SUMMER: June 2 – June 20, 2012
Program and Purpose: In this program, London is your classroom and your theatre for three intensive weeks. Participants see at least nine plays representing the best of current London theatre. Members of the group also design personal explorations of London based on their individual interests (see below), and share their discoveries and insights in seminar settings with group leaders, guest scholars, and their fellow participants. Everything in London is a kind of performance, which lends itself to exhilarating interdisciplinary discussions in these class meetings.
In addition to seeing exciting plays, you will also have two open three-day weekends in which to explore beyond London—whether traveling to historic spots in England or Scotland, or to continental Europe (Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, etc.). Guided coach trips in England are inexpensive, comfortable, and easy to book. Fast trains travel to every corner of the Kingdom (or to Paris in less than four hours!). Airfare to continental cities is very modest. Others may choose to stay in London, visiting its endless galleries, museums, exploring its historic architecture and sites (from Roman to Tudor to WW II), attending even more plays or other kinds of performance, or immersing yourself in the vibrant and diverse neighborhoods for which London is justly famous.
Who should take this course: Any student or member of the community—from 18 to 80+ years of age--who wants to visit and study in London (but can’t afford the time or money to spend an entire semester abroad doing so), but especially...
· Teachers (Future and Current): Educating people about theater, making it accessible to students and schools in England, is a major part of London Theatre. This course includes backstage tours and classes held at The National Theatre, The Bush Theatre, and The Globe, with discussions of contemporary developments in staging.
· Budding Playwrights: We will hold a class at The Bush theatre, which nurtures new playwrights and houses thousands of scripts (which you can look at) by aspiring writers.
· Writing Minors: Immerse yourself in the place literature in English was born.
· Literature Majors and Minors: Make guided visits with your leader (or go on your own) to sites associated with England’s greatest writers and see many of its greatest literary treasures at the British Library and other locations.
· Theatre Majors: See the latest productions and innovative venues, and make contact with the London theatre community.
· Urban Ecologists: Visit and tour some of the world’s most innovative architecture (new and restored), which has been designed or redesigned to combine care for environmental concerns with material elegance.
· Arts Management Majors: Observe the ways in which great institutions like The National Theatre, British Museum, and Tate Modern, mount shows, educate the public, manage resources, and otherwise create opportunities for vast numbers of people to immerse themselves in great art.
· History Majors: See famous history plays and discuss their effect on history itself. Take field trips to archives with a practical introduction to the use of archival resources. Visit important historical sites (if you like), ranging from Stonehenge to Bletchley Park (where the British deciphered the Germans’ “Enigma Machine”—which can be seen!).
· Political Science Majors: London is the world’s epicenter for what is called “The Theatre of Ideas.” British playwrights have a particular genius for addressing crucial public issues in theatrical terms. We will see and discuss some great examples.
· Interior Design and Fashion Majors: There is no better place than London to see cutting edge design of interior spaces. And the London fashion scene is considered among the top three in the world
· Art and Music Majors: Visit scores of great museums and galleries; festivals and concerts (many of them free), encompassing every kind of music, from everywhere in the world. The Royal Academy of Music is located just outside your lodgings.
· Sociologists: London is a great social laboratory, having absorbed nearly every kind of ethnic and social group in the world, people have flocked there, many seeking refuge and a better life.
.Application Deadline: February 15, 2012. Contact the International Programs Office. Application requires a $250 deposit to secure a spot.
Go to the Applications page to find out how to get an application.
Most seminars are open to all majors and minors, not simply those whose field/s matches the department/s granting credit. For continuing UWSP students a minimum GPA of 2.25 is required.
Priority is given to regularly registered UWSP students, but students from other universities and community members are welcome to apply. All participants will be registered in a college course, for credit or audit at the same cost, and will be expected to participate in the program at an intellectual level.
We do work on a first come, first serve basis, so early registration is strongly advised. Priority is given to regularly registered UWSP and UW-System students, but others, may participate either for credit or as auditors on a space-available basis and at the same cost. All participants, whether students or auditors and regardless of age, must be able to participate in the program at the college level, and stand up to the considerable physical rigors of this course (carrying your luggage on public transit systems and extensive walking are common).
This trip carries two course options for three transferable UW-Stevens Point credits:
THEATER 490/690 - Seminar in Theatre 3 undergraduate or graduate credits, GDR: HU
Research and discussion of specialized areas of theatre and drama. Subtitle will designate area. May repeat for credit with different subtitles.
ENGLISH 395/595 - Workshop in Drama: On-site Study of Contemporary British Theatre 3 undergraduate or graduate credits, GDR: HU2 WE is possible.
Attendance at the plays, participation in post-play lectures, and analytical discussions on aspects of drama and modern theatre production. Graduate credit requires an additional fee and the preparation of a research project on return to the UWSP campus.
Sarah Pogell is Associate Professor of English at UWSP, who earned her M.A. and Ph. D. at Washington University. She is a “culture vulture,” loving, as she does, art museums, independent film, theater, dance, classical and popular music, architecture, interior design, fashion, pop culture, and ethnic food-- in addition, of course, to literature. Her scholarship focuses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century British literature, particularly the intersection between literature and medicine in this period, and recent innovative fiction. She is currently working on a book about George Saunders, a contemporary satirical short story writer and essayist. She has co-lead previous UWSP summer programs.
PROVIDING that the program is fully subscribed, a second leader will accompany Dr. Pogell. James Stokes is emeritus Professor of English and recipient of the Eugene Katz Distinguished Faculty award at UWSP. He has taught Shakespeare, History of English and European Drama, and Reading the Drama; is the author of two two-volume books in the Records of Early English Drama series; publishes widely on early drama and culture; and has directed a university drama program. He received his MA from San Francisco State University and his PhD from Washington State University. He will accompany the group providing it is fully subscribed.
Approximately $3990-4490 Estimation for approximately three weeks based on 25 fully-paying participants.
Cost Includes:
Students wishing to stay in Europe after the program is completed may do so with an extra charge for airfare, although they will have to arrange and pay for their own room, board, travel and other expenses during the extra days.
Up to ten weeks before the start of the program, all fees except the initial $250 deposit will be refunded. After the time, tuition, airline, tour costs and housing charges are assessed. If the program would be cancelled, all fees will be refunded. Because exchange rates and airline prices fluctuate, International Programs reserves the right to cancel, surcharge, or to alter the program.
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