ASA: Academic Study Associates 2008 Programs

This course will consider some of the major characteristics of international economics and will look at some theoretical microeconomic and macroeconomic aspects of international trade. You will investigate the concept of the global economy and trade integration, including discussion of NAFTA and the European Union. Other topics that will be considered include models of exchange rate determination, the role of the IMF and the World Bank, and overseas consequences of domestic economic policies.

As the study of how people live, anthropology includes the study of people's beliefs, values, ideas, practices, technologies, and everything else. Through comparison and discussion of a range of cultures, we will explore anthropologists' methods of investigation and theories regarding the different meanings and practices of personhood, myth, ritual, ethnicity, exchange, and other human belief systems and activities. Research projects will examine such concepts as adaptation and cultural change and will survey a variety of social, political, and economic patterns of development. Readings will be discussed in light of students' personal reflections on their own cultures, and supplemented by investigations of English culture in Oxford and excursions to significant points of reference such as the Pitt-Rivers Museum.

In 1485 England was a third-rate military power, an intellectual backwater, and a commercial weakling; however, by 1714 it was the dominant nation-state in Europe. This course examines the major political, economic, social and intellectual changes in Tudor and Stuart England, as they manifest in the violent struggle to guide the course of history. Attention will be paid to the Reformation, Henry VIII's wives, Sir Thomas Moore, Bloody Mary, Mary Queen of Scots, the Civil War, the regicide of Charles I, and other aristocratic intrigue and political executions.

This course employs a variety of media (film, TV programs, fiction, magazines, and music) to examine the way a sense of 'Britishness' is both defined and questioned in popular entertainment. Recurring themes include social class, attitudes to foreigners, Britain's place on the world stage, and changing conceptions of gender-roles. Students learn to look critically at pop culture, cultivating their perceptions through discussion and class outings.

Geared towards students with some experience in painting, this course will emphasize the exploration of form, structure, color, and surface in relation to a specific theme, such as or the representation of the human body or architecture and street scenes. The integration of the formal and expressive will be stressed, enabling you to develop your own individual language in relation to other artists, stimulated by personalized feedback and guidance. Students develop multiple works to go into their portfolios, and display finished pieces at the ASA Art Show. (Supplemental Fee)

Become a member of a working theatre company, led by a professional director, and produce and perform a new play in front of a public audience. This course is designed to stretch your imagination and give you the skills needed by all actors: movement, improvisation, characterization, voice and speech, storytelling, text interpretation, and ensemble work. The course will culminate in a performance of a full-length play for the ASA community.

Pursue your passion for photography and improve your skills in this course designed for intermediate and advanced students. Master the fundamentals of composition through discussion of the work of well-known photographers and explore your own style taking pictures around Oxford. Learn how to use the manual features of your digital camera to enhance the technical quality of your shots. Apply your own artistic touch in Photoshop. These elements of the course combine to enable you to conceive and create images with beauty, purpose, intent and meaning. Your work will be discussed in a college critique environment. The end of the course will be dedicated to revision and perfection of your best work for display in the final ASA Art Show. You must supply your own SLR digital camera. (Supplemental Fee)

Deepen your appreciation for film through this introduction to the theory, history, and criticism of film. Develop an awareness and understanding of the components that make up movies - cinematography, mise-en-scene, screenplay, sound, editing, etc. - to discuss how they work to make us feel and think. You will become acquainted with the work of important directors and their identifiable idioms, while also being exposed to a range of supplementary excerpts and select full screenings.

In this course, we will explore the law as it is embedded in social life, rather than simply as an isolated body of rules. By comparing and contrasting the history, structure, and professional traits of the English and American legal systems, we will gain insight into how law functions as an instrument of social change and control. We will be particularly attentive to the ways in which Federalism and Constitutionality distinguish the American legal culture from that of Britain. Classroom study will be enriched through numerous field trips, including a visit with a British MP and tours of the Civil and Criminal Law Courts.

Since Plato's Republic, justice has been one of the central issues of philosophical reflection. This course will focus on the theoretical issue of justice in its relation to concrete political institutions and economic realities in America and Britain. Topics to be discussed will include redistribution of wealth through taxation, economic incentives for individuals and groups, and democratic political policies. Throughout the course, we will be concerned both with theoretical justifications and comparative study of these basic social structures.

