TEACHER SEMINARS
SU M M E R 2 0 1 7
Enrichment and professional
development for teachers,
librarians, and school leaders
Boston
June 25 - July 1
Cambridge
June 30 - July 7
St Andrews
July 9 - July 16
Paris
July 16 - July 23
Oxford
July 23 - July 30
A Welcome From The Founder
Dear Teachers, Librarians, and School Leaders,
I founded the Teacher Seminar program more than 20 years ago in response to the
many teachers who, when I visited schools to talk about our academic programs for
students, used to say — only partly in jest — “That’s great for the students, but what
about us?” They were right, of course. Having long believed that there is no group more
deserving, harder working, or more responsive to this kind of learning opportunity, I
worked to design a seminar that would meet their needs — intellectual, professional,
and personal.
From the beginning, the vision has been to bring teachers into direct contact with
leading scholars, writers, and public figures, in an historic and stimulating environment,
Prof. James G. Basker
About the Founder
Educated at Harvard (AB), Cambridge (MA),
and Oxford (DPhil), where he was a Rhodes
Scholar, Professor Basker taught at Harvard
for seven years before coming to Barnard
College, Columbia University. Formerly the
Ann Whitney Olin Professor of English, he
was appointed the Richard Gilder Professor
of Literary History in 2006. Professor Basker
has designed and directed student programs
in Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Paris,
Montpellier, Barcelona, Salamanca, New York,
Boston, and Los Angeles. He has written several
books on history and literature (including, most
recently, American Anti-Slavery Writings, 2012)
and has been an invited guest lecturer at the
Sorbonne, Cambridge, and Oxford, a Visiting
Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge,
and a James Osborn Fellow at Yale. Professor
Basker is also President of the Gilder Lehrman
Institute of American History in New York City,
where he advises on educational projects in
the public school system and on seminars for
educators at Yale, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge,
and a dozen other universities.
surrounded by cultural and academic resources. At first in Oxford, then in Paris and
Cambridge, and now in Boston and St Andrews, these Teacher Seminars offer a mixture
of intellectual refreshment, cultural enrichment, and professional development,
all in the most inspiring of settings. Ultimately, the aim is to support and invigorate
classroom teaching with new ideas and energy, new texts and techniques, new content
and connections.
Participants in the Seminars come from every kind of background and school
imaginable. They have included new teachers, seasoned veterans, department heads,
counselors, librarians, and principals. Invariably, the experience and enthusiasm of the
participants themselves have enriched the program beyond measure. We would be
delighted to put you in touch with former participants as you consider applying.
Teachers come to our seminars for various reasons: to pursue professional development,
to indulge intellectual interests, or to fulfill lifelong personal dreams. Whatever your
priority, I hope to see you in Boston, Cambridge, Oxford, St Andrews, or Paris this
summer!
Sincerely,
James G. Basker, Founder and President
The Teacher Seminars are sponsored and organized by The Foundation for International Education in
cooperation with Oxbridge Academic Programs.
Professor Basker leads a discussion on Literature and Slavery.
Table of Contents
BOSTON
CAMBRIDGE
ST ANDREWS
June 25 - July 1
June 30 - July 7
July 9 - July 16
The Boston Teacher Seminar
The Residence .................................... 3
The Seminar ........................................ 4-8
Study Groups:
· Issues in American History
· Music
· STEM in Focus
· The Future of the College Process
The Cambridge Teacher Seminar
The College .................................. 9
The Seminar ................................. 10-15
Study Groups:
· Why History Matters
· English Literature
· The Changing Library
· Thinking Mathematically
The St Andrews Teacher Seminar
The Residence ............................ 16
The Seminar ................................ 17-21
Study Groups:
· Applying to College: the Global
Perspective
· Economics
· Celtic Literatures
PA R I S
OXFORD
July 16 - July 23
July 23 - July 30
The Paris Teacher Seminar
The Residence ...................................................................... 22
The Seminar .................................................................... 23-27
Study Groups:
· Anglophone: France in History and Culture
· Francophone: La civilisation française à l’aube
du 21ème siècle
The Oxford Teacher Seminar
The College ........................................................................ 28
The Seminar ................................................................. 29-35
Study Groups:
· Literature and the Fantastic
· The Library and the Academy
· Shakespeare in History
· The Boundaries of Scientific Knowledge
· Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Education
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Our seminars are designed to give participants access to current scholarship and university resources in a variety of
fields. Led by distinguished scholars, they are introduced to innovative approaches to traditional ideas and subjects, to
new pedagogical and curricular possibilities, and to a variety of cultural, social, and imaginative experiences, all in five of
the intellectual and cultural capitals of the world.
The seminars involve plenary sessions given by outstanding academics and intellectuals, regular small-group discussions
on more focused educational themes, a comprehensive schedule of cultural events and outings, historical tours, museum
and gallery visits, and free time for individual research, exploration, and relaxation. At the heart of the Teacher Seminars are
elective Study Groups, each designed to provide an academic focus for the participant.
The Boston Teacher Seminar (June 26 - July 1) is held in North Hall, a residence of Harvard Law School. Teachers become
part of all that Harvard, Cambridge, and Boston have to offer, including great museums and collections; laboratories
where, each day, scientists push at new frontiers; and, above all, a vibrant and eclectic academic community.
The Cambridge Teacher Seminar (June 30 - July 7) is held in Peterhouse – the oldest college in the University of
Cambridge. Here, teachers find an inspiring setting for intellectual reflection and cultural enrichment. The diverse
program of plenary speakers and events makes accessible much of the scholarly wealth and history of the University.
The St Andrews Teacher Seminar (July 9 - July 16) takes place in Agnes Blackadder Hall, named after Agnes Forbes
Blackadder, the first woman to be awarded a degree by the University of St Andrews. Participants become intimately
familiar with a beautiful medieval city whose picturesque ruins decorate one of Britain’s academic powerhouses.
The Paris Teacher Seminar (July 16 - July 23) takes place in the FIAP Jean Monnet, a university residence in the 14th
arrondissement, where participants are ideally situated to absorb the atmosphere and culture of Paris. The program is
designed not only for teachers of French but for teachers of history, literature, art, or any subject that can draw on the
rich artistic and historical offerings of French society.
The Oxford Teacher Seminar (July 23 - July 30) is held in Mansfield College, Oxford University. Participants have the
unique opportunity to share in the academic and cultural traditions of this famous institution. Teachers meet Rhodes
Scholars, visit colleges, libraries, and historic sites, and gain an insider’s feeling for the deeper resources behind the beauty
and tradition of “the city of dreaming spires.”
Dr. David Rundle talks to participants about his
work in paleography in Christ Church Library.
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Boston’s modern skyline by evening light.
Boston
B oston
TEACHER SEMINAR
June 25 - July 1, 2017
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The Boston Teacher Seminar is based in North Hall, an on-campus residence of Harvard Law School – the oldest
institution of its kind in the United States and home to the world’s largest academic law library. North Hall lies in the
center of Harvard. It is ideally situated for exploring the wealth of academic and cultural resources that the University,
Cambridge, and Boston have to offer.
Whether working with their Study Group or taking part in plenary activities, participants are constantly exposed to
a vibrant intellectual arena. They attend specialist lectures delivered by local academics and visit world-renowned
collections such as Harvard’s Museum of Natural History; the Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Sackler Art Museums; not
to mention a staggering array of libraries. A brief walk though Harvard Yard leads to the banks of the Charles River,
with breathtaking views of the Boston skyline. A stroll along the river leads them past the John F. Kennedy School of
Government and MIT, before Boston itself, with its plethora of extraordinary intellectual and cultural opportunities.
With every step, participants tread the path of notable Harvard alumni such as Henry David Thoreau, Theodore and
Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama.
In North Hall, all Teacher Seminar participants enjoy the benefits of en-suite rooms with air conditioning and Internet
access. Breakfast is taken in the residence dining hall, dinner either in the hall or in town on an outing. For lunch
participants choose from the many cafés, sandwich shops, and restaurants in the area.
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Preliminary Program
Boston
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Boston Teacher Seminar participants return to university life in America’s oldest institution of higher learning. The
Seminar is a meeting of minds with leading academics and lecturers from Harvard and other local universities. At the
heart of the Seminar are Study Groups, each with a different focus, offering detailed exploration of a particular subject.
Each morning these groups meet individually to discuss a series of topics complemented in the afternoons by a plenary
program of speakers, workshops, outings, and events. Teacher Seminar participants select one Study Group for the
duration of the week and participate in every plenary session. This can be done using the Application Form at the
back of this brochure. In advance of the summer, Study Group leaders recommend optional preparatory reading for all
participants. We also ask participants to bring their own proposed topics for discussion, specific to their Study Group.
The Study Groups available in summer 2017 are as follows (descriptions are provisional but indicative):
I. ISSUES IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Study Group Leader and Seminar Director:
This ambitious course surveys the moments of fracture
and the economic, political, and social successes and
cataclysms that have shaped the American nation.
Our syllabus ranges from the culture and ultimate
dispossession of the earliest Americans to the intrigues
of McCarthyism. In between, we examine the impact of
the Revolutionary War; the origins and aftermath of the
Civil War; the increasing crossover of political and social
life in the Constitutional and Federalist eras; and everyday
experience under the frost of the Cold War. We also
venture into histories less-told, with a thoroughgoing
exploration of Black America and shifting race relations,
from the origins of slavery through emancipation and the
Civil Rights movement. The course also pays attention to
American women, and especially the story of suffrage.
Dr. Holger Droessler. Dr. Droessler teaches at Bard. In the
past, he was a College Fellow in U.S. History at Harvard
University and Lecturer in History at Tufts University. Before
earning his PhD in the History of American Civilization at
Harvard, he studied U.S. history and political science at the
University of Munich. His teaching and research revolve
around the global history of the nineteenth century,
especially U.S. and European imperialism in the Pacific.
His current book project, Islands of Labor: Community,
Conflict, and Resistance in Colonial Samoa, 1889-1919,
explores the crucial role of workers in the making of the
German Empire in the South Pacific.
II. MUSIC
Study Group Leader:
Whether your teaching focuses on classical, choral, folk,
jazz, world, or other styles besides, Cambridge and Boston
are incredible hubs of artistic activity with something for
every music teacher. In addition to the renowned Music
Department of Harvard itself, participants on this course
benefit from close proximity to institutions as diverse as
Berklee College of Music, the School of Music at Boston
University, the New England Conservatory, and Boston
Symphony Hall – home to one of America’s premiere
orchestras. Participants share teaching experiences and
pedagogical wisdom, and refresh their knowledge of
music history, performance practice, and theory through
close readings of seminal texts, gritty analyses of the
classics, and interrogations of competing theories of
performance.
Dr. Joel Schwindt. Dr. Schwindt is a member of the faculty
of the Boston Conservatory where he teaches music
history. His current teaching centers on representations
of social philosophy in music, including issues of gender,
race identity, and youth-authority conflict. Dr. Schwindt’s
research focuses on manifestations of academic and
religious philosophy in Italian and French Renaissance
and Baroque music. He has published widely in leading
journals, and has been recognized through awards from
the Mellon Foundation and the American Musicological
Society. Dr. Schwindt received his doctorate in Musicology
from Brandeis University and Master’s in Choral
Conducting from the University of Arizona. Dr. Schwindt
has held teaching appointments at Harvard and Brandeis
Universities.
On the following pages, the Boston Teacher Seminar’s provisional schedule provides an idea of how Study Groups
blend with the plenary program. It is representative but not exact, and is subject to change.
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Boston Teacher Seminar participants enjoy a night out at historic
Fenway Park.
Boston
Study Group Leader:
Today Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics are commonly taught together under
the abbreviation “STEM.” This Study Group investigates
the overlaps between the four disciplines by exploring
cutting-edge research emanating from Harvard, MIT,
and industry. Cambridge is the perfect location to dive
headlong into a week of STEM investigation. It was here
that William Barton Rogers, founder of MIT, famously
nurtured his radical aspiration to bring the sciences
together. He sought to create a school that would
“cultivate the habits of observation and exact thought,
which are so conducive to the progress of invention
and the development of intelligent history.” This Study
Group seeks to capture the same spirit of curiosity and
endeavor. A thoroughgoing introduction to “STEM” by
the Study Group leader, in the first session, is followed by
different instructors with different specialisms each day.
Dr. Sabin Mulepati. Dr. Mulepati is a Howard Hughes
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry and
Chemical Biology at Harvard University. He is currently
studying DNA supercoiling dynamics in human cells,
which involves the development of new tools to observe
cell dynamics. Dr. Mulepati completed his doctorate in
Molecular Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University. He is
widely published, and the core findings of his doctoral
work received major attention in the scientific community
when, in 2014, his research elucidating the mechanism of
foreign DNA recognition and degradation by the Type I
CRISPR immune system was published as the lead paper
and cover of Science magazine. Prior to his work at Harvard,
Dr. Mulepati held a number of teaching and research
fellowships, including posts at the Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine, MIT, and Amgen Inc.
IV. THE FUTURE OF THE COLLEGE PROCESS
Study Group Leader:
Competition for college places is greater than ever. This
Study Group prepares teachers, counselors, and advisors
to assist students and their families in navigating this
difficult rite of passage. Guided by a team of school leaders
and experts, participants take a 360-degree view of the
admissions process. How can we use our curricula and
programs to grow students capable of writing winning
personal statements that are truly personal? How can
students practice effectively for interviews without risking
the regurgitated answer? How do college expectations
regarding letters of reference, sample pieces of work, and
other supporting documents differ from one institution
to another? Finally, participants consider how to keep the
process fun and help students maintain perspective.
Mr. Rod Skinner. Mr. Skinner is a veteran educator with
over 30 years of experience in leading schools as a teacher,
counselor, coach, dean, and principal. For the last 16
years he has served as Director of College Counseling at
Milton Academy, where he leads a team of four counselors
guiding nearly 200 seniors each year through the arduous
college admissions process. He has chaired Admission
Practices Committees for the National Association for
College Admission Counseling and the New England
Association for College Admission Counseling, and has
also served on the board and the executive committee of
the Common Application. Having previously directed the
Southern Association for College Admission Counseling
Summer Institute, he now serves on the boards for the
Mountain School in Vermont and the Boston Collegiate
Charter School.
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Preliminary Program
III. STEM IN FOCUS
Boston
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4.00pm · Welcome to Boston
Dr. Noelle Lopez
Dr. Lopez greets participants at North Hall and outlines
the program.
