Centre-in-England

Centre-in-England (at the University of Reading): fall, 2009

and Centre-in-London: spring, 2010

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Centre-in-England (at the University of Reading): Fall, 2009

This program, now in its tenth year, provides an opportunity for a few, selected Centre students to live and study at a major British university with British and other international students. It has had great appeal for Centre students who seek a somewhat more independent “exchange-student” experience at a foreign university, rather than the more typical Centre experience where students do not live together in one place but take classes abroad with other Centre students and regular or adjunct Centre professors. About 20% of Reading’s 12,000 students are from other countries, including about 125 visiting American students from institutions similar to Centre.

Centre selected the University of Reading for this program because of its long-standing reputation as an attractive and welcoming home for American and other international students, the variety and strength of its academic programs, its leafy location near London, and the professionalism of its Visiting Student Office, which organizes very low-cost excursions to Edinburgh, Stonehenge, Bath, etc. Students may not apply for this program unless they have a 3.0 academic average at the time they apply; this is a requirement of the University of Reading. The kind of counseling and support services available at Centre are generally not available abroad. Because any significant life transition can exacerbate and complicate already existing mental health issues, students who are currently on psychotropic medication and/or have been in mental health counseling are encouraged to consider participating in the three-week Early Summer Strasbourg program or one of the CentreTerm programs abroad. In addition, those students are urged to meet with a Centre Student Assistance Program counselor prior to their leaving, to develop a support plan for their time abroad.

The program begins when you arrive in London the Thursday morning after you fly out of the States on Wednesday, September 23rd; flights to Europe arrive the next morning. (Do not make plane reservations until this date is confirmed in early spring.) Once you arrive, you meet up with a Centre Professor and the other Centre-in-England students for an orientation to living/studying abroad, to London, and to Reading. You will stay in the Bloomsbury district of central London, near the British Museum and University of London, and will be introduced to some major museums, historical sites, and theatres. On Sunday you move into your hall at Reading, a pleasant, bustling town of 175,000 people upstream on the River Thames, about half way to Oxford. There is then a “Welcome Programme” (“freshers” orientation week) before classes begin.

Trains between London’s Paddington Station and Reading leave about every 20 minutes and continue until 2:30 a.m. The express train takes 23 minutes and costs as little as 11 pounds round-trip--about $17.00, though it will cost you less, because you will be given pounds to purchase a Young Person’s Rail Pass that allows you to travel for 1/3rd off.

Visiting American students at the University live in modern, single rooms, each with its own wash basin, telephone, and computer port. There is a kitchen for every eight rooms, and students are not segregated by gender or year. You will take your meals with, compete on intramural teams with, and have social events with the 250-300 other students in your residence hall or “college.” So that visiting students make friends with British and other international students, Reading does not house all students from an American institution in the same college, but rather spreads them out two or three to a college. Unlike most modern British universities, the 300-acre campus at Reading includes a lake and much green space. The Centre orientation is followed by a six-day University of Reading orientation, which includes social events, excursions, student fairs, and lectures on travel opportunities in Great Britain and the continent.

During the ten-week Reading term, you select, generally, three or four courses from those available from many departments. Typically, a course may have two lectures a week, occasional individual meetings with the professor, two papers, and some kind of final examination—although this regime will vary widely, depending on the course and department. Students may not use a Reading English course as their required junior seminar.

There is a non-refundable $350 deposit/surcharge for this program. In addition, students pay their own round-trip airfare, currently about $900. You may be able to save money by canceling your car insurance while abroad. If selected, you must pay the non-refundable $350 deposit/surcharge at the Cashier’s Office in Boles Hall by noon on Monday, March 2nd. A 15-minute video about visiting students at Reading is available in the Study-Abroad office in Carnegie. You can learn more about the University at www.reading.ac.uk, or by reading the Travel Journal on Centre’s webpage.

Centre-in-London, Spring, 2010

London, a city of eight million, is perhaps the most dynamic and diverse city in the world. In the 21st century, it still lives up to Dr. Samuel Johnson’s famous 18th century dictum: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” Students live and study in the Bloomsbury district, the academic and intellectual quarter in the very heart of the city and in walking distance to the West End theatre district and most of the great London sites: Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Regent’s Park, etc.

Faculty Co-Directors: Co-directing the 2010 Centre-in-London program are Dr. Jeff Fieberg (chemistry) and Dr. Tony Haigh (drama). Dr. Fieberg studied abroad while a Centre student; Dr. Haigh grew up and studied in England and has directed Centre students in London and in England.

