This course will be unlike any class you have ever taken. We will read about London and British culture, attend musical and dramatic performances, look at art, wander the streets, and discuss our experiences: in short, we will use London as our classroom and laboratory for four very intensive weeks. We will go to museums, churches, parks, galleries, exhibitions, street fairs, and pubs. We will meet Britons, foreign visitors, and other Americans. Our goal will be to place London in a series of contexts: historical, artistic, and cultural. Our methods will include discussion classes (many on site), conversations, walking tours, and written exercises. We will strive to reveal the complexities of a city like London, while at the same time providing a series of frameworks for organizing our thinking through self-conscious reflection and evaluation of our experience.
N.B.: Class will begin when you arrive in London on August 24th. From that moment the course will require your active participation. You must be on time to all scheduled events, willing to go above the call of duty as circumstances require, and be an active participant in discussion and class activities. Failure to meet these expectations will be grounds for lowering your grade. Responsible commitment to these requirements will result in a state of satisfying exhaustion.
The primary text for the course is Porter, London: A Social History, which you should have read prior to the beginning of the course.
The following is a working schedule that will change as needs arise:
| Tue | 24-08 | Arrive Heathrow; coach to Arran House Exploratory group project #1 (SPACE) FREE evening |
| Wed | 25-08 | 10:00 a.m. Museum of London (critique) Barbican Center (p.m.) BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, 7:30 p.m. (music by Beethoven, Strauss, and Mahler) Reading: Review Porter, Chs. 1-7; Hibbert, Chs. 1-8 (recommended) |
| Thu | 26-08 | 2 p.m. Barbican Group Project #2 (TIME) (a.m.
free for research) FREE evening |
| Fri | 27-08 | 11:30 a.m. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Education Center:
"The Globe and Elizabethan Theatre" 2 p.m. Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre; Discussion FREE evening |
| Sat | 28-08 | Boat to Greenwich: Old Royal Observatory (17th c.), National
Maritime Museum (18th-19th c.); return by Docklands Light Rail FREE evening |
| Sun | 29-08 | Notting Hill Carnival (the largest Caribbean festival outside the West Indies) |
| Mon | 30-08 | Day-long excursion to Hampton Court (16th-18th c.) (all day: out by rail; return by boat) |
| Tue | 31-08 | Group Project #3 (SPACE; "village
exploration") FREE evening |
| Wed | 01-09 | 10:30 Guest Lecture: Thomas Newbolt, Painter: "Rembrandt's
Self-Portraits" a.m./p.m. National Portrait Gallery 4:00 p.m. Sainsbury Wing, National Gallery: "Rembrandt by Himself" FREE evening |
| Thu | 02-09 | 10:15 a.m. Tour of Westminster Abbey 2:30 p.m. Michael Frayn, Copenhagen, Duchess Theatre FREE evening |
| Fri | 03-09 | a.m. Sir John Soane's Museum (2 groups: 10 a.m., 11 a.m.)(18th
c.) 1:30 p.m. Tour of St. Paul's Cathedral FREE evening |
| Sat | 04-09 | FREE (provide a detailed itinerary if leaving London) |
| Sun | 05-09 | FREE |
| Mon | 06-09 | a.m. City of London (17th c.) p.m. Tate Gallery (esp. Stubbs, Constable, Turner [Clore Gallery] 7:30 p.m. Conor McPherson, The Weir, Duke of York's Reading: Review Porter, Chs 8-17; Hibbert, 9-15 (recommended) |
| Tue | 07-09 | 9:00 a.m. Discussion of Copenhagen, The Weir 11:00 a.m. Victoria and Albert Museum p.m. disciplinary exercise or research for walking tour 6:00 p.m. Optional Performance: Dress rehearsal of Maria Von Weber, Der Freishutz, English National Opera, London Coliseum, St. Martin's Lane (numbers limited) |
| Wed | 08-09 | 11:30 a.m. Tour of the Houses of Parliament p.m. National Gallery (19th c.) (esp. Stubbs, Constable, Turner) FREE evening |
| Thu | 09-09 | 9:30 a.m. Lecture: Margaret Homberger, "Money and the
Economy in 19th Century England" 11:30 a.m. Guest Lecture: Anna Davin, "Growing Up Poor: Home, School and Street in London 1870-1914" p.m. disciplinary exercise or research for walking tour 7:15 p.m. Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Money, Royal National Theatre, Olivier |
| Fri | 10-09 | Imperial War Museum; class on museums FREE evening |
| Sat | 11-09 | a.m. Group Project #4 2:15 p.m. John Osborne, Look Back in Anger, Royal National Theatre, Lyttleton FREE evening |
| Sun | 12-09 | FREE |
| Mon | 13-09 | a..m. Seminar: "Putting It All Together, or, Why are you
making us do all this work?" p.m. disciplinary exercise or research for walking tours 8 p.m. Julian Barry, Lenny, Queens Theatre |
| Tue | 14-09 | 10 a.m. Guest Lecture: Rick Fisher, "Working in Theatre in
London" p.m. Disciplinary Exercise or Final Research for Walking Tours **JOURNALS DUE** FREE evening |
| Wed | 15-09 | a.m. Walking Tour: CAMDEN TOWN p.m. Walking Tour: HAMPSTEAD FREE evening |
| Thu | 16-09 | a.m. Walking Tour: EAST END (esp. Whitechapel) p.m. Walking Tour: BLOOMSBURY FREE evening |
| Fri | 17-09 | a.m. Walking Tour: CHELSEA p.m. Walking Tour: FULHAM FREE evening |
| Sat | 18-09 | a.m. Walking Tour: BRIXTON Celebratory End-of-Class Luncheon [Pack up classroom and personal gear; 10:30 a.m. will come early -- VERY early.] |
| Sun | 19-09 | Move to Norwich (Coach at 10:30 a.m.) |
N.B.: Because you will by staying only a short distance from the British Museum, I'm sure you will avail yourself of the opportunity to sample its remarkable collection. As you do so, ask yourself why the museum contains the objects it does. This question will arise again in our "class on museums" on Friday, 10th September.
Walking Tour: Each student will be part of an assigned team of four (or three) students who will lead a walking tour for the entire group toward the end of our stay in London. Each student will be responsible for leading a part of the tour. (20%)
Journal: Each student will keep a regular log of his/her activities and, more importantly, reflections upon those activities. In some cases students will be asked to respond to specific essay topics. The journal is a daily responsibility. Journals are due on Tuesday, 14 September. (30%)
Long Essay: Each student will write an essay of approximately 3,000-3,750 words (typically 12-15 pages), developing interest and expertise of the experience of London in one or several of the course's themes: place, time, or discipline. The essay will be due in order to allow for return trips to London (if necessary), and for time to research the essay in a scholarly way. Before 14 September, each student must submit a one-page prospectus to Winston and meet with either Winston or Homberger to discuss and hone the plan for research. Papers are due no later than Friday, 9 October. (30%)
Discussion/Participation: Students will be evaluated on their contribution to the overall effectiveness of the group and the quality of their class discussions and activities. There will be short assigned topics for oral reports throughout the course. (20%)
Office Hours: Unless otherwise announced, Winston will be available 8-9 a.m. M-F in the Arran House breakfast room, and TBA. If you wish to meet at another time, please leave a note on the Arran House bulletin board. If Winston isn't around, it's likely he's standing in a queue at the bank, arranging tickets, researching class, etc. Homberger will be available for consultation by arrangement; please leave her a note on the message board or speak with her directly.
Arran House phone: (0171) 636-2186
Winston in Norwich: (01603) 452915