Discovering Walton Street.
5.31.06
"The Sound of Music"So today I didn’t make it onto the bus to go to London. Not a big deal since I’ve been there a handful of times. Instead, I got to hang around, wait for a handyman to come turn our electricity back on (fun), get to know our new roomate study for our second test (on Thursday) and wander around Oxford.
Our new roommate goes to Azusa Pacific (religious) up in Los Angeles somewhere, but she’s actually from San Diego. She’s really sweet, has a boyfriend back home, that kind of thing. However, I found out that she’s studying music here at Oxford…. And she plays the trumpet… she happened to have actually brought THREE of them with her! She also named them… I really don’t want to get into that… for a number of reasons. haha She definitely practices every day, and it’s quite the event at good old 1 Kingston. At first it wasn’t too bothersome, but after a while, it’s a little ________ (fill in the blank with word of choice)… no big deal though.
Studied for our map test… at first it was kind of petty, but after awhile, I was really excited to get to know where all of the countries were… it makes looking at a map a lot more productive.
Lastly, I wandered around Walton Street. Shopped (seems like I can manage to do that anywhere), discovered a bunch of stores that I didn’t know where there, and also found this awesome mediterranean deli/market. Everything that is wonderful is in there! That’s about it… just going to be a late night studying!
Professional Degrees are where the money is...
05.30.06
“The 20th century was America’s century, and hopefully the 21st will be, too”Today we had our first test (lost myself on that one), but more interestingly, our first lecture in the Old Library, housed in the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. It was such a drastic change from the below-par or updated, enormous lecture halls at San Diego State. The room is beautiful, with an intricate ceiling and windows. It’s high up, so the view is fun to look at (and sometimes distracting)… but on breaks we were able to climb up to the tower, and the aerial view of Oxford is absolutely breathtaking! It’s not only so beautiful, but it is amazing to stand up there and look out over a city that is older, and even more ornate, than almost any other city in the States. It’s overwhelmingly humbling.
Even more exciting, was the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Sir David Yardley. He spoke on English and American Law, as well as Comparative Constitutional Law. He started at the roots, talking about the Renaissance (I love how the British pronounce it), where there were the typical scholars who read, taught, wrote and researched, specializing in the three disciplines: Medicine, Theology and Law. Even though it was the age of illiteracy, clergy was expected because it was part of their duties to be able to read and write. However, while this ‘advanced’ way of learning/thinking was being spread, it did not exactly reach England. A lot of Sir David’s lecture focused on why laws and codes never got to England. His reasoning behind it was that the theory of Roman type law reached the French coast around the beginning of the 100 year war. While England won some of the sporadic wars, England lost in the end. Sir David’s conclusion, as to why Roman law never reached England was because it related to the French, and ultimately everything “French” was viewed as negative… kind of how the French feel about the United States, now :o)
We also learned about the British law system versus the American law system. I thought the differences were actually really interesting. In the States, a lawyer can have a single legal profession, and if a lawyer does not want to work with a particular client, they are not obligated to do so. In contrast, in the UK, there are two kinds of lawyers: Barristers (specialists, who must practice alone) and Solicitors (general); also, a lawyer in the UK has to represent whomever seeks their services (concept of ‘everyone entitled to justice’).
In comparison to each other, the US is a federation, republic and has a written constitution, while the UK is unitary, has a constitutional monarchy and does not have a written constitution. It’s hard to believe that such an important and rightful country does not have (what seems completely necessary to me) a written constitution! Who knows, Great Britain hasn’t been doing such a bad job after all of these years…
After Sir David talked, Doc lectured on something that he was really passionate about (which always makes for a better lecture). The general topic was basically about George Bush and Tony Blair, but the way he set it up made for a really engaging lecture. First things first, I am so sick of all of the Bush bashing that takes place what seems like everywhere back home… don’t get me wrong, I embrace a difference in opinion (“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking”)—but I am wholly intolerant of someone who cannot corroborate what they are saying. Getting to the point, Doc’s opinions are like a breath of fresh air (and like none I’ve ever heard from a teacher @ SDSU). He first of all highlighted that Bush and Blair do not agree on everything (i.e. domestic policies), but they can also get over those differences and work together on what they do see eye to eye on… international policies.
