Courses in London
London as Visual Text
Instructor: TBD
Required course, 4 semester credits
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This course will examine the art and architecture of London while considering the political, religious, economic and social forces that shaped their creation and current function. Discussion of historical texts and visits to important buildings, neighborhoods and museums will trace the development of the English city from its ancient roots to the 20th century. By the end of the course, students will be able to readily distinguish between Medieval Gothic and Gothic Revival buildings, as well as identify Elizabethan, Classical Revival and Postmodern architectural styles and recognize the role that each played in London’s history. While the main focus of the course will be architecture, other arts such as portrait painting and tomb sculpture will also be addressed.
Immigrant, Hidden, and Sinister London: Theatrical and Literary Representations
Instructor: Natania Rosenfeld, Knox College, English
Required course (Spring 2012), 4 semester credits
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This course will focus on the representation of London’s geography, sociology and politics in English theatre and literature, with a particular emphasis on immigrant London, hidden London, and sinister London. At the center of the course will be attendance at a wide range of theatre productions in London: in the West End, at the National Theatre, at fringe productions, and at the Globe Theatre. We will begin with Shakespeare and take in plays at the Globe, and wrap up with recent East End chronicles such as Monica Ali’s Brick Lane and Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair’s Rodinsky’s Room, which tells the story of a strange house on Princelet Street which we will visit.
Embodying Spaces: Contemporary English Theatre in its Historical, Architectural, Cultural, Geographic, and Moral Settings
Instructor: Mark Z. Muggli, Luther College, English
Required course (Spring 2013), 4 semester credits
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The English theatre is probably the richest in the world in its range and depth. In this course, students will attend plays, discuss them, read them, write about them, and occasionally perform parts of them. By becoming more aware of the historical moment the plays dramatize, and the architectural, cultural, and geographic worlds that surround them, students will increase their understanding of the complex moral stories that the English theatre tells.