Preliminary Program
5.00pm · Plenary Session: Introductory Walking Tour of
Harvard and Cambridge
Dr. Noelle Lopez
A short guided tour helps orient participants as they explore
the grounds of Harvard Law School and its immediate
surroundings, which include Harvard University, MIT just
down the road, and Boston across the Charles River.
6.30pm · Dinner in Residence
Dinner is served in residence. Before dinner, participants
gather for drinks and conversation.
8.00pm · Free Evening
Optional walking tour to see Cambridge in the evening
and engage in conversation at a watering hole.
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9.00am · Study Groups meet for the first time
Under the guidance of the Study Group leader, each group
meets every day to cover a number of specific topics:
• Issues in American History
AH1: America Before 1492: The first study group examines
America before the arrival of Columbus, as well as the
historiographic issues surrounding its investigation. We look at
the rich artistic, political, and social lives of Native Americans,
from the Cherokees in the southeast, the largest of the tribes;
to smaller and less-studied groups such as the Houma and the
Quechan. How much of their world can we reconstruct, and how
much of it remains in the 21st century?
• Music
M1: Prelude: In this ambitious session, participants catalogue
the many challenges facing music teachers today. How can
classical music be made popular with teenagers? Should music
be a compulsory subject and, if so, why? What special skills do
music teachers need to navigate the demands of 21st-century
education?
individual voice? How can they be encouraged to write concisely
and persuasively? And what exactly needs to be said to convince
a college that a particular student is worthy of a place?
11.30am · At the close of each Study Group meeting,
teachers visit specific locations around the Harvard campus,
Cambridge, or Boston connected with the morning’s subject.
Some outings take teachers to our student program - The
College Experience in Boston - to observe special classes.
12.30pm · Lunch
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Boston Past, Present, and Future:
An Architectural Tour of the City
Dr. Karen Robbins
Dr. Robbins is a graduate of the American & New England Studies
program at Boston University, where she concentrated on American
architectural history, material culture, and women’s history in the
19th and early 20th centuries. She teaches at Boston University in the
writing program where she offers courses on gender, cultural history,
and the built environment.
4.00pm · Plenary Session: “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs”:
Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination
Professor Annette Gordon-Reed
Professor Gordon-Reed revolutionized scholarship on Thomas
Jefferson with her National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning
study, The Hemingses of Monticello. She is the Charles Warren
Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School and the
Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced
Study. Her most recent book, with Peter Onuf, “Most Blessed of the
Patriarchs”: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination,
will be published in 2016.
6.30pm · Dinner
8.00pm · Attend a concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra
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9.00am · Study Groups meet
• STEM in Focus
SF1: STEM and the Spirit of Interdisciplinarity: The world is
increasingly focused on the development of, and the public
demand for, new technologies. For this reason STEM will define
the life of 21st-century high-school students. Participants discuss
their experiences integrating STEM approaches into curricula. A
trip to the Hayden Planetarium at the Boston Museum of Science
concludes the session.
• Issues in American History
AH2: Discovery and Colonization: Participants explore the latest
scholarship on the early American republic, focusing on the
cultural, political, and religious influence of the first European
settlers. This session is built around a visit to the John Adams
Library, part of the Rare Books Collection of the Boston Public
Library.
• The Future of the College Process
FCP1: The Art of the Personal Statement: How much help
can students be given before a personal statement loses its
• Music
M2: The Digital Music Classroom: The Study Group considers how
technology can be used to expose students to music analysis and
history. We discuss the use of software such as Logic and Sibelius,
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• STEM in Focus
SF2: Spreading Science: Once confined to separate laboratories,
the sciences are increasingly coming together to address global
issues. Today participants consider the far-reaching applications
of disciplines like biotechnology, chemical engineering, and
computational life science. How might such crossovers impact
our thinking about climate change, food production, and the
obesity epidemic? Participants explore these frontiers with a
visit to a local laboratory.
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Can there be Authenticity in
Early Music?
Professor David Kjar
Professor Kjar, a scholar of performance studies and a natural
trumpet player, is Assistant Professor of Music History at Roosevelt
University, Chicago, and the Artistic Director of Cambridge
Concentus. He regularly performs and records with early-music
ensembles around the world.
• STEM in Focus
STF3: Boston Biotech: Biotechnology is the fastest-growing field
in applied sciences. It has far-reaching applications from food
production to the treatment of disease. Due to its potential impact on
society, biotech enjoys a prime position in both scientific scholarship
and the public imagination. Participants learn about the frontiers of
this budding field. Visit to local industry laboratory.
• The Future of the College Process
FCP3: Considering the Interview: Is it possible to practice
interviews with students while steering them clear of regurgitating
prepared answers? In this session, guided by experienced college
interviewers, we examine how best to help students develop
their skills of debate, rhetoric, and on-the-spot thinking.
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Visit to Walden Pond
Walden Pond, once the home of nineteenth-century
philosopher Henry David Thoreau and the inspiration for
his eponymous philosophical memoir, Walden, was made
a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Participants discover
the site of outstanding natural beauty in which one of
America’s best-loved literary works was written.
4.30pm · Tour of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Participants explore Isabella Gardner’s stunning
15th-century Venetian-style palace and gardens with a
tailored tour led by a collection expert, with spotlight talks
on some of the most recognized artists in the world.
5.00pm · Harpoon Brewery Tour - Optional
Boston is famous for its many academic luminaries, but few
realize it was also the site which sparked the current trend of
locally-brewed craft beer. Founded by Rich Doyle, a Harvard
Business School graduate, the Harpoon brand strove to
bring Europe’s historic brewing traditions to American
shores, beginning an independent beer movement that
cemented the Brewery’s place in Boston’s community.
6.30pm · Dinner
6.30pm · Dinner
8.00pm · Boat Cruise on the Charles River
Enjoy a nighttime riverboat trip to see Boston from the
water.
8.00pm · The Crimson Challenge
A light-hearted test of
intellect,
wit,
and
general knowledge
at a local pub.
4.00pm · Coffee
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9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Issues in American History
AH3: Slavery and the American Civil War: How do we help
students understand history as a series of debates rather than as
a linear narrative? How can teachers best communicate traumatic
historical events to young people? Participants explore these
educational conundrums through the lens of the slave trade and
the American Civil War. As part of the session we take in sites on
Boston’s Freedom Trail.
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Preliminary Program
• The Future of the College Process
FCP2: The Well-Rounded Student?: Students are under more
pressure than ever. How can we best help them plan early?
Participants consider what skills, activities, and interests students
should really be honing outside of their studies to succeed at
college and in life.
• Music
M3: The Early Years: How do we convince younger students to
take up an instrument and stick with it? How can people who
have been able to read musical notation for decades empathize
with those yet to master the basics? Participants explore the
tactics available for making performance an attractive prospect
for early-years beginners, from Dalcroze to Suzuki.
Boston
and how they are changing the face of composition. And how
has the recording industry impacted young people’s ideas about
performance? This session includes a visit to Berklee College of
Music.
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Boston
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Issues in American History
AH4: Rethinking Transcendentalism: Participants consider
controversial criticisms of the Transcendentalist movement,
which began in Cambridge, MA. Were they pioneers and voices
of national conscience, or patronizing hypocrites with a disdain
for the public? We examine works by Henry David Thoreau as
well as Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Peabody. This session
includes a visit to Walden Pond in Concord.
Preliminary Program
• Music
M4: Music History Now: Under the guidance of Harvard and
Boston University faculty members, participants explore recent
developments in music history. How has the emergence of
cultural studies, interdisciplinarity, and sociology changed the
nature of the subject over the last decade? This session includes
a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts.
• STEM in Focus
STF4: The Very Small Building Blocks of the Future:
Nanotechnology is a fast-developing area of scientific inquiry. Like
biotech, nanotech has endless possible applications in healthcare,
microelectronics, and energy. Nanotech holds the promise of
materials that are both lighter and stronger than anything currently
in existence. Participants learn about the latest science during an
MIT laboratory visit, and debate the implications of this emerging
technology.
• The Future of the College Process
FCP4: Helping Families Choose: The session focuses on how to
coach students and talk with their parents about the diversity of
choices in higher education, and how to make the best decision,
from choosing the right schools to accepting the right offer.
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Bridging the Divide: the Advent
of Medical Humanities
Dr. Amy Boesky
Dr. Boesky is Director of the new Medical Humanities, Health,
and Culture program at Boston College. Her research in genetics,
narrative, and representation blends the arts and sciences, and
aims to foster new understanding of these areas. Her most recent
collection of essays, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, is
The Story Within.
4.00pm · Coffee
4.30pm · Plenary Session: For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative
Action, and the Law
Professor Randall Kennedy
Professor Kennedy is the Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law
School and a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United
States. He served as a law clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall, and
has written candidly on freedom of expression, contracts, criminal
law, and race relations. In 1998 he was awarded the Robert F.
Kennedy Book Award for Race, Crime, and the Law.
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6.30pm · Dinner
8.00pm · Boston Red Sox Game at Fenway Park
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9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Issues in American History
AH5: Cold War on the Home Front: In the final session,
participants reconsider the Cold War as it was experienced at
home. They attempt to evaluate the often-overlooked role of
leading Boston-area institutions, including Harvard and MIT, in
the conflict. This meeting concludes with a visit to the John F.
Kennedy Presidential Library.
• Music
M5: Zukunftsmusik: In the final session we ask where music
education will be in one hundred years’ time. What are the most
important skills for teachers to impart to the next generation of
musicians?
• STEM in Focus
STF5: Mechanics: The final session is dedicated to engineering,
with a special focus on mechanical engineering and robotics. Have
we finally reached a tipping point in robotics? What is the role of AI
in robotics and where is the science taking us?
• The Future of the College Process
FCP5:Parting Words: In this final meeting, participants discuss
how teachers can best prepare their students for the transition
from high school to university. What can most usefully be gained
from their final few months at secondary level? What challenges
will they face as they move into an environment of greater
independence and less rigorous daily structure?
2.00pm · Participants’ Forum
Participants meet in their respective Study Groups to
reflect on their experiences over the past week and to
discuss ways in which these experiences might influence
their classroom teaching and other projects. Afterward
participants enjoy Cambridge and Boston at their leisure
before the final dinner.
8.00pm · Reception and Final Dinner
D A Y
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9.00am · Farewell Breakfast and Departure
Cam b r idg e
TEACHER SEMINAR
June 30 - July 7, 2017
Philosophy sets a suitably studious example in the main court of King’s College.
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The Cambridge Teacher Seminar is held in Peterhouse – the oldest college in the University of Cambridge. It was founded
by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely, in 1284. In terms of the number of students admitted each year, Peterhouse is also
one of the smallest, most intimate, and most traditional colleges. The dining hall has been in continuous use since the
thirteenth century, and it remains one of the only Cambridge halls in which two Latin graces are said during dinner.
Despite its antiquity, Peterhouse has a long-held reputation as a center of innovation. Generations of graduates –
known as “Petreans” – have contributed to the social and political upheavals that have shaped Britain and the world.
Among them are the nineteenth-century polymath Charles Babbage, who is widely-credited with developing the
concept of the modern computer. And in 1884, to mark Peterhouse’s 600th anniversary, the Petrean and mathematical
physicist Lord Kelvin made the college one of the first British establishments to have electric light. Sir Frank Whittle,
who invented the jet engine, studied at Peterhouse in the 1930s; as did the creator of the hovercraft, Sir Christopher
Cockerell. Later in the twentieth century, five Petreans were awarded Nobel Prizes for their work in Chemistry – Sir John
Kendrew, Sir Aaron Klug, Archer Martin, Max Perutz, and Michael Levitt. Participants on our Cambridge Teacher Seminar
join a continuum of great thinkers stretching back through the centuries in a unique environment of living history.
Accommodation is modern and comfortable. The majority of bedrooms are equipped with an en-suite bathroom, and
participants have access to the recently-refurbished college bar. Peterhouse is within easy walking distance of all the
major attractions in Cambridge, including King’s College Chapel and the Fitzwilliam Museum.
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Cambridge Teacher Seminar participants enjoy life in a traditional Cambridge college and a meeting of minds with
leading academics and educators from Cambridge University. At the heart of the Seminar are Study Groups, each with
a different focus, offering detailed discussion and exploration of a special subject. Each morning, these Study Groups
meet individually to discuss a series of topics that are complemented in the afternoons by a plenary program of speakers,
workshops, outings, and events. Teachers select one Study Group for the duration of the week and can participate in
every plenary session.
Preliminary Program
St
Cambridge
Andrews
Teacher Seminar participants select the Study Group that they would like to join using the Application Form at the
back of this brochure. In advance of the summer, Study Group leaders recommend optional preparatory reading for all
participants. We also ask participants to bring their own proposed topics for discussion, specific to their Study Group.
The Study Groups available in summer 2017 are as follows (descriptions are provisional but indicative):
I. WHY HISTORY MATTERS
Study Group Leader and Seminar Director:
Using some of Cambridge’s extraordinary historical
resources, this Study Group explores a selection of themes
lying at the interstices of history as it is taught in primary
and secondary schools, and history as it is researched
in universities. Drawing on examples from all periods,
sessions address pedagogical questions such as how to
incorporate literature, art, and cinema into the syllabus;
and how best to convey the value, uses, and abuses of
history to the next generation of students. The Study
Group also addresses research topics, privileging areas
that are all too often excluded from syllabi, such as the
long-term historical influence of environment, geography,
and disease, as well as how the changing nature of war
affected the human experience and transformed political
institutions.
Dr. Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe. A Senior Lecturer in Roman
History in the Department of Classics at King’s College
London and the recipient, in 2012, of a Davis Fellowship
to Princeton University, Dr. Lunn-Rockliffe studied in
Oxford before going on to complete her doctorate on the
political theology of Ambrosiaster, a late Christian writer
of the fourth century, at Cambridge. Before joining the
faculty at King’s, Dr. Lunn-Rockliffe held several teaching
posts, including one at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and
another at Columbia University. Her research interests
lie in the history of late antiquity, with a specialization in
early Christianity and the history of ideas. She is currently
writing a book on notions and images of the Devil in late
antiquity.
II. ENGLISH LITERATURE
Study Group Leader:
How do we excite today’s students about English
Literature? With this question in mind, the Study Group
reads and discusses selected texts by major writers,
exploring key ideas in practical criticism and how these
may be presented in classrooms around the world. While
considering texts that can stand on their own or be
integrated into thematic courses, the group examines
canonical writers from Shakespeare to Virginia Woolf,
along with others who have a particular connection to
Cambridge (such as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, Lord Byron, Lord Tennyson, Rupert Brooke,
and Sylvia Plath). Participants visit sites of special literary
interest around Cambridge, including the Orchard in
Grantchester and the former colleges of famous writers
and poets.