When referring to terrorists, Bush has called them fascists, and similarly, Blair has referred to the enemies we face as totalitarians. Bush was quoted when referring to the terrorists, saying that “we have seen them before” … and Doc made the concept a reality by making ‘them’ parallel with Nazi Germany, National Socialism and Imperial Japan; who had all ironically become allies (Germany, japan, Italy). It was really an eye-opening and captivating lecture.
Laundry and the Church of England
05.29.06
Hugh Grant, Actor, Oxford Alum.Since it is the UK Bank Holiday today, we assumed that everything would be closed... or at least by the time we woke up. Not necessarily the case... however, we did manage to hang around, study, cook (some interesting concoctions) and attempt some laundry from yesterday's river excursion... which is almost pointless because by the time you manage to get the washer working, after it's done either your clothes are so wet the dryer won't dry them, or they are all soapy... some of these British appliances are making us mad! In addition to this laundry conundrum, our toaster toasts in like a second (or 20)... which means that any longer than that and your toast is black, and the water boiler thing also... one second turn around time.... so by the time that you pull it off to make tea.... you have to wait an hour to even drink it! Unless you pull the ice cube trick, which would produce fruitful results, but.... our ice trays somehow will not pop out the ice. Looks like tomorrow is burnt toast and scathing tea. Can't wait!
Talking about tomorrow morning... we have a test on a book that was assigned to us... it's history up until WWII. While it was kind of a lot of material to cover and retain, it is still a great overview of what a lot of people still don't know about our own country (and others, too). We had an awesome, laymen's terms review on it tonight. Before that though, we went to
Evensong, which is a 'service' at Christ Church, one of the most beautiful, ornate churches I have seen. The pillars, stained glass, and the choir, all made it for an extremely unique experience. The Church is set up a little bit differently than typical Catholic or Presbyterian ones that I have been in before. The pews do not face a common altar, they face inwards, so that parishioners look at each other. It's interesting. I am really glad that we were able to make the service.
Time for bed! Thanks to everyone who has been writing! You make my day!!
xoxo
New College
The College that we are attending at Oxford is called
New CollegeWe just found out all this cool stuff about it!!!
Liiiiiiiiike:
-During the summer of 2004, it was used as one of the main locations for the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
-Was used in the film Tomorrow Never Dies, when James Bond is at Oxford studying languages. Also, what in the film is called the Swedish Embassy is in reality one of the Holywell Buildings of New College.
- And Hugh Grant went here.... the hottest Britt there is, haha
(Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_College,_Oxford)
So, basically....
...I'm currently in Oxford having the time of my life with some ridiculously awesome people!! Stephanie and I are living it up in the 'penthouse' on Kingston Road, Hayley & Lauren are like right down the street and we can't get enough of everything (including all the crazy ways of the British)!! We have crazy plans to travel all over Europe, and I am literally beside myself with the opportunity to be this international! I love and miss everyone back home (SD & the bay). See you soon for the 4th of July in SD (the only way to do it)!!! xoxo
Looks like it... feels like it... poison ivy!
05.28.06
Lets go punting!I have no pictures from the
best part of our Oxford trip thus far! Too bad!! We went punting on the Thames River today!! All of the guys said that they couldn't promise not tipping us over, so we didn't bring anything besides keys with us.... hence the no camera situation. Contrary to the regatta....this time we were
IN the boats, but not racing ones.. more like gondolas and the guys paddled us around. It was so much fun! We brought lots and lots of drinks.... tried to make friends with the Britts on the river (they think we're all crazy), had a couple of 'almost capsized' moments, and just spent the whole afternoon on the river having the best time EVER!
We stopped a couple of times along the river to use the bathroom or get close to the geese.... and a couple people got poison ivy.... and I didn't think I did.... until later this evening.... my ankles are crazzzzzzy itchy.... but not too red, and should clear up in a day or two-- oops! We all know I've never been one with the wilderness... all plants look the same to me!
We went home, showered, should have rested (but there's too much to do!) and went out to "The Victoria" for a bit...(right across the street from our casa) but came home early since we have a whole day of studying tomorrow for our first exam that's on Tuesday.... luckily tomorrow is the UK Bank Holiday.... so we have the whole day to ourselves!!!
Fried Mars Bars
05.27.06 -Sat
Those Brits, they’re into their mayo and fried anythingLazzzzzzzzzzzzy day for us!!! The first thing we did was go to lunch at this cheap place right by our flats called "Posh Fish"... which was living proof of the fact that
anything can be fried, and since the Brits don't have much cuisine to show for themselves, that's what they have dedicated part of their lives to. Food wasn't so good, but we all split the notorious
FRIED MARS BAR (yes, a candy Mars bar.... DEEP fried).... end result, good.... but kind of heavy.
