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The Danenberg Oberlin-in-London Program offers
students the opportunity for intensive disciplinary and interdisciplinary
study in close contact with Oberlin faculty and a small group
of students set within a great, diverse city. Curriculum is designed
to take advantage of all that London has to offer. The program
was instituted as a memorial to the late Emil Danenberg, eleventh
president of Oberlin and a great friend to international education.
Two Oberlin faculty members, each from a different discipline,
direct the program in the fall and spring.
Faculty for the fall semester 2003 program will be: Marc Blecher, Professor of Politics David Walker, Professor of English Faculty for the spring semester 2004 program will be: Richard Salter, Professor of Computer Science Robin Treichel, Associate Professor of Biology Admission to the program is by application only. Applications are due in March for the fall semester and in October for the spring semester. Students are notified by mail early each semester when the applications are available. Applications are reviewed by the faculty directors of the program and by the chair of the London Program Committee. The program is open to any Oberlin student who will be at least a second-semester sophomore at the time of the program. Special conditions of academic preparedness may apply for the individual semesters and courses. The faculty and committee will be especially interested in students who show a serious interest in taking advantage of the resources of the program. The faculty and committee hope for applications from a wide range of Oberlin students and are prepared to recognize a number of different cases for admission. Limited funds are available to sponsor two credits' worth of music study for a small number of Conservatory performance or composition majors each semester. The program maintains classrooms, an office, a lounge, and study space in London. Administrative Director Gwyneth Love lives in London and has general responsibility for the on-site coordination of the program. Students live in small groups away from the study center, usually in small semi-independent apartments ("flats") with limited kitchen facilities and study space. The program cost is equivalent to that of a semester at Oberlin, plus transatlantic airfare (approximately $250 of which will be subsidized as a credit on the term bill). Financial aid is available to the same degree as for a semester in residence. Students are given a weekly allowance in cash to cover costs of buying food, minimal household necessities, and passes for tube and bus travel within London. As at Oberlin, students will need some extra pocket money for textbooks, personal costs, entertainment, and traveling. Each student's academic program will normally include 14 credit hours: an interdisciplinary, team-taught course, one departmental course, and a two-credit course on British history and culture. In all cases, course work will have a strong experiential component, involving the student in the vibrancy of life in London and Great Britain. Further information about the program may be found on the web at www.oberlin.edu/london.
All students will take 900 and then either the two courses offered by Mr. Blecher or the two courses offered by Mr. Walker. 900. The Danenberg Lectures on British Culture and Society 2 hours 2EX First Semester. An introduction to the history and culture of Britain, examining the roots of contemporary London and Britain by exploring selected topics in social, political, and cultural history from antiquity to the modern era. The course will be coordinated by both instructors, but taught by a series of visiting experts (who will speak and lead discussions in their fields) and supplemented by field trips to museums and pertinent historical sites. This course is for all students. Note: CR/NE grading. Mr. Blecher, Mr. Walker 911. Class, Gender, Race and Politics in Britain and the U.S. 6 hours 6SS First Semester. Class is a fundamental social cleavage, but it is more invisible than gender, race or ethnicity, especially to Americans, given our history and ideology. In this seminar, we use London as a living laboratory to study class in relation to the economy and politics. We also explore class intersections with gender and with race and ethnicity. Readings begin with theory but move quickly to substantive studies of both the UK and, for comparison, the U.S. Mr. Blecher 912. Research Workshop: Class and Politics in Britain 6 hours 6SS, WR First Semester. Students will conduct field research, including interviews, participant observation, and site visits, related to the themes of London Program 911, focusing on an arena of London or British life of interest. Frequent consultations will help with research arrangements. Students will present project proposals and successive drafts to the class. We will publish a bound volume of the papers (see Blecher, ed., Class and Politics in Britain [HN400.S6 C53 1998], by the 1998 London 912 students). Mr. Blecher 966. The London Stage 6 hours 6HU, WR First Semester. An exploration of English and European drama from the Renaissance to the present, emphasizing the relation between drama as literature and as a script for theatrical realization. The syllabus will be based on plays being produced in London and Stratford; on average, two plays a week will be read, discussed, and seen in production. The course will be conducted largely by discussion with the instructor and with actors and other guests involved in theater. Students will rehearse and perform scenes for analysis, keep a performance journal, and write several short papers. Mr. Walker 972. Modernism in England 6 hours 6HU, WR First Semester. A study of the modernist aesthetic as practiced in England during the first half of the twentieth century, emphasizing thematic, cultural, and stylistic developments and focusing as much as possible on works reflecting life in London. The syllabus is likely to include poetry by Pound, Eliot, and Auden; stories by Mansfield and Lawrence; and novels by Conrad, Woolf, Isherwood, Forster, Bowen, and Greene. Literary study will be complemented by attention to the visual art, architecture, music, and dance of the period. Mr. Walker
900. The Danenberg Lectures on British Culture and Society 2 hours 2EX Second Semester. An introduction to the history and culture of Britain, examining the roots of contemporary London and Britain by exploring selected topics in social, political, and cultural history from antiquity to the modern era. The course will be coordinated by both instructors, but taught by a series of visiting experts (who will speak and lead discussions in their fields) and supplemented by field trips to museums and pertinent historical sites. This course is for all students. Note: CR/NE grading. Ms. Treichel, Mr. Salter 967. The Language of Life: The Genetic Code 6 hours 6NS Second Semester. This team-taught course will examine the Human Genome Project, one of the most ambitious scientific achievements of humankind. We will begin by exploring the landmark discoveries in classical and molecular genetics. Students will then learn the theory and application of genomic tools and databases and be given opportunities to experiment with computerized analysis of DNA sequences. Presentations will emphasize probability, statistical analysis, and the application of scientific methods. Field trips will include a DNA Sequencing Laboratory, the Science Museum in London, Darwin's rooms in Cambridge, the Cavendish Laboratory where the structure of DNA was discovered, and the pub favored by Watson and Crick. Notes: This course provides four hours of credit towards the requirement of the computer science major and six hours of credit toward the requirement of the biology major. Ms. Treichel, Mr. Salter 968. Mad Cows and Englishmen 6 hours 6NS Second Semester. Emerging diseases will be described, including their pathology, epidemiology, treatment, and immunity. The role of antibiotics and vaccination will be explored as well as that of scientists and the media in protecting public health. Site visits will include research laboratories and historical sites in and near London. The class will meet with Public Health scientists and television and newspaper journalists. Note: This course provides three hours of credit toward the requirement of the biology major. Ms. Treichel 969. Breaking The Code: The Collision of Computing and Cryptology in Wartime Britain That Led To The Modern Digital Computer 6 hours 6NS, QPh Second Semester. A major event of World War II was the breaking of the German "Enigma" code by British scientists. This marked the first time that code-breaking techniques required computing machines, and led to the modern computer. This course examines computing and cryptology, the Enigma's operation, and the code-breaking techniques used. The class will visit the London Science Museum, which houses a fine collection of early computing devices. Visits to Bletchley Park will afford interaction with the world's first electronic computer. No mathematics beyond college algebra is required. Note: This course provides six hours of credit toward the requirement of the computer science major. Mr. Salter |
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