Student to Student
The Oxford Tradition
Summer Sessions Give a Taste of Being an Oxford Student
By Dixon P. Otto
You don't have to study at Oxford for years to gain a taste of being an Oxford student. Through the Oxford/Florida State Univ. Summer Study Program, and others like it, you can experience the Oxford tutorial system -- and gain college credit. The FSU program takes place in Christ Church, one of the 36 self-governing colleges that comprise Oxford University. The program offers two three-week sessions, the first in July and the second in late July and early August, and three semester hours of undergraduate credit from FSU. Graduate credit is also available for many courses. But if you want to absorb the Oxford atmosphere without the pressure of grades, courses can be taken for no credit.
The dozen or so courses available each session range from literature and history to music and art. All focus on subjects that can be uniquely studied in England, such as English monasteries and cathedrals of the Middle Ages, the Normans, and medieval castles in Britain.
No matter what course you take, you begin an on-going history lesson the moment you walk through Tom Tower Gate under the historic bell tower designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The 18,000-lb. Tom Bell rings 101 times each evening at 9 p.m. to commemorate Christ Church's original 101 scholars.
The Tutorial System
The essence of the English tutorial system lies in its flexibility. Instead of merely absorbing lectures, participants are guided by the tutor in exploring subjects and are expected to focus and develop a topic. To receive credit, they are required to produce a formal paper. Noncredit students must demonstrate their grasp of a topic through an informal paper or class presentation. Tutors, who are drawn from Oxford colleges or other educational institutions in England, are generally flexible in developing objectives that fit an individual's desired level of academic intensity. You make the experience what you desire--from in-depth academics to leisurely learning.
Participants meet with their tutors in the sitting rooms of the tutors' quarters in groups ranging from four to no more than a dozen. Sessions run from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a break at 11 a.m. for coffee or tea and of course “biscuits.”
Afternoons are left free to study or explore Oxford. Most classes, especially those dealing with historic buildings and architecture, offer several field trips, providing more than a tourist’s view of historic sights. Balancing sight-seeing with academics, the program offers several more general excursions, including a bus trip through the rustic villages of the Cotswolds district and a performance of Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The Oxford tradition resumes with dinner which, except on weekends, is a semi-formal affair. Dinner is served on the long wooden tables, the only nod to the Americans being that the hard wooden benches normally used are replaced with chairs. The wood-beamed, high-ceiling dining hall dates from medieval times. As you eat, the portraits of famous graduates--including John Wesley, William Penn and 13 prime ministers--gaze down upon you from the walls and stained-glass windows.
White-coated servants march down the aisles with military precision. At the head of the room, the high table, where professors and distinguished guest dine during regular term, rests on a raised platform. Each FSU participant receives a formal invitation to dine once at high table.
Participants stay in students' quarters, buildings designed to provide privacy and quiet for hard-studying students.
In the evenings, pubs like The Eagle & The Child, which was a favorite of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkein, offer a rich history of their own. Pubs are as much places to socialize as to drink. Concerts and plays also abound during the summer. An evening in London, only about an hour away by train or bus, is quite feasible.
All Ages Attend
Oxford/FSU summer students range from undergraduates to retired people seeking an enriching vacation experience. About a quarter of the participants are in their 30s and 40s; nearly half are in their 50s and 60s; some are in their 70s and even 80s. No matter their background, participants are “Oxford students” for three or six weeks, shedding the titles and occupations that often label us in daily life. The wide range of people you meet comprises one of the side benefits of the program.
Although you are studying with other Americans, most of your experiences will be typically English, typically Oxford--from a taste of the tutorial system to access to the Bodleian, the main Oxford library. Through the FSU program, you will be admitted as a reader to the same rolls as generations of Oxford students. But you must first read aloud and sign a pledge to obey library rules, including not removing books from the library. The pledge dates back to 1602 when Sir Thomas Bodley re-founded the library. Books had disappeared from the earlier Oxford library, and hence Bodley required that volumes remain at all times in his new library. Library officials point out they could show you President Clinton's signature from when he was an Oxford student.
Its Own World
From the moment you are admitted with a nod from the bowler-hatted porters who watch over Tom Tower Gate, you enter a world mostly closed to the hordes of tourists who visit historic Oxford. After the initial rush of the first week, the pace of the middle portion of your stay slows into a familiar rhythm as participants concentrate on their studies.
As papers are completed, and class presentations made, the end of the term suddenly comes with the announcement in the Great Hall that “Strawberries and cream will be served in the Masters' Garden.”
The final full day is one of celebration: like any other Oxford graduate, your graduation ceremony is capped with a gala farewell dinner. The next morning, you pass one last time through Tom Tower Gate and leave your Christ Church home, forever to brag about your “days at Oxford.”
DIXON P. OTTO who lives in Athens, Ohio is the former publisher and editor of Countdown magazine. He attended the Oxford/FSU Summer Program in 1994 and 1996.
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