All courses are taught within the College by faculty from Cambridge and other UK universities in small classes that are ideal for discussion and debate. The academics are designed to be stimulating and inclusive while allowing time for a wider appreciation of the country and its culture. Summer in Cambridge is steeped in exploration, learning, and memory making.

The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world. Live and study on campus, in buildings surrounded by serene gardens and courtyards, while complementing coursework with relevant excursions.

Session I Courses

Shakespeare on Film

Cross-listed course: Choose English 160 or Film and Media 113 (4 units)
Since 1899, cinema has produced an almost infinite variety of Shakespeare adaptations. Film-makers from all over the world have found ingenious ways to bring Shakespeare’s tragedies, comedies, Roman and history plays to the screen, from the original-text epics produced in Hollywood and Britain in the 1930s and 1940s (e.g. MGM’s Romeo and Juliet, Laurence Olivier’s Henry V), to the many American genre adaptations: Westerns, high-school comedies (10 Things I Hate About You and She’s the Man) and gangster thrillers that use the plays’ plots and characters as a template but replace Shakespeare’s language with contemporary dialogue. Through close analysis and discussion of Shakespeare’s texts in comparison with contemporary stage productions and a wide range of Shakespeare films (original-text and genre adaptations), the course aims to illuminate the playwright’s themes, language and stagecraft, the possibilities of stage-to-screen adaptation and the cultural and commercial factors that have influenced international trends in Shakespearean film production. Instructor: Mr. Daniel Rosenthal, Freelance lecturer on Shakespeare and film, Associate Tutor (British Film Institute) and author of Shakespeare on Screen.

Contemporary Economic Issues:
A Global View

Economics 169 (4 units)
This course provides students with an understanding of the nature of basic economic principles by combining microeconomic theory, which deals with individual decisions in the economy, and its application to contemporary issues. Students will also gain a firm knowledge of the basic tools of macroeconomic analysis, which covers interactions in the economy as a whole. As such, the course will show students how the use of these tools can be employed to provide insight into, and policy recommendations on, a variety of topical issues. The emphasis is on the development of intuitive reasoning and the application of the techniques and models encountered, rather than simply on rote learning. Instructor: Dr. Prodromos Vlamis, Associate member of staff in the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge; Visiting Assistant Professor, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece; and Senior Research Fellow (from March 2010) at the Hellenic Observatory, London School of Economics.

Florence And The Art And Architecture Of The Italian Renaissance

Art History 121 (4 units)
Examine the art of Florence and Venice, examine the diversity and ingenuity of masters like Brunelleschi, Leonardo and Titian. Discover the fascinating development of artistic realism and idealism against the backdrop of an artwork’s function, location, and patronage in order to place this astonishing period of creativity in its historic context. Instructor: Dr. David Oldfield, Lecturer in History of Art, Cambridge University.

History of Epidemics & Infectious Disease

THE BLACK DEATH IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND:  THE IMPACT OF A DEMOGRAPHIC DISASTER
History 136E (4 units)
In the summer of 1348, the Black Death arrived in England. It killed between a third and a half of the population at one stroke. This course takes as its point of departure these catastrophic events and their aftermath. It considers what the consequences of the plague can tell us about the full diversity of late medieval English society, from art and literature, religious practice and economic life, to social mobility and revolt. Instructor: Dr. Christopher Fletcher teaches at the University of Kent and at Birkbeck College, London. He finished his first book, Richard II: Manhood, youth and politics, 1377-99, whilst a Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge.

Darwin’s Voyage Through the 19th Century

History 135E (4 units)
In contrast to Victorian views about special creation, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution created a revolution in understanding the origins of life. Based on his own letters and publications, this course will follow the development of Darwin’s ideas beginning in Cambridge, through his voyage on the Beagle, and beyond. Evidence and arguments for evolution will be addressed in detail. Field trips include visits to local collections of specimens gathered by Darwin on the Beagle voyage. Instructor: Dr. Richard Jennings, Affiliated Lecturer, Supervisor and Examiner in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge.

