Shaping the World: Understanding the Past, Predicting the Future

This 4-week program for up to 20 GSP students is comprised of the following elements:

• 8 seminar meetings of the GSP group, focusing on major challenges for the twenty-first century. Proposed topics will be drawn from the following range: government, global economy, nationalism, climate change, healthcare, sustainability, transport, universities for the 21st century, and medical advances.
• 4 papers to be written on subjects informed by plenary lecture attendance (primarily, but not exclusively, History, Literature or International Relations).
• Weekly Cambridge-style supervision sessions (1 hour) for individuals or pairs of students, during which their papers are reviewed and discussed.
• 2 -3 daily plenary lectures from the International Summer School program:
  • Interdisciplinary: Understanding
  • Literature: Relationships & rivalries
  • Science: Impact & responsibility
  • History: War & peace
  • Art History: Art, light & space
• Research time in the University Library (a Copyright Library) and access to other faculty libraries.
• Weekly feedback sessions with the Course Director.

Plenary lectures are given by eminent scholars from a wide spectrum of specialist fields, and include question and answer sessions after each talk. Lecture topics range from the latest interpretation of historical events and works of literature to cutting-edge scientific discoveries. For these plenary lectures, the GSP students will be in the company of participants in the International Summer Schools, affording the group a truly global experience.

Tapping in to the full range of subjects on offer will allow GSP students with widely differing fields of interest to benefit from the experience, tailoring - as far as possible - a program to their own personal areas of interest. Participants will be encouraged to make connections between writings, events, discoveries and disciplines in order to understand how each has influenced the shaping of our world until now, and to establish a base on which predictions for our future world can be made.

The morning and evening plenary lecture programs offer a range of over one hundred talks, covering a vast number of topics. Applicants will be sent final details of speakers (and can access the program lists as they develop on the web), and precise timings so that options can be selected in advance; applicants will be asked to indicate their preferred subject area(s). Selected candidates will be required to submit detailed proposals for the supervision field of study, so that supervisors can be selected and allocated before the start of the program. Supervisions will normally be conducted by experienced University/College lecturers who are also course directors on the International Summer Schools.

GSP students will be welcome to join the evening lecture and social program, and to participate in the optional weekend excursions, giving them a chance to meet with representatives of some 50 other nationalities. Other activities will be arranged just for the GSP group.

Students in penultimate year of undergraduate course, occasionally first year graduate students, all disciplines, but related to program provision: Literature, History, Science, Art History, Interdisciplinary.

Students should be open to learning in disciplines beyond their immediate field of study, and be extremely fluent in English: discussion of topics and clear expression of ideas will be essential parts of the program. Students in their third or final year of study are likely to benefit most, but exceptionally second year undergraduates will be considered.

Attendance is required at 2-3 lectures per weekday, and at 2 discussion group meetings per week. Central to the experience is the supervision meeting per week (2-3 students with their supervisor) and 1 feedback meeting per week. Students submit 1 paper each week in advance of the supervision: submission of weekly papers and discussion of written work at the supervision sessions ensures academic rigor. This program format - a combination of self-directed research, lectures, discussions and supervisions - also largely mirrors the experience of regular Cambridge undergraduates who, in many subjects, are not required to attend set "classes" and can elect to hear particular lectures on topics within and beyond their immediate field of study. The 4 weeks of study will be very intensive. The program affords some 50 contact hours of lectures, 8 hours of supervision and 12 hours of discussion, and therefore a total of some 70 contact hours over the 4 weeks, excluding additional research and self-directed study time.

Assessment will be based on contributions to supervisions and on written papers. Oral feedback on papers will form part of the supervision, but students will also receive narrative reports on submitted papers. 4 papers (normally 2,000-3,000 words each) will be graded on a percentage scale (where 40% is pass and 70% is A+) and awarded a Cambridge class mark. Students and institutions will be provided with a suggested letter-grade translation scale. Precise grades are not given out during the supervisions. Grades can be adjusted marginally (normally, by 0%-5% on the basis of performance in supervisions. The final grade awarded is an average of the 3 highest-scoring papers.

IARU GSP students will be housed alongside other members of the International Summer Schools, most probably in St. Michael's Court, part of Gonville and Caius College.

Tuition fee: £1,685

Accommodation: £1,600 (includes bed, breakfast and evening meal)

Field-trip costs: From £15 to £55

Estimated text book costs: Possibly £100

Estimated living expenses: Lunches, sundries, possibly £60 x4 = £240