Food and Housing: Students are housed in two-person, efficiency flats in Endsleigh Court, a handsome apartment/hotel building in Bloomsbury. The building is located a short walk away from the British Museum, the British Library, and the University of London’s Birkbeck College where classes meet. Its location a block from Euston Station and two blocks from the just-renovated St. Pancras Station (the new London home of the Eurostar) makes it convenient to major tube lines and trains; London busses stop across the street. On the way to class, students walk through the leafy squares where the late John Maynard Keynes, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, William Butler Yeats, and other British luminaries once lived. Each flat includes an entrance hall, an equipped kitchenette, and a large bathroom. Its main room includes two single beds, wardrobe and drawer space, a private telephone, and color tv. A porter is on duty at the front desk 24 hours a day. At regular intervals students are given food money sufficient for shopping and preparing wholesome meals in their apartment kitchens—though not sufficient for eating out in restaurants, or even fast-food places, in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Program Dates: Students fly out of the States on Tuesday, 16 February and arrive in England the following morning where and when the program formally begins. There is a four-day break for optional individual travel from 25-28 March, coinciding with the end of Centre’s spring break. The program ends with a trip to Paris from 28 April – 1 May. Students have the option of leaving the program either in Paris on Saturday afternoon, 1 May or of taking the Eurostar fast train back to London that evening and leaving the program in London on the morning on Sunday, 2 May in time, if they wish, to catch a plane back to the States that same day. In the past, many students have left the program in Paris and traveled in Europe on their own before they return to the States for the summer. To facilitate this post-program travel, Centre will rent storage space in Endsleigh Court until Tuesday, 18 May, for storing luggage students may not want to haul around Europe with them.

Courses: All students in the program will take Drama 341: Contemporary London Theatre (Dra 341). Students read, study, view, and discuss a wide variety of London productions ranging from the latest West End shows to government-subsidized theatre at the Barbicon and National to “fringe” theatre put on in pubs. The fee to cover theatre tickets for this course is partially subsidized by Centre. Taught by Prof. Haigh.

In addition, students will choose three of the following courses:

a. British Politics (GOV 451): An introduction to the structures, processes, and issues of the modern British political system. Students in teams of two will spend time in, do interviews in, get to know the neighborhoods of, and prepare a written and oral project about a specific London constituency. During the second half of the course students will “join” one of the hundreds of London interest groups of their choosing, from pro-fox-hunting to anti-nuclear and every imaginable social, political, economic, and cultural topic in between. The class will discuss current British political issues such as immigration, the European Union, and devolution. Students will also experience the British political process by observing debates in the House of Commons. Taught by Centre Adjunct Prof. Todd Foreman.

b. British Scientists: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (NSC 261): This course will explore the lives and contributions of British scientists involved in several scientific revolutions: the founding of the Royal Society (including Robert Boyle), formation of classical mechanics (Isaac Newton), revival of the atomic theory (John Dalton), proposal of the theory of evolution (Charles Darwin), the determination of the structure of DNA (Rosalind Franklin, James Watson and Francis Crick), and the origins of artificial intelligence (Alan Turing). Students will take full advantage of the learning opportunities present in London, including visits to the Royal Society, London Science Museum, and the Cavendish Laboratory. Birkbeck College of the University of London, where classes will be held, will also be used, as the x-ray diffraction image of DNA was taken there. Taught by Prof. Fieberg.

c. Chemistry of Art: Production, Authentication and Conservation (CHE 265): An investigation of the materials used in the making of paintings, sculpture, and ceramics, as well as the science and technology of art authentication and conservation. This course will involve visits to art museums, including the National Gallery, Tate Britain, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Contemporary Ceramics, and the Tate Modern. Students will go “behind the scenes” to observe art conservators at work using modern investigative and restoration techniques. Taught by Prof. Fieberg.

d. Popular Culture in the Time of War: The Blitz Spirit (upper-level HUM course): A study of the effect of WWII on London through the music, film, radio, theatre and literature of the period. The wartime spirit of the Londoner is regularly evoked, even today, in the face of terrorist threats and bombings. The Battle of Britain and the Blitz are iconic moments in the English cultural landscape. Visits will be made to specific sites such as the Cabinet War Rooms, Bletchley Park, Chartwell, the Imperial War Museum, the Museum of London, the British Film Institute etc. Popular culture was not only used as propaganda and as morale booster, but also reflected the spirit of the English, and particularly the Londoner. Taught by Prof. Haigh.