Dr. Ross Wilson. Ross Wilson was educated at Emmanuel
College, Cambridge, and at University College London,
before completing his doctorate at Cambridge in 2004.
He held a Research Fellowship at Emmanuel College
(2004–07) and a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
in the Faculty of English, Cambridge (2007–09), before
being appointed Lecturer in Criticism in the Faculty of
English and a Fellow of Trinity College. He is editor of
Romantic Circles Reviews & Receptions, and the author of
books on Percy Shelley and Theodor Adorno. His research
interests encompass the history, theory, and practice of
literary criticism; British and European Romanticism; and
English poetry from 1750 to the present. He is currently
writing a book called Critical Forms, a history of the genres
of critical writing.
On the following pages, the Cambridge Teacher Seminar’s provisional schedule provides an idea of how Study
Groups blend with the plenary program. It is representative but not exact, and is subject to change.
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Left: Participants enjoy a drink before dinner in Jesus College.
Above: A rare books room in the University Library.
This Study Group focuses on the evolution of the library
and library science, from issues of library design and the
management of specialist collections to the challenges
and opportunities presented by new technologies and
streams of information. Designed for librarians, archivists,
and others with an interest in the history and role of
the library in the academy and broader society, the
Study Group takes full advantage of the rich and varied
library system of the University of Cambridge, with
its 114 constituent bodies. Participants explore several
medieval libraries and rare book collections, and confer
with experts drawn from different fields of library science
and archive management.
Steven Archer. Mr. Archer is Parker Librarian and Digital
Projects Manager at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge,
where he oversees the College’s diverse collections. The
Parker Library is the College’s exceptional rare books and
manuscripts library. It is one of the world’s most significant
collections of medieval manuscripts. Mr. Archer also
manages the College’s Digital Library Project, Parker on the
Web. He studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic at Cambridge,
and completed his graduate work in Library Science at
University College London, focusing on special collections.
He was previously Head of Reference at the London Library,
and has also held positions at many of the great libraries
at Cambridge, including at Trinity, Christ’s, and Newnham
Colleges. His research interests include the social function
of books in the medieval period and the history of libraries
and reading practices.
IV. THINKING MATHEMATICALLY
Study Group Leader:
How can we, as teachers, encourage students to invest
time and effort in solving challenging problems in
mathematics, and in related subjects like computing,
engineering, and science? In this Study Group
participants explore the process of solving problems by
engaging with key historic issues in mathematics. This
twin experience provides the basis for examining the
work of famous educators, such as Polya and Lakatos, on
the nature of problem-solving in education and research.
What does it mean to solve a problem? What makes a
mathematical proof watertight? How does mathematical
proof contrast with evidence in science or an “engineering
solution”? How can crowded contemporary curricula
accommodate problem-solving as a core theme? How
can teachers nurture confident problem-solving skills in
their students? These questions and more are explored
in depth.
Prof. Christopher Sangwin. Christopher Sangwin is
Professor of Technology Enhanced Science Education at the
University of Edinburgh. A leading figure in mathematics
education in the UK, Prof. Sangwin held Senior Lectureships
at Birmingham and Loughborough Universities before
joining the faculty at Edinburgh. For over a decade he
worked with the UK Higher Education Academy to promote
the learning and teaching of university mathematics. His
research and teaching interests include the automatic
assessment of mathematics using computer algebra, and,
in particular, the development of the STACK system, as well
as problem solving using the Moore Method and similar
student-centered approaches. He in is the author of a
number of books, including How Round is Your Circle?, which
illustrates and investigates the links between mathematics
and engineering using physical models.
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Preliminary Program
Study Group Leader:
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III. THE CHANGING LIBRARY
D A Y
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4.00pm · Welcome to Peterhouse
Dr. Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
Dr. Lunn-Rockliffe greets participants in Peterhouse and
outlines the program.
St
Cambridge
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5.00pm · Plenary Session: Introductory Walking Tour of
Cambridge
Dr. Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
Together with the other Study Group leaders, Dr. LunnRockliffe introduces participants to Westcott House and
Cambridge University. A short guided tour orients new
arrivals as they explore Peterhouse and their immediate
surroundings, which include the Fitzwilliam Museum,
pathways along the River Cam, a conveniently-located
parade of shops, and the town center.
6.30pm · Dinner at Peterhouse
Dinner is served in the college dining hall. Before dinner,
teachers gather in Peterhouse’s bar and common room for
drinks and conversation.
8.00pm · Free Evening
Optional local walking tour to see Cambridge in the
evening and engage in conversation in a local pub.
Preliminary Program
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9.00am · Study Groups meet for the first time
Under the guidance of the Study Group leader, each group
meets every day to cover a number of specific topics:
• Why History Matters
WHM1: The Subjects of History: This Seminar looks at what
historical periods and topics are covered in different national
school and university curricula, and how these have changed
over time. What social and political forces influence how and
what kind of history is taught?
• English Literature
EL1: Themes and Contexts: How do we teach students difficult
texts, and why? Can “difficulty” generate anything constructive,
or only frustration? And how best to address difficulty in the
classroom?
• The Changing Library
CL1: The Oxbridge Library: Evolving
conceptions of scholarship and knowledge;
imagining the library; history of the
unique Oxford and Cambridge
collegiate system and its relationship
to libraries and the organization of
information; visit of The Old Library
at Jesus College.
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• Thinking Mathematically
TM1: Teacher as Student: How do we go about solving math
problems ourselves? What are the purposes for struggling with
mathematical problems, and what pedagogical and scholarly
strategies are there for tackling them?
11.30am At the close of each Study Group meeting, teachers
visit specific locations around Cambridge connected with the
morning’s subject.
12.30pm · Lunch
2.00pm · Plenary Session: The Cambridge System
Dr. Nicholas James
Dr. James discusses how Cambridge colleges constitute the
University, how the collegiate system works, how colleges
function as distinct institutions, and how this system creates
one of the richest learning environments in the world.
A consultant in the management and interpretation of historical
resources at Cambridge, where he is also an Affiliated Scholar in
Archeology, Dr. James is an archeologist and historian with varied
interests. His current projects explore the post-Medieval landscape
history of the Fens and the architecture of the Aztecs.
4.00pm · Tea
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Pursuing the Early Epochs of the
Universe with Modern Radio Telescope
Dr. Eloy de Lera Acedo
A Senior Research Associate at Cavendish Astrophysics, where he
is the Leader of the Novel Sensors Group, which investigates and
develops technology used in radio astronomy, Dr. de Lera Acedo is
also a Teaching Associate and Bye-fellow of Downing College.
6.30pm · Dinner
8.00pm · Plenary Session: Cambridge Instruction, Past and
Present
Mr. Anthony Bowen
A Fellow of Jesus College, where he teaches Classics, Mr. Bowen
served as the University Orator for 15 years. He is an expert in the
history of Cambridge.
D A Y
7.30pm · Optional outing to a play
The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival stages plays in a
number of college gardens.
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9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Why History Matters
WHM2: History and Anthropology: This session studies ways
of addressing comparative history using anthropological
and ethnographic approaches. How far can we extrapolate
information about past societies from our knowledge and
understanding of contemporary societies?
• English Literature
EL2: Why Literature?: Why do we teach literature, and how
do we do so? What is the purpose of studying books, plays,
and poems? Is it to learn about society, about others, or about
ourselves? Or is it not about learning anything, but rather about
experiencing and appreciating literary craft and beauty?
• Thinking Mathematically
TM2: Mathematical Reasoning: What are the different forms
of reasoning available to us? How does exploration and
inductive reasoning contrast with deduction and logic? How
do external authority and personal experience interplay to form
mathematical knowledge? Visit to the Cambridge Faculty of
Mathematics.
A Lecturer in English and Fellow and Director of Studies at
St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, Dr. Hurley completed
his doctorate on the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins. His
research is focused largely on English poetry and poetics of
the 19th and 20th centuries. He is especially interested in the
relationship between “form” and “meaning” in literature - on
the ways that each provides the context for understanding
the other; and on the connections between how books
and poems make us feel and what they make us think. His
work Faith in Poetry: Verse Style as a Mode of Religious
Belief is forthcoming from Bloomsbury. Dr. Hurley’s other
publications include The Complete Father Brown Stories, G.
K. Chesterton, and Poetic Form: An Introduction.
4.00pm · Tea
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Concert at King’s College
Chapel Participants enjoy world-class music amidst the
architectual splendor of the King’s College Chapel.
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Why History Matters
WHM3: Art in History: An exploration of how art has shocked
and shaped the world, examining examples from ancient,
medieval, and modern societies in which works of art have had
an influence on social, cultural, and religious life.
• English Literature
EL3: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes: Though less well known in the
US than the UK, Hughes occupies a central role in English school
curricula.
• The Changing Library
CL3: Developing and Managing Collections: Collection
management is perhaps the greatest issue facing librarians
today, and in many regards it was equally pressing 500 years ago.
The session also explores the impact of digital technology on the
contemporary library. Visit of the Pepys Library at Magdalene
College.
• Thinking Mathematically
TM3: Experimental Learning: How can we use experimental
evidence to form conjectures of our own? How can we move
beyond conjectures to a hypothesis, and how are hypotheses
challenged, developed, and refined?
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Readings and conversation with
the former Poet Laureate
Professor Andrew Motion
Professor Motion is the former Poet Laureate of the United
Kingdom, a post renowned for its previous holders such as William
Wordsworth, Lord Tennyson, and Ted Hughes. He was Professor
of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London, and
is currently Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns
Hopkins. He is the author of acclaimed biographies
and anthologies of poetry, including Philip
Larkin: A Writer’s Life (1994) and Keats
(1998). In 2007 he wrote The Five Acts
of Harry Patch, dedicated to the last
surviving soldier to have fought in
the trenches in the First World
War.
4.00pm · Tea
6.30pm · Dinner
Teachers polish their punting skills on the Cam.
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Preliminary Program
2.00pm · Plenary Session: How to Re-Read Literature and
Why
Dr. Michael Hurley
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Cambridge
St Andrews
• The Changing Library
CL2: The Library and the History of the Book: Tracing the historical
role of the library; collecting manuscripts; the production and
dissemination of texts from antiquity to the present day; visit to
the rare book collection in the Parker Library at Corpus Christi
College.
D A Y
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Covering Brexit
Dr. Suzanne Lynch
Dr. Lynch talks about bridging academia and journalism,
about the future of journalism, and about Britain and the
European Union.
A journalist and writer, Dr. Lynch was educated at University
College, Dublin, the University of Kent, and Cambridge University,
where she completed her doctorate in Literary Modernism. She
previously wrote for The Times and The Irish Examiner. She is
currently the European Correspondent for The Irish Times, based
in Brussels. As well as covering the EU institutions and the Eurozone
crisis, she keeps an eye on all things cultural across the continent.
Cambridge
St Andrews
6.30pm · Dinner
7.30pm · Social Mixer with The Cambridge Tradition and
The Cambridge Prep Experience Faculty and Staff in Jesus
College
D A Y
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9.00am · Study Groups meet
Preliminary Program
• Why History Matters
WHM4: History through Literature: Can we use literary fiction
to deepen our historical understanding of a particular period
or issue? This Seminar looks at contemporary imaginative
reconstructions of the past, and at poetry and drama from the
past, focusing on the theme of war.
• English Literature
EL4: Shakespeare in Performance: Teachers attend a Shakespeare
play that is part of the annual Cambridge Shakespeare Festival
and discuss historicist readings, gender, and Shakespeare as a
cultural icon.
• The Changing Library
CL4: Designing the Library: In the 21st century, the ways in which
people want to use libraries is changing rapidly. Participants
study examples of modern library design and ask how libraries
have been adapted to suit the needs of modern readers. Visit of
the Seeley Historical Library.
• Thinking Mathematically
TM4: Argumentation: What is the interplay between definitions,
experimental evidence, deductive proofs, and the statements of
a formal theorem? How do arguments get challenged, refuted,
and proved? What are the differences between problem solving
as professional research, and problem solving by students? Visit
to the Cambridge Mullard Radio Observatory.
2.00pm · Plenary Session: What can humanitarians actually
do?
Camilla Barker
A researcher in the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford, Camilla
is an international lawyer. Her research focuses on the obligations of
disaster-affected States in the context of humanitarian assistance.
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She worked as a Scholar-in-Residence at NYU Law and as part of
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs. In recognition of her work, Camilla has been elected a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Arts and an Associate Fellow of the Higher
Education Academy.
4.00pm · Tea
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Literature Makes History: How
Poets Helped End Slavery
Prof. James Basker
Prof. Basker addresses our participants in Peterhouse on
how literature and history intersect and overlap, focusing
on the antislavery movement.
5.30pm · Plenary Session: Conversations with Gates Scholars
Studying at Cambridge
Gates Cambridge Scholars who teach on The Cambridge
Tradition and The Cambridge Prep Experience student
programs visit Peterhouse to talk about their experiences
and ambitions at Cambridge, where they study and teach
in several departments.
6.30pm · Dinner with the Gates Scholars at Peterhouse
7.30pm · Optional outing: Recital
Throughout the summer, Cambridge hosts a variety of
musical entertainment in locations such as colleges,
chapels, and gardens. In recent years our teachers
have enjoyed the Cambridge Voices, an internationally
acclaimed choral group, led by Ian de Massini.
D A Y
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9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Why History Matters
WHM5: Forces of Historical Change: This Seminar focuses on
the different ways historians from antiquity to modernity have
explained historical change - as influenced by humans, and as
shaped by environment, climate, and disease.
• English Literature
EL5: Virginia Woolf: Focusing on To the Lighthouse, teachers
study one of the great feminist figures of Cambridge and British
Modernism.
• The Changing Library
CL5: The British Library: The establishment and growth of
national repositories, and legal deposit and copyright libraries;
identifying and meeting the needs of public and specialist
patrons; visit to the old and the new British Library in London.
• Thinking Mathematically
TM5: Rethinking Problem Solving: How can teachers use problems
and problem-solving to make math and its sister subjects
come alive and seem relevant to students? What resources are
available to us? How might technology in the classroom be used
to enhance the students’ experience of solving problems in
traditional ways?