This course looks at international relations not as abstract theory but as it has affected the lives of ordinary people. We will examine current events relating to war and terrorism, diplomacy, refugee status, human rights, and aid for the developing world. The emphasis throughout will be on thinking critically about the arguments we make in international politics and formulating positions which balance both the moral concerns and the interests of all the parties involved. Readings and class discussions will be augmented by guest speakers who can share their personal perspectives on the subjects being studied. In past summers, speakers have include a former prisoner of war, an evacuee from the London Blitz of 1940, a Darfur activist, and the Head of the Oxford Islam and Muslim Awareness Project.

This is an all-inclusive SAT preparation course. Each class provides thorough instruction in the math, critical reading, and writing skills tested by these exams, plus strategies for mastering the test-taking skills you will need to perform at your highest level on the SAT and PSAT. In addition to small-group classroom instruction and individual consultation, students take four full-length SAT tests, designed to familiarize you with these exams and chart your progress throughout the course. Each test is computer scored and analyzed; you will receive a personalized score reports with the results and suggestions for further study and reinforcement. Class size is kept small students per instructor and, whenever possible, students are grouped by shared strengths and weaknesses. (Supplemental Fee)

This exciting and challenging science course will introduce you to some of the fundamental concepts of medical science, with a focus on disease and medical treatment/prevention. You will learn how to identify groups of diseases and their infectious agents; how the immune system functions and sometimes malfunctions (autoimmune disease); and how health care professionals and organizations work to prevent, treat, and cure diseases. Through simulations and mock committee debates, you will consider the complex ethical and political questions involved in allocating public funding to disease-related research, prevention, and treatment. Prerequisite: Completion of a high school biology course.

This course will focus on the concepts of psychology that have been revolutionary in our understanding of others and ourselves. You will examine the roots of personality and behavior as seen through the theories of Freud, Skinner, Maslow, Erikson, and Piaget. You will be asked to evaluate the validity of these theories in light of your own experiences. These theories will also set the stage for our investigation into the major areas of human experience: physical maturation, intellectual and moral development, sensuality and sexuality, family and peer relationships, and coping with stress and problems in everyday life.

This course guides students in developing their own writing within a lively and supportive college workshop environment. Drawing inspiration from Oxford as well as the published work of well-known writers, the class explores such areas as the development of a personal 'voice,' point of view, effective description, characterization, and genre. In addition to a variety of exercises, students will work towards completing polished pieces for inclusion in a program literary magazine.

Effective writing is perhaps the most important skill for success in high school and college. This course will help students develop college-level writing skills and critical thinking skills that are applicable to any area of study. This foundation course focuses on moving through the steps common to all successful college writing: defining an audience, developing a substantive thesis statement, argumentation, organization, style, drafting, and revision. Structured writing exercises and reading assignments are followed by group workshops and student-teacher conferences as students work to complete several polished final essays worthy of inclusion in a writing portfolio.

This course provides an opportunity to study a number of Shakespeare plays in depth, while considering them as parts of a whole. Plays are chosen in order to demonstrate Shakespeare's creative development and so that students have an opportunity to see texts performed in Oxford, London and Stratford upon Avon. These opportunities provide an authentic perspective on the experience of being in the audience in Shakespeare's day, while also enabling discussion of questions of interpretation in production and performance.

This course will introduce students to the fundamental issues of starting a business, from identifying a market or need and attracting investors to establishing an organizational structure and managing growth and expansion. Students will examine models of successful and unsuccessful businesses of a variety of scales, and will also look at the developing impact of technology through such examples as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Ebay. Visits to local businesses will help you gain a greater understanding of the complexities involved in starting up and running a successful business. The course will culminate in the development of your own fully-fledged business plan.

This course will re-create the Elizabethan world William Shakespeare inhabited. We will explore elements of life in 16th century England that contributed to the development of the world's greatest playwright and provide insight into his plays. Provincial life in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford will figure prominently in our investigation, with particular attention to religion, schooling, courtship and marriage, work, and class. We will also look at the social contexts of London popular theatre and courtly patronage.

