Oxford/London
Students live and study in the most famous university town in the world. The program is 3 weeks. Students choose 2 courses from the following types of courses: (a) a tutorial (individual study) with an Oxford University Don (professor), (b) a world affairs seminar with lectures by 10 Oxford University professors, and/or (c) courses taught by Maryville and another St. Louis-area faculty. Up to 7 excursions, many to London. Students will live in flats (apartments) in Oxford. Estimated total cost (includes tuition, housing, food, excursions) for 6 credits is estimated at $5,335 plus airfare (approximately $1,500). 3 additional credits are available for $750.
3-Credit Courses:
- History of Health Care in England (Linda Berry: Nursing – Maryville)
This course explores the history of the health professions from their earliest beginnings to the present. The development of the profession from a social and cultural aspect is emphasized. Learning experiences will include site visits to London’s famous health-related institutions.
- British Museums and Galleries (Germaine Murray: English – Maryville)
This course traces the origins and breadth of Oxford and London’s major art and cultural collections. The course will also consider how the major collections are organized, presented to the public with regard to ideology and cultural context. Students visit the Ashmolean Museum, The Bodleian Library, the Oxford History of Science Museum, National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The British Museum, The British Library, The Churchill War Cabinet Rooms, The Imperial War Museum, The Tower of London, The Museum of London, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and various other cultural collections.- The Passionate Explorer in Oxford/London – Digital Photography (Scott Angus: art/art design – Maryville
In this course, both experienced and inexperienced students will explore the rich visual street culture of London and Oxford. Students will master the various functions of the digital camera and will create professional images that can be sold, collected or published. The class will be focused on guided walks that will look at the historic parts of both Oxford and London. We will be tracing the history of this great country including the time of Henry the Eighth, Shakespeare, World War Two and the impressive London of today that is hosting the 2012 Olympics. In addition to historical sites, the class will explore the places that many movies, novels and plays such as Oliver, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and James Bond 007 were based on. Students will document these important cultural spaces and create images that inspire the imagination. Students can expect to graduate with a portfolio of professional images that are equal to those published in National Geographic and the Smithsonian Magazine.
- Oxford’s Literary Figures (Jennifer Eimers: English – Missouri Valley)
In this course students will explore the influence of Oxford and its colleges on the literature of nineteenth-century authors. The primary focus will be on Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Walter Pater. Their association with Pre-Raphaelite artists and British Aestheticism will be explored through visits to several Oxford museums and libraries that contain a wealth of material related to these authors and artistic movements (including The Ashmolean Museum of Art and The Bodleian Library). Excursions to London and possibly Rye will enhance the short works studied in this course.- British Retailing (Mary Albrecht: Business – Maryville)
This course takes the students into companies and organizations to learn about doing business in the United Kingdom from professionals in business and marketing. London is the center of the United Kingdom economy creating an outstanding learning environment. The course utilizes theoretical development, experiential learning and company visits, seminar discussion, guest speakers, and video presentations to study the culture, operation, and marketing of the British retailing sector. Students will complete visits to the Olympic Park and Westgate
shopping complex, Harrods, hypermarkets, companies, museums, and include presentations from senior members of retailing organizations.- European Business (John Lewington: business – Maryville)
The course utilizes theoretical development, experiential learning and company visits, seminar discussion, guest speakers, and video presentations to study how European businesses operate within the context of the European Union. Students will complete visits to companies, museums, and other facilities and includes presentations from senior members of these organizations.- From Wonderland to Hogwarts: British Children’s Fantasy & People Behind It (Steve Coxon: Education – Maryville)
An interdisciplinary study of English literature and history, this class will focus on reading and discussing the following texts with the possible inclusions of biographies, short stories, poems, and relevant historical ties: Lewis Carroll’s (1865) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; JRR Tolkein’s (1937) The Hobbit; C.S. Lewis’ (1950) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; J.K. Rowling’s (1997) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone; and Neil Gaimen’s (2002) Coraline. We will visit sites related to the books, author’s lives, and history in and around Oxford and London, including places related to the Battle of Britain, The Eagle and Child pub in Oxford where the Inklings (Tolkein, Lewis, et al.) held weekly meetings, and Kew Gardens. The final product will be a creative piece in which students mix their experiences in Oxford and London, British history, and children’s fantasy with their own creativity as a short story, website, podcast, or video.- Selling America: Branding American Culture to Londoners and other Brits (Jennifer Korte – communication – Maryville)
Even though we speak a similar language, London is a world away from America. Students will analyze the promotion of American products, movies, television, restaurants, etc. to Londoners. They will conduct field research to look at packaging, promotion, placement, creative concepts and culturization of American goods. Each week will focus on a different arena to conduct their field research with a weekly presentation on their findings.
- Health Communication in England (Leilani Carver: communication – Maryville)
This course examines how American culture and British culture use persuasion in the context of health. The goal of this course is to better understand how culture and communication may influence health outcomes. We will compare and contrast American and British public health campaigns, health product advertisements, patient- nurse interactions, and how both countries handle health crises (e.g., swine flu/mad cow disease). Additionally, we will explore how communication and culture shape how people view their health and in what ways it influences their health behaviors. Finally, we will look at how communication technologies (e.g., iPhone) may be used to persuade individuals about their health. This class is experiential and will involve visits to health organizations, restaurants, pubs, parks, gyms, museums, health advertising agencies, hospitals and non-profit health organizations.- 20th Century Social & Cultural British History (Linda Pitelka: history – Maryville)
This course focuses on the social and cultural history of Britain in the 20th century. This would include subjects such as the social impact of two world wars, decolonization, the growth of the welfare state, rising levels of consumption, revolutions in gender relations, and the development of a multi-racial society. Central to the course would be various historical resources: buildings, museums, libraries, and interviews with people from various ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. Seminar discussions would be centered on artifacts, original written material, films, as well as books and articles.