Literature and Politics in Britain 1890-1940

Cross-listed course: Choose Political Science 159 or English 103 (4 units)
This course will engage with the ways in which British writers both shaped and reflected the politics of their country in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Necessarily interdisciplinary, this course will provide fascinating insights into the ways in which the modern nation was imagined. We will investigate the difficulties in using literary documents as historical sources and discuss the ways in which scholars have tackled this subject. The course as a whole will engage with wider questions which have been the focus of academic controversy in a number of disciplines such as the role of literary intellectuals in British culture, the making of literary reputations, the responsibilities of the writer and the influence of extra-parliamentary ideas on the formation of political debate.Instructor: Dr. Tom Villis is Professor of History and Politics at the British American College, London.

The Psychology Of Language

Cross-listed course: Choose Psychology 155 or Linguistics 155 (4 units)
How does our language affect our thinking? Why does visual and other non-auditory information affect what we (think we) hear? How is it that split-brain patients can name objects without being consciously aware of seeing them, or be able to write but not name them? What can language disorders, Alzheimer’s Disease, dyslexia, speech errors, and tip of the tongue states tell us about regular linguistic processing and production? This course addresses these and other linguistic mysteries as part of a larger examination of how the mind constructs and deconstructs language. Instructor: Bert Vaux, University Lecturer in Linguistics, Graduate Tutor and Fellow in Linguistics King’s College, University of Cambridge.

Religion and the Ethics of Making War and Peace

Political Science 149 (4 units)
Religion seems a virtually ubiquitous factor in the instability and brutality of our post-Cold War and post-9/11 world – from suicide bombings and deliberately ‘spectacular’ terrorist strikes to mass killing and low-intensity conflicts in the Balkans, through Africa and on all sides of the Asian continent. Because religion is believed to contribute to the making of war, a growing body of scholars and statesmen suggests that it can also be used to resolve conflict, and even to create greater respect for the laws of war. This course relates religious extremism to the ethical problems which arise in today’s wars, and we examine the latest scholarship on the relationship between religion, war and peace-making. The course then examines in depth the reasons for which it has proven difficult to apply notions of legal or ethical limitations in the ‘new wars’ witnessed today: reasons which make extremists of secular as well as religious parties to conflict.  Instructor: Dr. George Wilkes. Director, VHI Religion and Ethics in War and Peace-Making Programme; Director of Studies for Politics, Psychology, Sociology; Fellow, St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge.

The Chinese Empire

History 171G (4 units) (Fulfills UCI GE Requirement VIII or UCI Breadth Requirement VII-B)
This course aims to understand contemporary China, an increasingly prominent country on the world stage.  Starting from a consideration of traditional Chinese concepts of empire, the course will examine the ways in which successive generations of rulers, statesmen, and scholars sought to justify and maintain unified imperial control. The course will begin in the early eleventh century, with signs of a shift towards beliefs and institutions that we now recognise as modern, and extend to the nineteenth century, when violent encounters with Western powers forced a radical reappraisal of the Chinese imperial system. It will conclude with an examination of the Chinese empire’s political successors that prevailed after its official fall in 1911: the Republican era and the Communist state. Finally, it will question whether or not the term ‘empire’ can still be used meaningfully to refer to the China of the present day. Instructor: Dr. Mark Strange is Drapers’ Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge.  He has also taught imperial and modern Chinese history, and Literary Chinese language and narrative, at the universities of Warwick, Oxford and Cambridge.

Introduction to the History of European Political Thought in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Political Science 139 (4 units)
This introductory course surveys key political themes and sources, with a particular emphasis being given to 1750-1830, years that included major political revolutions, the Napoleonic Wars, the concert of Europe, as well as important intellectual movements such as the Enlightenment and Romanticism. Students will be exposed to different conceptual, historiographical, and methodological approaches to intellectual history so that they may better understand historical argument and practice and how these inform the nature of historical inquiry and explanation. Instructor: Dr. Paul Kerry, Associate Professor in the Department of History, Brigham Young University, has also been awarded fellowships at Princeton, Cambridge, Oxford, and Edinburgh and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Session II Courses

British Documentary Filmmaking

Film & Media Studies 160 (4 units) (Fulfills UCI GE Requirement VIII or UCI Breadth Requirement VII-B)
This course examines the theory and practice of documentary filmmaking, focusing on the work of Humphrey Jennings. The Pembroke polymath (1907- 50) created some of the most vivid and enduring portraits of Britain at war and at peace, and his innovations permanently transformed the genre in ways that shape contemporary documentary practice. A surrealist, poet, actor, and co-founder of the Mass Observation movement, Jennings’ short life bears testimony to a political and imaginative exploration of the collective symbols of British identity that is in the tradition of Blake. Students will produce a short film that responds to his work. Instructor: Mr. Charlie Ritchie, Lecturer in Film, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge and Head of Visual Arts at the Cambridge Centre for Sixth Form Studies.