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Learning to Listen
Dr. Kate Guthrie
4.00pm · Tea
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Oliver Cromwell: A Great, Bad
Man
Professor John Morrill
Professor Morrill, a world authority on Oliver Cromwell,
discusses the Civil War general, regicide, and Lord Protector
of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
6.30pm · Dinner
8.00pm · The Cambridge Challenge
A light-hearted test of intellect, wit, and general knowledge
at a local pub.
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Why History Matters
WHM6: Why History?: Reflecting on the week, this Seminar
discusses defenses of history both as an enriching intellectual
exercise and as a means of helping this latest generation of
students to understand their pasts and their presents.
• English Literature
EL6: Whose Opinion Matters?: The final session explores
questions of authority, opinion, and taste. What authority, if
any, does the author have over the audience? How do historical
readings stand up against our own, contemporary views?
• The Changing Library
CL6: Do We Still Need Libraries?: New technologies and resources;
digital libraries and repositories; copyright and intellectual
property. Participants discuss the role of the library in the age of
online research and digital books in the final session.
• Thinking Mathematically
TM6: Planning Session: With new ideas to consider, as well as
new tactics and strategies in mind, participants conclude the
Study Group with a planning session to prepare for the new
academic year.
2.00pm · Participants’ Forum
Participants meet in their respective Study Groups to
reflect upon their experiences over the past week and to
discuss ways in which these experiences might influence
their classroom teaching and other projects in the future.
This is followed by an optional walk to the Grantchester
tea rooms.
8.00pm · Reception and Final Dinner at Peterhouse
D A Y
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9.00am · Farewell Breakfast and Departure
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Preliminary Program
John Morrill is a professor of British and Irish History at Cambridge
University and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is also a Senior
Fellow at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and has published widely
in both the popular history of the period and in ground-breaking
research. His talk on Cromwell, one of Cambridge University’s most
controversial alumni, is rich with historical context and insight.
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Cambridge
A British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in Music at the University of
Southampton, Dr. Guthrie is currently investigating the initiatives
that developed in 1920s and ’30s to promote highbrow (or “classical”)
music to a wider audience. This project is a facet of her broader
interests in the social, political, and cultural history of music in midtwentieth-century Britain. Dr. Guthrie completed her doctorate at
King’s College London, supported by an AHRC scholarship. She holds
a BA and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge.
D A Y
St Andrews
TEACHER SEMINAR
July 9 - July 16, 2017
St Salvator's Quad, colloquially referred to as Sallies Quad.
Preliminary Program
St Andrews
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Founded in 1413, the University of St Andrews is Scotland’s oldest university and the third oldest in the Englishspeaking world. Its scholars have included eminent scientists, doctors, mathematicians, philosophers, theologians,
politicians, Nobel Laureates, and royals Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
Nestled between the North Sea and flanked by the rolling green hills of Fife, St Andrews is known for its beautiful
cobblestone streets, historic buildings, narrow “wynds,” and ancient monuments and ruins, not least the striking
remains of a medieval cathedral. The town is also known for its beautiful beaches that stretch on for miles, and, of
course, for being the home of golf. Seven local courses, many of which host international competitions, most famously
the Royal St Andrews, are close to the ancient university.
Agnes Blackadder Hall opened in 1993. At that point it was known simply as “New Hall.” But in October 2012, current
and former residents joined forces and petitioned for it to be renamed after Agnes Forbes Blackadder, the first woman
awarded a degree by the University.
The Hall is located on North Haugh between the Science Faculty and Andrew Melville Hall. Its facilities are among the
most modern of any U.K. university. All bedrooms boast private bathrooms. The Hall is also equipped with a residents’
common room, a computer room, and a licensed café. There is elevator access to all four floors. The stunning settings
of the Old Course golf course and West Sands beach are both within short walking distance, as is the medieval town
center of St Andrews itself. The Hall is directly adjacent to the University sports center, which is accessible during the
week for a small entrance fee.
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T
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St Andrews Teacher Seminar participants reconnect with university life in Scotland’s oldest institution of higher learning.
The Seminar is a meeting of minds with leading academics and educators from St Andrews. At the heart of the Seminar
are Study Groups, each with a different focus, offering detailed discussion and exploration of a particular subject. Each
morning these groups meet individually to discuss a series of topics that are complemented in the afternoons by a
plenary program of speakers, workshops, outings, and events. Teachers select one Study Group for the duration of the
week and participate in every plenary session.
Teacher Seminar participants select the Study Group that they would like to join using the Application Form at the
back of this brochure. In advance of the summer, Study Group leaders recommend optional preparatory reading for all
participants. We also ask participants to bring their own proposed topics for discussion, specific to their Study Group.
The Study Groups available in summer 2017 are as follows (descriptions are provisional but indicative):
More students than ever are applying to universities
abroad. Today’s college counselor has to be familiar with
multiple application systems, as well as trends in university
courses and syllabi worldwide. This study group surveys
the increasingly global reach of college counseling.
Participants discuss college selection processes in various
countries; the respective merits of SATs, A-Levels, and the
IB; the schisms and similarities between UCAS and the
Common Application; the early decision and early action
debates; different types of personal statements and
essays; and everything in between. Led by an American
counselor based in Europe, this course will be augmented
by local experts and guest lecturers.
Heather Thompson Cavalli, Ms Thompson Cavalli
graduated from Columbia University, Barnard College,
in 1990 and earned her Master's in Comparative History
at Brandeis University in 1994. She has been a college
counselor and teacher of History, IB History, and IB Theory
of Knowledge at the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz for six years.
Before that she was Director of College Counseling at a
boarding school in Connecticut for six years and has
been a teacher of history since 1994. She has profound
experience of different university systems and has traveled
to over 200 American, Dutch, German, Spanish and British
universities to expand her first hand knowledge and to be
able best to advise students.
II. ECONOMICS
Study Group Leader:
In the wake of a century of unprecedented economic
growth, not to mention the occasional financial meltdown,
it is scarcely surprising that students are taking a greater
interest in Economics than ever before. Working in Adam
Smith’s homeland, and taking full advantage of a wealth
of local expertise and resources – St Andrews is noted for
its groundbreaking work in money and market formation,
macroeconomic analysis, game theory, and the future of
European political economy – the Economics Study Group
addresses a series of key issues in the field while working
out how best to translate them into the classroom in
interesting and provocative ways.
Dr. Paul Egan. Dr. Egan is a Teaching Fellow in Economics
and Finance at the University of St Andrews and a
specialist in Chinese monetary policies. He holds a PhD
in Macroeconomics from the University of Limerick,
and an MA in Economics from the National University of
Ireland, Galway. A prestigious award from the Kemmy
Business School recently enabled him to conduct research
exchanges with Tongji University in Shanghai. Paul is a
decorated scholar and has also received the Paul Tansey
Scholarship and an Irish Research Council Scholarship.
He has published extensively, including two pieces which
appeared in The Journal of Chinese Economic and Business
Studies and the Asian Development Review in 2016.
St Andrews
Cambridge
Study Group Leader:
Preliminary Program
I. APPLYING TO COLLEGE - THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
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Preliminary Program
St
Andrews
Cambridge
III. CELTIC LITERATURES
Study Group Leader:
Celtic culture had a profound impact on the development
of literature across the British Isles. The Celts’ distinctive
influences can be felt in the intricacies of early-Medieval
Irish poetry as much as it can in the grit of contemporary
Scottish novels. Beginning with seventh-century poems
and religious works, this ambitious syllabus stretches as
far as Irvine Welsh’s portrayal of drug addiction in late1980s Edinburgh. In addition to analyzing literary texts
in close detail, we use them to discover who the Celts
were, and to trace their movements from their origins
in pre-Christian Europe to the present day. This involves
scrutinizing the development of Celtic folklores, religions,
and traditions; the evolutions of separate Celtic cultures
in Ireland and Wales; the Celtic Revival in an age of
emerging nationalisms; and the place of Celtic culture in
the twenty-first century media and popular imagination.
Dr. Katie Garner. Dr. Garner is Teaching Fellow in Literature
at the University of St Andrews. She holds an MA and PhD
from Cardiff University, and has particular expertise on the
influence of the Arthurian legend on women’s writing in the
Romantic period. Before joining St Andrews, Katie was the
Government of Ireland Irish Research Council Postdoctoral
Fellow at University College Cork. She has also taught at
the University of South Wales. In addition to her teaching
and research duties, Katie serves as the Reviews Editor for
Romantic Textualities: Literature and Print Culture, 1780-1840.
She has published extensively on Romantic figures such a
Mary Wollstonecraft, Anne Bannerman, and Louisa Stuart
Costello.
On the following pages, the St Andrews Teacher Seminar’s provisional schedule provides an idea of how Study
Groups blend with the plenary program. It is representative but not exact, and is subject to change.
St Andrews from the Sands.
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D A Y
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4.00pm · Welcome to St Andrews
Dr. Luke Berryman
Dr. Berryman, coordinator of the Teacher Seminar, greets
participants at Agnes Blackadder Hall and outlines the
program.
5.00pm · Plenary Session: Introductory Walking Tour of St
Andrews
Dr. Luke Berryman
A short guided tour helps orient participants as they
explore the grounds of St Andrews University and its
immediate surroundings.
8.00pm · Free Evening
Optional local walking tour to see St Andrews in the
evening and engage in conversation at a local watering
hole.
D A Y
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9.00am · Study Groups meet for the first time
Under the guidance of the Study Group leader, each group
meets every day to cover a number of specific topics:
• Economics
E1: An Historical Framework: The study group begins with a
thoroughgoing examination of the history of economics. Starting
with two monumental works from the Classical era – Smith’s The
Wealth of Nations and Marx’s Das Kapital – participants move
through Keynesianism and various post-War economic schools,
including Mechanism Design, and the Chicago School. We
review these landmarks in order to understand the discipline’s
place in the world today.
• Celtic Literatures
CL1: The Origins of British Literatures: Works for consideration
include the Welsh epic poem Y Gododdin and the Old English
poem Dream of the Rood, both of which were written in Scotland.
The course explores the growth of a unique literary tradition in
Scotland, from Adomnán’s 7th-century Latin hagiography Vita
Columbae to John Ireland’s The Meroure of Wyssdome (1490) –
one of the first recognized works of Scots prose.
11.30am · At the close of each Study Group meeting, teachers
visit specific locations around St Andrews connected with
the morning’s subject.
An archivist and historian, Dr. Reid completed his doctorate in
medieval Scottish politics at the University of Edinburgh. In 1995 he
became the Keeper of Manuscripts and Muniments at St Andrews
University, and was the longtime Head of Special Collections at the
University. Dr. Reid is also the Assistant Director of the University
Library at St Andrews. He continues to publish regularly, including a
history of the University.
4.00pm · Optional Visit: The Secret Bunker
The Secret Bunker is an enormous Cold War structure buried
a hundred feet beneath the town of Fife. Here participants
discover where Scotland would have been governed from in
the event of a nuclear strike.
6.30pm · Dinner
8.00pm · Evening at the Byre Theater
A chance to relax with classical music in the intimate setting
of the Byre Theater, a home for the arts nestled away in the
winding streets of St Andrews.
D A Y
3
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Applying to College
AC2: School examinations: Schools across the world have
divergent ways of examining their students at the end of their
tenure. In this session, participants discuss the requirements
and relative merits of A-levels, SATs, and the International
Baccalaureate. How do these systems differ, and what is each of
them trying to achieve?
• Economics
E2: Small Scale: The Microeconomic Outlook: Participants turn to
current work in microeconomics, investigating single factors in
the market and the effects of decision-making at the individual
and company levels. Case studies of local St Andrews businesses
form the backbone of this session.
• Celtic Literatures
CL2: The Enlightenment: Focusing on perhaps the greatest Scottish
poet, Robert Burns, the Study Group assesses his influence on
British literatures while looking at other genres that flourished in
Enlightenment Scottish writing.
2.00pm · Plenary Session: St Andrews and its Writers:
Professor Robert Crawford
Once a teacher on Oxbridge’s Oxford Tradition program, Robert
Crawford studied and taught at Glasgow and Oxford, moving to
19
Cambridge
St Andrews
• Applying to College
AC1: Challenges: In this opening session, we discuss the many
challenges facing students who aspire to study overseas. How
can we guide them through a global market? How can they be
prepared for so big a transition? And how do we help parents
brace themselves for the move?
2.00pm · Plenary Session: St Andrews Past, Present, and
Future
Dr. Norman Reid
Preliminary Program
6.30pm · Dinner in Residence
Before dinner, participants gather for drinks and
conversation.
12.30pm · Lunch
St Andrews in 1989. He has published six collections of poetry and
over two dozen books. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
and of the British Academy, he has given readings and lectures at
Berkeley, Oxford, and Yale. He is an experienced broadcaster, and
has been a judge of the National Poetry Competition, the T S Eliot
Prize, and the David Cohen Prize. Formerly the Head of School at St
Andrews, now he is Director of Research for Planning, Publications,
and Grants. Recent publications include Bannockburns: Scottish
Independence and Literary Imagination, 1314-2014 (2014),
Young Eliot, the first volume of his two-volume biography of T. S.
Eliot, and The Book of Iona (2016).
4.00pm · Coffee
Preliminary Program
4.30pm · Tour of the Museum of the University of St
Andrews
The Museum of the University of St Andrews (MUSA) contains
a wealth of treasures from the University’s private collection of
over 112,000 artifacts. In addition to four separate galleries, it
also boasts a terrace with panoramic views over the bay.
6.30pm · Dinner
4
9.00am · Study Groups meet
St
Andrews
Cambridge
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Visit to Edinburgh
Participants visit Scotland’s capital city. Edinburgh remains home
to the Scottish parliament, and it was once the seat of the Scottish
monarchy; it hosts the country’s national Library, Gallery, and
Museum; and it maintains the Old Town and New Town, both of
which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Participants find
endless possibilities for discovery in this remarkable city.
6.30pm · Dinner in Edinburgh
8.00pm · Theater Evening in Edinburgh
Participants choose their evening entertainment from the
wide variety of options on offer at the world-class institutions
punctuating the city – including the Festival Theater, the
Edinburgh Playhouse, and the Royal Lyceum.
8.00pm · Optional Whisky Tasting
D A Y
volatility and bubbles, and, hopefully, avoid crashes. This session
is informed by major policy debates in Europe following Brexit.
The session concludes with a visit to the Centre for Dynamic
Macroeconomic Analysis at the University of St Andrews.