Britain has been responsible for many of the greatest acts in rock & roll, and continues to produce top artists in all genres of popular music. This course will examine both the musical and worldwide social influence and contexts of such famous bands as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Oxford's own Radiohead, as well as more recent innovators like the Streets, Lily Allen, MIA, the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and others just emerging from the British music scene.

If you could become invisible, do anything you wanted, and no one would know or suspect or punish you, how would you behave? How should you behave? What reasons are there for being good? This discussion-based course will explore the central questions and theories within ethical philosophy. Class debates will be prompted by key texts such as the Faust legend and works by Plato, Machiavelli, Kant, and Nietzsche.

Learn and play such quintessentially British sports as cricket, rugby, real tennis, and football (soccer). Discover the historical development of these games and their relationship to similar American sports. Gain an insight into Britain's culture by exploration of sports traditions, fan culture, rivalries, sports media, and sport among the former commonwealth.

Oxford is famous for its architectural beauty and history. There is a continuous tradition of civic, ecclesiastical, and collegiate architecture spanning almost a thousand years. The city is also home to some of the finest art collections in England, from the renaissance to modern and contemporary exhibitions. In this course students engage with art and architecture through in-person encounters with the works. Students will be encouraged to sketch or photograph the art and architecture they study and to reflect on the issues raised in class discussions. Please note that this class frequently meets outside of normal class hours in order to visit buildings and museums around Oxford.

This course is aimed at those of you who wish to explore acting and develop your acting skills. Games and exercises to extend your capabilities in timing and rhythm are followed by acting classes in improvisation, story telling, characterization, text interpretation, and exploration of stage relationships. A professional director guides students in rehearsing monologues and small ensemble pieces for final performance.

This course aims to provide students with the opportunity to explore and develop their own expressive visual vocabulary. Students will explore contrasting approaches ranging from the analytical to the imaginative to representing such subjects as the human figure, natural and manufactured forms, architectural detail, and street scenes. In these projects, students will use a variety of different media including pencil, charcoal, ink, and 3D line sculpture. Regular sketchbook work will culminate in a final polished piece for exhibition in the ASA Art Show. (Supplemental Fee)

Whether you are speaking in a high school class or college seminar, in an office meeting or as CEO to your Board, leadership is often exhibited through your performance as a polished public speaker. This course offers you a practical approach to the art of public speaking. You will develop skills in various speech types: exposition, entertainment, argumentation, and persuasion. Attention is given to the physical properties of the voice as well as to non-verbal aspects of presentation. Students' own work will be supplemented by examination of famous speeches and speakers from history.

How do you go about turning a book into a movie? What choices have to be made, and how do we evaluate the resulting product? What are the limitations and opportunities that come with the change in medium? This course will explore these topics with reference to a variety of popular film adaptations, from the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series to more liberal interpretations like Apocalypse Now or Bridget Jones' Diary.

Explore your interest in photography with this course designed for beginners to intermediate students. Discover the art of composition from lines and shapes to framing, the rule of thirds, and depth-of-field. Learn how to use all the features of your digital camera to enhance the technical quality of your shots. Apply your own artistic touch in Photoshop. The end of the course will be dedicated to revision and perfection of your best work for display in the final ASA Art Show. You must supply your own digital camera. (Supplemental Fee)

What are our responsibilities to those living in poverty? How do we balance national and international economic growth with concerns of workers? rights, fair trade, and environmental impact? What sort of action is best taken by which sort of groups - international organizations, NGOs, governments, businesses, and individuals? This course will explore current issues of humanitarian aid and economic development in our increasingly globalized world. Discussion will focus on specific case studies, including organizations such as the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, the Red Cross, and Oxford's own Oxfam, and such issues as poverty and AIDS in Africa and development in China and India. A selection of guest speakers will give students the chance to engage with those actually working on these complex problems.

This course considers both the criminal law system that defines, prosecutes and punishes crime, and the study of the reasons why people commit crime. We will discuss and debate a variety of controversial issues in British law today: crime, poverty, and social inequality; freedom of speech; privacy, arrest and custody; control of the police, miscarriages of justice; and law and morality.

