Study abroad is a great way to enhance the overall student experience. Exposure to the richness of another culture allows students to learn different languages, study in academic systems unlike their own, form a network of contacts helpful to their future careers, and grow personally, becoming more self-confident and independent.
Several study abroad opportunities are available through the department. Students can study in England, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark—just to name a few.
English Literature in London
Summer
This Literature in London education abroad program offers students the opportunity to explore London as one of the great urban cities in human history and as one of the premier centers for theater both historically (during the birth of the commercial theater in the early modern period) and in its twentieth century renaissance. Striking a balance between the London of Chaucer, Jonson, Spenser, and Shakespeare, on the one hand, and Zadie Smith, David Hare, and Neil Gaiman on the other, our objective is to bridge the old with the new, exposing students to a variety of literary and cultural traditions that have come to life in the globally-vibrant city of London.
In addition to outings to many museums and important architectural sites such as the Tate, National Gallery, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Globe Theater, Keats’ House and the British Library, as well as to London neighborhoods like Southwark, Hampstead, and the parks of Westminster, students will take two trips outside of London: a day trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, where they will see Shakespeare’s birthplace and a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company; and a full weekend trip to Wessex, which has a number of literary connections. This latter trip will include stops in Bath, Glastonbury, Sherborne, Avebury, Old Sarum and Stonehenge.
Literary Studies in Dublin
Summer
Ireland, a beautiful and complex country, is a land of writing, speech, and gesture. The historical consciousness of the Irish has made their vivid art and literature particularly appropriate for study abroad. Its countryside and cities have given birth to writers such as Swift, Goldsmith, Joyce, Shaw, and Beckett; and poets such as Yeats, Kavanaugh, Heaney, and Boland. From the period of British imperial rule to the contemporary global context, Irish writers and artists have engaged the burning issues of their moment.
The main location of the program will be Dublin but we will visit Galway, the Aran Isles, and Sligo, which has become known as Yeats Country. We will meet for classroom lectures, discussions, and film screenings. Guest lecturers will speak on Irish history, art, music, drama, and poetry. Lecturers may guide us to historical, artistic, and architectural sites. Providing easy access to theaters, museums, films, music, and writers, the summer literary study in Dublin program offers the definitive example of what onsite study abroad can achieve.
For more information, see the Office for Education Abroad website.