• Celtic Literatures
CL3: The Ossian Fraud: This session examines the extraordinary
success of the greatest literary fraud ever perpetrated: Ossian, and
its Celtic mimics, such as Dafydd ap Gwilym, assessing their influence
over the emerging Celtic revival and their fraught relationship with
the Scottish Enlightenment of the “Edinburgh Review.”
• Applying to College
AC3: British universities: Unlike their American counterparts,
most British universities require students to apply for one
subject. How do we prepare young students for this level of
specialization? What are the advantages and disadvantages of
engaging with one field so early? We also examine universities
that interview, such as Oxford and Cambridge; UCAS, and
particularly the personal statement; and what British professors
are looking for in letters of recommendation.
• Economics
E3: Big Picture: Where Theory Meets Policy: The Study Group
explores the effects of financial globalization, including
the connections between international markets, and the
relationship between the macro economy and economic policy,
as policymakers work to navigate growth, manage market
D A Y
5
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Applying to College
AC4: European universities: Methods of application vary across
the European continent. Today we look at nations such as France
and Switzerland, in which students apply to universities directly.
How can they be prepared for unique entrance examinations and
various levels of language requirements?
• Economics
E4: Economics for Good?: The Study Group dives into some of the
most hotly contested and exciting current debates in economics
– how can we best fight poverty and improve the lives of those
in the greatest economic need? Participants investigate the
possibilities with specialist guests in Development Economics.
• Celtic Literatures
CL4: The Romantics; Celtic Futures Past: This session is devoted to
the most successful literary figure to have come out of Scotland,
Sir Walter Scott. His role in elaborating a lasting Scottish identity is
examined through his poetry, his prose - notably the historical novel
- and his complex politics.
2.00pm · Plenary Session: The Science of Golf from Tee to
Green
Dr. Steve Otto
Dr. Otto is the Technical Director of The Royal and Ancient Golf
Club of St Andrews, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the
world, and commonly regarded as the home of golf. The R&A is
also a leader in formulating both the global rules of golf and the
technical specifications for golfing equipment. In his role as
Technical Director, Dr. Otto oversees this second area. He and his
20
team conduct research which aims to analyze and understand
the impact of new, and very high-tech equipment on the game.
Prior to joining The R&A, Dr. Otto worked for NASA as a physicist,
specializing in aerodynamics.
6.30pm · Dinner
4.00pm · Coffee
4.30pm · Guided tour of The Old Course
The historic Old Course at St Andrews is widely considered to
be the home of golf. This guided tour is led by Dr. Steve Otto,
Technical Director at the Club.
5.00pm · Optional Golf Session
Participants sharpen their putting skills on The Himalayas,
a famously quirky green adjacent to the beautiful West
Sands Beach.
D A Y
6
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Applying to College
AC5: American universities: In this session, we discuss the
American Common Application system. Is there such a thing
as too many applications? How can students’ personal essays
be persuasive and compact enough to fit within the 500-word
limit? What are the benefits and the disadvantages of the early
decision and early action?
• Celtic Literatures
CL5: The Modernists: The “Scottish Renaissance” in the wider Celtic
context: Hugh MacDiarmid, George Douglas Brown, and J. M. Barrie
in the age of W. B. Yeats and Maud Gonne.
2.00 pm · Optional Walk: The Fife Coastal Trail
Participants enjoy the rugged cliffs and unspoiled beaches
that pepper the Fife Coastal Path, which is internationally
known for its tranquility and outstanding natural beauty.
4.00pm · Coffee
D A Y
7
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Applying to College
AC6: In Conversation: The Study Group considers what skills
new undergraduates need most to successfully make the leap
to university life. A discussion is held with students attending
the Oxbridge at St Andrews program. We talk with these bright
young people about what they want most from us as educators
as they navigate the road to university.
• Economics
E6: Creating Economists: In the concluding session the Study
Group considers how the ideas discussed during the week
might be carried back into curricula at home, with a particular
emphasis on how to breathe life into them through interactive
and hands-on projects.
• Celtic Literatures
CL6: Contemporary Celtic Literatures: The Seminar concludes by
considering the extraordinary vibrancy of literature in Scotland,
Wales, and Ireland since the 1980s, from James Kelman’s The
Busconductor Hines (1984) to Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting (1993) via
Roddy Doyle’s Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1993) Eimear McBride’s A Girl
Is a Half-formed Thing (2013), and “Tartan Noir.”
2.00pm · Participants’ Forum
Participants meet in their respective Study Groups to
reflect upon their experiences over the past week and to
discuss ways in which these experiences might influence
their classroom teaching and other projects in the future.
8.00pm · Reception and Final Dinner at Agnes Blackadder
Hall
D A Y
8
9.00am · Farewell Breakfast and Departure
4.30pm · Plenary Session: How Literature Helped End
Slavery
Professor James Basker
Professor Basker addresses the relationship of literature and
history in the context of the abolition campaign, drawing upon his
own Amazing Grace (2002) and American Antislavery Writings
21
St Andrews
Cambridge
• Economics
E5: Post Crisis: The global financial crisis which began in 2007
originated in complex financial instruments that many bankers
themselves didn’t fully comprehend. This session aims to get
to grips with both the causes and consequences of the crisis,
including the reexamination of economic orthodoxies.
Jannettas is a family-run business dating back to 1908.
Participants indulge in their enormous range of home-made
gelatos and ice-creams.
Preliminary Program
6.30pm · Dinner at Forgan's
Participants dine on traditional Scottish fare in one of St
Andrews’ most popular eateries – authentic haggis is on
the menu for the least intrepid!
8.00pm · Ice Cream at Jannettas Ice Cream Shop
The Eiffel Tower and, through its arch, the famous Ecole Militaire.
Par is
TEACHER SEMINAR
July 16 - July 23, 2017
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Seminar participants reside in FIAP Jean Monnet, a clean and comfortable Foyer with en-suite facilities, lived in by university
students during the year, and situated in the 14th arrondissement, close to Paris’s famous catacombs, the Observatoire, the
quirky, bohemian village of la Butte aux Cailles, and Montparnasse Cemetery. Just a brief walk or short metro ride away
are most of the magnificent sights for which Paris is justly famous: the Eiffel Tower, the Jardin du Luxembourg, the SainteChapelle, Louvre, Notre-Dame, Ile de la Cité, Ile Saint-Louis, and many more.
Breakfast is served in the residence, but evening meals are eaten in cafés and restaurants around the city, adding another
dimension to our experience of French culture.
Two metro stops away lies the Lycée Notre Dame de Sion, one of the premier high schools in Paris and the setting for
our student program, l’Académie de Paris, and some of the Seminar's meetings. The Lycée is situated in the elegant and
fashionable 6th arrondissement, the neighborhood in which Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald lived and worked
and Gertrude Stein held her celebrated salon.
The Paris Teacher Seminar is designed to make Paris and French culture accessible to everyone, regardless of language
ability. The Seminar offers two Study Groups, one in English and one in French, so that French speakers can converse with
local experts in their native tongue and non-French speakers have an equal opportunity fully to experience Parisian life.
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Paris Teacher Seminar participants enjoy life in a centrally located residence and a meeting of minds with leading academics
and educators from great French universities. At the heart of the Seminar are two Study Groups, one conducted in French
and one in English, offering detailed discussion and exploration of focused subjects. These groups meet individually to
discuss a series of topics that are complemented by a plenary program of speakers, visits, and events. Teachers select
one Study Group for the duration of the week and participate in every plenary session. Plenary sessions are conducted in
English so that they are accessible to all.
Teacher Seminar participants select the Study Group that they would like to join using the Application Form at the back
of this brochure. In advance of the summer, Study Group leaders recommend several seminal texts that allow participants
to plunge into the Seminar upon arrival. We also ask participants to bring their own proposed topics for discussion. The
Study Groups available in summer 2017 are as follows (descriptions are provisional but indicative):
Study Group Leader and Seminar Director:
Teachers address a selection of issues arising out of
French history, culture, national memory, politics and
society. The group provides an accessible introduction
to Paris as well as a deeper investigation of French life,
history, and culture. It is designed for those teachers
who wish to enrich their classroom teaching by drawing
on this magnificent city’s past and its cultural life today
as well as those who seek to improve their familiarity
with French society, the French education system, and
European cultural life.
M. Jérôme Lescarret-Vlna. M. Lescarret-Vlna teaches
economics and history to postgraduate students preparing
for entry to the Hautes Ecoles at the Internat d’Excellence
de Sourdun, a flagship school outside Paris. His publications
include Les Gaulois and Les Romains (2001), and L’histoire et
la géographie au baccalauréat and 100 dates de l’histoire de
France (2009). He also contributed to Les enjeux européens
depuis 1989 (2004). He holds an MA in Roman History from
the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and a DEA in
Roman History from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
en Sorbonne. He won a Fulbright Scholarship to undertake
research at Amherst College in the United States. This will
be his sixth year with the Seminar.
II. FRANCOPHONE: La civilisation française à l’aube du
21ème siècle
Pour ceux qui enseignent la langue et la culture
françaises, ce cursus permet non seulement de discuter
régulièrement avec d’autres francophones, mais aussi
d’approfondir ses connaissances de la France dans ses
aspects historiques, culturels, et politiques, tout en
explorant des phénomènes de société et de mémoire
nationale. Les participants se fondent dans la ville et
la vie parisienne grâce à divers colloques, lectures, et
visites, et rentrent chez eux avec une expérience et des
connaissances considérables qu’ils peuvent partager
avec leurs élèves.
Study Group Leader:
On the following pages, the Paris Teacher Seminar’s provisional schedule provides an idea of how Study Groups
blend with the plenary program. It is representative but not exact, and is subject to change.
23
Paris
Mme. Patricia Maillet. Auteure de deux ouvrages, La
rédaction professionnelle, qui inclut une partie sur la
grammaire française, et Les écrits de synthèse, qui examine
les techniques de l’écrit, Mme. Maillet possède une longue
expérience dans l’enseignement, en particulier auprès de
publics universitaires et adultes. Elle a longtemps enseigné
la littérature française et le français comme langue
étrangère pour, entre autres, l’Université du Michigan,
l’Alliance Française de Hong Kong, et la Chambre de
Commerce de Paris. Fascinée par la littérature et experte
en cinéma, elle a créé un atelier d’écriture et a également
animé un cours sur le cinéma français des années 30 et
40. Mme. Maillet a suivi des études de lettres et de chinois
(langue et civilisation).
Preliminary Program
I. ANGLOPHONE: France in History and Culture
D A Y
1
5.30pm · Welcome to Paris
By M. Jérôme Lescarret-Vlna, Director of the Paris
Teacher Seminar, and Mme. Patricia Maillet, Director
of the Francophone Study Group. Distribution of
information packets and presentation of the program.
6.00pm · Introductory tour of the neighborhood
Tour of the neighborhood followed by transport from
the FIAP Jean Monnet to Lycée Notre Dame de Sion,
home of l’Académie de Paris for dinner with Patricia
Gilbert, Director of l’Académie.
8.00pm · Free evening to explore Paris
D A Y
2
9.30am · Study Groups meet: Paris and its History
Seminar participants make their way from the FIAP Jean
Monnet to Notre Dame de Sion. They spend the morning
engaging in a two-hour discussion on aspects of French
history, culture, and society. This provides an historical
introduction to France, including a presentation on
Paris itself.
• A Concise History of Paris
Europe’s intellectual engine from the Middle Ages onwards,
the violent birthplace of political modernity, the home to
the world’s greatest art collections, and the epicenter of food
and fashion; no city can rival Paris for its sustained impact
on the world. By the same token, few cities can boast the
spectacular crises that have punctuated its history. From
medieval massacres to May 1968 via St. Bartholomew’s
Massacre, Revolution and Terror, the Commune, and Nazi
occupation, Paris has been a pivot of history. Each time,
however, its remarkable capacity for recovery and its colossal
cultural legacy have combined to transform disaster into
triumph.
• Paris à travers les âges
Le moteur intellectuel et culturel de l’Europe depuis le
moyen-âge, la ville qui a violemment donné naissance à la
modernité politique, le site des plus grandes collections d’art,
et la capitale mondiale de la gastronomie et de la mode….
aucune ville ne peut rivaliser avec Paris pour son influence.
En même temps, peu de villes peuvent se flatter d’avoir eu
à surmonter autant de crises. Des massacres médiévaux à
mai ’68, en passant par la Saint-Barthélemy, la Révolution, la
Terreur, la Commune, et l’Occupation, Paris a été le pivot de
l’histoire. A chaque occasion, sa remarquable capacité à se
reconstruire a transformé désastre en triomphe.
12.00pm · Lunch
Paris
Preliminary Program
River boats on the Seine, seen from the belltowers of Notre-Dame.
24 24
1.30pm · Study Group walking tours
• Intellectual Paris: The Latin Quarter and the Panthéon
Home to the Sorbonne, the Latin Quarter acquired its
nickname from the scholars — studying and speaking Latin
— who lived and worked there. The area is still known for the
presence of Paris’s most prestigious academic institutions,
including the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Collège de
France. The Panthéon, originally built as a church, houses in
its crypt the tombs of some of France’s greatest thinkers and
statesmen, including Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, and Malraux.
• Paris intellectuel: Le Quartier Latin et le Panthéon
Le Quartier Latin doit son nom à la langue parlée par les
chercheurs et étudiants qui le peuplaient, dès l’établissement
de la Sorbonne, au Moyen Âge. Le quartier continue d’être
connu pour ses prestigieuses institutions académiques,
notamment l’École Normale Supérieure et le Collège de
France. Le Panthéon, construit comme église, contient dans
sa crypte les tombes des plus grands penseurs et hommes
d’ État français, tels que Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, et Malraux.
4.30pm · Study Groups meet
The English Study Group devotes the afternoon to
learning about the French political system.
The French Study Group: présentation d’auteurs francais
contemporains: la Grande Guerre racontée par des
écrivains d’aujourd’hui.
9.00pm · An evening boat ride on the Seine,
Enjoy the city’s striking and beautifully illuminated
monuments from one of Paris’s famous Bateaux
Mouches. Study its topography from a different
perspective.
9.00am · Plenary Session: Understanding Issues in
France and Europe
M. Jérôme Lescarret-Vlna
This session will look at some of the political, economic,
and societal issues facing France. At the forefront of the
discussion is the continuing economic crisis, the fraught
issues of immigration, assimilation, and terror, the challenge
to the republic’s ethos of the Front National, and the context
that makes France’s fate so dependent on that of the EU. The
session also addresses the ongoing debate about French
cultural capital (l’exception française), the perceived “brain
drain” to other Western countries, and global issues in which
France has a major stake.
