June in London for 4 credits, Anyone?

Interested in London theatre or what's going on there in Modern Dance? How about Anne Boleyn?  Or Harry Potter? Or make-up trends in the urban UK?  Those are among the passions Prof. Elizabeth Stone's students brought with them and wanted to write about two years ago when she went to London for the month of June to teach an course in travel-writing sponsored by Fordham's Study Abroad Program.  She and her students took to the streets of London (and one day, Oxford) to eat, breathe and write about London--and earn credits that count toward the English major, minor or Creative Writing concentration.  The students reported on their passions and discovered new ones as they wrote about trends, interviewed friendly Londoners, and discovered strategies for cheap travel they wanted to share. Along the way, everyone took photos (see below) and got guidance from London residents, some of them Fordham Alums who now live in London.

          Now Prof. Stone is going back. If you're interested in joining her: read the course description (below the photo below) and then write to her at stone@fordham.edu. But hurry!  The deadline for enrolling is February 1st. Note that this course satisfies the EP3 requirement.  Also note, that your writing/photos/video done as part of the course assignments will be published in THE OBSERVER this summer.  If you're among those who are interested in exploring an internship related to publication, your published work from this course will make you a desirable candidate for some of the more competitive publication internships.

[Scroll past the photo to see a course description and more information]

ENGL 3014: Travel Writing in London
Elizabeth Stone
4 credits London June 1 - June 30 2017

There is a banner near the escalator in the Lowenstein building at FCLC which reads, “New York is my campus. Fordham is my school.”  For the purposes of this course, “London is your campus,” and that’s because London is very like New York.  Specifically both are among those iconic cities people just can't help writing about.  London has enthralled writers for centuries--from Samuel Pepys, Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf to JK Rowling and Helen Fielding (in Bridget Jones' Diary). Now it's your turn.  

In this course, ENGL 3014, a creative non-fiction writing course, there are four components: 

• First, inside the classroom (in a hidden and beautiful little campus right in the middle of London, not too far from Hyde Park) we will sample how other writers have characterized London.
• Second, we will take to the streets to explore London life—we will go to the heart of London with its theatres in the West End, its open-air markets, its historic sites, its live-story-telling venues, and its museums (including some pretty weird ones—did you know there’s a Museum of Childhood?).  Plus, with Londoners as our guides, including a couple of Fordham Alums who now live there, we will explore a couple of interesting neighborhoods off the beaten track, where the tourists rarely go—Richmond or Hampstead Heath, not to far from the Kentish Town stop on the tube. We will also travel together outside of London, to Oxford, for sure; and in addition many elect to travel abroad on weekends—to Paris, or Barcelona or Amsterdam with classmates, many of whom rapidly become friends. Those trips offer opportunities to write as well. 
• Third, we will take what we write and “workshop” those pieces (and photos and possibly multimedia) in class. 
• Fourth, we will curate and publish our best work with appropriate use of social media so that we reach the readers we are meant for—undergraduates with time to explore.  The last time this course was given, people found favorite subjects—for one, it was Harry Potter, theatre, theatre, theatre; for another Anne Boleyn, for another the state of modern dance in London, for another cosmetic trends in London.

 If you’re interested in writing, whatever your major, this course will result in your having some publications publically available through a campus publication.  If you’re eventually interested in applying for internships that involve writing (publishing, publicity, advertising, journalism) this course is designed to familiarize you with online publication genres and the ways social media can be used to maximize the attention your writing gets.  Anyone interested in multimedia will also have an opportunity to create and post.

The course meets Mon-Thurs--two days a week in the classroom workshopping our work and two days a week out exploring and soaking up experiences to write about. This course fulfills your EPIII requirement.

Prof. Elizabeth Stone, who is a professional writer as well as a member of the English Department and the Creative Writing Program, taught this class in June 2015.  If  you’d like to talk to her or have questions, write to her at Stone@Fordham.edu