Went shopping around, did the whole grocery thing (in attempts to save money and have some snacks around the house)..... we have probably tried more red wines in this past week than I have in a couple months....mostly because we are blindly buying whatever wine is on special! They aren't big on Merlot, any Californian wine is top shelf and our budget affords us wine from the lovelyyyy South African region (£3.99-4.99)... surprisingly decent :o)
Today we also booked our trip for next weekend!! We are going to the South of Spain!! How fun are we?!?!? We're flying into Almeria (map below).... which is in the Southern part of Spain, right on the coast of the Mediterranean sea (Just about as close to the Morocco and Egypt that I'll get this trip). Since there was a lot of Arab influence, there is an Arab fortress called, Alcazaba, that I think we're going to check out. Costa Tropical and Costa del Sol are awesome beach regions that are located to the West (I think) of Almeria..... where we will most likely be spending a lot of our time!! It'll be a quick trip (June 2-4), but definitely exciting and worth it!! Adios!
R is for Regatta
1 Kingston Road: Penthouse!
05.26.06
Todayyyyyyyyyy, we went to the The Oxford City Royal Regatta...held on the Isis (a stretch of the River Thames), with boat houses for the different rowing teams in Oxford on the banks. All of the boat houses were selling food and drinks (more drinks than food) to raise money for their teams (I assume). What seems to be the goal of the regatta is that the teams start racing down the river, but instead of getting ahead, the goal is to bump into each other. It was all muddy from the rain the day before, but it was definitely a fun time!!
Then we went to the Oxford office, got our official Oxford student union cards and shopped a little downtown (Cornmarket Street). Later we went out for an unfortunately less than decent meal at a TGIFriday's rip-off.
Thennnnnnnnnn we pre-partied at our house (we like to call it the penthouse) and went out to the Pubs at night. I didn't make it to all of them.... but I definitely had a great time hanging out with our hu
ge group and meeting a bunch of people!
FINALLY nice weather
05.25.06
"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains" -- RousseauIt has been pouring rain all week, and everyone has been in a mood everytime we've had to trek to class... but today was finally a reallllllly nice day!! Plus we got out of classes before 2pm, so we we had a significant part of our day to do whatever we wanted. We went to lunch at this Panini place, went to STA travel to figure out our upcoming travel plans (maybe Barcelona next weekend?) and then went shopping in an open air market in St. George Place... couldn't manage to buy anything.... it was like a huge crappy garage sale, lots of it was old, and then a lot more of the stuff was meant to look old, but wasn't.... not a fruitful shopping trip, but it was definitely fun to walk through.
We watched a really interesting BBC video/documentary at OSAP today, "What the World Thinks of America" ... I think it was a panel of about 11 countries (representatives from each). There were a bunch of predictable, but still somewhat interesting statistics shared.... "40% of the world are
NOT in favor of the U.S.", 59% think that the invasion of Iraq was
wrong, France thinks that the Bush Administration doesn't respect international law, etc. Kind of a lot of anti-U.S. propaganda that is not news to me; I understand what's behind their negativity, it's not an unknown fact that sometimes when people feel threatened they turn it into dislike/hatred. It's looking like the rest of the world dislikes us due to:
-Jealousy
-A feeling of being threatened
-Because we are
differentetc etc etc
Interestingly put, the South African representative said that the United States is a menace and a seducer, as well as a monster and a model. Admittingly, I was shocked to see how much Jordan hated us, in all of the polls they were the highest negativity rating. I knew they weren't
entirely wild about the United States.... but they are just ridiculously anti-U.S.
So many countries have such a double standard when it comes to the United States. A majority of countries feel (expect) the U.S. (superpower/hegemon) to take care of all the problems worldwide.... give aid here, reconstruct there, but to then stay out of certain areas that they don't want us to interfere in. It's tough to know who's right, even though we all know I have my own opinion....
Prof Schueetinger lectured us on "What America Thinks of the World". Speaking about anti-americanism that is prevalent in so many parts of the world, mostly due to our common sense of independence.
Rousseau: "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains"
We also learned alllllllllll about different kinds of architecture in our lecture today (kind of a sleeper, but still informative)... we learned about the varied perspectives of Jesus, how the Virgin Mary is always wearing blue, Oxford's gothic architecture, etc, etc.