This course will approach the Oxford experience through the writings for children of three famous Oxonian scholars: Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Incorporating a variety of excursions, the class will explore the physical and intellectual landscape of Oxford and the influence it has had on the imaginative landscapes of these writers and their work. In doing so we will consider the nature and function of myth, fable, allegory, symbolism and other related literary forms, and discuss how contemporary writers continue to draw upon the inspiration of Oxford and the examples of Alice, Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings.

You will learn the tools to write and communicate well and are encouraged, through peer workshops and individual conferences with the instructor, to draft, revise, and polish university-level essays. Special attention will be given to paragraph formation, grammar, spelling and style.

This course gives a practical and creative introduction to the art of writing for the stage. We will look at creating sharp dialogue, how a script is structured, the use of space, how characters evolve, and how to build tension and conflict. Students get to workshop their pieces with actors from the afternoon Performance Theatre course, who then perform these short plays for the program.

This course guides students in developing their own writing within a lively and supportive college workshop environment. Drawing inspiration from Oxford as well as the published work of well-known writers, the class explores such areas as the development of a personal 'voice,' point of view, effective description, characterization, and genre. In addition to a variety of exercises, students will work towards completing polished pieces for inclusion in a program literary magazine.

How do large international corporations such as McDonalds and IBM make business decisions? This course looks at some of the factors that businesses take into account, such as differences in consumer taste between countries, differences in competition (especially in the digital age), and new ways of structuring business toward network-based approaches in the "new economy." Students will learn and critique the basic theories of international business and strategy used by the largest global firms. Case studies will include: Goldman Sachs, AOL-Time Warner, Enron, Coca-Cola, and Toyota.

In 1485 England was a third-rate military power, an intellectual backwater, and a commercial weakling; however, by 1714 it was the dominant nation-state in Europe. This course examines the major political, economic, social and intellectual changes in Tudor and Stuart England, as they manifest in the violent struggle to guide the course of history. Attention will be paid to the Reformation, Henry VIII's wives, Sir Thomas Moore, Bloody Mary, Mary Queen of Scots, the Civil War, the regicide of Charles I, and other aristocratic intrigue and political executions.

Explore your interest in photography with this course designed for beginners to intermediate students. Discover the art of composition from lines and shapes to framing, the rule of thirds, and depth-of-field. Learn how to use all the features of your digital camera to enhance the technical quality of your shots. Apply your own artistic touch in Photoshop. The end of the course will be dedicated to revision and perfection of your best work for display in the final ASA Art Show. You must supply your own digital camera. (Supplemental Fee)

In this course, we will explore the law as it is embedded in social life, rather than simply as an isolated body of rules. By comparing and contrasting the history, structure, and professional traits of the English and American legal systems, we will gain insight into how law functions as an instrument of social change and control. We will be particularly attentive to the ways in which Federalism and Constitutionality distinguish the American legal culture from that of Britain. Classroom study will be enriched through field trips and guest speakers.

This course looks at international relations not as abstract theory but as it has affected the lives of ordinary people. We will examine current events relating to war and terrorism, diplomacy, refugee status, human rights, and aid for the developing world. The emphasis throughout will be on thinking critically about the arguments we make in international politics and formulating positions which balance both the moral concerns and the interests of all the parties involved. Readings and class discussions will be augmented by guest speakers who can share their personal perspectives on the subjects being studied. In past summers, speakers have include a former prisoner of war, an evacuee from the London Blitz of 1940, a Darfur activist, and the Head of the Oxford Islam and Muslim Awareness Project.

This course will focus on the concepts of psychology that have been revolutionary in our understanding of others and ourselves. You will examine the roots of personality and behavior as seen through the theories of Freud, Skinner, Maslow, Erikson, and Piaget. You will be asked to evaluate the validity of these theories in light of your own experiences. These theories will also set the stage for our investigation into the major areas of human experience: physical maturation, intellectual and moral development, sensuality and sexuality, family and peer relationships, and coping with stress and problems in everyday life.

Effective writing is perhaps the most important skill for success in high school and college. This course will help students develop college-level writing and critical thinking skills that are applicable to any area of study. This foundational course focuses on moving through the steps common to all successful college writing: defining an audience, developing a substantive thesis statement, argumentation, organization, style, drafting, and revision. Structured writing exercises and reading assignments are followed by group workshops and student-teacher conferences as students work to complete polished final essays for inclusion in a program literary magazine.

