Oxford: Joining at Halftime Past Review

By A student (English Literature (British and Commonwealth)., Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/09/2014 to 04/18/2014 with

Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies - Oxford

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I gained a greater confidence in my research and writing abilities and learned a new way to approach texts through context and critical analysis without letting these stand in the way of personal discovery. While I felt disconnected from the university, especially socially, at times, the program was worthwhile academically, and, once I reached out and joined a group, socially as well.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The one-on-one classroom environment creates an experience where the courses are what you make them and allows you to find what you are passionate about in a given text or topic and focus in on it.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:	Keble dining hall was a far walk from our living arrangements, so for the majority of the program we cooked for ourselves.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	$80
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Be prepared to cook for yourself- there is a functional kitchen and it saves a considerable amount of money.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Tutorial experience Location New friends
* What could be improved?	Connection to Keble College Extra-curricular opportunities Building amenities
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	While going abroad in the spring was more advantageous to me academically, I did not realize how hard it would be to join a student body in the middle of an academic year. The societies and clubs have all started already, making the action of joining even harder than it would be as a foreign student at the start of the academic year.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Academic or Linguist You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Shakespeare II
Course Department:	Literature
Instructor:	Professor Hanna
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Professor Hanna is extremely knowledgable about Shakespeare's plays, including aspects from themes to characters to historical relevance. My seminar had three students in it, including me, so I participated more than I would at my home institution and, as a result, it was challenging to continue to bring new ideas and topics to the discussion each week. The seminar was part lecture and part discussion based on questions we brought in and asked at the beginning of each class.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No

Course Name/Rating:	English Renaissance II: Donne to Marvell
Course Department:	Literature
Instructor:	Professor Hanna
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course was especially challenging coming from a U.S. educational background because the poetry of the Renaissance writers was based so closely on political events and religious references that were common knowledge to readers at the time. Since I did not have a strong basis in these topics, I struggled to understand the contextual meaning of some works. Since the course was one-on-one, I was left without an educated answer to some questions. However, I learned a great deal about the connections between poets and about the themes and uses of poetry during the Renaissance in this class, and my participation was very active.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No

Course Name/Rating:	Nineteenth-Century Fiction
Course Department:	Literature
Instructor:	Ushashi Dasgupta
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This was the most engaging and thought-provoking English course I have ever taken. It was challenging in all the right ways, asking me to go beyond the primary text and contrast differing scholarly opinions to form my own enriched read. The teacher was always prepared and helpful, catering the tutorial to my specific interest in my paper while still bringing in important pieces of the text or genre that I had overlooked. I learned about fiction, about myself as a writer, and about how to use secondary sources to enhance personal arguments rather than mask them.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No

Course Name/Rating:	Integral Course
Course Department:	Interdisciplinary
Instructor:	Multiple
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This purpose of this course was to teach us about all aspects of England during the 17th and 18th centuries. The broad range of that topic made the course at times feel disjointed and made the objectives unclear at times. However, I did gain a range of knowledge that helps me to fit periods of history that I was familiar with separately into the general timeline of British history, and to translate different ideologies and mindsets of the time into different areas of social and cultural society. I participated the least in this course because it was a lecture course, but the field trips provided an opportunity to engage more directly with the material.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No