The 20th Seminar at Oxford, ENGLAND
The Life and Times of
Winston Churchill
Oxford, England
August 12-18, 2007
THIS PROGRAM HAS SOLD OUT.
If you would like to be put on a wait list,
please e-mail travelandlearn@virginia.edu
or call 1-800-346-3882.
Program Information | Faculty | Registration
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Join us in England for the 20th anniversary of the U.Va. Seminar in Oxford with lectures by expert faculty, special tours, and lively discussions focused on the life and times of Winston Churchill and twentieth century Britain.
Born into aristocracy at Blenheim Palace, England’s most celebrated Prime Minister was also a soldier, writer, artist, and radical. Throughout World War II, he delivered inspiring speeches and forged strategic alliances with Roosevelt, Stalin and others that led to the Allied victory. Churchill’s leadership changed the world. 
This exciting program examines Churchill as politician, journalist, military leader, and man. It encompasses the social changes which swept over Great Britain during his lifetime, so many of which were intertwined with his own public and private fate.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
- Attend thought-provoking lectures by expert faculty on Churchill’s military career, his literary career, his involvement in World Wars I and II, the emergence of Churchill as a world leader, the ebb and flow of his political fortunes, and his status as a twentieth century icon.
- Visit Chartwell, the beloved home where Churchill lived with his wife and children.
- See the Imperial War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms on a day trip to London.
- Add-on excursion to Blenheim Palace, Churchill’s birthplace and home to 11th Duke of Marlborough. Set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, the palace (1712) was designed in the short-lived English baroque style. It features intricate carvings, hand painted ceilings, amazing porcelain collections, tapestries and paintings.
- Add-on excursion to Bletchley Park, the site of secret British codebreaking activities during World War II. Also known as Station X, codes and ciphers of several Axis countries were deciphered here, most famously the German Enigma.
- Live and eat "in college" at Oxford University’s Merton College, experiencing first hand the tradition of English intellectual life. Participants often comment on how much they enjoy feeling like residents, not tourists, during their week in Oxford.
- Tour the charming town of Oxford, The City of Dreaming Spires. For over 800 years, Oxford has been a home to royalty and scholars
- Tour Merton College, one of three ancient Oxford colleges founded in the thirteenth century.
- Explore the villages and pubs of Oxfordshire.
- And more...
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This seminar will give you an opportunity to explore the life and times of Winston Churchill. It is perfect for those with an interest in Churchill, political and military history, twentieth century social change. It will also appeal to teachers, Anglophiles, Oxford University enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys travel and learning opportunities that provide intellectual stimulation in a welcoming and congenial environment.
This seminar offers unsurpassed value, rich content, and is part of an educational travel tradition with a long history of exceptional participant satisfaction.
PROGRAM LOCATION
Oxford, home to England's oldest University and smallest cathedral, is located on the north bank of the River Thames, fifty-six miles northwest of London. Frequent bus connections to Heathrow and Gatwick airports and extensive bus and train connections to London make it very easy to travel to and from Oxford. In advance of the program you will receive extensive
information about getting to and enjoying Oxford.
Participants often comment on how much they enjoy feeling like residents, not tourists, during their week in Oxford.
PROGRAM LODGING
While "up at Oxford" both faculty and participants live, dine, and study
"in college." Our home for the week is Merton College, where each participant will have a private single bedroom with a private bath.
Founded in 1264, it is one of three ancient Oxford colleges founded in the thirteenth century. Merton College is noted for the exceptional historical and aesthetic interest of its buildings. The Library is probably the oldest surviving working library in the United Kingdom, and the Hall, Chapel, Lodge and Mob Quadrangle also date from the College's early years.
The College's founder was Walter de Merton, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Rochester. Walter's conception of a self-governing community of scholars, with its own statutes and endowment, residing in buildings laid out in staircases and quadrangles, created a model and precedent for Oxford and Cambridge colleges founded in the succeeding centuries.
Take an interactive photographic tour of Merton College - Virtual Merton
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Program Information | Faculty | Registration
Program Faculty
Stephen A. Schuker,
William W. Corcoran Professor of History, University of Virginia. Mr. Schuker's research interests include diplomacy and finance in the 20th century interwar period. His books include "American Reparations to Germany, 1919-33: Implications for the Third-World Debt Crisis," "The End of French Predominance in Europe: The Financial Crisis of 1924 and the Adoption of the Dawes Plan." Currently writing two books on diplomacy and finance in the interwar period: "Watch on the Rhine: The Rhineland and the Security of the West, 1914-1936," and "European Reconstruction after the Great War, 1918-1933." Mr. Schuker received his B.A. from Cornell University, and M.A. and Ph.d. from Harvard University.