12.00pm · Lunch
2.00pm · Study Group walking tours
• The Marais
First settled by the Templars in the 13th century, the former
floodplain was soon attracting other religious foundations
and, in their wake, aristocrats in search of living-space for their
hôtels particuliers. By the early 17th century, with the creation
of the Place Royale (now Place des Vosges) the Marais had
become one of Europe’s most fashionable neighborhoods.
With the departure of the court for Versailles, it entered into a
long decline. When Paris was remodeled in the 19th century, it
was largely overlooked, allowing it to retain its narrow streets
and palaces as the rest of the city was standardized. It was
the home to Jewish immigrants in the late 19th century. The
area has undergone a remarkable revival since the 1960s and,
because it represents an older version of the city, now draws
more visitors than almost any other quartier.
• Le Marais
Développé au 13ème par les Templiers, l’ancienne zone inondable
de la Seine attire bientôt d’autres fondations religieuses. Elles
sont suivies d’aristocrates à la recherche d’espace pour leurs
hôtels particuliers. Avec la construction, au début du 17ème,
de la Place Royale (maintenant Place des Vosges), le Marais
devient l’un des quartiers les plus en vogue du continent. Le
départ, à la fin du 17ème, de la cour pour Versailles, amorce un
long déclin. Quand Paris est rebâtit sous Napoléon III, le Marais
est plus ou moins ignoré, préservant ainsi ses petites ruelles et
ses palais alors que le reste de la ville est standardisé. A la fin
du 19ème siècle le quartier accueil les immigrants juifs d’Europe
de l’Est. Renouvelé depuis les années ’60, précisément parce
qu’il représente une ancienne version de la ville, le Marais reçoit
aujourd’hui plus de visiteurs que tous les autres quartiers.
6.30pm · Dinner at Polidor
Paris
“Great program! You delivered on everything you promised
and also provided time for us to exchange teaching ideas
which was important to me.”
3
Preliminary Program
7.00pm · Dinner at Plomb du Cantal
This is an opportunity for participants to discover a
variety of typically Parisian restaurants and to sample
some of the international cuisines representative of the
diverse cultures that now call Paris home.
D A Y
PTS Participant, 2016
25
D A Y
9.00am · Plenary Session: 19th-century Art; Musée
Marmottan-Monet
A former hunting lodge acquired in 1882, by the celebrated
collector Jules Marmottan, the museum houses some of the
finest examples of Impressionism in the world, including
the painting purported to have given rise to the name of
the movement: Impression, Soleil levant by Claude Monet. In
this stately town-house participants admire an unparalleled
collection of works by Manet, Pissaro, Sisley, Renoir, Morisot,
Degas, and of course Monet.
12.00pm · Lunch
2.00pm · Plenary Cheese and Wine Tasting
Eve Tribouillet
Following studies in Economics and PR, and a stint as a financial
consultant, Eve’s love of cooking led her into high-end catering
and food design. After interning with several great French chefs,
she started “Le festin d’Eve.” She believes that cooking is an
adventure and that one should always explore new tastes and
not repeat a recipe. She has authored cookbooks and recipes
for magazines and has worked on many culinary performances
combining the visual arts with cooking.
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Eugene Ionesco
Dr. Elise Aru
A Romanian-French playwright, Ionesco was one of the
foremost figures of the French Avant-garde. Beyond ridiculing
the most banal situations, Ionesco’s plays depict the solitude
and insignificance of human existence. His earliest works,
considered his most innovative, were one-act plays or
extended sketches. The Theatre de la Huchette first performed
La Cantatrice Chauve and La Lecon in 1957 and continues to
perform them weekly.
7.00pm · Dinner out followed by a recital or the theater.
5
9.30am · Study Groups meet
This day is devoted to examining issues in French
education. Participants have the opportunity to share
their respective educational experiences in order to
identify differences, shared values, and techniques.
• The French Educational System: A Nineteenth-Century
Institution in the Twenty-First Century
Despite structural similarities, the French education
system is significantly different from the American one. The
curriculum is rigid and intense, and largely standardized by
the state; teachers are civil servants who must compete for
posts across the country; students spend their high school
years being groomed to take the baccalaureate, at the cost
of extracurricular activities and the pursuit of individual
interests; and the universities are practically free and open
to all applicants who have passed the bac. All of these
topics, as well as the perennial issue of improving schools
in socioeconomically disadvantaged and immigrant areas,
will be addressed in this session.
• L’éducation nationale: Une institution du dix-neuvième
siècle à l’heure du vingt-et-unième
Malgré des similitudes structurelles, le système éducatif
français reste bien différent de celui des Etats-Unis. Le cursus
est rigide et intensif, et largement déterminé par l’Etat; les
professeurs sont des fonctionnaires qui se concurrencent
pour des postes à travers tout le pays ; les lycéens passent
une grande partie de leur temps à préparer le baccalauréat,
au détriment des activités extrascolaires et de la poursuite
d’intérêts personnels; les universités sont quasiment
gratuites et ouvertes à tout postulant ayant obtenu son
bac. Tous ces thèmes, ainsi que le problème récurrent de
l’amélioration des écoles dans les quartiers défavorisés,
seront abordés pendant cette séance.
1.00pm · Lunch
• Théâtre de La Huchette
Créé durant l’essor culturel de l’après-guerre, ce tout petit local
verra la création de textes essentiels de la seconde moitié du
XXe siècle, dont certaines œuvres d’Ionesco. Le 16 février 1957,
le théâtre reprend La Cantatrice Chauve et La Leçon. Cinquanteneuf ans plus tard les deux pièces sont encore à l’affiche,
phénomène de longévité unique dans l’histoire du théâtre.
Paris
Preliminary Program
D A Y
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The Hôtel de Ville, seat of Parisian government since the
middle-ages, pictured from the Place de Grève, scene of
numerous gruesome executions in the early modern period.
2:30pm · Study Groups meet and go to the Cluny
Museum
5.00pm · Participants’ Forum
• The Cluny Museum
Built in the High Gothic style of the 15th century, the Hôtel de
Cluny is almost as extraordinary as the collection of medieval
artifacts it now houses. Here the visitor can have a rare, close
look at stained glass windows salvaged from the SainteChapelle and at the statues that, before the Revolution,
fronted Notre-Dame. The museum houses one of the finest
collections of ancient cloth and tapestries in the world,
including the famous and enigmatic Dame à la Licorne series.
• Le Musée Cluny
Installé dans l’impressionnant hôtel des abbés de Cluny,
le musée contient une des plus importantes collections
médiévales du monde. Le visiteur peut y admirer, de près,
des vitraux préservés de la Sainte-Chapelle et les sculptures
qui, avant la Révolution, ornaient la façade de Notre-Dame.
Il abrite également une des plus exceptionnelles collections
de textiles anciens et de tapisseries au monde, dont la
célébrissime et énigmatique Dame à la Licorne.
7.00pm · Walking Tour of the arènes de Lutèce
Learn about local artists and their work, followed by
dinner at Chez Lena et Mimile.
D A Y
1.00pm · Lunch followed by free afternoon
6
8.30am · Study Groups visit to the Louvre
• Splendors and Mysteries of the Louvre
D A Y
7
9.00am · Depart for Provins
The Seminar concludes with a plenary day trip
to the medieval city of Provins, an excellent
opportunity for participants to experience a taste
of France beyond Paris.
12.00pm · Visit of the medieval city
Now a quiet market town, Provins dates back to Roman
times. In the Middle Ages it was regarded as the third
most important city in France because it hosted two of
the famous Foires de Champagne, fairs that had enormous
impact on the local, national, and European economies
of the day. Today Provins is chiefly famous for its fine rosescented products and its wonderful medieval buildings,
including remarkably well-preserved city walls, a square
dungeon, extensive cellars, and a beautiful tithe-barn,
all of which contribute to mark a contrast with the
week’s hustle and bustle in Paris.
3.30pm · Return to Paris
6.30pm · Final Night Reception and Dinner in a
traditional Parisian brasserie
D A Y
8
8.00am · Farewell Breakfast and Departure
• Splendeurs et mystères du Louvre
“I am very impressed with the program. It was designed
to teach me more about French history and culture - it
succeeded brilliantly.”
PTS participant, 2016
Paris
Forteresse, palais, prison royale, musée, ministère — l’histoire
des bâtiments qui forment le Grand Louvre est tout aussi
variée et impressionnante que les magnifiques collections
qui s’y trouvent. Construit sous le règne de Philippe-Auguste
(1180 à 1223) comme forteresse pour protéger Paris des
Anglo-Normans, le Louvre est rapidement dépassé par la
ville de Paris et la forteresse transformée en palais, rôle
qu’il tiendra, avec les Tuileries, jusqu’à la chute du Second
Empire en 1870. Le musée, par contre, doit son existence à
la grande Révolution. Il est fondé en 1793 et rassemble des
œuvres provenant des collections royales ainsi que d’autres
confisquées chez des nobles émigrés.
Preliminary Program
The Louvre began its extraordinary history as a fortress
during the reign of Philippe-Auguste (1180-1223). By the
mid-14th century the city had outgrown it and Charles V set
about transforming it into a royal residence, striking elements
of which can still be seen in the Sully Wing. The Renaissance
saw the modernization of the palace and the building of the
Tuileries, 500 meters further west. During the Revolution
parts of the Louvre were transformed into a museum that
was later expanded by Napoleons I and III. The Tuileries, by
contrast, remained in intermittent use as a palace until 1870.
They were burned down in 1871 and never rebuilt.
7.30pm · Dinner out at Wajda
27
Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford, and the Hawkesmoor towers that are said to have given rise to the expression "ivory tower."
Oxford
TEACHER SEMINAR
July 23 - July 30, 2017
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One of the most important resources for The Oxford Teacher Seminar is Oxford itself. Once the seat of kings, it has
been a scholarly community for over 900 years and continues to be one of the most important intellectual and cultural
centers in the world.
The Teacher Seminar is housed in the attractive and peaceful setting of Mansfield College, in a tranquil part of Oxford, only
a few minutes’ walk from the Bodleian Library, the ancient heart of the University, and the commercial bustle of Broad and
High Streets. Also nearby are Rhodes House, the famous University and Pitt Rivers Museums, the spacious and beautiful
University Parks, and the meandering Cherwell.
Before being granted its Royal Charter as a full college of Oxford University, Mansfield was a theological seminary and
counted several distinguished theologians among its members, including C.H. Dodd and Albert Schweitzer. Its NeoGothic buildings are considered among the finest works of the renowned Victorian architect, Basil Champneys.
Teacher Seminar participants live in comfortable rooms in the College. There are a handful of en suite rooms, available on a
first-come, first-served basis, as indicated on the Application Form at the back of this brochure. All rooms have wifi access.
Teachers meet for seminars and presentations either in the college itself or in seminar rooms nearby.
Meals are taken in the college dining hall and the food is widely considered among the best in Oxford. Breakfast is
primarily continental style, while a variety of entrée options are available at dinner, including vegetarian dishes. Wine is
available at dinner and there are common room facilities that also contribute to the sense of scholarly community.
28
T
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Oxford
Oxford Teacher Seminar participants enjoy life in a traditional Oxford college and a meeting of minds with leading
academics and educators from Oxford University. At the heart of the Seminar are Study Groups, each with a different
focus, offering detailed discussion and exploration of a special subject. Each morning these groups meet individually
to discuss a series of topics that are complemented in the afternoons by a plenary program of speakers, workshops,
outings, and events. Teachers select one Study Group for the duration of the week and participate in every plenary
session.
Teacher Seminar participants select the Study Group that they would like to join on the Application Form at the back
of this brochure. In advance of the summer, Study Group leaders recommend optional preparatory reading for all
participants. We also ask participants to bring their own proposed topics for discussion, specific to their Study Group.
The Study Groups available in summer 2017 are as follows (descriptions are provisional but indicative):
Study Group Leader and Seminar Director:
This course focuses on the works of six of the most
prominent children’s fantasy authors of the past 150
years. Four of these (Lewis Carroll, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R.
Tolkien, and Philip Pullman) were or are Oxford-based;
particular attention will be paid to their biographies and
their interactions with the University and Oxford town
life. Each seminar will cover both a special author whose
work will be featured, and an investigative topic designed
to focus the discussion around issues relevant to both
readers and teachers of fantasy literature. In addition
to learning about the history and background of these
canonical texts, seminar participants will be encouraged
to develop new and imaginative ways of teaching them
to students.
Dr. Matthew Kerr. Formerly a departmental Lecturer in
English at the University of Oxford, Dr. Kerr is currently
working as a Lecturer in Southampton while completing a
book about the sea in 19th-century literature. His research
interests include the Victorian novel – especially the novels
of Dickens, Conrad, and Frederick Marryat – and the
history of emotions. He has taught and lectured on a wide
range of subjects, including film adaptation and Victorian
children’s literature. Dr. Kerr’s latest project focuses on John
Stuart Mill’s private library. He completed his doctorate in
English Literature at Trinity College, Oxford, where he was
a Clarendon Scholar. Prior to taking up his Lectureship he
taught at a number of Oxford colleges, including Magdalen,
Keble, and Christ Church, and at the University of Lincoln.
II. THE LIBRARY AND THE ACADEMY
Study Group Leader:
Libraries are at the very heart of every educational institution,
from the smallest school to Oxford University. Designed
for librarians and others with an interest in how libraries
contribute to the intellectual and cultural life of the academy,
this Study Group draws on select resources from the more
than 60 libraries that constitute the Oxford University library
system. Because of the great wealth and antiquity of library
resources in Oxford, participants have the opportunity to
visit medieval libraries that have chained books, see exhibits
drawn from rare collections, and visit the Bodleian Library,
looking at it not only historically but in relation to a wide
range of current issues. Participants meet experts from
several fields of library science and archive management.
Clive Hurst. Mr. Hurst was Head of Rare Books and Printed
Ephemera at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford,
until he retired in 2014. For over 20 years he was in charge
of the second largest collection of rare books and the
largest collection of ephemera in the United Kingdom.
His special expertise is in early printing, Italian books,
bookbindings, and children’s literature. He is a member
of the university’s English Faculty, and regularly teaches
a palaeography course to graduate students. His main
literary interests are the novels of Henry James, Joseph
Conrad, and especially Charles Dickens. The last was
the subject of Mr. Hurst’s final major exhibition at the
Bodleian, celebrating the writer’s 200th anniversary in
2012, which made extensive use of the library’s ephemera.
