Edinburgh, Scotland

1999 Director: Wesley Perkins, Sociology (Fall '02)

The HWS Edinburgh program is open to all sophomores, juniors and seniors in good standing. The Spring '99 program was entitled, "Religion, State, and Society in Modern Britain", and we anticipate the coming program on a similar model. Edinburgh provides an ideal site from which to explore what has made Scotland unique. Edinburgh will be the base from which students can investigate the various religious traditions of modern Britain, namely in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. In 1999, the group made field trips to England and an extended trip to Northern Ireland. Students will get to know the Highland and Lowland traditions, Scots and Gaelic song, the cycle of life and calendar customs with the help of Scottish experts from the School for Scottish Studies. Also students will have an internship with a organization, agency or business based in Edinburgh.

APPROXIMATE DATES
September 1 to December 10, 2002

ACCOMMODATIONS
As affiliated students at the University of Edinburgh all facilities of the university will be accessible. Students will reside in a guest house (bed and breakfast) near the university or in university flats. On field excursions the group will be housed in budget hotels, youth hostels and boarding houses.

EXCURSIONS
Field trips may include Iona, Inverness/Loch Ness and Glasgow. Local visits and excursions will also take place in and around Edinburgh. As with the '99 program a weekend trip to York is planned to see cathedrals of civil/religious national identity and for lectures and discussions on new religious cults and sects in Britain. The '99 group visited the University of Coleraine and attended lectures from local scholars and community peace activists on the conflict between Protestants and Catholics and undertook day trips to Londonderry, Belfast, Corrymeela (ecumenical peace center), and Giants Causeway (natural wonder and sight seeing). A similar venue is probable for the next group.

ELIGIBILITY
The program is open to all non-first year HWS students with the minimum GPA of 2.8. Participants should have taken Sociology 100 or a related introductory social science course by the beginning of the program. The program will be of particular interest to students majoring in religious studies, political science or sociology, but should be ideal for any student wanting to know more about religion and national identity in the Britain of today.

APPROXIMATE COSTS
Fees include the regular tuition, $500 administrative fee, and the HWS room and one-third board charge estimated at approximately $16,300. This will cover all courses at Edinburgh, the excursions, housing, and some meals (breakfast). Additional costs include airfare, food, and personal expenses. These additional expenses vary with individual tastes and needs, but we estimate a total of $3500.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
These are representative courses, based on the Spring 1999 program. A fourth course will be added.

Scottish Culture and Folklore Professors Margaret Bennett and Emily Lyle, adjunct professors on past programs and faculty of the School of Scottish Studies of the University of Edinburgh will provide local expertise. The emphasis in the course will be "on sharing the experience of folk tradition through listening to or watching audio and video tapes and live performances. No previous knowledge of folklore studies is expected, and students will be introduced to the basic methods of folklore scholarship in the context of Scottish traditional material". Study will be supplemented with frequent excursions as noted above.

Sociology/Religious Studies: Religion, State and Society in Modern Britain In this course classic questions posed in the sociology of religion will be discussed in the context of modern British society. Traditional and contemporary sociological theory and empirical research form the basic analytical perspective for examining religion in this context. A comparative framework will be employed by exploring cross-national similarity and difference in the role of religion in postwar British society with that of American society and by examining the dramatic variation in religious identity within contemporary Britain as related to personal beliefs, political activity, and civil government. Modern Britain provides a fascinating mixture of traditional state religions, Roman Catholicism, long established dissenting traditions, and new cults and sects, all within a society that prizes traditional formality and yet has experienced the secularizing pressures of modern pluralism. On the one hand, religious involvement and formal participation have declined dramatically throughout much of postwar Britain. On the other hand, religious beliefs and their connection to national identity and civic order has not dissipated, but remain as crucial influences on personal and political behavior of individuals and actions of the modern state. This influence of religion is especially notable in parts of Scotland and throughout Northern Ireland where social order and disorder are clearly linked to fervent religious expression.

Equiv. 455: Internship The purpose of the internship is to provide a cross-cultural work experience in a realistic environment. Students will be matched as far as possible with an internship relevant to their particular field of study. Students will normally work three days per week at their internship placement. Internships positions are normally available in the following areas: advertising and public relations, arts administration, banking, various businesses, education, politics, social services, theater, urban planning but other fields are possible.