Oxford Summer Program
Two UTC English department faculty members are exploring an innovative way to teach summer courses and to continue the University's commitment to international education.
During summer 2013, Dr. Bryan Hampton, Dorothy and James D. Kennedy Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor, and Dr. Andrew McCarthy, Assistant Professor, will offer paired three-hour courses that incorporate field trips to sites of historical interest in and around Oxford, England. The program, meeting from from 4 July to 7 August, is open to UTC and non-UTC college and university students. Students can earn six hours credit during the five-week summer session.
Hampton's ENGL 3340, "Introduction to Shakespeare," will explore the cultural and historical milieu of England through a handful of Shakespeare's plays, to be selected from among his comedies, tragedies, histories, and romances. Dr. Hampton notes, "There is no better way to experience Shakespeare than in his own England. Students enrolled in Introduction to Shakespeare (ENGL 3400) will be able to see half a dozen productions of the Bard's most enduring plays in venues that include Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre and London's Globe Theatre. Coupled with class discussions, students will study how performance influences how we interpret characters, scenes, and major themes in the plays. Field trips to sites of cultural power in Shakespeare's England are included."
Dr. Andrew McCarthy's ENGL 4310, "Early English Drama, Origins to 1642," offers students the unique opportunity to discover the birth of English drama and trace its development through the theatre of Shakespeare's contemporaries. Paired with ENGL 3340, summer students will gain a better appreciation for Shakespeare's place in the trajectory of early English drama. Along with various stops in London, students may travel to Chester to see the cycle plays performed, and to Canterbury--the destination for Chaucer's pilgrims and the birthplace of Christopher Marlowe.
Oxford Library
The program will be conducted on the campus of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (OCHJS).
"The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (OCHJS) is located on its own campus in Yarnton, four miles from the city center of Oxford. OCHJS is a recognized independent post-graduate center of the University of Oxford whose students obtain an Oxford University master's degree," said Dr. Irven Resnick, Professor and Judaic Studies Chair of Excellence. Resnick, who will also be at OCHJS during the summer 2013 program, has taught at the Oxford Centre and has been a Senior Associate at the Centre since 2003.
The OCHJS campus offers a modern library with more than 100,000 volumes. The OCHJS centerpiece is Yarnton Manor, which houses classrooms and administration offices. Although Yarnton Manor's foundation dates to the eleventh century, the present structure is Jacobean, from the seventeenth century. Other buildings on the estate provide accommodation for students and visiting fellows. Its gardens and grounds are quite well known. UTC will have full and exclusive use of the OCHJS campus during the summer session.
The UTC classes at Oxford will meet at regular, specified times. In addition to in-class course work, students will travel, usually two days each week, to sites related to course themes. Students will have Fridays and weekends off to pursue other travel interests of their own.
To view photos of Ricardo House rooms, where most UTC students in the program will be housed, click on the Accommodations link on the left side. Those students who do not reside at Ricardo House will be in other, comparable residence facilities on the OCHJS campus. Faculty will also live on site.
For the OCHJS web site, see http://www.ochjs.ac.uk/.
Questions may be directed to Dr. Irven Resnick via email at [email protected] or phone at (423)425-4334.