Harvard Summer Program in Oxford, England

  England

• Oxford: 
Oxford

Term: Summer 
Dates: TBA

Description: "There is grandeur to this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed laws of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved."

-Charles Darwin from The Origin of Species

Charles Darwin's great insight, evolution, lies at the heart of all of biology, but its much more than just a biological idea. Our understanding of who we are both as individuals and as a species is critically informed by evolution. As such, the conceptual transformation from created-in-the-image-of-God to modified ape is surely the single most seismic shift in the history of ideas. In 2009 we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species. To mark the big event, the program explores Darwin's heritage both in the classroom and in context throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, we plan to include some special surprises this year as we take advantage of the worldwide effort to honor the bearded sage.

The program is based in Oxford, a famous university town that embraces old and new. The buildings may be 700 years old, but the ideas discussed within them are twenty-first century. The presence of the past in the college architecture, winding medieval streets, and strange, antiquated university rituals serves as a constant reminder of what we owe to the thinkers who came before. Isaac Newton famously observed that he had seen further than other men by standing upon the shoulders of giants. In Oxford students have a visceral sense of the presence of those giants.

Oxford itself played a role in the Darwinian revolution. The famous debate between Thomas Henry Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce, bishop of Oxford, took place in the university museum. It ended with Huxley's triumphant put-down: If then the question is put to me would I rather have a miserable ape for a grandfather or a man highly endowed by nature and possessed of great means of influence and yet who employs these faculties and that influence for the mere purpose of introducing ridicule into a grave scientific discussion, I unhesitatingly affirm my preference for the ape.

Even during the summer break, Oxford is a lively, student-oriented city. Much of the center is restricted to pedestrians, and the area including the university is small enough to explore thoroughly on foot. In addition, Oxford is well linked by public transportation to London (about an hour away), making it an ideal base for activities related to the curriculum and personal exploration throughout the south of England.

Highlights: Courses offered make the most of opportunities to learn in context with visits to many Darwin sites, including Down House, Darwin's home in Kent; the Natural History Museum in London, the brainchild of Richard Owen, Darwin's most vocal critic; the Linnean Society in London, where the joint Darwin-Wallace paper on evolution was delivered; and Shrewsbury, where Darwin grew up and attended school. Additional trips are planned for this special anniversary year. Students enroll in both of the following courses.

BIOS S-112 Study Abroad at Oxford: Darwin and the Origins of Evolutionary Biology

This course reviews the history of thought on evolution from its mythic beginnings through the theories of Charles Darwin. Starting with creation stories from around the world, the course then examines the seeds of evolutionary thinking in classical times and the critical intellectual input of scientists in post revolutionary France, all of which place the Darwin-Wallace insight in its historical context. To best understand each thinker and his or her intellectual milieu, the course takes an explicitly biographical approach, exploring the interactions among an individual's life story, political and social situation, and thought. While the emphasis is on scientists, particularly geologists and biologists, the course also reviews the role that social, political, economic, and philosophical thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Adam Smith, and Thomas Malthus played in the development of evolutionary theory. The Darwin-Wallace theory itself is reviewed in detail, and its political, social, and theological ramifications are discussed in the context of the reception of The Origin of Species. Prerequisites: none.

BIOS S-113 Study Abroad at Oxford: Darwin and Contemporary Evolutionary Biology

This course examines the history of evolutionary biology in the post-Darwinian world. Like Darwin and the Origins of Evolutionary Biology, it takes a historical approach, following strands of thought either introduced or ignored by Darwin in The Origin of Species through to the present. To take one example, several lectures are dedicated to genetics in evolutionary biology: Students review Darwin's rather weak understanding of genetics; the controversies surrounding the reconciliation of Mendelism and Darwinism in the early years of the twentieth century; the eventual reconciliation in the so-called "modern synthesis" of evolutionary biology; the development of inclusive fitness arguments that addressed Darwin's concerns about the evolution of altruism; the impact of molecular approaches on our understanding of evolutionary processes; and the neutral theory of molecular evolution. The course covers basic population genetics, speciation, the relationship between micro- and macroevolution, paleobiology, phylogenetic reconstruction, behavioral ecology/sociobiology, and human evolution. Prerequisites: none.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: $7,350

- tuition
- room and some meals
- all scheduled excursions and extracurricular activities

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Application Process Involves:

• Essay
• Transcript
• Written Application

Harvard Summer School Study Abroad Programs's Mission Statement: The Harvard Summer School makes Harvards academic resourcesa distinguished faculty, well-equipped laboratories, fine museums, and a world-class university library available to men and women of many ages, backgrounds, and nationalities through an intensive summer session of liberal arts courses in Cambridge and overseas. Our international student body includes Harvard undergraduate and graduate students, visitors from other colleges and universities, highly qualified secondary school students, adult learners, and nonnative English speakers seeking to refine their language skills. Students take courses to challenge themselves academically, meet degree requirements, prepare for graduate school, gain college experience, advance their careers, and pursue personal enrichment. Students who study at Harvard Summer School may reside in a supportive residential environment, commute to campus, complete courses via distance education, or participate in one of the faculty-led programs based abroad. Many come to experience the extraordinary environment of Harvard College academics, resources, and residential life. Harvard Summer School serves the University community by providing faculty with teaching opportunities that allow them to experiment with new materials and teaching methods. Students from many Harvard schools take advantage of the breadth of summer course offerings to meet requirements for concentrations and degree programs, and to create more flexibility within their term-time academic program. Harvard graduate students from abroad can work on refining their English language skills, and Harvard College students take advantage of the summer session to expand their cultural, social, and intellectual horizons by studying abroad.