Transatlanticity - UVa / Oxford Program

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>Here's a cool program that I just found out about:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.transatlanticity.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.transatlanticity.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Each participating Oxford undergrad will be paired with a designated UVa undergrad to facilitate personal contact and intellectual exchange. Students at both institutions will be able to download primary source documents at the website. (Plus, I've been told that British Prime Minister Tony Blair's son at Oxford is a student in one of the classes.)</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>From the website:</p>

<p>Beginning in 2004, Oxford University and the University of Virginia developed a unique history seminar. With a generous grant from the Griffin Foundation, the two universities now collaborate on seminars that focus on the history of the Anglo-American Atlantic world, ca. 1700-1850. The 12 sessions held between October and May of each year are facilitated with videoconference technology that allows faculty and graduate students to discuss and debate workshop papers that cover topics like the transatlantic slave trade, Manifest Destiny, and the American Revolution while "on screen." And to augment this "virtual" contact, the seminar holds annual conferences in Oxford or Virginia to facilitate face to face contact among transatlantic colleagues. In addition, selected PhD. students travel as Griffin Fellows to Oxford University or the University of Virginia to pursue archival research on their dissertations and to meet with faculty.</p>

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<p>I realize that the website doesn't go into detail about the undergraduate program, so here's a description of one class.</p>

<p>Twenty-four Oxford undergraduates and 24 University of Virginia undergraduates comprise a course co-taught by Virginia professor Peter Onuf and Oxford professor Peter Thompson. Oxford and Virginia students will read and debate (via video-conferencing) "The Federalist Papers", Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", Thomas Jefferson's "Summary View of the Rights of British America" and many other political documents penned during the age of the American Revolution. </p>

<p>This spring, four Griffin Scholars will engage in month-long dissertation research trips to Oxford and Charlottesville. And in March, a number of faculty and students will present papers and participate in seminars at the annual conference at Oxford.</p>