CARLETON COLLEGE ENGLISH SEMINAR IN LONDON - Spring 2007

London Program 2007 Alert: There will be an information meeting on Tuesday, September 19, 2006, at 7 p.m., in Laird 206.

PROGRAM DATES
The dates will correspond approximately with the spring term dates at Carleton, 2007.

DIRECTOR: Elizabeth McKinsey
Elizabeth McKinsey, Professor of English and American Studies, teaches courses in American Literature and American Studies. Her research has involved English and American landscape aesthetics, national identity, regionalism, and the relations of literature to art and cultural history. She is the author of Niagara Falls: Icon of the American Sublime.

PREREQUISITES
The seminar is open to students in any major at Carleton. Prior to the start of the program, all participants are expected to have completed English 110 or 111, or another literature course.

OVERVIEW
Literature, theater, and the arts flourish in London. The city has a rich literary and cultural past and present and is arguably the pre-eminent world city for theater. The goal of the London program is to provide Carleton students an immersion experience in this rich milieu; to see and discuss a wide variety of the best performances on offer; and to make use of local museums and other sites to enrich their understanding of English literature and culture.

COURSE OF STUDY: 16 CREDITS

ENGLISH 290-17: DIRECTED READING (4 CREDITS, S/CR/NC)
Students will read selected books and essays on English history, literature, and theater to provide background for the program; a list of required works will be provided in the fall of 2006 to students accepted to the program. Readings may be done over winter break and must be completed by the beginning of the spring term program in London, when a “take-home” exam essay on them will be due. In addition, each student will choose an optional advance reading and pursue its topic independently or in a small group in London and make a presentation on it to the whole group. Instructor: Elizabeth McKinsey

ENGLISH 380-07: LONDON THEATER (6 CREDITS)
The group will attend productions of classical and contemporary plays in London and Stratford-on-Avon (one or two per week) and do related reading. Class discussions will focus on dramatic genres and themes, production and direction decisions, acting styles, and design. Guest speakers will include actors, critics and directors. Students will keep a theater journal and develop several entries into full reviews of plays. Instructors: Elizabeth McKinsey and Jane Edwardes (Theater Editor of Time Out)

ENGLISH 381-07: LANDSCAPE AND CITYSCAPE IN 19^TH CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE (6 CREDITS)
Focusing on major authors of the 19^th century, we will visit some of the places, look at the paintings, and read some of the works that influenced their sense of place and of England, their views of country and city, of art and life, perception and taste, and of class and society. We will also read some works of this period by Americans in England. Authors may include: Austen, Wordsworth, Keats, Irving, Dickens, Thackeray, Emily Bronte, George Eliot, James; painters will include: Constable, Turner, Martin, and Ward. Instructor: Elizabeth McKinsey

HOUSING
Students will stay in double, triple or quadruple rooms at Pickwick Hall, 7 Bedford Place, London WC1B 5JE, conveniently located in central London (the Bloomsbury district), near the British Museum and within walking distance of a number of London theaters. Students will have breakfast at the hotel and eat lunch and dinner on their own with an allowance provided by the program. The hotel includes a common kitchen, a lounge with high-speed internet access and two computers, and laundry facilities.

CLASS SCHEDULE
Classes will meet Monday through Thursday mornings in a seminar room at the Swedenborg Society, a short walk from Pickwick Hall. Field trips to London sites and museums will occupy some afternoons as well. London theater performances will be scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday evenings. Students are expected to attend all classes and all scheduled group trips and theater outings.

EXCURSIONS
Group excursions will likely include trips to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon, to Bath, and possibly to the Lake District, as well as visits to London museums, historic houses and gardens, and other sites of literary interest. There will be a one-week mid-term break that will permit time for individual travel. Students may, of course, travel on their own before or after the program and during weekends when group travel is not planned.

EXPENSES
The fee will be the same as the regular college fee – that is, one-third of Carleton’s comprehensive fee for 2006-07. Room and board, all theater and museum tickets, group travel while in England, and many incidental expenses are included. Students are responsible for books, personal expenses, and their own transportation to and from London, as well as personal travel in England.

APPLICATION

There will be an information meeting on Tuesday, September 19, at 7 p.m., in Laird 206. Application forms are available from the Office of Off-Campus Studies, Leighton 119, and the English Department Office, Laird 208. Applications are due no later than Friday, October 20, 2006

Photo Album from the London Program - Spring 2004

A Visit to Stonehenge

The Royal Pavillion at Brighton and Students in front of their home, Pickwick Hall

Viewing the Houses of Paliament from across the Thames