HP NEWS January 19, 2007 In This Issue: - Honors Program Dates and Deadlines - New Announcements - Reminders -- Honors Program Dates and Deadlines Fri. Mar. 2: Honors Contracts Due Mon. Apr 16: Statement of Academic Interest due (4th Semester Students) Mon. Apr 16: Memorandum of Study due (6th semester students) Sun. Apr. 22: Honors Convocation (by invitation) -- New Announcements: Calling All Neihardt Residents! Honors Overnight 2007 will be here soon and we are looking for Hosts. Who: We are looking for Current Students of the UNL Honors Program living on campus What: You have the opportunity to host and show prospective students what UNL and the Honors Program is all about. When: 7:00 p.m., Thursday February 8 through 1:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, 2007 (We want them to be able to attend class as well) Where: most events will take place in Neihardt, but also in the Union and on city campus How to get involved: Stop by the Honors Office to fill out the information sheet by January 31, 2007 and attend one mandatory meeting: Meetings are February 1, 4, 6th from 7-8 p.m. in Neihardt Blue TV lounge Questions? contact Ann Koopmann 472-3678 akoopmann1@unl.edu or Jessica Strudthoff 472-5742 jstrudthoff2@unl.edu Achievement Gap Panel 50% of students growing up in low-income communities won’t graduate from high school. Learn what educators are doing to close the achievement gap in Nebraska and throughout the US. Teach For America will sponsor a panel on this on Tuesday, January 23 at 6:00 pm in the City campus Union auditorium. CENTRE FOR MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE STUDIES, OXFORD SUMMER PROGRAMME 2007: ‘THE MEDIEVAL WORLD’ JULY 6 – 27, 2007 The Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies is delighted to announce its 28th Summer Programme, ‘THE MEDIEVAL WORLD’, to be held in July 2007. The CMRS Summer Programme offers a broad, dynamic and multidisciplinary exploration of the medieval world, in an intensive three-week course based in the heart of the historic university city of Oxford. Designed primarily for undergraduates in their Junior or Senior years, the Programme will also appeal to mature students, graduates, or anyone with a fascination for the period. For undergraduates a GPA of at least 3.00 points on a 4.00 point scale is expected, but the Admissions Committee attaches greatest importance to faculty recommendations. Participants will be based at CMRS in St Michael’s Hall, and enjoy facilities at St Peter’s College, Oxford. The Summer Programme is structured as follows: · Tutorial Groups. Students select one tutorial from a range of options: · QUESTING FOR CAMELOT · CHAUCER AND THE PERSON: FIVE CANTERBURY TALES · DANTE · TOLKIEN’S MIDDLE AGES · STUDIO ART: STAINED GLASS · Integral Seminar. A weekly discussion forum based around key texts · Field Trips. Three excursions to sites of major importance · Interdisciplinary Lectures. Two weekly lectures by Oxford scholars and distinguished guest speakers Cost approx. $3000 include tuition, room, board (except on weekends), field trip costs See Dr. Lyons for more information. From Winchester to Tintagel to Paris: Exploring King Arthur’s Genesis. May 6-21. Led by Dr. Lyons. Cost approx. $3500 The main purpose of this trip is to enhance our understanding of the Arthurian Legend and the effect it has had on modern culture through its various metamorphoses. To accomplish this end, we will immerse ourselves in the places, museums and relics associated with the legend. We will give ourselves over to landscape, imagine ourselves in the context of Arthur’s England, “commune” with the spirits of the legend in the very locations authors have said it occurred. We will consider living without heat, hot water, indoor plumbing, microwaves, refrigerators, automobiles, antibiotics, never mind cable TV and football, and thus challenge ourselves to step outside familiar experience and evaluate ourselves from a different perspective. Our first day begins at Winchester, Arthur’s military headquarters, where the Round Table is on display. From there, we move to Salisbury and Stonehenge, which Merlin is credited with building, and where Uther, Arthur’s father, is buried. The next stop will be Glastonbury and the surrounding area. There we’ll explore the Abbey, see Arthur’s and Guinevere’s graves and the thorn tree planted by the Abbey’s founder, Joseph of Arimathea, when he bore to England the Holy Grail and other sacred artifacts. We’ll rest at the Chalice Well and drink of its metallic water from the spring which has, in recorded history, never gone dry, and which is reputed to have incredible healing qualities. We’ll climb Glastonbury Tor and Cadbury Castle, the most likely site of Camelot, and perhaps even find the mystical Avalon. From there we travel to Tintagel, on the Cornish coast, where Arthur’s conception occurred. We’ll climb the 200 steps to the island (and, unfortunately the 200 steps back . . .), where we’ll explore Merlin’s cave. We’ll visit the strange little town, and perhaps see Arthur’s Great Hall there. After this trip of imagination and fantasy, we will move on to Oxford, where we’ll visit with one or more scholars at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, then end with several free days in London, which offers such opportunities as the Tate Museum (home to many paintings associated with the legend), the Tower of London, the British Museum, Westminster Abbey and Poets’ Corner, or a Sherlock Holmes or Dickens walking tour of the city. We’ll conclude with a 3-day visit to Paris, which will include the Cluny Museum, which houses many medieval artifacts, the Louvre and the D’Orsay, if people so desire, a possible side-trip to Versailles, and, of course, substantial indulging in mousse au chocolat . . . See Dr. Lyons for more details. -- Reminders: Position Available: The Public Policy Center seeks two to three Undergraduate Research Assistants for approximately 8-12 hours a week. Both work study and non-work-study students are eligible to apply. Successful applicants tend to be highly motivated and accomplished students who fit with the Center’s commitment to excellence. Experience with one or more of the following helpful: Social sciences background, Dreamweaver or similar software, statistics/design, or information computer technology. Responsibilities include research, assisting with meeting coordination, general support for various projects and the office. More information is available on Dr. Lyons’ bulletin board. Contact Cyndi Woollam, Public Policy Center, 121 S. 13th St., Suite 303, Lincoln, NE 68588-0228, or 472-5678. Study Abroad Fair: Interested in learning about a fun and exciting way to earn credits outside of the United States? Look no further than the Study Abroad Fair that will be held Tuesday, January 30th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm inside the City Campus Union. Receive information about the many study abroad programs, scholarships and financial aid services surrounding study abroad. You can also register for a $250 scholarship! There has never been a better time to expand your horizons with study abroad.