Professor Schuker will be joined by his spouse, Elisabeth Glaser,
herself a European historian, author and psychoanalytic therapist
with research interests in a variety of areas including the Holocaust.
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 Geoffrey Best, Professor Emeritus, St. Antony's College, Oxford University. One of England's most distinguished historians, his many works include Churchill: A Study in Greatness, Churchill and War and War and Law Since 1945. He is also the co-editor of History, Society and the Churches. Best was a schoolboy at St Paul's School in London during the War, and has a fund of stories. One story includes a memorable speech to his school by the then American ambassador. Best recalls Churchill breaking down in tears as he spoke about the civilized values for which our two countries were fighting so hard.
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C. Brian Kelly, Lecturer, Department of English, University of Virginia. Mr. Kelly has been a lecturer in journalism at the University of Virginia since 1980. He has also been a prize-winning newspaper reporter (20 years), magazine editor (11 years), book author (since 1989) and publisher (10 years), and free-lance writer (since graduating from college in 1957). Kelly's last newspaper stint was a 16-year period at the late Washington Star ending in December 1978. In the 1980s he was founding editor of Military History and World War II magazines (still going strong), creator and executive editor of the shortlived Sports History and Biblical History magazines. He and his wife Ingrid Smyer founded a book-publishing firm, Montpelier Publishing, then self-published three historical books that sold very well and ultimately attracted an outside publisher, for whom Kelly and his wife now have written six historical books in all. Their collection includes a new book out this fall, Best Little Stories of the Blue and the Gray. As a free-lance writer, Kelly has published non-fiction and fiction (short stories) in magazines ranging from Reader's Digest to Yankee and Rod Serling's Twilight Zone.
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We regret that , for personal reasons, Professor Ray Nelson will not
be able to join us for the Oxford program.
Program Staff
Joan Elias Gore, Ph.D., is the Director of Travel Programs at the University of Virginia's School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Jim Baker, U.Va. Seminar in Oxford Co-Director and Associate Director of U.Va. School of Continuing and Professional Studies University Center.
Chris Day, U.Va. Seminar in Oxford Co-Director and Lecturer in Local History/Fellow of Kellogg College at Oxford University.
Ashleigh Edwards is the U.Va. Program Administrator.
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Program Information | Faculty | Registration
Registration
This program has sold out. If you would like to be put on a wait list, please e-mail travelandlearn@virginia.edu or call 1-800-346-3882.
Program Fee Includes:
- Six nights lodging at Merton College, Oxford.
- All meals and refreshment breaks.
- A special guided tour of Merton College.
- Program tours and trips to the Cabinet War Rooms, Imperial War Museum, and Chartwell.
- Program sessions led by Raymond J. Nelson and Brian Kelly of U.Va. and Geoffrey Best of Oxford University.
- An Oxford guidebook and specially prepared instructional materials.
Airfare to the program and ground transportation to and from Oxford are not included in the program fee.
Per Person Program Fee: $3,400 (Reserve your spot with a $350 deposit)
The program concludes with optional tours to Blenheim and Bletchley:
- $3,440 includes program fee plus visit to Blenheim.
- $3,460 includes program fee plus visit to Bletchley.
- $3,500 includes program fee plus visits to Blenheim and Bletchley.
Printable Registration Form
• If you register prior to June 12, 2007, please return the registration form with a $350 per person deposit (or the full fee if you choose). The balance of your program fee is due by June 12, 2007.
• If you register after June 12, 2007, please return the registration form with full program fee.
Register by fax, 434-982-5297, or by telephone, 800-346-3882 or 434-982-5252, using VISA or MasterCard; or by sending us your downloadable form by mail with a check (payable to U.Va.) or credit card information to:
Oxford Seminar
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400764
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4764
WITHDRAWAL
If you withdraw in writing within 14 days of registration you will receive a full refund (if not within final payment date.) If you withdraw in writing before June 12, 2007, you will receive a full refund, minus the $350 deposit. In the event withdrawal is necessary after June 12, 2007, there will be no refund but you may substitute another person to attend the program in your place.
We highly recommend you purchase travel cancellation insurance (and confirm what it may cover.) Useful travel insurance information can be found at www.TripInsuranceStore.com or 888-407-3854. You may also wish to check with your local travel agency for recommended sources.
There will be no refund for unused portions of the program, including but not limited to, missed meals, lodging nights, and sightseeing.
Travel resources can be found here.
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