London FYE Courses and Credits

In the early twenty-first century, museums are becoming increasingly more relevant to all parts of society, and exhibition displays are often controversial and politically charged. This course is an introduction to British society, culture, and museology. The course considers museums as reflections of the British psyche, unique cultural constructs that help us understand ‘Britishness’. We will also be looking at museums as institutions of 'global' heritage in the context of a global city, with a unique British perspective. As an introduction to museology, the course will look at the development of the modern museum and its operation, as well as interrogate the different types of museums. We will look at the impact British history, society and politics have had on London museums, their creation and their day-to-day operations and audiences. Taking advantage of our location, we will do field work in eight different museums, from the famous and vast ‘global’ British Museum to the small and privately-owned Saatchi Gallery.

Students will analyse the ways in which imperialism and its legacy, as well as Britain’s global relationships have influenced museum development and how this gives rise to the politics of patrimony. We will look at questions of cultural appropriation and the political debate on repatriation versus protection. This debate has recently been energized by the depredations of IS on what many would call the global heritage of Iraq and Syria. We will also be looking at material culture and what it says about individuals and society. Students will examine the choices, ethics, political and social meanings of both creating material culture, collecting it and the ethics of preservation and restoration. While the creation of material culture has specific psychological, social and often political meanings; collecting, preserving and displaying one particular object involves a very complex decision-making process which is influenced by the cultural values of the decision maker.  We will examine, for example, the impact of the Classical period on British society in the past and present, its importance to class and education in Britain, and how this is reflected in museum collections. Students will also look at the complex decision making of conservators and restorers. These decisions have social and political impact, choosing to emphasize one period and use over another. The course will also look closely at decision makers and their role in the museum industry, the origins of museums from individuals to trade exhibitions and current museum professionals, as well as the impact museum audiences have on the work of museums. Students will also examine the impact of communities on museum development, on exhibition creation, how engaged museums are with their communities, and how the unique diversity of London is reflected (or not) in its museums.

(4 credits)

This course will focus on literature inspired by London - one of the most beautiful cities on earth. London is a place both real and imagined. London has always been, and continues to be, a home and a haven for writers and thinkers from all over the world. 

This course will examine the relationship between literature and its varied settings. The distinctions between real and imagined places, and the ways in which these places are depicted in literature, are rigorously analysed. We will also be looking at the way in which particular environments are evoked in literature. The examples of literature studied include novels, short stories, essays and poetry. 

(4 credits)

The course explores the craft of creative writing through analysis of selected literature and poetry in relation to the city and explores the challenges of writing about place. We will examine different aspects of the city in relation to London narratives including the river, travel, urban spaces, solitude, ethnicity, particular boroughs, and characters (both fictional and real) as well as making use of practical exercises and field work.

(4 credits)

This introductory class for first year students examines the natural relationships between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere; human impacts on the natural environment, and global environmental issues: global warming, sea-level rise, and ozone depletion in the stratosphere. Global changes of the past are also studied to give perspective to forecasted changes. Includes writing exercises.

(4 credits)

How does Britain see itself? Simply put, there are currently many conflicting versions of Britain, British Identity and ‘Britishness’. One of the most effective ways of understanding a nation is by examining the images, values, symbols, and individuals by which a nation constructs and represents itself, its history and values. This multi-disciplinary course explores a variety of forms of national representation – ‘ideals and icons’ – to investigate the ways in which modern Britain and British identities have been imagined, constructed, remembered and experienced at home and internationally. This theme is examined through specific topics including: imperialism, war and their legacies; the development of consumer culture; immigration and racial politics; institutions such as the monarchy and government, the BBC and the NHS, and varieties of often-contentious political and cultural dissent. The course also gives students the opportunity to engage directly with the heritage industry and contemporary British culture, utilizing London’s cityscape and its vast array of distinct neighbourhoods, cultural venues, and historical sites as primary tools of analysis. Classes are arranged thematically, combining contextual lectures, film, seminar discussion, and weekly field studies. Emphasis will be placed on understanding and interpreting the legacy of Britain’s past upon the ways in which the contemporary nation and British identities are structured in the twenty-first century.

(4 credits)

Pre-requisite:  High school preparation including trigonometry; Appropriate scores on Skidmore's Quantitative Reasoning Diagnostic Placement and Skidmore's Calculus Placement Exam. Students may be exempt from the QR Diagnostic based on SAT and ACT test scores.

The topics included will be (but not limited to): functions, more on functions, limits, derivatives, a review of differentiation, the second derivative, advanced techniques in differentiation, related rates of change, calculating extrema, integration, Introduction to Riemann sums, methods of integration by parts and by substitution and the Mean Value theorem. 

The sessions draw on various learning formats - seminar, workshop, “chalk and talk”, guided research task (set tutorial tasks) – whose forms and purposes will be clearly explained, further encouraging students to become active and reflective learners who fully understand why these skills are both necessary and valuable in their chosen subject specialism.

(4 credits)

Cities around the world are striving to be ‘global’. This course focuses on the development of one of the greatest of these global cities, London, from the nineteenth through to the twenty-first century and investigates the nature and implications of its ‘globality’ for its built environment and social geography.  We will examine how the city has been transformed by the forces of industrialisation, imperialism and globalisation and consider the ways in which London and its inhabitants have been shaped by their relationships with the rest of the world.  Students will gain insight into London’s changing identity as a world city, with a particular emphasis on analysis of the city’s imperial, postcolonial and transatlantic connections; the ways in which past and present, local and global intertwine in the capital; and comparative study of urban change worldwide.  The course is organised chronologically: themes include the Victorian metropolis; London as an imperial space; representations of the city in media, film and popular culture; multicultural London; London as a commercial centre of global capitalism; the impact of urban ‘mega-events’; future scenarios of urban change.

(4 credits)

Theatre in the City will place students at the heart of the experience of theatre. What is a play, and what are its qualities, conditions and boundaries? Are there limits to what the theatre can represent in terms of subject matter? How are audiences engaged, stimulated and provoked, and to what end? What philosophical issues does the theatrical experience engage with, and how are they demonstrated within the live performance event? During our journey, we’ll consider the origins of theatre, the changing roles of performers and spectators over time, and also assess the theatre’s future prospects.

(4 credits)