The end!
Boring...
Sorry some of these are boring.... they have to be part academic and well-written.... not trying to make it a sleeper.... love ya guys!
New Shoes
"The Tragic Sense of Life"
Today's lecture was in the Long Room in New College.
The atmosphere is so different and feels more academic and collegiate than SDSU will ever seem. Professor Schuettinger lectured on British Customs and Society, which was actually a kind of different, unconventional topic. He talked about how the English are more introverted
(than extroverted) and stand-offish. The reasoning behind their attitudes, Schuettinger said, was because they respect privacy.... they
think they are crowded where they are now. Interestingly enough, they are not big on sharing rooms and don't have front porches, all indicative of a lack of people interaction. They understate things and we overstate them... I personally don't mind overstating things, I think it actually has more to do with clarity and avoiding ambiguity. Schuettinger expounded on "The Tragic Sense of Life", parallel with their pessimism. He gave the example of being at a wedding reception the day after London was bombed in July 2005. Schuettinger said that he was trying to eavesdrop in hopes to hear the people's reaction, but could not manage to hear anyone talking about the incident. Therefore, their insensitive response is indicative of their pessimistic outlook on life (life, death, love, etc).
We got 'travel tips' from Adam today. I thought they were really helpful, especially since everyone has been racing to plan their trips. Everyone is going on different weekend and weeklong excursions.... It seems like everyone wants to go on the traditional France and Italy trips... which I am sick to death of. Instead, I am hopefully going to Greece, Spain, Prague, Vienna and maybe Southern France (Nice, Marseille). We'll see...
After OSAP mayhem today, I went shopping. Got an awesome new pair of shoes!! I know I probably shouldn't be wasting money on pointless fashion, but there I was... and I definitely don't think it will be the first time... in actuality, it was all because I needed shoes that can endure these massive rains!!!
Found out today at a Pub, that Oxford (or England for that matter) doesn't have a happy hour at their pubs. The bartender insisted I tell him what that meant. It was a long drawn out process, but overall...it was a sad realization, but we managed to have a good time anyways.
May 23: 1st Day of Lecture
“The American Political System is unique because it was created with one sole purpose, human freedom.”We made our first sober trek to the OSAP (Oxford Study Abroad Programme) office to meet up before lecture, etc... it's really hard retracing your footsteps from the night before, but we definitely managed to get there and on time.
It started with what I thought was the most interesting lecture of the day, Doc talking on Current Global Politics. He based his talk on something that Henry Kissinger once said, that the American Political System is unique because it was created with one sole purpose, human freedom. He went over how constitutionalism and democracy are the means used by the United States to advance human freedom. Basically that the political value of the United States is freedom realized VIA a constitutional democracy.
The most interesting and thought-provoking part of the lecture was when he spoke about John Locke and what he had to say about
universal values. He said that people were deserving of their unalienable rights: life, liberty and property (what the US renamed as the pursuit of happiness)... which lead to the first call for revolution, by saying that any government not abiding by these rights should be overthrown. Doc tied this in with the treatment of women in the middle east. People make excuses for the way that women are treated in the middle east by saying that it is a cultural difference.... diversity. When in actuality, it's not diversity at all, it's tyranny 1/2 billion oppressed women in the Middle East... it's abuse, not different 'culture'. I completely agree. No one has been so articulate in illustrating the concept, and that's why I think people have no problem ignoring what's going on over there, because it's not being brought to their attention in the correct manner. When Hitler killed 6 million jews, we called it Genocide,
not diversity!
Lastly, Professor Schuettinger spoke about Oxford and its' importance in the academic world. Found out that we are part of New College (1 of 40), it will change our lives (he requested that we let him know when we've realized it) and that we will most likely learn more in the next 6 weeks here, th
an 2 years at our University back home. I don't doubt it.... what I found most interesting about Schuettinger, is that he worked in the Pentagon and under President Reagan. He has a lot of knowledge and I can't wait to hear his upcoming lectures!!!
Shopppppppppping is what we did for the rest of the day. My roommate, Stephanie, and I pulled the giddy tourist card and bought our Oxford sweatshirts, and when we went on the first PUB CRAWL, we realized lots of other people did the same thing (so NOT planned). The Pub Crawl started at 'The Kings Arms'... then there was Turf Tavern.... and then there were some after that.... but names kind o
f became ambiguous after the first hour or so.... the best part of the night was trying PIMMS and lemonade... soooooooooooooooo good. Definitely my new favorite drink. If there isn't Pimms in the States, then I am bringing the 2 bottle maximum home...