Pre-Departure Training
Selected students will attend three, required pre-departure meetings this spring and/or next fall. These meetings will prepare you for living and studying in another culture and give you a head start on your common course. Students selected will continue to prepare through individual reading over the summer.

Travel Journals
You may able to get a better sense of what this program is like by reading the Travel Journals of Eric Hack ’08 and Nate Olson ’04 on the Centre Study Abroad website.

Cost
The comprehensive fee (for tuition & fees, room, and board) is the same as for study in Danville, except that 1) there is a $350 non-refundable deposit/surcharge to help defray the considerable extra costs of living in central London, and 2) students pay for their own airfare, which is currently available for about $650 at reduced student rates. All financial aid arrangements in Danville continue in London. Students with remaining loan eligibility are eligible to borrow additional money for these additional educational expenses. Also, remember that you may be able to save some money by canceling your automobile insurance while away. Centre pays for the Paris weekend, a few group meals, and required class excursions. On arrival, students will be given pounds Sterling to buy their initial groceries and to purchase a 30-day, unlimited bus/tube/light rail pass (for zones 1 & 2).

To Apply: Application and faculty recommendation forms may be picked up in the cabinet in the Davidson Lounge at Carnegie. Turn in your completed application at the Study-Abroad office no later than 4:00 on Monday, February 9th. You will be notified of your status by e-mail by February 23rd. Students who are selected must pay the non-refundable $350 deposit/surcharge to the Cashier’s Office in Boles Hall by noon on Monday, March 2rd, to hold their spot in the program. For more information, check out the London “Travel Journals” on the Centre Study Abroad website.

Book Air Tickets Early to Save Money
Students in the past have generally been able to find round-trip air tickets from $600-$750. Some have found www.studentuniverse.com or www.statravel.com helpful sites. Book early for the lowest prices.

Grades / Independent Studies
Mid-term warning grades of D or U are issued after the sixth week of the term, just as in Danville. All Mexico courses count in the GPA, just as in Danville. The Pass-Unsatisfactory option is not available in any Centre study abroad program.
Only students whose schedules require that they take a particular course not offered in Mérida in order to graduate on time have the possibility of arranging an independent study with a Centre professor in Danville.

Pre-Registration / Convocation Credits
While you are in London, you contact your advisor and pre-register for future courses via e-mail. You will automatically be credited with six convocation credits during your term abroad.

Passport
If you do not currently have a passport that will remain valid for at least one month after your return, you should begin the process of obtaining one as soon as you are selected. In the recent past, some students have waited three months to receive a passport, even though the passport agency has stated that it will take 6-8 weeks. Do it now!

Internet, Laptops, and Cyber Cafes
Computers and internet connections are less available in Centre’s study-abroad programs than they are in Danville. Indeed, if you expect to spend huge amounts of time Facebooking and Skyping, you should reconsider applying, since the point of this program is to immerse yourself in a different culture. Students in There are many cyber-cafes throughout London, and students may have wireless available in Endsleigh Court, where they live. Although you may turn in work hand-written, if you own a laptop, you should definitely bring it.

Psychotropic Medication and Counseling: The kind of counseling and support services available on campus are not available abroad. Because any significant life transition can exacerbate and complicate already existing mental health issues, students who are currently on psychotropic medication and/or have been in mental health counseling are encouraged to consider participating in the three-week Summer Strasbourg program or a CentreTerm course abroad. Whenever they study abroad, those students are urged to meet with a Centre Student Assistance Program counselor prior to their leaving, to develop a support plan for their time abroad.

Study-Abroad Insurance: Students studying abroad through any Centre program receive travel and accident insurance at no additional cost. Centre’s study-abroad Insurance, while provided through EIIA (Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators), is administered through AIG Assist. Every student studying abroad with Centre College receives an AIG Assist contact and information card as well as a passport sticker. Each has the Centre insurance policy number, which is the only information needed to receive services. The categories of coverage provided are: accident and sickness ($100,000 limit with a $250 deductible); emergency medical evacuation and emergency family travel ($100,000 limit); accidental death and disability ($200,000 limit); and repatriation of remains ($100,000 limit). For specific questions, please contact the International Programs office at 859.238.5285 or lisa.nesmith@centre.edu.

Accessing Netlibrary:
Any Centre student studying abroad should be able to access the articles in any of the databases we subscribe to if they go through the library home page. However, Netlibrary, from whom we get most of our e-books, requires students to set up an account WHILE THEY ARE ON CAMPUS, before it will let them access any of its electronic books off-campus. Setting up the account is a very simple process and the library staff can assist students in doing so.