London Summer Term

Course meets on Tuesdays from 5:00-5:50 p.m. at WNE
Professor Tim Vercellotti

Learn about the politics, geography, and culture of metropolitan London to prepare for our summer travel.

Professor Chidike Okeem
Meets the Social/Behavioral Perspective requirement

This course will introduce students to criminal justice in the UK, with emphasis on the capital city of London. Students will explore historic landmarks and will be introduced to some of the contemporary institutions of British criminal justice. We will observe criminal proceedings at the Old Bailey (the most famous of the trial courts), as well as in a Crown Court in North London. Other field trips include the Tower of London, the Inns of Court (the legendary seat of legal training for barristers – trial lawyers – since the 1300s), a Metropolitan Police station, the Houses of Parliament, and a shop specializing in the horsehair wigs worn by barristers and judges in the criminal courts since the 17th Century.

Professor Tim Vercellotti
Meets the Ethical Perspective requirement

Major advances in Western political and social thought came from philosophers and other intellectuals based in London from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Some were natives (Hobbes, Locke, Wollstonecraft, Macaulay, Mill); some were expatriates (Marx, Engels, Lenin); and some were passing through (Gandhi). This course will examine their impact on London and the world beyond, and London’s impact on them. Field trips will include visits to Westminster Abbey, Highgate Cemetery, the British Museum, the London Zoo, and University College London, where Jeremy Bentham’s preserved body sits upright in a display case to welcome visitors.

Professor Hilary Haft Bucs
Meets the Elements of Culture (CA) requirement for Business, Engineering, and Pharmacy, or Global Cultures (CUL) for Arts & Sciences.

This course will explore Jewish culture in London past and present, with an artistic emphasis on Jewish comedy. We will examine how Jewish immigrants influenced both the Anglo-Jewish population and British culture in theatre, food, fashion, visual arts, and activism. We will investigate the role the Holocaust played in Jewish immigration to London, and the rise of antisemitism, as well as ways to combat it. For the comedy portion of the course, we will compare and contrast elements of Jewish humor in film, TV, theatre, and stand-up comedy. Field trips will include a Jewish History Walk in Whitechapel and the East End, and visits to the Freud Museum, Ben Uri Gallery, the Old Globe Theatre, the National Theatre, a comedy club, famous Jewish restaurants, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Imperial War Museum.

Professor Dave Mazur
Meets the Math requirement for selected majors or counts toward the 40-credit minimum for General University Requirements. Can also be adapted to meet the College of Engineering 300-level Math technical elective requirement.

In describing how mathematical models attempt to depict the real world, British statistician George E.P. Box famously claimed, “All models are wrong, but some models are useful.” Few models have had more influence on daily life in the last 75 years than network models. We will explore how networks are used to solve transportation and military planning problems, build search engines, analyze social organization, and create AI apps. Field trips include visits to a hidden Underground station, the London Transport Museum, the Churchill War Rooms, and the Science Museum. The course culminates with teams using their knowledge of networks to compete in a day-long scavenger hunt throughout London.

Estimated costs are currently being determined.

London and the surrounding areas will serve as our classroom during the summer term. Field trips will take us to:

• A cruise on the River Thames
• The Tower of London
• Westminster Abbey
• The Houses of Parliament
• The Old Bailey
• Royal Courts of Justice
• Inns of Court
• British Museum
• Highgate Cemetery
• The London Zoo
• The National Portrait Gallery
• The Museum of London
• The Science Museum
• The National Theatre
• Globe Theatre
• Churchill War Rooms
• London Transport Museum

Applicants should have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 at the close of the fall 2024 semester, and must have earned a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher for the fall 2024 semester. First-year students wishing to study in both summer sessions will need a fall 2024 semester GPA of 3.0 or higher.

We will consider applicants who fall below the minimum requirements if they provide contact information for a faculty reference who can speak to the student's readiness to succeed in a study abroad program.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Marcus Davis
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Study Abroad Program
Phone: 413-782-1444
Email: marcus.davis@wne.edu

Professor Tim Vercellotti
Director, Western New England University London Summer Program
Phone: 413-782-1724
Email: tim.vercellotti@wne.edu