American and Russian parallels in the Age of Enlightenment
Enlightenment material culture and unfree labor at Washington's Mount Vernon.
Call for Applications: The Culture of Eastern Orthodoxy
The Carmel Institute for Russian Culture and History invites currently-enrolled university students to submit applications to take part in the course. The Carmel Institute covers the cost of students' travel from Dulles International Airport to Istanbul and back, lodging, and meals. Participants should be prepared to purchase a few lunches (at most) and any souvenirs they wish. Students may take the trip without course credit. Those who choose to take the course (as independent study) for university credit should contact their home university study abroad office to make those arrangements. Tuition for course credit is the participants' responsibility.
American University students: Please complete this application form. You will need your passport, ALL of your transcripts (unofficial are fine in a .pdf or image format with the logo of the university visible in the file) in pdf or image files with your last name as the first word in each file name, and submit your 150-word essay in the form.
Students of other universities: Please complete this application form, then email your transcripts with your last name as the first word in each file name from ALL post-secondary coursework (unofficial are fine in a .pdf or image format with the logo of the university visible in the file), in a single email to carmelinstitute@american.edu with your last name and "Summer Trip" as the subject line. You may include the required 150-word essay in the application form or submit it in Word or .pdf format in the email with your transcripts.
ALL three parts of the application (the completed form, your transcript(s), and the 150-word statement) must be submitted by 5pm Saturday, March 14, 2026. We cannot forward your application to the selection committee until your application is complete and the timeframe to review the applications and notify the selected students is very short.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to carmelinstitute@american.edu if you have any questions or issues with the form or other required elements of the application. You will receive a confirmation email once we have your complete application.
The Culture of Eastern Orthodoxy: Byzantine Influences on Russian Orthodoxy
In December of 2025, the Carmel Institute sponsored a class-trip to Istanbul, Türkiye, for a group of students from AU, the University of Maryland, Salem College, and Wake Forest University. It explored the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine Orthodoxy.
Before arriving in Istanbul, the students read Bettany Hughes's Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities as a general introduction to the history of the Eastern Roman Empire and its capital, Constantinople. The course combined discussions of the book with visits to churches, museums, mosques, and archaeological sites in Istanbul and beyond. In the process, the students explored the history of the Byzantine Empire, the evolution of Eastern Orthodoxy, and the interconfessional relations throughout the late classical, medieval, and modern eras. Dr. Onur İşçi of Boğaziçi University in Istanbul also joined the group on select museum visits, guided some of the tours, participated in discussions, and gladly answered many questions while touring Istanbul.
