Description
During Summer A-Term* 2017, the Department of English will again offer a five-week version of its highly successful program of study in London. We have found that by keeping our numbers small, by tailoring our courses to what is immediately able to be seen in London and in England, and by asking students to actively participate, everyone emerges feeling fuller, as students, as tourists, as people.
The program will consist of three courses: London's Contemporary Theater taught by Dr. Jessica Burstein, Art, Architecture, and Society taught by British Professor Peter Buckroyd, and Contemporary Britain taught by British Professor Michael Fosdal. Professors Buckroyd and Fosdal are our London faculty, and have been teaching our students to rave reviews for more than ten years.
*Students should note that the program begins earlier and ends later than A-term classes in Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma, which run June 18-July 18, 2018.
Students in the program will maintain their UW residency and any financial aid eligibility already established. Credits and grades earned will be recorded on students' UW transcripts and apply directly to UW graduation requirements. Credits earned in English courses may be used to satisfy requirements for the English major.
Housing and board (two meals per day) for students will be arranged with families in London. A London Transport pass, good for travel on subways and busses, will be supplied.
Homestays
Since 1986, Janet Dunlop has been our London Homestay Coordinator. Homestays are an integral part of the program, giving students a unique opportunity to live like a Londoner, a cultural experience that dorms and apartments just don't provide. We partner with ______
London is a large city. Few people can afford to live in the very center of town, and commuting is a way of life. Students should expect a commute to and from class of about 35-45 minutes, via The Underground or bus. All students will receive a London Transport Pass, good on underground trains, over ground rail, and busses between the homestay zone and central London (included in the program fee.)
Teaching Style/Classroom
Courses in the London Program are taught as much on the streets and in the museums, theatres, and art galleries of London as possible. Thus all the courses in the program include travel and walking to various London destinations. To successfully participate, students must be able to take a physically active role in the progam.
While much of the program will take place on the streets and in the buildings of London, there will still be time spent in our classroom on 6 Great James Street, which is located in the Holborn neighborhood in central London. Credits and grades earned on the London Program will count toward UW residency and degree totals. Students receive regular, numeric grades that are factored in to their UW GPAs. Contact Amy Feldman-Bawarshi in English Advising with questions about registration, credits, or grading, and/or visit the UW Study Abroad website.
Excursions/Group Trips
Some excursions and group trips are included. Transportation for field trips will be via chartered bus with professional drivers. During overnight trips, students are housed in established hotels or bed and breakfasts. Some typical destinations include Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwick Castle, Stonehenge, St. Paul's Cathedral, museums, and historic London pub tours, but please note that the Summer 2017 excursions have not yet been finalized.
Eligibility
The London program values diversity. Any UW student from any campus, including Evening Degree, is eligible to apply to the program. We try to provide as much information as possible on this site and in our printed materials, but that is no substitute for human interaction. We strongly recommend that interested students attend an Information Session or meet individually with Jessica Burstein or Amy Feldman-Bawarshi.
Enrollment is limited to 30 students.
Application Process
To apply, please use the online application on the study abroad website. (Application link coming soon!)
The application includes
**In most cases, we require that letters of recommendation come from UW Faculty or Teaching Assistants. However, if you are a new transfer student we will accept letters from faculty from your transfer school(s) in lieu of (or in addition to) UW Faculty recommendations. Letters from family friends, employers, high school counselors, or high school teachers generally will not meet the requirement. If you have any questions about this or any other part of your application, you are more than welcome to contact Amy Feldman-Bawarshi.
Following the on-line application process, students may be contacted by the Program Director for an in-person interview. Depending on the applications submitted, we may maintain a waiting list for the program. Students who are invited to participate in the program will be required to return a signed payment contract and risk form before the deadline indicated in their acceptance email.
Questions? Contact Amy Feldman-Bawarshi in English Advising for more information.