Finally here!!
Welllllllllllllllllll
I am FINALLY in Oxford!!! If you know how much luggage I brought, you'll laugh at the fact that we are on the 3rd (we'll call it Penthouse) level of our townhouse. Getting that luggage to the top was MAYHEM!!! There are 2 or 3 bathrooms, but only one has a toilet... interesting....
Besides my roommate from SDSU and I... there are 3 other girls in our house.... one from Ithaca, an unknown one so far and one from Oxford!! We haven't really met them yet... but it should be interesting... we've already had an 'interesting' welcome from some locals that don't seem to like Americans that much. Whatever.
Soooooo.... It's been raining off and on... which is kind of ridiculous because even though we have umbrellas... we are still getting soaked!! We had a mini-orientation today and then went to a local pub. Fish and chips..... served with peas oddly enough. We're trying to like beer... so we ordered Fosters.... it's definitely the lesser of evils. We are so tired we all went to the co-op (grocery store, haha) and got bottled water, etc. and went to our houses. Every house has a common room with tv, couches, computer with internet, etc. so we might all get together and do a movie thing tonight. Thank god, because I am BEAT!!!
Well that's it for now. See ya on the other side.
Cheers!
Bon Voyage!
After a fabulous weekend of the family coming down to San Diego to see me off, I just finally finished packing my life away into massive amounts of luggage (trying not to think about how I'm going to manage it all when I arrive in London)... thank you to everyone who sent British Pounds to me, you are all so thoughtful! Don't miss me too much or be too jealous (Rain:
http://weather.cnn.com/weather/forecast.jsp?locCode=EGOX). But I have to keep a journal for class, so as long as the Pub Crawls don't take over the next six weeks of my life, I will hopefully be updating this.
xoxo
Christina
haha
haha, this is the best rendition of these stickers I've ever seen!
Thank You Friends
I know it's sometimes lame to do this whole blog disaster... but in the midst of the conclusion of this crazy semester... I've been thinking about everyone who has come into or become a bigger part of my life and if I didn't realize it before, I definitely know it now... I am so lucky!!
Lately, I have been caught off guard by people who know what I love, like and dislike, when I'm having an off day, or who genuinely care about what's going on in my life.... just as much as I care about theirs.
I love late night library insanity, always knowing what's going on in each other's lives, going out and doing whatever, dishing over breakfast the morning after (in search of the best hang over cure) and knowing that we are the best Sex and the City there is (and it's not just because we live near the beach).
I just got sad today because I realized that some of the girls I have been spending every waking hour with this semester are GRADUATING and leeeeeeeeeeeeaving!! Grad programs/law school back east, jobs in the OC, band groupies (haha) etc.... I am going to miss you girls soooooooooo much!!! And I am definitely going to miss my best friends that I wish were coming with me to Oxford!!
Just wanted to say thanks.
Flashknow.com
My friend Mario (crazy web-genius) has been working on this awesome website (
http://flashknow.com/). It is going to be HUGE one day. So maybe if you start using it now... when it's a big deal you can act like you knew about it wayyyyy back when (i.e. how I act about Craigslist and everything that is cool in general).
The End of the World
If you haven't seen this yet, then it is safe to say that you are missing out.... don't worry it's not some crazy site with a million (or any for that matter) pop-ups.
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end.php
Oxford Syllabus
OSAP Summer Course in Oxford
International Relations*
Dr Michael Stoddard, Academic Supervisor
2006 Lecture Schedule (Session I)
May 22 – July 2
PLEASE NOTE: All lectures will take place in the OSAP Office, 21-27 George Street (the top floor of Chester House of Nuffield College, Oxford University), unless indicated otherwise.
*This is not an official San Diego State University program. Students will receive a transcript from an accredited US university, i.e. the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
Monday, May 22
12:00pm Students arrive at 21-27 George Street and move into houses
5:00 pm Brief Orientation, Dr Michael Stoddard, SDSU
Political Science Department, Course Director.
5:15 pm Welcome Party, OSAP Office, 21-27 George Street, Oxford (we will move on to a local pub afterwards)
Tuesday, May 23
10:00 am Global Politics Today, Dr Michael Stoddard (including Course Orientation)
11:15 am Oxford Academic System, Professor Robert Schuettinger, Director OSAP, former Visiting Research Fellow in International Relations, MC, Oxford University, Associate Fellow, Yale University.
