Welcome to the European Council’s 2009 London program and my London as Text cultural studies class. Because it is such an international city, London offers experiences for the study of culture unlike anywhere else in the world. I hope you’re as excited am I am to explore the richness and diversity of London this summer. We depart in less than two months!
Please read the following information carefully about your mandatory orientation on Saturday, May 16 at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville.
Field Trips. Part of the reason to study in London is to see London in the context of the course material. Since London is the course material in this class, we will try to explore as much as we can. We have several field trips planned, including a visit to several of the places that stand at the cultural center of London. While many of these excursions will be paid for as part of your initial fees (including a weekend excursion to Paris!), some must be paid by you. This sum is currently $36.50 per student, and it must be paid via Valdosta’s online payment system (instructions are below.)
Textbooks. This class has the following required texts:
- Hanif Kureishi’s Buddha of Suburbia
- Graeme Turner’s British Cultural Studies: An Introduction
- Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Norton Critical Edition)
- Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway
These links take you to Amazon, but you may purchase these texts where ever you like. The readings above will be supplemented by downloadable PDFs, which I should have the posted in the next couple of weeks. Please order your books and print all the PDF texts and bring them with you to orientation.
Assignments. You will be given a syllabus at orientation, and it will also be posted on this web site. I strongly recommend that you complete much of the assigned work here in the US before we venture abroad. This arrangement allows you to have more free time in London while still getting the most out of the course.
Communication. Please leave a comment below to confirm that you have reviewed this introduction and understand what is expected of you at this point. I will be communicating with you through this web site. In the next couple of weeks, I will be posting your final syllabus and be making additional announcements. You might want to subscribe to the RSS feed, if you do that sort of thing.
I very much look forward to meeting all of you on May 18 in Milledgeville. I anticipate a great experiences as we live and work for five weeks in London. Let me know if you have questions.
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To pay your additional fees for field trips, visit the London page of the EC web site and select “Pay Now” from the menu along the top. Then select “EC England, then the last item: “EC England – Other amount you want to pay today.” Here, enter $36.50. Be sure you enter your name in the shipping address and not the person on the credit card (if it is different), otherwise the EC administration might not know who the payment is for. Indicate below in the comment area when you have mde your payment.
