Description

Academic Focus: British Studies: Literature, History, Political Science, Film Studies, & Theater Studies. This program is open to all majors, but may be particularly suitable to students with academic interests in the majors listed above.

Program Information: The British Studies Program resides at Regent's Park College, in a location central to the University and to the city heart itself; it is right next door to the Eagle and Child pub, at which C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other members of "The Inklings" gathered to discuss literature, art, and life. Founded in 1752, Regent's Park offered the first university places to non-Anglican students in Great Britain. Today Regent's Park continues its open and ecumenical educational tradition, admitting students for matriculation regardless of religious affiliation. Students will live, dine, and study in an atmosphere incomparably rich in cultural heritage and intellectual accomplishment. Most weeks, no classes meet on Fridays, so students have ample time for weekend travel or for enjoyment of Oxford's many resources-the world's greatest bookstore (Blackwell's), the Ashmolean Museum, the Holywell Music Rooms, the Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace, and punting on the Cherwell.

This year, the curriculum presents a selection of six course offerings in British studies, including Shakespeare, literature and cultural studies, history, political science, biology and theater. The program supplements the regular curriculum with lectures and informal talks on aspects of British society and culture by distinguished visitors. It also sponsors visits to Stratford-upon-Avon, London, and the environs of Oxford environs. The entire group travels to Stratford for a Royal Shakespeare Company production and to London for a range of cultural and historical visits.

Highlights

Courses: All program participants take two courses for a total of eight Emory credit hours. Enrollment is limited to 20 or fewer students per class. Registration priority is determined by the date of acceptance in the program and class availability.

English 312HAPW: Shakespeare in Performance

This course approaches Shakespeare's plays as texts to be performed: decisions made by actors, directors, and others involved in theatrical enterprises can help illuminate Shakespeare's language. Although our emphasis will remain upon textual analysis, we will use performance as a way to facilitate our examination of Shakespeare's drama. The course will help students become more knowledgeable readers and viewers of Shakespeare's plays. There will be regular writing assignments; active class participation is expected. Texts will be available in the Emory bookstore, but students need not purchase copies of plays they already own. The course includes three plays presented by The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, one at the Globe in London, plus opportunities to attend performances in Oxford. This course is open to students with no prior Shakespeare coursework and to those who have taken English 311 or other Shakespeare classes.

English 340HAPW: Lions and Wizards and Orcs, Oh My!

This course focuses on twentieth-century British fantasy fiction including works by Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, Phillip Pullman, J.K. Rowling, and J.R.R. Tolkien and the long-running TV show Doctor Who. Students will analyze a written or film version of each work to develop their textual and visual analytical skills. We will also use the area surrounding Oxford to question why Britain developed and continued this genre. For instance, Tolkien's work concentrates on nature and Pullman's on architecture; therefore, informative walks are included in the course. Students will discuss literary, cultural, and historical influences on each work as we trace the development of fantasy fiction as a genre. Students will write and receive feedback on twice-weekly blog postings as well as two formal papers, and will also be expected to attend screenings of some works or to watch the films on their own before class discussion.

Theater Studies 389/English 346HAPW: From 'Kitchen Sink' to 'In Yer Face'; Dramatic Developments in Contemporary British Theater

This course traces the development of the 21-st century British theatrical experience from the radical 'angry' voices of post-war youth culture to the 'in Yer Face' socially-aware hyper-realism of the 1990s and beyond. Studying the context by which a theater dominated by the 'angry' male voice gradually accepted its female counterpart, this course offers a fitting insight into the cultural development of the British nation as a whole. Class studies of specific plays associated with the times for which they were written, and reflecting the emergence of 'alternative' modes of expression, will be interspersed with trips to theatrical performances in Oxford, London and Stratford. In London, the magnificent resource of the V&A Museum's 'Theater and Performance" collection will provide a contextual backdrop to this fascinating creative period. For all who appreciate, or want to appreciate, contemporary British theater and its influence on world culture, this course will inform and excite in equal measure.

BIOLOGY 135 SNT Plants and Society with Laboratory, proposed for Oxford designation as INQ. No prerequisites

Student investigate plants and their uses by cultural groups. Students begin with basic plant structure and function, and then apply their understanding to ethnobotany (uses of plants), evolution and conservation of biological diversity. Study will focus on plants as medicine, food, materials, art/architecture, and biotechnology. Students will engage in laboratory and field work with the Oxford Botanic Garden as our laboratory as well as the other extensive gardens, museums, building and plants in Oxford, England. Field trips will include the Royal Gardens at Kew, Harcourt Arboretum and Wytham Woods with optional trips to Charles Darwin's home, Down House and Shakespeare's Gardens at Stratford on Avon. Students will conduct a project focused on one major plant family and create a portfolio of work. Students will be evaluated based on their portfolio, exams, laboratory work, presentations, and engagement in learning.