Courses
London's Contemporary Theater
ENGL 444, VLPA
5 credits
Taught by Dr. Jessica Burstein, UW English Department Faculty
For theater--from Shakespeare to modern fringe productions--London is hard to top. More than ten million people a year attend performances in the West End alone! In this class, we'll see one play a week to become active and better-informed consumers of contemporary theater. We will make a pilgrimage to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's hometown, to see an RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) production, which we will compare to London's own Globe Theater’s staging of another play by the bard. And we'll also see productions of some more modern plays.
We will try out a few theatrical exercises in class to get a sense of what, exactly, actors do, and you’ll write a brief critical review of each production we see together. These reviews will be based on the notes you take in your theater journals and on class discussion. I will ask you to read some, but not all, of the texts of plays before we see them, and the course will conclude with a self-reflective essay.
This course meets the Senior Capstone Requirement for English Language and Literature majors.
Art, Architecture, and Society in London
ENGL 295, VLPA
5 credits
taught by Professor Peter Buckroyd, British Faculty
This course is interdisciplinary. The material is London itself. The course is taught entirely on the streets and in buildings, ranging from medieval, Elizabethan and Jacobean to Victorian, modern and post-modern. As well as equipping students to look more carefully at buildings, pictures and sculpture, the course encourages them to do some imaginative re-creation, considering what it might have been like to have lived at different times in the past as a member of different social classes. Field trips, to locations like Stratford Upon Avon, are included, typically via chartered bus with professional drivers. Students usually stay in established B&B's for any overnight trips.
Contemporary Britain
HSTEU 490
5 credits, I&S
taught by Professor Michael Fosdal, British Faculty
This course introduces students to various aspects of life in Britain, from royalty to the homeless, from politics to sport. There is a major emphasis on direct contact with the people and institutions of contemporary Britain, including meetings with homeless people and politicians, visits to Parliament and the media, and individual research projects which encourage students to follow up their own interests. The course also looks at issues such as race, crime, the family and the problems (and delights) of being young in Britain today. The course should enable students to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary Britain and equip them better to understand their own society.
Dates & Deadlines
Important Dates
Pre-Departure Orientations
Participants will be required to attend a total of three pre-departure orientations in Seattle during Spring Quarter.
In addition to the orientations given by the UW English Department, program participants must also attend an in-person pre-departure orientation facilitated by the Study Abroad office.You must register for this orientation through your online study abroad account in order to attend scheduled orientations. You can visit the Orientation section of the Study Abroad website to view the current orientation schedule. The general Study Abroad orientation must be completed prior to May 1, 2017.
Any problems or financial losses that occur as as a result of not attending the orientations are entirely the responsibility of individual students.
The Spring in London program begins with a required on-site orientation session in London scheduled for all day Monday, June 19, 2017.
Passports and Visas
You will need a passport to travel to the United Kingdom. It can take time for your application to be processed and your passport issued, so it's a good idea to apply for (or renew) your passport as early as possible. According to the U.S. government's passport services website, the total cost is $135 for a 10-year passport, and the University Neighborhood Service Center, 4534 University Way NE, is the passport acceptance facility closest to campus. The most extensive passport information, including application procedures, fees, office locations, and even printable application forms you can download, is available from the State Department's passport services website. Some general information on applying for passports is also available by calling the National Passport Information Center toll-free number: 1-877-487-2778, while an automated appointment line and some general information is available at the Seattle Passport Agency: (206) 808-5700.
If you are not a U.S. Citizen, a visa, or additional documentation, may be required for your period of study in the United Kingdom. If a visa is required, international students participating on the program are encouraged to obtain their student visitor visas and/or any other required documentation no later than April 30, 2017. It can take the UK Border Agency several weeks to process your application and to issue your visa. Participants should begin the application process as early as possible (but no earlier than 90 days before your arrival date in London).
We will assist students with this process in any way we can, but please remember that we are not immigration experts. Obtaining a visa (should you need one) is your responsibility.
Nancy Sisko
Academic Adviser
(206) 543-2634