| Authorship Notes |
This item is unique within the apodemic corpus. Possibly inspired by Portiez's bill for a revolutionary excursion for the best pupils of every region, it initiates a regular, supervised, collective educational travel experience.
The proposal is outlined in a section of the rulebook of the 'pensionnat' (boarding facility) of the Ă©cole centrale of the Eure department in Normandy. It provides a remarkably detailed plan for a summer holiday excursion for prize-winning pupils. These pupils are not to return to their families over the summer: rather, they are to set up a camp at some distance from the school, distribute various roles among them (i.e. 'historiographer', 'cartographer', etc.), and observe nature, the climate, and arts and antiquities. Whatever they collect is then to be added to the school's collections. Pupils are all invited to write to record their experiences on a regular basis.
In 1800 and in 1801 this plan became reality. The boarders set out on such "proto-school trips", and as far as we know, the instructions were followed. A report on the first excursion was published in 1802: "Voyage des ĂlĂšves du Pensionnat de l'Ăcole Centrale de l'Eure, dans la partie occidentale du DĂ©partement, pendant les vacances de l'an huit avec des Observations, des Notes et plusieurs Gravures relatives Ă l'Histoire Naturelle, l'Agriculture, les Arts, etc" Evreux : J.J.L. Ancelle, An X [1802].- p.179, 7 illustrations (available online at http://www.bmlisieux.com/normandie/frever01.htm).
This publication was applauded both in France, where it was suggested that the practice could be made national, and abroad - a German review drew a parallel with the similar excursions of Christiann Gotthilf Salzmann's school in Schnepfentahl. It is possible that similar practices were planned in other French departments. However, with the school's closure in 1802, the practice ceased, and the account of the second excursion of 1801 (for which preparatory material survive) was never published.
See Dominique Julia, âUn voyage pĂ©dagogique sous la RĂ©volutionâ, Revue française dâhistoire du livre 82-83 (1994), 61-92, who points to other inspirations behind this project, such as summer trips from Jesuit schools.
|