He is the co-author of The Curious World of Dickens (2013).
29
Preliminary Program
I. LITERATURE AND THE FANTASTIC
Oxford
Preliminary Program
III. SHAKESPEARE IN HISTORY
Study Group Leader:
Focused on the most influential poet and playwright
in western civilization, this Study Group examines
Shakespeare's works, influence, popularity, and literary
legacy. Participants expand their examination of his life,
contemporary depictions, and immediate reception to
include his influences, sources, and collaborators. They
explore how plays have been revised and re-written over
the centuries, according to both popular taste and political
will, as well as how selected plays have been adapted for
television and film, as both specialist performances and
Hollywood blockbusters. The Study Group also looks at
how Shakespeare can be taught in the classroom through
performance.
Dr. Daniel Smith. A British Academy postdoctoral
fellow in the Faculty of English, and the Oakeshott
Junior Research Fellow at Lincoln College, Oxford,
Dr. Smith’s research focuses on the women patrons
of literature in 16 th- and 17 th-century England,
particularly those addressed in the poetry and prose
of John Donne. Dr. Smith’s research interests also
include manuscript circulation, the material features
of letters, and the history of archives and libraries. In
2014 he published John Donne and the Conway Papers.
He has held teaching posts at University College
London and the University of Reading, and has been
awarded fellowships by the Huntington Library and
the Folger Shakespeare Library.
IV. THE BOUNDARIES OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
Study Group Leader:
This group explores how cutting-edge areas of scientific
research can be innovatively integrated into classroom
teaching at the secondary level, in the arts and humanities
as well as the sciences. Teachers engage with key topics,
including astrophysics and cosmology, chaos theory, deep
sea exploration, nature and the environment, the human
brain, and medicine. In their intellectual, cultural, historical,
literary, and imaginative contexts, teachers explore the
“hard science” of human progress. The Boundaries of
Scientific Knowledge provides a wealth of engaging and
illuminating ideas for classroom teaching.
Dr. Joanna Bagniewska. A zoologist with a doctorate
from Oxford, Dr. Bagniewska specializes in the overlap
between zoology and technology. Her doctoral
research at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation
Research Unit focused on using biotelemetric methods
to examine the behavior of semi-aquatic animals. Her
academic interests include behavioral ecology and
conservation biology. Currently a Teaching Fellow at
the University of Reading, Dr. Bagniewska has also
held appointments at Nottingham Trent University
and Oxford. She has worked on a number of species,
ranging from wombats and wallabies to mole-rats and
jackals.
V. LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES IN CONTEMPORARY
EDUCATION
Study Group Leader:
This Study Group is intended for emerging leaders within
schools. Led by an experienced school head, the Group
will focus on a selection of key issues that every school
leader must face today, such as curriculum reform, the
uses and abuses of technology, the pros and cons of
parental engagement, faculty retention and development,
socioeconomic inequality, academic versus extracurricular
balance, and relations with the broader community.
Alongside, the Study Group will tackle daily case studies
and crisis management scenarios that arise over the
course of a school year and collaborate to work out
possible responses.
John Allman. Head of School at Trinity School in New
York, a K-12 coeducational day school serving almost 1000
students on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mr. Allman
began his career teaching English at his alma mater, the
Lovett School, in Atlanta, Georgia. Following graduate
studies, he taught at St. Mark’s School of Texas, in Dallas,
becoming chair of its English Department in 1990. In 1994
he returned to the Lovett School as principal of the Upper
School. He was appointed headmaster at St. John’s School
in Houston in 1998, where he served for eleven years,
before his appointment to Trinity in 2009.
On the following pages, the Oxford Teacher Seminar’s provisional schedule provides an idea of how Study Groups
blend with the plenary program. It is representative but not exact, and is subject to change.
30
D A Y
1
6.30pm · Dinner at Mansfield College
Dinner is served in the Mansfield College dining hall. Before
dinner, teachers gather in the college bar and common
room for drinks.
8.00pm · Free Evening
Optional local walking tour to see Oxford at dusk, with
choice of a concert or conversation in a local pub.
D A Y
• Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Education
CE1: Setting a Vision: Building a successful school and making
leadership work at every level, a personal view. Session with
the Katy Ricks, Head of Sevenoaks School.
11.30am · At the close of each Study Group meeting,
teachers visit specific locations around Oxford connected
with the morning’s subject.
12.30pm · Lunch
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Why Literature Matters: How
Poets Helped to End Slavery
Prof. James Basker
A former Rhodes Scholar, Professor Basker
discusses the relationship of literature to history in
the abolition campaign, drawing upon his own
Amazing Grace (2002) and American Antislavery Writings
(2012).
2
9.00am · Study Groups meet for the first time
Under the guidance of the Study Group leader, each
group meets every day to cover a number of specific
topics:
• Literature and the Fantastic
LF1: Defining Fantasy: Participants examine Lewis Carroll’s
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the LookingGlass in an effort to reach a preliminary definition of the
genre. The session includes a field trip to Christ Church
College to explore the surroundings that inspired Carroll’s
tales.
• The Library and the Academy
LA1: The Role of the Library: In this opening session,
participants discuss the role of the library in universities and
schools across the world, and its place in 21st-century society
in general. The discussion will be followed by a tour of the
world-famous Bodleian Library.
Photo: Professor Andrew Motion, the former Poet Laureate,
discusses his latest work with participants.
31
Preliminary Program
5.00pm · Plenary Session: An Introductory Walking Tour
of Oxford
Dr. Matthew Kerr
Together with the other Study Group leaders,
Dr. Kerr explains some of the history of
Mansfield College and the University of Oxford, as well
as of the College system that gives the University such
character. A short guided tour orients new arrivals
as they explore the grounds of the college and their
immediate surroundings, which include the Bodleian
Library, the Sheldonian Theatre, the University Parks,
the University Science Park, and the University Museum
of Natural History.
• The Boundaries of Scientific Knowledge
SK1: Muss es Sein, Epigraph to a String Quartet: Guided by
an Oxford physicist, participants refresh their theoretical
physics with a quick review of the fundamental questions.
What is string theory and how does it fit into this scheme?
What is stringy mathematics?
Oxford
4.00pm · Welcome to Mansfield College
Dr. Matthew Kerr
Dr. Kerr greets participants in Mansfield College and
outlines the program.
• Shakespeare in History
SH1: Shakespearean Biography: Issues surrounding
Shakespeare’s life; religious beliefs; sexuality; images of
Shakespeare, from the First Folio onwards; competing
depictions of the playwright.
Oxford
4.00pm · Tea
4.30pm · Plenary Session: The Cost of History
Dr. Luke Berryman
Luke’s research was on the use of Richard Wagner’s operas in
Nazi propaganda. Before joining Oxbridge as Associate Director
he taught - first as Director of Studies in music at Sidney Sussex
College, Cambridge; then as a classroom teacher at King Edward
VI School in Southampton. He has conducted research in the
national archives of Germany, published widely, and presented
papers on a variety of topics at academic conferences held in
locations from Cardiff to California. He maintains an active
interest in cultural history and critical theory, and occasionally
performs as a concert pianist.
Preliminary Program
2.00pm · Plenary Session: A Tour of the Bodleian Library
Dr. David Rundle
An authority on Oxford Libraries and on Medieval and
Early Modern book collecting, Dr. Rundle gives our
teachers an insider’s tour of this magnificent library,
looking at its historic, institutional, and architectural
setting.
4.00pm · Tea
6.30pm · Dinner in Hall
7.30pm · Optional outing: Concert, recital, or play
Participants pick a performance from the vast array on
offer every night in Oxford.
D A Y
• Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Education
CE2: Deploying Technology: From the blackboard to the
iPad, technology old and new. A history of tools used by
pedagogues; the challenges and opportunities offered by
new and emerging technologies and the prospect of ever
more Web-based learning.
3
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Literature and the Fantastic
LF2: Of This And Other Worlds: A close analysis of Tolkien’s
world-building in The Lord of the Rings. How does he use
geography to create an immersive fantasy landscape?
How does he populate an entire society? And how can we
contextualize his epic story against the background of the
Great War? The session concludes with a trip to Merton
College, Tolkien’s alma mater.
• The Library and the Academy
LA2: The Classic Oxford College Library: Oxford has many
great libraries besides the Bodleian, particularly those of
the colleges which make up the University. Participants visit
Trinity College, and learn how its library has been an integral
part of its teaching since its foundation. What lessons can be
learned from its management, and how universal are they?
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Round-table discussion with
Rhodes Scholars at Oxford
Each year, Oxbridge Academic Programs employs a
large number of Rhodes Scholars - more than any
other organization in the world - as teachers on our
student programs. They study and teach at Oxford
University as members of individual colleges and in a
wide variety of departments. They talk to participants
about intellectual life at Oxford.
6.30pm · Dinner
D A Y
4
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Literature and the Fantastic
LF3: C. S. Lewis and Politics: With particular attention given
to The Chronicles of Narnia, how does Lewis make use of
medievalism, Christianity, and Oxford itself as generic
markers? How has contemporary scholarship tackled issues
of gender and race in his writing?
• Shakespeare in History
SH2: Shakespeare in Context: How much does historical
context matter to critical readings of Shakespeare? How can
a detailed understanding of the circumstances in which his
plays were written improve our knowledge of them, and vice
versa?
• The Library and the Academy
LA3: Children’s Literature and the Next Generation of Readers:
What place do books have in children’s lives in the 21st
century? To help answer this question, participants explore
some of the earliest printed books in the Bodleian’s collection,
and the world famous Opie Collection of Children’s Literature.
• The Boundaries of Scientific Knowledge
SK2: Exploring and Teaching Interdisciplinarity: Participants
examine the importance of interdisciplinarity in modern
scientific experimentation, teaching, and research. To what
extent can all areas of scientific inquiry be said to stand
together?
• Shakespeare in History
SH3: The Bard’s Precursors: How was Shakespeare influenced
by other writers, such as Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate? What
impact did traditions of popular and courtly entertainments
have on his writing? And how accurate a depiction of the
Middle Ages do his plays provide?
32
Seminar participants visit the famous Bodleian Library.
Oxford
• The Boundaries of Scientific Knowledge
SK3: Can stem cells mend a broken heart? What happens
in a heart attack? What types of stem cells are there? Can
stem cells fix the problems of the heart?
• Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Education
CE3: Comparative and International Education; Curriculum
reform: Do they really do things better abroad? Can we
learn from comparative educational studies? Balancing
learning: are our schools too academic or do we care too
much about extra-curriculars?
2.00pm · Plenary Session: The Private Life of the Diary
Dr. Sally Bayley
Preliminary Program
A Teaching and Research Fellow at the Rothermere American
Insititute, University of Oxford and a Lecturer in English at
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Sally has written widely on visual
responses to literature, including a jointly-authored study of
Sylvia Plath’s relationship to the visual arts: Eye Rhymes: Sylvia
Plath’s Art of the Visual (2007) and a study of Plath as a cultural
icon, Representing Sylvia Plath (2011). Sally has worked closely
with playwrights, poets, composers, and visual artists, and has
commissioned several creative responses to literature. She has
just completed The Private Life of the Diary: from Pepys to
Tweets that tells the story of the diary as a coming of age story.
4.00pm · Tea
4.30pm · Plenary Session: A Matter of Principles
Professor Sir Christopher Ricks
The William M. and Sara B. Warren Professor of the Humanities
at Boston University, Dr. Ricks was formerly professor of English
at Bristol, at Cambridge and, In 2004, was elected Professor of
Poetry at Oxford. He is known both for his critical studies and
for his editorial work. Recent publications include The Poems
of T. S. Eliot (2015). He is the author of, among others, Milton’s
Grand Style (1963), Decisions and Revisions in T. S. Eliot (2003),
Dylan’s Visions of Sin (2004), and True Friendship: Geoffrey
Hill, Anthony Hecht, and Robert Lowell under the Sign of
Eliot and Pound (2010).
6.30pm · Dinner followed by an optional outing.
"Clive was amazing. Every one of our site visits began
with Clive leading us past the "No visitors beyond this
point" or "Staff only" sign. He was able to arrange
entry into places closed to the general public."
2016 Library and the Academy Participant
33
D A Y
5
Oxford
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Literature and the Fantastic
LF4: The Postmodern Fantasy: This session focuses on Philip
Pullman, and particularly His Dark Materials. How might the
“Republic of Heaven” be understood as a critique of various
political systems? How persuasively does Pullman build an
alternative version of Oxford?
Preliminary Program
• The Library and the Academy
LA4: OUP: It is often forgotten that Oxford University Press is
a department of the University. In this session, we visit the
team responsible for constantly revising the Oxford English
Dictionary. They explain how they use libraries to guide and
inform their endeavors.
• Shakespeare in History
SH4: Contemporaries and Collaborators: This session
explores the interplay and influence between Elizabethan
and Jacobean theater, as well as Fletcher, Marlowe, Middleton,
the culture of patronage, and the business of theater.
• The Boundaries of Scientific Knowledge
SK4: Rediscovering Life’s Best Ideas: A User's Guide to
Biomimetics. Why look to Nature for answers to today’s
problems? It has a billion-year head start. Technologies and
products using natural solutions.
• Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Education
CE4: The Death of Science and the Triumph of the Arts: How to
make Science and Math attractive.
2.00pm · Plenary Session: Why Math is Relevant to All
Subjects
Prof. Christopher Sangwin
Professor Sangwin discusses how to make math fun and
relevant to all school disciplines.
The Professor of Mathematics Education at Edinburgh University,
Christopher worked for over a decade with the UK Higher Education
Academy to Promote the learning and teaching of university
mathematics. He is the author of the award-winning book How
Round is Your Circle?
4.00pm · Tea
4.30pm · Plenary Session: The Easter Rising
Dr. Marc Mulholland
A Fellow and the Dean of St. Catherine’s College, Dr. Mulholland
began his academic career as an expert on Ulster Unionism in the
1960s. Since then his interests have bifurcated: Irish history since the
Great Famine on the one hand, the history of political thought since
the French Revolution on the other. He is somewhat averse to narrow
specialisation, and particularly enjoys the wide scope for teaching
across themes and periods afforded by the Oxford system.
34
6.30pm · Dinner
7.30pm · Social Mixer with faculty and staff of The Oxford
Tradition and The Oxford Prep Experience
D A Y
6
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Literature and the Fantastic
LF5: The Wizarding World: Story, class, and the consumption
of magic in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. To what extent
is Harry an archetypal literary hero? Participants visit the
Eagle and Child pub, home of the Inklings.
• The Library and the Academy
LA5: The Role of the Library in Society: Public libraries, school
libraries, academic research libraries; intellectual freedom,
copyright, censorship; the evolution of library science.
• Shakespeare in History
SH5: Shakespeare Re-Written: Restoration Shakespeare;
interpretations, revisions, and happy endings; Nahum Tate’s
King Lear; William Davenant’s The Tempest; the Romantic
Shakespeare; the birth of bardolatry.
• The Boundaries of Scientific Knowledge
SK5: Science for New Materials: What position will materials
science occupy on the landscape of scientific research in the
21st century? We pay particular attention to the core-shell
nanoparticles used in hydrogen fuel cell applications.
• Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Education
CE5: Trip to Radley College: In this session participants visit
Radley College, a famous boarding school outside Oxford.
The group discusses meritocratic education. What role will it
play in 21st-century teaching?
2.00pm · Plenary Session: "A Breath of Fresh Air"
Dr. Mona Bafadhel
Mona Bafadhel is the current Kemp Postdoctoral Fellow in the
Medical Sciences at Lincoln College and an NIHR Fellow. She
also works in the Nuffield Department of Medicine as a Senior
Clinical Researcher and Respiratory Consultant Physician. Mona’s
research focus is on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(COPD) and investigating the mechanisms and therapeutic
strategies aligned to using phenotypes of COPD and in particular
during exacerbations.
4.30pm · Plenary Session: Winnie the Pooh for the Next
Generation
Mr. David Benedictus
Mr. Benedictus reads from his Return to the Hundred Acre
Wood, the first authorized sequel to A. A. Milne’s Pooh
stories, and discusses his life in writing.
6.30pm · Dinner
7.30pm · Quiz Night
Teachers meet for an evening of intellectual competition
and fun.
7
9.00am · Study Groups meet
• Literature and the Fantastic
LF6: The Reception and Afterlife of Fantasy Literature: J.K.
Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Field Trip:
Ashmolean Museum.
• The Library and the Academy
LA6: The Future of Librarianship and Information Science: In
this final session the group discusses how modern libraries
and reading have been transformed by the advent of digital
technology. A specialist explains how Oxford University is
coming to terms with new media, and outlines its many
implications for teaching and research.
• Leadership Challenges in Contemporary Education
CE6: Building Citizens: The week concludes by tackling
tough questions about how schools address socio-economic
inequality within and outside their communities. How do we
support our community and build citizen students?
2.00pm
A free afternoon for individual research, preparation
for the concluding Participants’ Forum, and personal
goodbyes to Oxford.
4.30pm · Participants’ Forum
Participants meet in their respective Study Groups to
reflect upon their experiences over the past week and
present their preliminary findings on ways in which they
might influence their professional futures.
6.30pm · Reception and Final Dinner at Mansfield
College
D A Y
8
9.00am · Farewell Breakfast and Departure
“My Oxford experience was a dream come true."
2016 Shakespeare in History Participant
• Shakespeare in History
SH6: Assessing Shakespeare’s Legacy: During this final
session the group discusses how each generation idolized,
interpreted, and revised Shakespeare. What is his position in
the contemporary literary world?
• The Boundaries of Scientific Knowledge
SK6: Brave New World: Advances in medical science;
genomics and proteomics; new medical procedures and
“This has been the most intellectually stimulating week I
have experienced in a very long time. I would love to cycle
through all the discussion groups here and perhaps take on
the Cambridge portion of the Seminar next.”
Venetta Selman, Lester Elementary School, MS
Photo: Author and teacher David Benedictus tells participants
about the fine art of writing sequels to old favorites.
35 35
Preliminary Program
D A Y
possibilities for society; contagion and epidemic; the
science of well-being and living happily ever after.
Oxford
The author of 25 books, Mr. Benedictus’s most recent literary success
is as the author of the newest volume of the classic Winnie the
Pooh series. He has been widely involved in film and television as
a director and producer, working with the BBC and Francis Ford
Coppola. As Commissioning Editor for Drama at Channel 4 in the
UK, he won an International Emmy for Porterhouse Blue, a comic
tale set in a fictitious Cambridge college. A former Judith E. Wilson
Visiting Fellow in Creative Writing at Cambridge University, Mr.
Benedictus has written widely in the British media and taught at the
Oxford School of Drama. He is also the longtime Creative Writing
teacher on The Oxford Prep Experience.
36
Introducing the Oxford Spring Seminar.
Oxbridge Academic Programs has been welcoming intellectually adventurous students to Oxford for over 30 years. The Oxford
Spring Seminar, a week-long academic program for students in grades 10-12, held in Pembroke College, Oxford, from April 9 to
16, 2017, and organized in conjunction with the Foundation for International Education, provides students with the opportunity
to immerse themselves in subjects that fascinate them, and to brush up on the skills required for university applications, all under
the guidance of experts from Oxford University. More significantly, perhaps, it provides schools with the opportunity to design their
own, intensive, pre-college experiences.
D e si gn Yo u r O w n Ox ford S em i n ar.
Uniquely, the Spring Seminar offers schools and educators the opportunity to craft their own University experience for their
students. Schools and teachers interested in bringing groups of 6 or more students can work with our syllabus coordinators,
University academics, and activity coordinators, to develop bespoke courses that build on the work they have been doing at school,
while making full use of Oxford’s extraordinary resources. Teachers accompany their students to Oxford, and are provided with
complimentary airfare and accommodation. Alongside their students, they experience all that Oxford has to offer.
Classes are held every morning for three and a half hours. Possible courses include:
•
Ancient History
•
English
•
Math and Engineering
•
Business
•
Genetics
•
Medicine
•
Classics
•
History
•
Physics
•
Critical Thinking
•
International Relations
•
Politics
•
Economics
•
Law
•
Psychology
We are delighted to consider all academic requests.
Cultural Enrichment.
Outside of the classroom, students immerse themselves in Oxford’s remarkable cultural and sporting scene. From literary festivals
to concerts, walking tours, and theater trips, there is a full range of diverse activities on offer. Students also have time to explore
the city’s treasures independently.
Further Information.
•
For complete details, including information regarding tuition and groups, please contact us on +1 212 932 3049 or at:
[email protected]
•
For information on customized courses for groups of 6 or more and complimentary travel and accommodation for teachers,
please email: [email protected]
A close-up of rare books in Duke Humphrey's in the Bodleian; participants discover Boston from the Charles river; an
antique printing press in Oxford; pipers tuning-up in Edinburgh; the Oxford Teacher Seminar relaxes outside Mansfield.
37
FEES & DETAILS
FELLOWSHIPS
ELIGIBILITY
A small number of Fellowships are available for each
counselors,
Seminar. These are based on professional accomplishment
administrators and, in certain circumstances, trustees,
and the ability to contribute to the Seminar in the broadest
school board, and PTA officers, are all eligible. Applications
sense. Once applicants have decided on a particular
should be in by May 19, 2017 but, if spaces remain after
Teacher Seminar, they should contact us as soon as possible
that date, we will continue to accept applications until all
for information about Fellowships or visit our website:
Seminars are full.
www.oxbridgeprograms.com/foreducators
FEES
All fellowship applications must be received in New
Teachers,
librarians,
school
leaders,
Until March 24, 2017 the comprehensive fee for each
Seminar is $2395 US. From March 25, 2017 the fee will
rise to $2495. This sum includes all tuition and lectures,
accommodation, two meals daily, and all activities
scheduled as part of the Seminar. The fee does not include
airfare, lunch, items of a personal nature, health or travel
insurance, or elective activities above and beyond the
program. A 15% reduction from the total fee is available
to participants signing up to attend more than one
Seminar in the same summer. • A deposit of $300 US is due with the application.
• The balance is due June 2, 2017.
• All payments including the deposit are refundable
until June 2, 2017.
• Between June 2 and June 16, 2017 all fees except the
deposit are refundable.
• After June 16, 2017 no refunds are possible.
• For individuals the cost may be tax deductible. Be sure
to check with your tax adviser.
• Special consideration will be given to schools that
sponsor multiple participants in one summer.
REFERENCES
We are happy to put you in touch with former participants
from all over North America and around the world,
including Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Brazil, China,
Cyprus, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, The
Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, and
Turkey — and from every kind of school — public,
parochial, and independent.
38
York by March 10, 2017.
We are also pleased to support applications from schoolbased professional development funds and to help
candidates who are applying for alternative sources of
funding, including school-based faculty development
grants and other fellowships. Please contact us with
details of the funding source to which you are applying,
and let us know what information we can provide.
FLIGHT ARRANGEMENTS
You are required to make your own travel arrangements
to Boston, Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, or St Andrews. Full
information on how to go about making travel plans will
be provided in a mailing to registered Teacher Seminar
participants. If, meanwhile, you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to call our office. As a general rule
we recommend that participants book flights that arrive
in Boston, London, Edinburgh, or Paris between 6:00am
and 12:00pm on the day the Seminar starts, and depart
in the afternoon of the day the Seminar ends. The first
formal commitment on each Teacher Seminar is indicated
in the Seminar’s individual schedule in this brochure. The
last event is breakfast with the Director on the final day.
GETTING TO YOUR TEACHER SEMINAR
We will send all participants information about buses and
trains between local airports and our residences. In all
instances the services are generally excellent.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POINTS
Oxbridge Teacher Seminars comply with state
requirements for teacher professional development.
Oxbridge will help you identify opportunities to earn
professional development in your state, assist you in the
development of your portfolio, and issue a transcript for
up to 35 points/hours of professional development.
A P P L I C AT I O N F O R M
S U M M E R
49 West 45th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10036
1-800-828-8349 • +1-212-932-3049 • FAX: +1-212-663-8169
[email protected] • www.oxbridgeprograms.com
2017
The Teacher Seminars are sponsored by the Foundation for International Education in cooperation with Oxbridge Academic Programs.
To reserve your place on a Teacher Seminar, mail this application form to us, with your deposit check of $300 US made payable to:
• F.I.E. (The Foundation for International Education).
Please also attach a current copy of your CV or résumé.
I am applying for:
Boston 2017
Cambridge 2017
June 25 - July 1
St Andrews 2017
June 30 - July 7
July 9 - July 16
Paris 2017
Oxford 2017
July 16 - July 23
July 23 - July 30
Note: Some participants attend more than one Seminar. If this is your intention, please check multiple boxes.
Please write your choice of Study Groups below:
First Choice:
Second Choice:
I. PARTICIPANT INFORMATION
Name:
Male
First
Middle Initial
Last
Female
Home Address
City
Telephone
State/Province
Mobile
E-Mail
Emergency contact during the summer ('phone and email)
ZIP/Postal Code
Fax
Country
APPLICATION FORM (continued)
II. SCHOOL INFORMATION
School Name
School Address
City
State/Province
ZIP/Postal Code
Country
TelephoneFax
Position
Years at this school
Total years teaching experience
Subjects and grades taught
III. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
If you are supported by a school scholarship, bursary, or other financial support, please enclose the deposit of $300 US and indicate
who is responsible for settling your fee. You and/or the party indicated will be invoiced for the balance due by June 2, 2017.
I am responsible for 100% of my tuition.
I am responsible for $_____________ US of my tuition and the remainder is payable by the party indicated below:
Name
Organization
Telephone E-Mail
IV. ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION (Oxford/Cambridge only)
Rooms in St Andrews, Boston, and Paris have private bathrooms. We have a small number of single rooms with private bathrooms
in Oxford and Cambridge, subject to availability on a first-come, first-served basis. Rooms are otherwise single with shared facilities.
I am applying to the Oxford or Cambridge Teacher Seminar and request a room with a private bathroom for an additional fee
of $200 US.
V. FOR OUR RECORDS
Do you have any medical conditions or difficulty walking?
Yes
No
(The Seminars can involve considerable walking. If this is problematic please contact us so we can make alternative arrangements.)
If yes, please explain
How did you hear about the Seminars?
SIGNATURE
DATE
Please remember to include a copy of your current CV or résumé and your deposit check.
Medicine teacher Denis Gomez leads students in an experiment.
Students debate in the famed Cambridge Union.
Dr. Graham Banes and the Cambridge Tradition Zoology class date
primate specimens from their teeth.
Spanish language students hold class in the Roman amphitheater in
Tarragona.
Students enjoying a tour of Broughton Castle
PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS
G R A D E S 8 - 12
OXFORD · CAMBRIDGE · ST ANDREWS
SALAMANCA · BARCELONA · PARIS · MONTPELLIER
LOS ANGELES · BOSTON · NEW YORK
S U M M E R
2017
Spring and Summer Study 2017
Grades 8 -12
England - Spain - France - USA - Scotland
The Oxford Tradition
Oxford University
July 2 – July 29 • Grades 10 - 12
The Oxford Prep Experience
Oxford University
July 1 – July 27 • Grades 8 - 9
The Cambridge Tradition
Cambridge University
July 9 – August 5 • Grades 10 - 12
The Cambridge Prep Experience
Cambridge University
July 8 – August 3 • Grades 8 - 9
The Oxford Spring and Summer Seminars
Oxford University
April 9 – April 16 • July 30 – August 13 • Grades 10 - 12
La Academia de Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
La Academia de España
Salamanca, Spain
July 3 – July 30 • Grades 9 - 12
July 4 – July 31 • Grades 9 - 12
L’Académie de Paris
L’Académie de France
July 3 – July 30 • Grades 9 - 12
July 3 - July 30 • Grades 9 - 12
Paris, France
The New York College Experience
Barnard College, Columbia University, NYC
June 25 – July 22 • Grades 9 - 12
The New York Seminar
Pace University
July 31 – August 6 • Grades 9 - 12
Montpellier, France
The College Experience in Boston
Cambridge, Boston
June 26 – July 23 • Grades 9 - 12
Oxbridge at Los Angeles
UCLA, Los Angeles
June 29 – July 26 • Grades 10 - 12
Oxbridge at St Andrews
St Andrews, Scotland
June 20 – July 17 • Grades 9 - 12
Oxbridge Academic Programs
49 W 45th St, 12th Floor New York, NY 10036, USA
TEL: 1-800-828-8349 ■ +1-212-932-3049 ■ Fax: +1-212-663-8169
www.oxbridgeprograms.com ■ [email protected]