled together to Vienna. Students in Dr. Joshua Harris’s Two Schools of Viennese Composers and Dr. Chris Penfield’s Feminist Philosophy courses explored the city known as the City of Music–for its traditional association with prominent Western composers–and the City of Dreams–for giving birth to the field of psychoanalysis.

They attended two operas at the Vienna State Opera–Salome and Carmen–and several other concerts and museums. One concert was even performed in the same chapel where Mozart performed! They visited an expansive exhibition of Gustav Klimt’s work along with his influences, caught a screening of the brand-new film Feminism WTF, took a train through the snow-capped Alps, and visited former-residences-turned-museums of Beethoven and Freud.

Both classes combined for morning lectures that made connections between the city’s history, music, art, and intellectual tradition and prepared students for the cultural artifacts they would experience each day. Though plenty of Wienerschnitzel and torte were consumed, students were also impressed with the city’s Italian and Turkish offerings and even found a great sushi place. In their free time, students visited palaces and the zoo, toured a rural abbey, visited sites where The Sound of Music was filmed, and enjoyed many other memorable activities.