Clayton State Plans for Literary London 2009

One of Clayton State University’s more popular Study Abroad programs, Literary London, is already gearing up for 2009.

One of the University’s first study abroad programs to offer specific course credit to student participants, Literary London is led by Associate Professor of English Dr. Greg McNamara and is open to all Clayton State students, regardless of major.

Deposits are now being accepted for the 2009 Literary London Study Abroad, which is offered during Maymester and will depart on May 11, 2009, returning on May 25, 2009. The trip cost of $2750 includes airfare, accommodations, ground transportation in the UK, entrances to heritage sites, theatre admissions, and much more. Literary London is offered as the University’s ENGL 2200 course, and credit for the course can be applied to Area C1 of the Clayton State core requirements, although other arrangements are also possible.

“We will be staying in the Bayswater neighborhood of London, near Notting Hill, Kensington Gardens, and Hyde Park. Our hotel, Umi London, is a restored Victorian rowhouse with real international flair which attracts many student groups from the U.S. and abroad,” says McNamara. “This will be our third year using this hotel: the students seem to like it, and we have developed a good business relationship with them.”

Literary London provides more than classroom time – the program features daily field trips in and around London as well as some evening events, and students also have free time to explore the city and schedule weekend trips.

“This year we will have three scheduled excursions out of the city by train: one to Windsor Castle, where we will visit the collections and see the Queen's guard at work; one to Salisbury, where we will visit Salisbury Cathedral and Wilton House, the ancestral home of the Earl of Pembroke; and another trip which remains in the planning stages and will likely be a trip to the sea, which we've never done before on Literary London,” says McNamara.

Within London, students can expect to visit the British Museum and the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery, St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and other major attractions, in addition to walks into distinctly literary neighborhoods like Bloomsbury and Holburn.

“We will be absolutely immersed in literary and cultural history every day, including exposure to rare books, manuscripts, and a diverse range of artifacts of world history and English history,” promises McNamara.

Nights out to the theatre are also a part of the Literary London package. The 2008 Literary London trip included entrances to Romeo and Juliet at the Globe, Pygmalion at the Old Vic, and Peter Gill's Small Change at the avant-garde Donmar Warehouse.

“It's a little too early to say which shows we'll see in 2009,” admits McNamara. “But we will see theatre classics in classic theatres and avant-garde and experimental theatre in avant-garde theatres. We will see high-quality performances.

“I am looking forward to Literary London 2009 and am confident that it will continue the successes of 2007 and 2008 while evolving into an increasingly scholarly and personalized experience as our we expand our contacts in London and find new opportunities to expose the students the most unique holdings in major collections while learning more about issues such as archival work, collections management, and curatorial practice.”

For more information on Literary London 2009, go to McNamara’s web page at www.a-s.clayton.edu/gmcnamar or contact John Parkerson, director of the Clayton State Office of International Programs at JohnParkerson@clayton.edu.

A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding comprehensive metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.
---
www.FayetteFrontPage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
---