Reading London, Writing London

I have taught a wide range of courses in both creative writing and literature, including Reading London, Writing London, the Writings of Virginia Woolf, Creative Writing in Ireland, and Modernism. I am the author of five volumes of poetry and a novel. This will be my third time directing the London Program.

Exploring London has been something of a preoccupation of mine since I was nineteen, when, by complete happenstance, I wound up spending August in a bed-and-breakfast run by one formidable Mrs. B in Surrey. Mrs. B’s place was also the residence of a group of RAF helicopter pilots-in-training my age who took me under their wings, as it were, and showed this Yank their London, giving me everything from a birds-eye to a pub’s-eye-view of the great metropolis. Since then, I’ve spent many days and nights “street haunting” in the spirit of Virginia Woolf, from Mayfair to Camden Town, from Chelsea to Marylebone. It will be our project to wander London as writers, meeting its residents and learning its history, culture, and politics as we go.

Greg Hewett, Professor of English

Learning Goals

• To understand how London is and has been imagined and constructed as a metropolis, national capital, center of the Empire, and global hub in literature, art, museums, and architecture
• To deepen appreciation and understanding of all aspects of theater, through regular engagement with live performance at a wide range of venues
• To gain a broad understanding of London as a multicultural metropolis through the study of literature and theater, and urban field exploration
• To develop cultural and geographic knowledge, experience, and skills for perceiving London’s “living text” (e.g., its people, natural and built environment, and material culture)
• To challenge and expand our cultural, aesthetic, and personal values through exposure to new ideas and environments

Prerequisites

The program is open to Carleton students of any major.  Participants are urged, prior to the start of the program, to take a 100 or 200 level English course.

Course of Study

ENGL 282: London Theater (6 credits)

Students will attend productions (at least two per week) of classic and contemporary plays in a range of London venues both on and off the West End, and will do related reading. We will also travel to Stratford-upon-Avon for a 3-day theater trip. Class discussions will focus on dramatic genres and themes, dramaturgy, acting styles, and design. Guest speakers may include actors, critics, and directors. Students will keep a theater journal and write several full reviews of plays.
Instructor: Jane Edwardes, former Theater editor for Time Out [London]

ENGL 281/381: Reading London, Writing London (6 credits)

This is a creative writing course about writing and place, specifically London. Students will have the opportunity to write short stories, poetry, and non-academic essays (also referred to as creative nonfiction). We will be reading select examples in these genres by contemporary writers and poets based in the United Kingdom, some of whom will visit our class. The primary mode of
instruction will be the workshop, which involves large and small-group critique and discussion.
Instructor: Greg Hewett

ENGL 279: Urban Field Studies (6 credits, S/CR/NC)

A combination of short, focused background readings, guided site visits, and individual exploration will give students the tools for understanding the history of multicultural London. Starting with the city’s early history and moving to the present, students will gain an understanding of how the city has been defined and transformed over time, and of the complex cultural narratives that shape its standing as a global metropolis. There will be a few short written assignments and group presentations.

Instructor: Local Faculty, Greg Hewett

Housing

Students will stay in fully-equipped apartments in South Kensington and in small hotels and hostels while on overnight excursions. 

Excursions

Field trips within London will include the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, a walking tour of Bloomsbury, Brick Lane (the heart of the Bengali community), and Spitalfields, one of London’s oldest street markets. Outside of London, we’ll visit Bath and the Isle of Mon in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, among other sites.