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The Penn English Program in London for 2017-2018

Welcome to the Penn English Program in London (PEPL). I'm looking forward to meeting up with you in mid-September. If you are planning to arrive earlier to explore London or the United Kingdom, let me know, since I will be in London starting in early September. You'll be living in a terrific, global city and you'll be arriving at a time when most of the summer crowds will be gone. This is a city with more than seven million residents speaking 300 languages, making it an ideal place to study most of the world's literatures. Nearly everywhere you go -- from the East End to Richmond, from Camden Town to Brixton, from Hampstead Heath to Clapham Common -- you'll find literary and cultural history looking back at you. You can walk the novels you'll be reading, visiting the same neighborhoods the characters do. You can visit the sites of Renaissance theaters by day and see modern performances by night. And, if you wish, you can work in superb archives and libraries. 

We are fortunate to have Riley McGuire, a Ph.D. student in English at Penn, as part of our PEPL group. Riley and I will lead you on excursions both in London and outside of it. We have already planned several outings, including guided walks through literary London, a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, and a visit to Hampton Court Palace. In addition to these trips, we will be visiting museums, cinemas, historic houses, parks, and art galleries throughout the semester.

A highlight of your semester will be the theater seminar we will take as a group. We have a rich menu of plays lined up; your Tuesday evenings will be spent in the superb theaters of London. On Wednesdays we will meet in a classroom at King’s College where Sam Marlowe, a renowned drama critic, will lead us in discussions of these plays and performances. Sometimes after class we'll meet head out for a pub dinner.

Riley and I are looking forward to this autumn immensely. 

Best wishes, Heather Love