Study Abroad - ACMRS Summer Study Abroad Program - July 7 - August 14, 2006

ACMRS Summer Study Abroad Program in Cambridge, England

Program in Residence at Cambridge: 7 July - 14 August 2006
Classes in session 10 July - 10 August 2006

The ACMRS (Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies) Study Abroad Program in residence at St. Catharine's College, University of Cambridge, is a five-week, interdisciplinary program that offers study opportunities in the history and culture of medieval and Renaissance Britain.

Courses are offered to undergraduates and graduates and are cross-listed in several departments. Independent study and research options are also available. Graduate students in all disciplines are encouraged to register for Research Hours through the program, to take advantage of the great British research libraries and archives.

The 2006 course schedule is:

Shakespeare in Performance
Paul Hartle, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge

As much fun as - and more accurate than - Shakespeare in Love, this course will involve the study of three to four Shakespeare plays, focusing on their performance in Shakespeare's time as well as our own. Students will attend productions in Stratford-upon-Avon, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as in London at the recreated Globe Theater, where this year the program will see Patrick Stewart play Prospero in The Tempest.

Peasants' Revolts of the Late Middle Ages
Alan Cooper, Colgate University

In 1381, England exploded in violence. At the end of a century marked by famine, plague, war and political upheaval, the peasants and townspeople had had enough and rose up in a way that had never been seen before. This dramatic event shook the very foundations of medieval English society, religion and political order. In this course, we will study the astonishing accounts of this event, visit some of the sites where it occurred, and try to understand it in a wider context of European history.

Educating Early Modern England
Kari McBride, The University of Arizona

Who was educated in Early Modern England and at what age did children go to school? Were there schools for girls as well as for boys? What books did students read and what subjects did they study? How was a typical school day organized? These are some of the questions this course will seek to answer through reading, lecture and discussion, and visits to Early Modern schoolrooms, including the grammar school attended by Shakespeare, which is preserved in Stratford-upon-Avon at the King Edward VI School.

City and Cycle in Medieval York
Victor Scherb, The University of Texas at Tyler

The city of York was one of the great urban centers of late medieval England, and its semiannual cycle of mystery plays were one of the crown jewels of the city. The original forty-eight religious plays encompassed the history of the world, from creation to judgment, a remarkably broad scope that allowed the townspeople to express their complex and divergent view about their city, their country, and their spiritual lives. Students will read selected plays in modern translation, research the dramatic, social and cultural history of the city, and will make a journey to York to witness live performances of twelve of the plays in the cycle.

More information at:

http://www.asu.edu/clas/acmrs/web_pages/academic_programs/ac_pro_cambridge.html