CLAIRE O’REILLY
Assistant Life & Arts Editor
A major perk of attending Fredonia, or any other SUNY school, is students’ access to international education through hundreds of different study abroad programs. Literary London is one of them.
“Literary London was launched 11 years ago by Dr. Adrienne McCormick, who was a professor in the English department,” said David Kaplin, one of the professors leading the program. “Thanks to her hard work and creative planning, we enjoy established relationships with the University College in London, where we stay during the program, and several of London’s premier museums.”
Although students do have an array of programs to choose from at Fredonia, Kaplin believes Literary London stands out.
“Unlike any other study abroad program I know, Literary London brings the texts you study to life. It’s much more than tourism or cultural exchange: we literally — and literarily! — inhabit the places that we’ll be reading about. We spend four hours each morning in class discussing great books, and then we go to the places that inspired them,” he said. “The connections are immediate and deep: we feel the spaces, the history, the moments of all that we read and talk about in class. We also get to go ‘behind the scenes’ and see museum collections and meet experts that one would not ordinarily encounter as a casual visitor.”
Alumna and past participant in the program Cassandra Riggio has some advice for students who are on the fence about going.
“Just go,” she said. “If you’re worried about the cost — that was my main concern about going — it turned out fine. It was so worth it.”
Riggio joked that, if she could have, she would’ve stayed in England the whole six months she was granted on her passport.
Kaplin has similar advice for students who are indecisive.
“Every single Literary London alum I’ve spoken to says the same thing: it was the best thing I did during my undergraduate career,” he said. “It is a lot of money, but it’s also the most affordable way to experience an expensive city; traveling here after graduation, doing all that we will do on the program, would cost at least twice the current fee, so it’s well worth it.”
Students have the opportunity to discover and explore on their own while in London. In the past, one student found herself experiencing something pretty amazing after an interesting turn of events.
“One student planned a difficult trip up to Sherwood Forest on her free day to visit a castle-museum dedicated to the legends of Robin Hood. After some delays, she finally made it there just as the castle was closing for the day. Hearing all that she had done to get there, the curators of the castle gave her a private tour that evening, during which she got to see holdings that ordinary visitors never see,” said Kaplin. “After she graduated, that student returned to England, married a Brit and now lives outside of London. As a program leader, I am thrilled every year by what students discover on their own, about London and about themselves.”
Riggio also talked about one of her own experiences while exploring around.
“I tell everyone about this pub we went to. We went on a Jack the Ripper tour, so that night we went to a pub they showed us where Jack the Ripper would pick up prostitutes that ended up being his victims. That was kind of crazy,” she said.
Recently, an informational meeting for those interested in going to London on this summer’s program was held. A few of the students described why Literary London is their program of choice.
“I love Dr. Kaplin,” said junior English major Ian Wetzel. “He first showed me information about the trip last year, and I’ve been interested in it ever since.”
“I’ve taken a couple Kaplin classes and I always heard someone talking about the trip,” said junior English major Chris Jakubik. “That got me a little interested, but I realized I want to travel and explore the world. I want my first experience doing that to be London.”
Kaplin further touched on what makes Literary London special and why studying abroad is so beneficial to students.
“In addition to the unique academic experience of the program, students get to experience real cross-cultural exchanges. When you travel as a tourist, you see sites and hopefully interact with a few folks while you’re there, but our program encourages students to examine their own ideas and values through their experiences in another culture. London, in particular, offers many moments of connection and similarity but also real differences that ask us to reexamine what we value, about individuals, about art, about nation and politics and about our international community,” he said.
“Study abroad opens your mind and your heart to the many different people, real people, that have much in common with us but also have many things to teach us. It teaches us to listen to voices other than those familiar to us, and that’s the key to becoming an informed and responsible world citizen. Plus, after you travel once, you will want to travel more. And you’ll have the confidence to do so.”