This course guides students in developing their own writing within a lively and supportive college workshop environment. Drawing inspiration from Oxford as well as the published work of well-known writers, the class explores such areas as the development of a personal 'voice,' point of view, effective description, characterization, and genre. In addition to a variety of exercises, students will work towards completing polished pieces for inclusion in a program literary magazine.

This course provides an opportunity to study a number of Shakespeare plays in depth, while considering them as parts of a whole. Plays are chosen in order to demonstrate Shakespeare's creative development and so that students have an opportunity to see texts performed in Oxford, London and Stratford upon Avon. These opportunities provide an authentic perspective on the experience of being in the audience in Shakespeare's day, while also enabling discussion of questions of interpretation in production and performance.

This course will re-create the Elizabethan world William Shakespeare inhabited. We will explore elements of life in 16th century England that contributed to the development of the world's greatest playwright and provide insight into his plays. Provincial life in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford will figure prominently in our investigation, with particular attention to religion, schooling, courtship and marriage, work, and class. We will also look at the social contexts of London popular theatre and courtly patronage.

Learn and play such quintessentially British sports as cricket, rugby, real tennis, and football (soccer). Discover the historical development of these games and their relationship to similar American sports. Gain an insight into Britain's culture by exploration of sports traditions, fan culture, rivalries, sports media, and sport among the former commonwealth.

Britain has been responsible for many of the greatest acts in rock & roll, and continues to produce top artists in all genres of popular music. This course will examine both the musical and worldwide social influence and contexts of such famous bands as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Oxford's own Radiohead, as well as more recent innovators like the Streets, Lily Allen, MIA, the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and others just emerging from the British music scene.

This course aims to provide students with the opportunity to explore and develop their own expressive visual vocabulary. Students will explore contrasting approaches ranging from the analytical to the imaginative to representing such subjects as the human figure, natural and manufactured forms, architectural detail, and street scenes. In these projects, students will use a variety of different media including pencil, charcoal, ink, and 3D line sculpture. Regular sketchbook work will culminate in a final polished piece for exhibition in the ASA Art Show. (Supplemental Fee)

Oxford is famous for its architectural beauty and history. There is a continuous tradition of civic, ecclesiastical, and collegiate architecture spanning almost a thousand years. The city is also home to some of the finest art collections in England, from the renaissance to modern and contemporary exhibitions. In this course students engage with art and architecture through in-person encounters with the works. Students will be encouraged to sketch or photograph the art and architecture they study and to reflect on the issues raised in class discussions. Please note that this class frequently meets outside of normal class hours in order to visit buildings and museums around Oxford.

This course considers both the criminal law system that defines, prosecutes and punishes crime, and the study of the reasons why people commit crime. We will discuss and debate a variety of controversial issues in British law today: crime, poverty, and social inequality; freedom of speech; privacy, arrest and custody; control of the police, miscarriages of justice; and law and morality.

What are our responsibilities to those living in poverty? How do we balance national and international economic growth with concerns of workers? rights, fair trade, and environmental impact? What sort of action is best taken by which sort of groups - international organizations, NGOs, governments, businesses, and individuals? This course will explore current issues of humanitarian aid and economic development in our increasingly globalized world. Discussion will focus on specific case studies, including organizations such as the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, the Red Cross, and Oxford's own Oxfam, and such issues as poverty and AIDS in Africa and development in China and India. A selection of guest speakers will give students the chance to engage with those actually working on these complex problems.

Effective writing is perhaps the most important skill for success in high school and college. This course will help students develop college-level writing and critical thinking skills that are applicable to any area of study. This foundational course focuses on moving through the steps common to all successful college writing: defining an audience, developing a substantive thesis statement, argumentation, organization, style, drafting, and revision. Structured writing exercises and reading assignments are followed by group workshops and student-teacher conferences as students work to complete polished final essays for inclusion in a program literary magazine.

This course guides students in developing their own writing within a lively and supportive college workshop environment. Drawing inspiration from Oxford as well as the published work of well-known writers, the class explores such areas as the development of a personal 'voice,' point of view, effective description, characterization, and genre. In addition to a variety of exercises, students will work towards completing polished pieces for inclusion in a program literary magazine.