Sometimes a trip abroad is a hectic scramble from city to city. Traveling with a study abroad program can not only provide you with a richer experience of the country you visit, but it can also be less expensive as you enjoy student discounts during your travels.  Raymond Walters College invites you to join our 2009 British Summer Study Abroad program in the midlands of England.  You don’t have to be a current student to participate, but you do need a willingness to go on the adventure of a lifetime. 

Program length: June 15-July 9, 2009

Program location: Harlaxton Manor, Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, UK

Estimated Program Cost: $4000 (includes tuition, room, board, travel, and entry fees)

Participants must be at least 18 years old.

A $100 application fee (refunded if not accepted into the program) is due no later than February 2, 2009. If accepted into the program, applicants must pay a $400 non-refundable deposit no later than March 15, 2009. Payment in full is due by May 3, 2009. Applicants must be students in good standing and must enroll for at least three credit hours for participation in the program. In addition, students should be in good physical health, capable of substantial walking (several hours) in the course of a day. Enrollment is limited to a maximum of 24 students for the program.

The Courses

Topics in English: Literature in the Landscape

Stories take place in specific settings evoking landscapes, memories, and emotions from the readers, which enhance the narrative.  One of the benefits of study abroad is that you can experience the landscapes of novels and well-known story cycles thus gaining an increased feeling for the texts. In this course, we will study texts that have come to be associated with specific landscapes in the vicinity of Harlaxton Manor in the Midlands of England and discuss the texts that have made those landscapes iconic.

In addition, the tourist industry has firmly grasped the idea of literary tourism, which is rooted in this idea of the power of place to enhance a literary experience.  The commercialization of famous texts through gift shops and tourist events becomes an interesting literary critique.  England has built an entire sub-genre of tourism based on literature. This course would explore the explicit relationship of literature with landscape through this commercial interpretation. Texts will include the legends of Robin Hood, the poems of Lord Byron, the stories of Sherlock Holmes, and the novels of the Bronte sisters. 

 3 undergraduate credits

Topics in Art : Landscape Painting
28-FAST-298

British landscape paintings from the mid-18th to early 20th centuries served as a safe haven from the encroachment of modernism. Natural scenes were a romantic escape from the economic growth and population expansion brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Painters of the day depicted a fictional, rural paradise, favored by those longing for simpler, quieter times. Artists, such as J.M.W. Turner and John Constable, created images that brought the wilderness into fashionable parlors of Europe.

This course provides a foundation experience in painting preparation, media, and techniques in this style of Romantic landscape painting. We will work with the development of color theory, art vocabulary, and compositional skills as applied to the interpretation of basic form as well as discuss pertinent artists. Students will also benefit from direct exposure and analysis of the unprecedented collection of landscape art held by London’s art museums. The goal of the course is to introduce novices to the basic conventions of line drawing with a focus on its application in watercolor painting. More advanced students will work with refining these techniques with a focus on more complex compositions.

3 undergraduate credits