In case y'all haven't already noticed, I often discuss my metaphorical trans-Atlantic travels here. Well, this coming summer, I'm planning to "cross the pond" for five weeks (June 7-July 9) in the literal sense. The following is the Harlaxton Manor (located in Grantham, Midlands, England-- one hour north of London) itinerary and course syllabus from the official EIU Study Abroad Program brochure. Of course, there'll be possible sidetrips to neighboring countries-- including: Ireland, Scotland, France (long weekend in Paris-- ooh la la!), Italy, Germany, and possibly even Eastern Europe (a couple groups traveled to places like Turkey and Croatia last year), but Harlaxton will definitely be the "crown jewel" of the whole experience.
Itinerary & Syllabus (for ENG 5970: Literary Landscapes):
WEEK 1: JANE AUSTEN
We'll read Austen's greatest novel, Pride and Prejudice, and then enjoy a day hike across Derbyshire, ending at one of England's most stunning residences and public gardens: Chatworth House, which many Austen scholars say provided the basis for Austen's fictional Pemberly Hall. You'll never be quite so impressed with the White House as you are now.
WEEK 2: EMILY BRONTE
Bronte's creepy Wuthering Heights, before it was a Kate Bush song, was a definitive Gothic novel, and as we argue over whether Heathcliff is really as dreamy as Cathy thinks, we'll visit the Bronte residence in Haworth, a house overlooking a graveyard about 75 feet wide but that contains over 30,000 bodies. Creepy.
WEEK 3: BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA
Did somebody say Gothic? Dracula is the definitive Gothic novel, and though you already know him by reputation, now you get the chance to read the novel that started it all, even as we visit Whitby, the coastal town where the Transylvanian vampire made land. The Twilight series? Compared to Dracula, those vampires are funny.
WEEK 4: WORDSWORTH & COLERIDGE
We're not just going to guide you through some of the best poems William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge ever wrote: we're going to take you to their homes in the gorgeous Lake District, take you for a hike through the most beautiful countryside you've ever seen, and then plop you down in a pub for the best meal you've ever earned. Warning: the Lake District may make you want to surrender your US passport.
WEEK 5: SHAKESPEARE IN LONDON
Ah, Shakespeare. Get thee to London's Globe Theatre, on the very spot where the Bard debuted. Anon, anon.
(Sounds like a good time, huh?)
"As we neared the land [Great Britain], its genius was felt."-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (19th-century American Romanticist/Transcendentalist writer, one of my all-time faves!)-- giving his first impression of the British Isles; quote excerpted from English Traits
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