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
Please feel free to explore the restaurants, sandwich bars, pubs, etc. in the vicinity.
2:00 pm Living in Oxford, OSAP Staff
A talk and discussion with various members of staff on how best to live in your housing and how to get around Oxford (buses, bikes, etc.). Also information on pubs, banks, etc.
3:00 pm Walking Tour of Oxford
You will be taken on a walking tour of Oxford in small groups. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes.
6:00 pm Party and Pub Crawl, starting at the OSAP office
Wednesday, May 24
All lectures today are in the Old Library (the first library of Oxford University), St Mary’s Church, High Street.
8:45 am sharp Meet at the OSAP office to walk to the Old
Library
9:00 am British Customs and Society, Professor Robert Schuettinger
10:15 am British Government, Dr Tudor Jones, Tutor in Politics, St Catherine’s College, Oxford
11:30 am British Political Parties, Dr Tudor Jones
Thursday, May 25
10:00 am ‘What the World Thinks of America’ (BBC video)
11:00 am Break
11:15 am What America Thinks of the World, Professor Robert Schuettinger
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm British Art and Architecture, Mr Michael Talbot, MA, Toronto, M.St, Oxford. Former Junior Dean at Keble College, Academic Director, OSAP (Part of the Orientation Program—this lecture will allow you to fully appreciate the 1,200 years of buildings you will see in Oxford)
Friday, May 26
9:00 am TEST—Spanier, chps. 1-5, Stoessinger, chps., 1-5
10:00 am Bush and Blair at War, Dr Michael Stoddard
11:15 am State Building and the Former Yugoslavia, Mr Dominik
Zaum, Junior Research Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall and
D.Phil Candidate at Balliol College, Oxford.
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm Economics Lecture, TBC (Nick Davis?)
Saturday, May 27 & Sunday, May 28
FREE WEEKEND
Monday, May 29
FREE DAY (UK Bank Holiday)
Tuesday, May 30
All lectures today are in the Old Library, St Mary’s Church, High Street
8:45 am sharp Meet at the OSAP office to walk to the Old Library
9:00 am English and American Law, Sir David Yardley, DPhil, Oxford, Emeritus Fellow, St Edmund Hall
10:15 am Comparative Constitutional Law, Sir David Yardley
11:30 am Religion in Politics Lecture, TBC (Alan O’Day?)
Wednesday, May 31
8:00 am London
Depart from Hertford College, Catte Street (opposite the Bridge of Sighs), by private coach to visit the nation’s capital. Upon our arrival, we will be led on a guided tour of the City of Westminster, a borough of London which includes Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. Later, we will visit the Cabinet War Rooms, headquarters of the British Government during World War II (the new Churchill Museum, which was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in February 2005, will also be included with your ticket). The bus will leave London at 6:00 pm and return to Oxford around 8:00 pm.
Thursday, June 1
All lectures today are in the Old Library, St Mary’s Church, High Street
9:00 am sharp MAP TEST in the OSAP office—Europe/Middle East/NATO/EU
9:45 am Walk to the Old Library
10:00 am Democracy in Latin America, Dr Richard Muir, Nuffield College
11:15 am International Relations of the Middle East, Dr Ali Parcharmi, Exeter College (shall we use him again???)
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm The Politics of Art, TBC (Paul Saville?)
Friday, June 2
10:00 am British Intelligence, Mr Michael Herman, Former Secretary (Staff Director) of the Joint Intelligence Committee, former
Research Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford
11:15 am International Law, Dr Jonathan Black-Branch, Wolfson College, Oxford
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm Refugees and Immigration Lecture, TBC
Saturday, June 3
8:00 pm – 3:00 am St Antony’s College Ball (for ticket-holders only)
Experience Summer in Oxford at its best—Oxford colleges typically hold a summer ball every two years. These black-tie, themed events provide students with an opportunity to close the academic year in style. Details of the St Antony’s Ball are available from Andrew Inch, the OSAP office manager.
