BLC—British Life and Culture Course

LONDON
I’m teaching a full load this term in addition to my part-time occupation of “tourist.”  One of the classes I’m responsible for, British Life and Culture, is really a lecture course organized by AIFS staff.  My colleagues and I are only required to set and evaluate the assignments.   


Every Wednesday afternoon we have a lecture on a different topic from British history to the media, the education system, Parliament, British Art, etc.  Peter, Lily and Abby are “auditing” the class; that is, they attend every lecture and field trip offered, and so far the lectures have all been fascinating.   


Our primary lecturer is a British sociologist named Justin Lorentzen.   He’s middle aged, with thinning silver hair and thick black reading glasses.  He has a rather discursive, languid lecture style, but he’s quite engaging.  Rather than focusing on dates and events, he asks us to consider themes and trends.  He punctuates his talks with a few key ideas and often asks the students for their observations or their views on American vs. British culture.  The students appear to really enjoy theses exchanges.  Last week he feigned no knowledge of the American education system, so they eagerly filled him in.  They share their opinions about British sports, transportation and nightlife.  Somehow, they seem more open with Justin, whom they see only in a large lecture hall weekly, than with their American instructors whom they encounter almost daily.

This is the course that took us on a walking tour to see the Olympic Park, to visit the BBC, the Globe Theater, and to tour Parliament.  This past Wednesday we learned about the Tate Modern Art Museum, moved to an abandoned and re-furbished power plant about 10 years ago.  Afterwards, we visited the Tate ourselves and pondered the accessibility of modern and contemporary art to the public.  My favorite exhibit there this fall is a “sculpture” of handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds by Chinese dissident artist Ai Wei Wei.  It’s a statement about resisting propaganda and a testament to the resilience of individuals during the Cultural Revolution.  Would I have understood this without reading the commentary on it?  I’m not sure.  I also like an installation by a Spanish artist of a polyester red staircase hanging from the gallery ceiling.  I’m not sure what this installation “means” either, but it was both intriguing and thought provoking.  Our final lecture next week will be on Britain’s international relations followed by a visit to the Imperial War Museum.

Wendy and Paul, my fellow instructors from California, and I meet weekly with the AIFS director to check in on our students and plan the organization of the Life and Culture course.  The students write and submit journal entries—many of which seem hastily finished without much thought, though a few are honest an introspective reflections on experiences—and take infrequent quizzes on the lectures and reading.  I gave the quiz last week on the topics of education, class and the media.  Most of them did know the difference between public and state schools in Britain (the first being private and the second public) but many were confused about the difference between tabloid newspapers like The Sun (a Rupert Murdoch paper) and The Daily Mirror vs. “broadsheets” or serious news reported in The Guardian or the London Times. 


The last and biggest assignment is a group project on a topic of their choice.  Predictably, several groups are “investigating” London nightlife (i.e.,  pub crawls not theater), food, the Underground. Some more unusual topics proposed  include Guy Fawkes, gargoyles in British churches, street performances, and British politics during the Thatcher era.  

Beth