For nearly forty years, Northern Illinois University and Oriel College have offered an exciting six-week summer program of courses that are designed to take advantage of the unique resources of the British setting, including Oxford University, nearby London, and other field trip sites of historical, cultural, and political significance. Faculty members live and dine in the same halls as students so those formal class meetings can be supplemented by individual tutorials and informal conversations. Enrollment in all courses is deliberately kept low in order to permit maximum interaction between students and faculty.
In recent years, faculty members in the Department of Political Science have traveled to Britain to teach NIU Political Science majors and other interested students enrolled in this excellent study abroad program.
Where does the program take place?
The program is held at Oriel College, founded in 1326 and considered to be one of the most beautiful of the 34 colleges that make-up Oxford University. Oxford is less than 60 miles from London and Stratford-upon-Avon, with frequent and inexpensive bus service to both cities. Cambridge, Canterbury, and other places with literary, historical, and political connections are within 100 miles, and there is virtually no place in Britain or, indeed, Europe that cannot be visited on a weekend trip.
Who is the program intended for?
Although this is an academic program, it has been designed with a variety of audiences in mind. Non-traditional students (i.e., professionals, individuals with an interest in the subject matter, etc.) as well as currently enrolled NIU students are encouraged to participate in the program. All participants will receive academic credit, and students who are not currently enrolled in an academic program at NIU will be enrolled as visiting students (at the undergraduate level) or Students-at-Large (at the graduate level).
What courses are available for academic credit?
In recent years courses have been offered in Biology, English (with an emphasis on Shakespeare) and Political Science. Please note that political science courses may not be offered every year. Each subject is offered on four levels -- general undergraduate, undergraduate major, graduate, and advanced graduate with reading lists and assignments appropriate to each course level. Students should register for the course number appropriate for their situation or needs. All courses carry three semester hours of credit, with the exception of some biology courses. Students may register for one or two courses. Exceptions regarding the number of courses allowed must be reviewed and approved by Professor Gabriel Holbrook, College Coordinator.
When do classes meet?
Classes will meet at hours to be announced (typically, two 2-hour sessions a week for undergraduates with additional conferences for graduate students) Mondays through Thursdays, leaving three-day weekends for study or travel.
What type of accommodations and meals are offered?
Students reside in modernized single rooms in a 12th century college building, with baths and toilets shared between each pair of rooms. Some meals will be served in the 17 th century dining hall. Students will be responsible for the purchase of other meals. Students will have access to the College Library and other Oxford University libraries. The College has a laundry room, and dry cleaning is available nearby. There is also a commons room for socializing and a computer center.
What field trips are offered?
Active learning through field trips is a key feature of this program. The program costs include one trip to Stratford-upon-Avon with tickets to a Royal Shakespeare Company performance, and other trips to sites of academic interest, to be announced. In recent years, political science field trips have included visits to Parliament, U.S. Embassy, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Imperial War Museum, the Churchill Museum and War Cabinet Rooms, the British Museum, and Blenheim Palace. Optional trips, at the students' expense, will also be offered; and students are encouraged to travel on their own.
What political science courses will be offered this year?
Contact Professor Ward at aeward@niu.edu for information.
This course will compare the legal structures and substantive law of a number of countries including the
Political Science Courses Available for Credit at NIU at Oxford (Summer 2009)
POLS 317 Judicial Politics (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 414 Topics in Law and Social Problems (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 495 Seminar in Current Problems (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 498 Seminar Abroad (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 619 Topics in Public Law (3 semester hours) - GR
What political science courses have been offered in recent years?
Contact Professor Glenn at gglenn@niu.edu for information.
This course will study the ideas of three English political thinkers who were pre-eminently important for both articulating, and acting to defend, political liberty in “the modern world.” As we do so, we will study what the “modernity” (i.e. “liberal modernity”) in which we live is, as both a way of government and a way of human living. John Locke’s 17th century writing informed the American Founders as they sought to establish government by consent of the governed and religious toleration. Edmund Burke’s 18th century statesmanship defended the liberty of the American colonies, Irish Catholics and Protestant Dissenters against oppression by the British government; the people of India against the British government backed depredations of the East India Company; and even tried to mitigate the African Slave trade which was conducted in British ships backed by the government. Finally, made the greatest and still relevant defense of English liberty against the opposing view of liberty launched by the French Revolution. In the 1930's, Winston Churchill’s 20th century statesmanship attempted and failed to awaken his country to the new form of political evil growing in Germany. When Nazism emerged to suddenly conquer Europe (by the Summer of 1940), Churchill was made Prime Minister. In the darkest days of World War II, Churchill and the English Channel were what stood between Hitler and complete domination of Europe. When nothing else gave grounds for hope, Churchill’s speeches alone appeared to sustain the morale of the British and conquered peoples of Europe and, after December 7, 1941, inspired the Americans. Again, in the late 1940's, he was the first to find a rhetoric which made sense of the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe behind what he was the first to call the “iron curtain.” Individual programs of study will be set in consultation with individual students, depending on the course levels selected. Besides other side trips of personal interest, we will visit some of the very places where Locke, Burke, and Churchill lived, wrote, acted and spoke.
Political Science Courses Available for Credit at NIU at Oxford (Summer 2008)
Students at all levels would be able to enroll in this course under the following numbers and titles and earn a total of 6 semester hours. urs.
POLS 251 or 251H Introduction to Political Philosophy (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 351 or 351H Liberalism and Its Critics (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 494 Senior Seminar in Political Science (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 551 Topics in Modern Political Philosophy (3 semester hours) - GR
POLS 650 Seminar in Political Theory (3 semester hours) - GR
Contact Professor Kempton at dkempton@niu.edu for more information.
Students in the class will be introduced to basic theories and models of international relations, including realism, liberal idealism, bureaucratic politics, perceptional theory, and feminist theory. The course will then turn to the practical problem of international terrorism. (Emphasis will be given to terrorism in Northern Ireland and the British response.) Terrorism is at least as old as recorded history and likely older. While the essential nature of terrorism and its basic objectives have not changed for millennia, the effectiveness of terrorism and its frequency have both increased dramatically. The course is designed to provide the information necessary for students to develop their own answers to some basic questions about terrorism after "9/11". What is terrorism? Why is terrorism increasing? What causes terrorism? What can be done to diminish the incidences and destructiveness of terrorism? While there are no obvious or consensual answers to these questions, varied answers to each of these questions will be presented and discussed
Political Science Courses Available for Credit at NIU at Oxford (Summer 2007)
POLS 285 Introduction to International Relations (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 376 Political Violence (Global Terrorism) (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 498 Seminar Abroad (3-9 semester hours) - UG
POLS 495 Seminar in Current Problems (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 580 Theories of International Relations (3 semester hours) - GR
Summer 2005
U.S. British-Relations
Professor Christopher Jones
Contact Professor Jones at cmjones@niu.edu for more information.
This course will examine the development and present state of the 'special relationship' between Great Britain and the United States. It will probe the relationship through the changing power roles of both countries in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Case study exercises and a range of current issues -- terrorism, trade, NATO, European Union, Northern Ireland, and Iraq -- will be used to explore the varying dimensions of the Anglo-American relationship. Oxford's location will enhance the study of this subject through access to the British media, interaction with the British public, and field trips, which will include the U.S. Embassy, Parliament, the Imperial War Museum, Churchill Museum and War Cabinet Rooms, and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Political Science Courses Available for Credit at NIU at Oxford (Summer 2007)
POLS 285 Introduction to International Relations (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 395 Contemporary Topics in Political Science (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 494 Senior Seminar in Political Science (3 semester hours) - UG
POLS 495 Seminar in Current Problems (3 semester hours) - UG or GR
POLS 586 Seminar in International Relations (3 semester hours) - GR
For more information about NIU at Oxford, please contact the College Coordinator, Professor Gabriel Holbrook of the Department of Biological Sciences at gholbrook@niu.edu or one of the political science professors listed above.