- Health, Medicine and gender in Victorian England (Kristen Bruzzini: Biology – Maryville)
From the early 19thcentury until only most recently museums have held a leading role in student education in the basic and health sciences. In recent years, many factors have caused the role of museums in education to decrease dramatically. Chief among these factors are the great advances in information technology and web-based learning that are currently available. This course will explore the wealth of knowledge available to students interested in health and medical sciences at the various museums located throughout Oxford and London. Students will immerse themselves in the history of medicine in Victorian England and discuss the influence of medical practice during this time on medical treatment and practice today. They will also examine the influence gender had on medical practice from the practitioners and patients standpoint.Students will investigate the history of medicine at Oxford University and tour the many sites that were in the forefront of medicine for hundreds of years. They will discuss and explore the important role of Henry Gray in medical education even today. Students will have the opportunity to step into a day in the life of Florence Nightingale and learn what it was like to practice medicine during the Victorian era. Students will be able to explore the history of health and medicine and observe various biological specimens at many museums in London and Oxford. Gender, health, and medicine in Victorian England will be a major focus of study in this course as this period saw one of the greatest shifts in social philosophy regarding legal and gender relations. It was this shift that played a major role in the substantial development that occurred with respect to health and medicine in the years following.- British History of Scientific Psychology (Graham Higgs: Psychology – Columbia College)
This course begins at the birth of Western Science during the Renaissance, the Copernican revolution and the growth of scientific societies in England. The early scientists were philosophers whose ideas gave birth to psychology and science. The most notable scientists and their ideas are explored in archives scattered throughout the cities of Oxford and London’s unequalled museums and library collections. The course is designed to be taught as exploratory walking lectures.- Art Appreciation through Galleries and Museums – Mike Sleadd: Art – Columbia College
We will visit galleries and museums daily. Students will be taught basic design theory, media, and history of art through the examples of some of the world’s greatest works of art. It will be a “hands on” experience with students actively involved in making art. Students will be assigned readings prior to the trip and will have several writing assignments.Locations we can visit in London include the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, MOCA, National Gallery, Royal Academy, Saatchi Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Courtauld Gallery, Design Museum of London, National Portrait Gallery, White Cube Gallery, Hayward Gallery, Numerous commercial galleries, Street art of London, and outings to draw and photograph the amazing architecture of London. In Oxford we shall visit Modern Art Oxford, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Pitt Rivers Museum, and have outings to draw and photograph the amazing architecture of Oxford. Other places include Henry Moore Home and Sculpture Garden (Perry Green), Stonehenge, Georgian City of Bath, and Windsor Castle.- International Business (Hans Helbling: business – Fontbonne)
International economic relationships affect everyone in this age of globalization. This course will define globalization and explores several major questions. Why does trade spill across national borders? How are international currency values determined? How does the international monetary system function? What are the roles of international institutions? How do multinational corporations adapt to a changing global environment? How important are different cultural norms? As this course is offered in an international setting, course-related excursions are designed to enhance each student’s learning.- Exploring the Culture of Britain (James Harf: Political Science & International Affairs – Maryville)
This 3-credit course allows students to prepare for and reflect upon a wide range of both group and individual excursions during their program in London. Students will participate in several day-long excursions in and around London, such as Stonehenge and Bath, Windsor Castle and Hampton Court, and Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon. Additionally, students will select 15 individual excursions in and around London approved by the program’s head professor at least one month prior to departure for Oxford/London.These latter 15 locations: (1) could represent a variety of student interests and would be simply used by the student to fulfill the total number of elective credits toward graduation; or (2) may be tied closely to a student’s general education requirements; or (3) may be tied to a student’s major/minor. In the latter two cases, the student should also seek prior approval of the list of 15 sites from his/her campus academic advisor if the course is to be used for a student’s general education requirements or major/minor academic program. The selected sites in these cases will relate to the specific discipline(s) of the general education area or the major/minor program. The student will write two short papers for each excursion, a “before excursion” paper where the student describes the reason for the choice and what he/she expects to find, and an “after excursion” paper where the student reflects on his/her experience. The 15 “before excursion” papers are due prior to arrival in Oxford/London and the 15 “after excursion” paper are due one month following the end of the Oxford/London portion of the program. This allows you expanded time beyond your time in Oxford/London to complete the work.
- World Affairs (Oxford Study Abroad Program faculty from Oxford)
This course focuses on a series of topics associated with relationships among countries: global politics today, clash of civilizations, evolution of modern diplomacy, wars of independence, modern Britain, world attitudes about America, President Reagan’s foreign policy, Bush’s and Blair’s war, America and the Middle East, terrorism, evolution of European security agreements, British foreign policy, war and history, U.S. foreign policy in the 20th century, Arab spring, U.S. and British intelligence, the after-effects of World War II, and Winston Churchill and world affairs. Lecturers include numerous Oxford professors and other former government officials with experiences in world affairs.- Tutorial Course with an Oxford Don
This course uses the famous Oxford University tutorial (Don) system, where the student meets the professor (Don) in a one-on-one setting on four occasions to present three essays on a selected topic based on a reading list provided by the Don. A grade point average of 3.0 is required.
