Program Description

PROGRAM DATES

The dates will correspond approximately with the 2010 spring term dates at Carleton.

DIRECTOR

Assoc. Prof. George Shuffelton
George Shuffelton is a member of Carleton’s English department, and regularly teaches classes in medieval and early modern literature. His research centers on Chaucer, Gower, Piers Plowman, and late medieval book ownership. He has traveled to London frequently, and has also spent time living in Cambridge and Oxford.

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.

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: INDEPENDENT PROJECT (4 credits, S/CR/NC)

In consultation with the director, students will design an independent research project that will be conducted on-site in London. Nearly any aspect of London life, past or present, may make a suitable subject of study. Students will meet in workshop groups and present their projects at the end of term or after our return to Carleton.

Instructor: George Shuffelton

ENGLISH 380-07: LONDON THEATER (6 CREDITS)

The group will attend productions of classical and contemporary plays in London and Stratford-on-Avon (about 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: George Shuffelton and Jane Edwardes (Theater Editor of Time Out.)

ENGLISH 381-07: STAGING THE EARLY MODERN CITY, 1400-1650
(6 CREDITS)
Modern city life is often imagined as a kind of theater, with citizens highly conscious of seeing and being seen, and a freedom that allows newcomers to cast off old identities. This course will trace the roots of these ideas in the literature of late medieval and early modern England, considering examples of the city used as a theater, and representations of the city in theater. Readings will include selections from the cycle plays put on by medieval craft guilds, the civic pageants celebrating royal triumphs, and the vibrant drama of Elizabethan and Jacobean London.

Instructor: George Shuffelton

HOUSING

Students will stay in double, triple or quadruple rooms at Pickwick Hall, 7 Bedford Place, London WCIB 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 Hampton Court Palace, and to York (site of a medieval play cycle and much well-preserved medieval architecture), as well as to London museums, historic houses, 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 2009-10. 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.

APPLICATONS

There will be two rounds of application. The majority of participants will be selected from those who apply by April 24, 2009; the remaining places will be filled early in fall term 2009. Application forms are available from the Office of Off-Campus Studies, Leighton 119 or on this site.

There will be an information meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2009, at 5 pm in Laird 211.

If you have immediate questions about courses, please email George Shuffelton, gfshuffel@carleton.edu. Other questions may be addressed to the Office of Off-Campus Studies.