Honors Seminar: Art and Economics in the Bloomsbury Group

Summer 2010: May 15 to June 6

Program Location

Bloomsbury derives its name from 'Blemondisberi', meaning 'the manor of (William) Blemond', who acquired the land in the early-13th century. Known as the hub of intellectual London, Bloomsbury is anchored by the British Museum and the University of London.

This program will be a six-credit Honors Seminar on Art and Economics in the Bloomsbury Group. The Bloomsbury Group is a celebrated group of intellectuals, artists, and public figures who lived in or near London in the early twentieth century who closely interacted with one another. Bloomsbury is a district in London which was the geographical center of the Group’s meetings. The core of the Bloomsbury Group included economist John Maynard Keynes, writers Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, and Lytton Strachey, artists Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, and Roger Fry, and critics Clive Bell and Leonard Woolf. However, there were many others who had varying degrees of connection to the group. The Bloomsbury district of London is where the University of London, home of JMU’s London program, is located and it is where students will reside during the London stay.

Academic Program

This Honors Seminar will require some preparatory work in the preceding semester and reflective work in the proceeding semester, but will be centered on three weeks in London from May 15 through June 6. The seminar will be open to first and second year honors students. The course is designed as an experiential learning course for first and second year Honors Scholars. Class size will be limited to 20 students. The course will be structured as a six credit honors seminar and will satisfy the honors seminar requirement for Track I and Track II honors students.

The program will be a distinctively honors seminar because it foregrounds several aims of the honors program: interdisciplinary study, critical engagement, work with primary materials, debate and discussion, oral presentation, and collaboration with other highly motivated students. The extensive preparatory meetings in the spring term differentiate this program from other short term study abroad programs that typically only have one or two preparatory meetings. The student symposium also distinguishes this program from other study abroad offerings. It provides students a unique opportunity to reflect upon their experiences and share their insights with others. The preparation and reflective components, as noted above, are consistent with best national practices in honors study abroad. Finally, the seminar draws upon the research expertise and interests of the teaching faculty. Dr. Falk is an economist and as a specialist in macroeconomics is well-acquainted with the work and life of John Maynard Keynes. Dr. Shanahan is an art historian with specialties on early twentieth century modernism, the artistic and literary responses to the Great War, and representation and theories of sexuality, which are central themes of the Bloomsbury Group.

We will begin with approximately biweekly two-hour meetings on campus in the spring semester of 2010. Students will use this semester to do readings, watch films, and attend guest lectures to become acquainted with the principal figures of the Bloomsbury Group, the activities of the Group, and the Group’s geographical and historical setting. They will also use this period to get to know one another and the instructors. They will be involved in helping to plan the summer itinerary.

For the three weeks in London, the group will become immersed in the Bloomsbury Group experience, especially as it relates to economics and the visual arts. The students will typically meet with the instructors four mornings per week (MTWTh) for two hours of classroom work. Students will meet frequently for afternoon and evening local field trips and “Bloomsbury-style” free flowing discussions on a wide variety of subjects of interest to the Bloomsbury Group (e.g., philosophy, arts, political science, etc.), but in a modern context. Two day trips outside of London are planned: Charleston, the country home for members of the Bloomsbury Group, and Cambridge University which played an important role in the formation of the Group and its worldviews. There will be a free three-day weekend for students to use as they see fit such as, for example, travel around or outside Great Britain.

Students will help plan and will participate in a September 2010 symposium and reception centered on the seminar topic. Each student will make a 10-15 minute presentation and participate as a discussant. The symposium will be open to the entire JMU community. Honors students and faculty will be especially encouraged to attend. Student evaluations will be based primarily on participation, engagement, and written work in the preparatory meetings in spring 2010, the living/learning experience in London, and the symposium.

Tentative course offerings:
HON 200: Honors Seminar, 6 credits

Accommodations

Students will reside in hotels. Group meals will be provided.

Program Costs

For the current projected costs for this program, please click on the following link to the Fees for JMU Study Abroad Programs page.

Application

For more detailed instructions and to download the application, please click on the following link to the Applications and Forms section for JMU Short-Term Programs.

For More Information

For additional information about the program, please contact the program directors:

Barry Falk
Director of the Honors Program
Professor of Economics
Tel.: 540-568-5535
E-mail: falkbl@jmu.edu

Maureen Shanahan
Associate Director of the Honors Program
Tel.: 540-568-6029 
E-mail: shanahmg@jmu.edu