UC Center, London (Multi-Site)

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director or Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. Graded pass/no pass only.

This course provides an overview of working in the United Kingdom and of the current economic situation in the country. It further discusses how the economic situation affects the workplace, how students can integrate into British working life, and how they can make the most of their internship placements. Topics include current political and economic climate, national legal framework, structure and workflow, integration of immigrants into the workforce, discrimination in the workplace, and comparison between U.K. and U.S. work experiences.

Since the mid-18th century, medicine has become a major economic and political concern for those who have governed London, and a profession with extraordinarily far-reaching authority in the management and even definition of human life. The very landscape of London has been framed as a source of sickness, temptation, and pollution.  This course explores the health landscapes of London in both Victorian and contemporary times. This course compares the landscapes of disease and (im)morality of Victorian London with contemporary London, accompanied by an examination of how the intervening world wars and establishment of the welfare state shaped the social and physical landscape of the city in relation to health. This course also includes out of the classroom activites allowing students to explore the history of health, disease, and medicine in four very different London landscapes.

This course explores the cultural relationship between museums and identity in London. Long recognized as important sites for reinforcing social, political, and national identities, museums have undergone significant changes since the first public museum opened two hundred years ago. The course draws on the rich resources of London such as the British Museum, National Gallery, Imperial War Museum, Tate Britain, and the Museum of London to consider the role of these institutions both in the past and in the present. Far more than storehouses preserving Britain's cultural heritage, museums can now also be agents of social change, providing a place where identities can be explored, challenged, and reconsidered. How are museums meeting the challenges of a more dynamic global city? This course takes a multidisciplinary approach, engaging with current debates within art, politics, and social sciences.

The course covers the main themes of London's contested geography and history: London as a trading city, as an Imperial center, and as the seat of both traditional authority and Parliament. Looking at the peopling of London, the course explores the transformation of British society through inward migration, and the way that the social contract was made and remade again with each generation that populated the city. Students examine the social changes and political debates that have shaped London, and the country's idea of "who we are." Lastly, the course explores London's social problems from slum clearance to gentrification and "social cleansing."

This course explores the relationship between the police, the judicial system, and policy makers in London. Students learn the history of the police force in the UK and the developments that have formed the Metropolitan Police in London today. Topics covered include corruption, race relations, policing major demonstrations and riots, and the impact of government policy on policing. Students explore the politics behind decisions and the framework of the law.