Courses Fall 2008

Grinnell-in-London courses may be used for major credit or for cognate credit toward the major in a number of departments. According to college policy you may earn a maximum of 16 credits on the GIL program toward graduation, but the Board recommends that you enroll for 14 credits if you can continue normal progress toward graduation by doing so.

During Phase 1 (9 weeks), students take a number of classes with a requirement of enrolling in at least 8 credits in this phase. During Phase 2 (6 weeks), students take only one, or in the case of a non-Parliamentary internship, participate in the internship (4 credits) and the course Understanding Work in the UK (2 credits). Students should consult with their major advisers to determine which courses will count toward their major.

Please note that Paula Smith's Phase I course ENG295: The Craft of Journal Keeping has been replaced with:

SST 295 Semiotic City: Reading the Signs, Learning London (Doug Caulkins), 4 credits, prerequisite: none. How does one learn a new city? This course studies the student's own experience of learning London, using two contrasting frameworks. First is Kevin Lynch's mental mapping, in which "place legibility" can be read from perceptions of urbanscapes constructed of five elements: paths, (streets, etc.), bounded edges (walls, etc.), districts with distinct identities, nodes, or focal points, and landmarks. Second is social semiotics, a theory of the relationship among actions and objects as signs and systems of signs. We examine the process of cultural construction or meaning-making of a variety of "texts" by communities and institutions in the urbanscape. To explore London as both mental maps and semiotic textual readings, we draw on students' experiences on field trips, in other phase I courses, and in their daily life. In addition, students will interview other urban residents as well as tourists to record their mental maps and semiotic readings of London. This da ta collection will allow us to address some of the questions often posed by scholars about these two frameworks: Are mental maps and textual readings shared or largely idiosyncratic? If shared we will attempt to identify the cultural schemas that inform them.

Please note that Paula Smith's Phase II course ENG195: Anglo-Saxon Poetry and Society has been replaced with:

ANT 295 Urban Ethnographic Research (Doug Caulkins), 4 credits, prerequisite: Museums in Contemporary Society, Globalization: The View from London, Principles of Ethno-National Conflict, or Semiotic City: Reading the Signs, Learning London, PHASE II. Use of sociological and anthropological methods, including interviews, observation, participant observation, and focus groups, to learn the variety of meanings and understandings that inform diverse individuals, communities, and organizations in London. Each student selects his or her own project. Particularly appropriate for students who take any of the following Phase I classes: (1) Museums in Contemporary Society, (2) Globalization: The View from London, (3) Principles of Ethno-National Conflict, or (4) Semiotic City: Reading the City, Learning London. Building on familiarity with the issues, theories, and cultural context developed in one of these Phase I courses, students will carry out detailed ethnographic research related to a special interest that they wish to pursue in depth. This mig ht lead to a field study, for example, of the culture of a particular museum or heritage site; of manifestations of globalization such as diasporic populations, or ethnic entrepreneurs; of arenas of conflict such as gentrifying neighborhoods, or of an organization that aims to develop bridging social capital in a diverse community. Students will be urged to consider developing their papers into a conference presentation during second semester.

Phase 1

ART 295: The Early Renaissance in Florence & Flanders

ENG 121: Introduction to Shakespeare

HIS 231: History of London

HUM 295: Museums in Contemporary Society

POL 295A: Principles of Ethno-National Conflicts & Their Management

POL 295B: Globalization: the View from London

SST 195: The British Parliament

THE 275: British Theater in Performance



Phase 2

ENG 250: Modern Literature in Place: Modern Irish Literature

POL 295C: The UK and the EU

SST 295: Understanding Work in the UK

SST 300: Internship