While getting to think more deeply about how and why we study the humanities, you’ll also be able to get to grips with Oxford tutorial-style teaching and enjoy a complementary cultural programme.
Jointly run by Oxford’s Worcester College and Hertford College, our September Seminar is open to all Visiting Students studying at Worcester during the Michaelmas Term. The intensive, month-long seminar allows you to extend your stay in Oxford so that the fall term’s work is comparable in substance and duration to a full semester. Students enrolled for the full year are also welcome to join the seminar.
Why do we study the humanities?
Are you intellectually adventurous and motivated to consider why and how we study the humanities? The seminar takes as its organising theme ‘other minds,’ considering the ways texts from various periods and cultures grapple with the problem of imagining the consciousness and experience of others. At the same time we critically examine the practices that humanistic disciplines use to approach this problem.
As well as considering critical analysis, you will also learn about the general expectations for the Oxford tutorial essay, writing two essays related to the material on the syllabus. Teaching is provided by faculty from the departments of Classics, English Language and Literature, and Medieval and Modern Languages. Different tutors will teach each week of the seminar, providing over the course of the month a chronological sequence that moves from the idea of the ‘barbarian’ in ancient texts to the problem of representing consciousness in the modernist novel.
Experience life in the UK
With our September Seminar, you’ll really get to make the most of your time in the UK, especially if you’re only here for the Michaelmas Term.
The seminar includes unique cultural experiences, including a formal welcome dinner at Worcester College, a traditional English cream tea at Hertford College, and a theatre trip to Shakespeare’s Globe in London. September Seminar students often travel over the weekends, but you should know that attendance at all classes (apart from excused medical absences) is mandatory.
Experience life in College
At Worcester, enrolled students live together on the College campus.
A Junior Dean, one of several graduate students serving on the college’s Welfare Team, will also reside on the premises to make sure you feel comfortable and supported as you settle into Worcester, Oxford, and the UK. In addition to the Junior Dean, the Programme Director is also available should you require assistance or simply want to chat. Catering services are available in a limited capacity during September but all dormitories have kitchens, and (like matriculated Oxford students) Visiting Students do a good deal of cooking for themselves.