Psychology And The Law

Choose Criminology, Law and Society C105 or Psychology & Social Behavior 193E (4 units)
Explore the key issues within criminology and criminal justice. Focus on four core themes; Mapping the Criminal Body, Mental Health and Crime, Psychology and the Criminal Justice Process, and the Sociology and Psychology of Punishment. Examine questions about the nature of crime and how ’criminality’ can be assessed and measured through an eyewitness testimony experiments, a mock trial concerning a mentally disordered offender, and the watching and discussion of relevant films. Prerequisite: Criminology, Law and Society C7 or C101. Instructor: Dr. Loraine Gelsthorpe, Fellow, Pembroke College; University Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice and Director of the M.Phil Programme in Criminology, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge.

"The Play’s the Thing…"
Staging Shakespeare

English 103 (4 units)
Work with Dr. George Yeats (a teacher of Shakespeare) and Mr. Thomas Secretan (an actor) on a representative selection of Shakespeare’s plays. As well as benefiting from Cambridge’s academic resources, students will attend performances at Shakespeare’s Globe in London and at the RSC, in Stratford. Dr. Yeats’s lectures will offer an introduction to nine texts, their language, style and reception; in Mr. Secretan’s seminars students will consider how directors and actors might bring them to life on stage. Instructor: Dr. George Yeats is a Bye-Fellow and Director of Studies in English at Girton College, University of Cambridge. Tom Secretan is currently training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts

Art and Architecture In England 1600-1800

From The Ridiculous To The Sublime
Art History 120 (4 units)
From the avid collecting of King Charles I to the establishment of the Royal Academy, the practice of art appreciation flourished in England during the 17th and 18th centuries. With artists and patrons alike, what had once been the preserve of the select few became an increasingly popular interest. Follow this change in attitude towards painting and architecture through the achievements of Van Dyck, Wren, Hogarth and Reynolds.Instructor: Dr. David Oldfield, Lecturer in History of Art, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge.

Empirical Finance

Economics 139 (4 units)
The years 2007-2009 witnessed several extraordinary events in the financial world, including the government bail-outs of AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy. The impact of the so-called credit crunch is not restricted to the financial sector, but it also has a significant effect on consumers as well as other sectors of the economy. This course explores several issues in empirical finance, ranging from the “classical” treatment of the subject, such as the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the Capital Asset Pricing Model, to current debates about the credit crunch and the abuse of Collateralised Debt Obligations (CDO). Students will obtain a critical understanding of the subject and recognise the importance and impact of finance in the economy. Some prior knowledge in economics or finance is essential. Although the course is designed not to be mathematically demanding, familiarity with statistics and econometrics is a plus. Instructor: Mr. Wongwachara is a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Cambridge.

England United and Disunited: from the Wars of the Roses to Regicide, 1485-1649

History 112D (4 units) (Fulfills UCI GE Requirement VIII or UCI Breadth Requirement VII-B)
The years between Henry VII’s victory over Richard 111 at Bosworth Field in 1485 and Charles I’s execution at Whitehall, London in 1649, were a momentous period in English history. Dynasties were established then disestablished, the Catholic Church was abolished and the country’s political framework faced upheaval. Henry VIII was to be one of the most powerful kings in British history; Elizabeth I, faced with enormous international and domestic difficulties reigned with great skill for 45 years; Charles I’s military defeat and execution made way for a Republic (for the only time in English History). No corner of England escaped the force of these changes and their consequences were wide-ranging and revolutionary. This course will provide an overview of the period. Topics covered will include: the foundation of the Tudor dynasty; the Reformation; Tudor and Stuart monarchy and its critiques; rebellions and popular protest; the Civil Wars and regicide.Instructor: Jessica Sharkey, Junior Research Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge