Global Literature in London

What a night we had at open mic night! The vibes in the room were everything from comedy, sorrow, grief, revenge and happiness. We traveled to Tower Hamlets, London to attend open mic night at RichMix. They welcome the communities of the world in East London to create, enjoy and share culture. As we entered … Keep reading »

This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming to our class Daljit Nagra, a poet whose work we’ve been reading. Nagra is a British poet whose poems relate to the experience of Indians born in the UK (especially Indian Sikhs), and occasionally employ language that imitates the English spoken by Indian immigrants whose first language is … Keep reading »

In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, the presence of romance or lack thereof is frequently tested in various forms from friend to friend, lover to lover, and friend to lover. For many of us, Beatrice was a stand-out character in the performance at the Shakespeare Globe, with her wittiness, stage presence, and lively interaction with … Keep reading »

Last week we took a day trip out to the city of Oxford to explore the city and the university, tour the Oxford University Press, and attend a lecture by Helen Oyeyemi, an author we had read in class.  We took the train from London in the morning; it was quick (120 mph!) and easy, … Keep reading »

Our class recently went to the National Gallery in London, home to over 2,300 paintings mostly from Europe, spanning from the 13th to the 19th centuries. We’ve seen art from other eras and cultures at some of London’s other museums, but the National Gallery was a highlight for me. Last year I took a class … Keep reading »

1. “This isn’t a restaurant!” Not exactly what I expected to hear during a sung eucharist at Westminster Abbey, but this sound assaulted my ears nonetheless. My cheeks burned hot with shame and second-hand embarrassment and I lowered my eyes to the ground to avoid any possible association with the woman in the row in … Keep reading »

We started off our day with class in the basement of our hotel. We introduced ourselves and dove right into our first book. We are reading Zadie Smith’s lovely novel White Teeth. After a productive discussion we headed to the Victoria & Albert Museum to explore the idea of Englishness and how that was manifested … Keep reading »

All 23 London students arrived safe and sound (if a bit sleepy) yesterday morning around 10am British Summer Time. I (Peter) met them at the airport, and we took a bus (“coach”) into city center. Our lodgings are at St Athans, the “eco hotel” in the Bloomsbury neighborhood that GC has long used for London-based … Keep reading »

By Saige Lind and Grace Hitt  Our first visit to the British Museum was for a required class assignment. Little did we know, this visit would spark an epic quest that would span the rest of our time in London. We made it our goal to see all of the free exhibits before the end … Keep reading »

By Shayne Wassell During our time here, we were able to attend events and attractions that were outside those that were required. So, some friends and I decided to head to the Tower of London! Upon entering, there were beefeaters and tons of stone buildings. My favorite part, which may sound a little off my … Keep reading »