Study Abroad Opportunities for English Majors

Studying abroad has long been recognized as one of the best ways to enhance a liberal arts education, and the English Department, in association with the Office for International Studies, sponsors several programs each year for students wishing to experience new cultures or to explore the landscapes that inspired some of the world's greatest literature.

The oldest and most popular Study Abroad option for English majors is spending a semester or term at BYU's London Centre. Located right off Kensington Gardens near the heart of London, the London Centre is a short Underground ride from the city's museums, theaters, and historical and cultural sites. Although courses offered at the Centre vary depending on the specializations of the faculty directors, most programs feature classes in British literature, British history, and art history. In addition to drawing upon all of London's resources, these courses generally include bus excursions to the homes of such authors as Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Austen, and the Brontes. For English majors and minors, then, a semester or term at the London Center is an ideal way to fulfill required and elective courses in British literature.

Another option for students wishing to study in London is the London Theater program, co-sponsored each spring term by the Departments of English and Theater and Media Arts. Students in this program generally take a Shakespeare course from an English professor and a contemporary drama course from a theater professor. As part of the program, students and faculty also attend approximately fifteen plays together in London and Stratford-on-Avon.

A third ongoing, Britain-based program is "Literature and Landscape," in which 25 students and two BYU English professors take a series of literary-themed hikes. One week students will find themselves hiking through Hardy country in southwestern England, the next they'll be making their way through Dickens' London, and a week later they'll be wandering through the northern landscapes that inspired Wordsworth and Coleridge. This program, which was featured in the recent documentary film The Christian Eye, is offered every other spring term (Spring 20013, Spring 2015, etc.). Student participants generally receive six elective credits toward their English major.

For those English students planning to participate in Study Abroad in the years ahead, below is a list of upcoming programs for which they can receive English major credit. English professors who will be helping to direct these programs are included in parentheses.

• Spring 2013, London Theater (Dr. Brett McInelly)
• Spring 2013, Literature and Landscape (Dr. Pat Madden and Dr. Dan Muhlestein)
• Summer 2013, London Centre (Dr. Kristine Hansen)
• Summer 2013, Scotland and Ireland (Dr. Matt Wickman)
• Fall 2013, London Centre (Dr. Aaron Eastley)