Sunday, June 4
FREE DAY
Monday, June 5
10:00 am The Future of US Foreign Policy, Dr Michael Stoddard
11:15 am President Reagan’s Foreign Policy, Professor Robert Schuettinger, former White House aide to President Reagan in Foreign Affairs
7:00 pm Boat Ride on the River Thames
Depart at 7:00 pm sharp from Folly Bridge, near the Head of the River pub, for a three-hour cruise down the Thames, which is known in Oxford as the Isis. A party buffet will be provided. Drinks may be purchased at personal expense. PLEASE NOTE: You will not be allowed on the boat if you attempt to bring drinks on board. Wrap up warm!
Tuesday, June 6
All lectures today are in the Long Room, New College
10:45 am sharp Meet at the OSAP office to walk to New College
11:00 am UN/US Relations, TBC
12:15 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm Terrorism, Mr Mark Almond, Lecturer in Modern History, Oriel College
3:15 pm Eastern Europe and the EU, Mr Mark Almond
Wednesday, June 7
All lectures today are in the Long Room, New College
8:45 am sharp Meet at the OSAP office to walk to New College (all Journals to be submitted to Dr Michael Stoddard at this time)
9:00 am The Clash of Civilizations, Dr Michael Stoddard
10:15 am Winston Churchill and Ninety Years of British History, Professor Robert Schuettinger
11:30 am Anglo-American Culture?, TBC
Thursday, June 8
All lectures today are in the Long Room, New College
9:00 am British Foreign Policy, Sir John Johnson, former British Ambassador, former Director of the Oxford University Foreign Service Program, Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford
10:15 am Britain and the EU, Sir John Johnson
11:30 am Globalization and the Battle for the World Economy, TBC
7:00pm Formal Dinner at New College
(Drinks in the Cloisters from 7:00 pm; Dinner in the Dining Hall at 7:30 pm)
Friday, June 9
2:00 pm Stratford
Depart Hertford College, Catte Street, by private coach to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Set in the beautiful rural Warwickshire countryside, on the banks of the river Avon, it is one of the most important tourist destinations in the UK. After visiting the Shakespeare Birthplace Museum, we have reservations to see a production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (7:30 pm start time). Return to Oxford by midnight. NB: Students taking tutorials should schedule meetings to avoid a conflict.
Saturday, June 10 to Saturday, June 17
EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL PERIOD (students must return to Oxford by the evening of Saturday, June 17)
Sunday, June 18
10:30 am Windsor Castle
Depart from Hertford College, Catte Street (opposite the Bridge of Sighs), by private coach to visit Windsor Castle, an official residence of the Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A royal palace and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today. Return to Oxford by 6:00 p.m.
Monday, June 19
10:00 am British Media and Politics, Mr Nick Thomas, Playwright and Journalist
11:15 am The British Class System, Dr George Bergstrom (DPhil, Oxon), formerly in the Political Science Department, SDSU
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm The Future of Western Civilization, Professor Robert Schuettinger
Tuesday, June 20
10:00 am The Politics of China, Dr George Bergstrom
11:15 am The Second World War and its After Effects, Mr G. H. L. Le May, Emeritus Fellow in History, former Dean of Worcester College (Mr Le May worked directly for Prime Minister Churchill as a speechwriter during WWII)
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm Social Justice Lecture, TBC
Wednesday, June 21
10:00 am British and US Foreign Policy Compared, Professor Robert Schuettinger
11:15 am The Politics of Thailand, Dr George Bergstrom
12:30 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm Theory and International Relations, TBC
Thursday, June 22
10:00 am The Politics of Russia, Dr George Bergstrom
11:15 am The Politics of India, Dr George Bergstrom
12:15 pm Break for Lunch
2:00 pm Report on Travels/Presentation of Student Journals
3:00 pm Final Essay Examination
Friday, June 23
FREE DAY
Saturday, June 24 to Sunday, July 2
EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL PERIOD
This is where it all starts!!
So everyone and their mother have been subtly suggesting that I should start a blog ... mostly because I'm leaving for Oxford in a week and I'm going to have mayhem that everyone is going to want to hear about. Who knows if that's really the case, but here we are!
I leave in a week, I have nothing packed, no list as to what I should pack, I have ALL FIVE finals next week and they don't end until Thursday.... which will bring me right into the weekend where the fam is flying in on Friday to hang out before I leave for my 6-week academic vacay on Sunday.
I'll post the syllabus later, but in the meantime I've been trying to plan our weekend and week long trips around Europe and our tentative plans so far look like...
Monaco
Croatia
Greece (the one place I'll die if I don't go to)
Spain
That's all for now...
xoxo