BIOLOGY 385R Special Topics: Plants and Society with Laboratory

Prerequisite: BIO 141

This course will be co-instructed with BIO 135: students enrolled in BIO 385R will participate in the same classes, labs and field trips as students enrolled in BIO 135. As with BIO 135, students in this course section will be evaluated on their portfolio, exams, laboratory work, presentations, and engagement. However, the assignments for BIO 385R will require the application of foundational knowledge and skills developed in BIO 141. In order to allow students to explore and develop their individual interest, students, will consult with the instructor in the selection of topics for projects and assessments.

History 385HSCW/POLSW 385: Monarchy to Democracy: Political Representation in Britain, 1640-1990;

How did a people related to their government, in an era before equal democracy, and how did Britain move from monarchy to democracy without any interning period of open revolution? The period covered by this course starts when only the wealthiest male members of society were allowed to vote for their Members of Parliament - and they could vote multiple times if they were very rich. By the time it ends, every British citizen had got the vote - and just one vote, no matter their wealth or privilege. The class offers students the opportunity to study a very broad period of British history and to examine how ideas of political representation have changed over time. Our course is less interested in elites and statesmen that how 'the people' - ordinary men and women of unexceptional means- understood politics to work, and how gradual parliamentary reform adopted democratic principles to give them the vote.

Through original documents and a rich analytical literature, you will explore how Britons understood themselves to be represented politically and how reformers imagined change. We will also take trips to the places where British politics was made and re-made, including the House of Commons, the Churchill Museum in London, Charles I's civil war parliament in Oxford and Hyde Park.

History 385HSCW: The European Renaissance and the Culture of England, c. 1400-c.1600

Grand claims have been made for the European Renaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth century: it has been described as 'the discovery of man and of the world', the first moment of modernity, the time the world changed from monochrome to technicolour. It has also been seen as a movement centered on Italy, with the benighted English slow to appreciate its value. But, undeniably, the Renaissance has an enduring significance for Anglo-Saxon cultures. This course will help you challenge common assumptions by looking at range of way that, over two hundred years, the English engaged with Renaissance culture. To do this we will move beyond the historian;s concentration on textual sources: we will see how we can analyze architecture and art, as well as the physical object of the book, and use them as historical evidence. You can be in no better place for such a study than Oxford. The city's buildings, galleries and libraries will be a major resource for this course. So, the seminar will take us out of the classroom and on our won walking tours and visits. there will also be trips further afield, to famous locations like the city of Winchester, with its outstanding cathedral and College, or Hampton Court, the great palace built for the outsize cardinal, Thomas Wolsey, and then taken from him by his master, Henry VIII. No prior study of the period is required. This is a writing requirement course, with study centered on set reading and class assignments: the course will be as stimulating as your involvement makes it!

Eligibility Requirements: Minimum 2.0 GPA; good academic standing; at least 18 years of age; completion of a full year of college; and currently enrolled at a college/university.

Application Deadline: The deadline for receipt of applications is March 1. CIPA encourages students to submit their applications as early as possible because some programs fill up by the end of January.

Acceptance Process: This program is accepting applications on a rolling basis. Students will be notified with results within two weeks after submitting their completed application.

Living Arrangements: Residence hall accommodations are provided at Regent's Park College.

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Subject Areas

• English
• History
• Political Science/politics
• Religious Studies
• Theater

Cost in US$:

Please inquire for the program cost for Summer 2012.

Program Fees Include:

Cost includes an academic fee and a program fee for room, board, and insurance. This total includes eight semester hours, health and accident insurance (duration of program), accommodations in residence halls, three meals a day Monday through Thursday, breakfast Friday through Sunday, class and group field trips, and transportation for group field trips.

Experience Required

no

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Group living

Typically Participants Work

Independently or in Groups

Application Process Involves

• Transcript
• Essay
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Other

Emory University: Center for International Programs Abroad's Mission Statement

The Center for International Programs Abroad is dedicated to fulfilling Emory College's commitment to internationalization through study abroad. In collaboration with Emory faculty, CIPA develops, promotes, and administers programming for undergraduate students that encourages both intellectual and personal growth through challenging scholarship and cultural immersion. Its services support students and faculty before, during, and after the study abroad experience in order to ensure that study abroad is an essential part of an Emory College education.