WFU/Vienna: Flow House – Experiencing Vienna from the Margins (Summer Session I)

Nothing is built without human intent. From the hilltops of gated communities to the high rises of public housing developments on the other side of the tracks, the built environment is a dynamic laboratory filled with social experiments tested throughout history. Inner cities that once housed the wealthy, turned into ghetto enclaves housing the poor, are once again gentrified to accommodate young professionals seeking upscale cafes and luxury loft apartments. Each of these vicissitudes are embedded in local and global economies and shaped by political choreographies that tell a story.

Where we live, work, shop, entertain, dispose trash, imprison criminals, house the poor, build highways, bury the dead – are all intentional, and, in many ways, are stratified by race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, and age. This seminar examines the spatial dimensions of culture by focusing on inequalities observed across various districts in Vienna, Austria. Particular attention is paid to the cultural, gendered, economic, political, and regional contexts that shape disparities.

Students will utilize class, community, and archival resources to prepare a place-based social inequality in the built environment project (i.e., reflection paper, map, and tour) displaying one of Vienna’s 23 districts.

Vienna is famous for music, through renowned musicians such as Mozart, Brahms, and Beethoven, who lived and worked here, and it is also home to many other wonderful artists and patrons of the arts.  Vienna’s best loved artist is Gustav Klimt, who was part of a vibrant artistic scene at the beginning of the 20th century visual art collections.  The city’s world class museums have collections that span prehistoric to contemporary art.  Vienna is a culturally diverse and vibrant city. It is home to the Vienna Boys’ Choir, the famous Lipizzaner stallions, and countless coffee houses (an integral part of Viennese life). Located in the heart of Europe, students may easily travel east to the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary and west to France, Italy, Spain, England, and Switzerland.

In 1998, Wake Forest purchased a three-story villa in Vienna. The acquisition was made possible through the generous donation of Vic and Roddy Flow of Winston-Salem and the House was named in their honor. Built in 1898, the house was formerly the office of the U.S. Consulate.

Flow House is situated in a northwest section of Vienna, one block from the Turkenschanz Park. Located in the prestigious 19th district, the area is well-known for its embassies, diplomatic residences, and distinguished private homes.

ANT 335 – Anthropology of Space: Social Stratification in the Built Environment
3 credit hours

Why are gated communities built on hilltops while public housing towers sit on the other side of the tracks? How do inner-city neighborhood enclaves shift from poverty to gentrified, high-end luxury lofts? The short answer: nothing in our physical environment is built by accident.

In this immersive course, you will look beyond brick and mortar to discover how human intention, power dynamics, and political decisions shape the spaces where we live, work, and socialize. You will examine how social factors—including race, ethnicity, class, gender, and age—are directly carved into physical landscapes. Using Vienna, Austria as our primary living laboratory, we will analyze local and global forces driving housing policy, poverty, immigration, gentrification, and spatial inequality.

What You Will Do:
Field Research & Mapping: Conduct a place-based community asset project by taking charge of one of Vienna’s 23 districts.

Analyze Spatial Dynamics: Gain hands-on exposure to community mapping and spatial research methods to uncover factors driving residential segregation.

Lead Local Discovery:Translate your research into action by designing a visual map, guiding a real-world walking tour of your assigned district, and embedding your personal reflections throughout your journey.

If you are ready to see cities through a critical lens and explore how physical spaces enforce or challenge social hierarchy, step into the lab of the built environment.

Dr. Sherri Lawson Clark
Associate Professor of Anthropology

(336) 758-3556

Dr. Sherri Lawson Clark is an applied cultural anthropologist with over 30 years of fieldwork experience alongside low-income urban and rural families across the United States. Her research tackles critical issues in housing instability, exploring how federal housing, health, and welfare policies directly shape the everyday spaces where families live and work. Bridging academic theory with real-world impact, she frequently collaborates with local community organizations and direct-service providers. In the classroom, Dr. Clark uses a praxis-oriented approach that brings concepts to life through real-world applications. Join her courses to gain the hands-on research training and cultural sensitivity needed to become a future problem-solver in a global world!

Students will stay in the WFU property, the Flow House, which is situated in a northwest section of Vienna, one block from the Turkenschanz Park. Located in the prestigious 19th district, the area is well-known for its embassies, diplomatic residences, and distinguished private homes.

Flow House can accommodate sixteen students. There are five student bedrooms on the top floor. A classroom, spacious kitchen, library with state-of-the-art technology, dining room, and living room are located on the middle floor. The house is wired for Internet access and students may bring their laptop computers. A three-bedroom faculty apartment is on the first floor. The house contains separate laundry facilities for faculty and students.

NOTE: All students participating in the WFU Flow House program are required to live in program-provided housing. Housing accommodations you may have on campus do not automatically transfer to abroad and certain housing accommodations (single rooms and private bathrooms, for example) may not be available.

Possible excursions/site visits are to: 

3-day trip to Budapest (Friday-Sunday)
Walking tour of Vienna

– Good academic standing
– Interest in anthropology

Applicants are encouraged to email the faculty leader upon applying. The faculty leader will meet individually with each interested applicant before acceptance is made.

The total cost of summer study abroad can be broken down into four categories:
Program Fee – Usually covers room, in-country travel, excursions, some meals and other costs associated with the program.
Tuition – Students on WFU summer programs pay WFU summer school tuition per credit hour. The summer 2026 rate was $950/per credit hour. 
Airfare (estimated) – Varies per location. Students are responsible for their own airfare unless otherwise noted.
Personal Expenses (estimated) – These will vary depending on the students’ spending habits, cost of living in the destination country, and the number of meals included in the program fee. This may also include visa fees, vaccinations, academic supplies/books and other miscellaneous daily expenses.

Fees are currently estimated for Summer 2027:

Billed by Wake Forest:
Program Fee – $3,500 (estimated)
Tuition (3hrs) – $2,850
                      +
Personal costs (will fluctuate per student):
Airfare (estimated) – $1,700
Personal Expenses (estimated) – $2,020

Estimated total cost – $10,070

Scholarships are available through the Center for Global Programs and Studies.

Scholarship deadline through Global Programs and Studies is February 1st. 

Passport Information
Students need to check their passport’s expiration date and ensure that it will be valid for at least 6 months after the program’s end date.

Students going on a summer program need to make sure their passport is valid through at least mid-February of the following year.

US passport holders who need to renew their passport should visit the U.S. Department of State’s passport website for information on this process.

Non-US passport holders who need to renew their passport should refer to their home country’s passport office.

Visa Information
If you are a US citizen, you most likely will not require a visa for your summer abroad program. If you do, details will be shared with you by GPS. Non-US passport holders should check with their host country’s embassy or consulate to find out if a visa is required for their program or not.

Summer 2027 Resident Professor:
Dr. Sherri Lawson Clark
Associate Professor of Anthropology

(336) 758-3556

Claire Tynan
Study Abroad Advisor
Center for Global Programs & Studies
(336) 758-4072

House Address:
Flow House
Gustaf Tschermakgasse 20
1190 Vienna, Austria
Phone: 011-431-367-0740
Fax: 011-431-367-1442