Odyssey to Oxford
Odyssey to Oxford is a two-week lifelong education abroad program that takes you on a rare adventure to Oxford — “City of Dreaming Spires” — and to the University of Oxford, famous as a great center of learning since the 12th century. This is truly a unique educational opportunity. Participants enroll in one noncredit course of study taught by an Oxford tutor and enjoy the relaxed but intellectually stimulating atmosphere of small courses and course-related excursions. A typical day’s schedule includes classes in the morning with free time or excursions in the afternoon. The course-related excursions are planned by the program tutors to enhance the curriculum and are available only to those enrolled in the course — participants cannot attend another course of study’s course excursion. Additionally, there are several group excursions planned for all participants. We’ll travel to Stratford-upon-Avon. More than 800 years old and steeped in culture and history, it’s the birthplace of William Shakespeare. We’ll enjoy dinner and a performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. A second group excursion takes us to Warwickshire. We’ll visit Charlecote Park, a grand 16th-century country house on the river Avon and surrounded by its own deer park. The Lucy family has owned the land since 1247 and Charlecote Park was originally built in 1558 in the Tudor style. The lands immediately adjoining the house were further landscaped by Capability Brown in about 1760, which resulted in Charlecote becoming a hostelry destination for notable tourists, including Washington Irving,
Sir Walter Scott and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The house interior is largely Victorian, the vision of the George Hammond Lucy and his wife, the formidable Mary Elizabeth, who extended their home and filled it with treasures from their European travels. Visitors can also go “below stairs” to see what life was like for the servants who kept Charlecote running. On our way back from Charlecote, we’ll stop at Hook Norton Brewery. Founded in 1849, the brewing plant is a traditional Victorian “tower” brewery in which all the stages of the brewing process flow logically from floor to floor. We take a brewery tour and conclude with a tutored tasting. There is also an optional tour to the Oxford Artisan Distillery, which is the first certified organic “grain-to-glass” distillery in the U.K. Hear how a chance encounter with an Oxford-based archaeobotanist led to this distillery being the only one in the world to use sustainably-farmed populations of ancient heritage grains to produce their full range of spirts. During a behind-the-scenes tour, you’ll learn how their award-winning vodka, gin and rye whisky is made and have the opportunity to taste some spirits. Even if you’re a teetotaler, you’ll likely appreciate the story of this local Oxford business.
A highlight of our second week is a reception and dinner at Corpus Christi College. Corpus was founded in 1517 by Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester and a trusted diplomatic and political advisor to kings Henry VII and Henry VIII. Although located in the center of Oxford, it’s tucked away from the hustle and noise of the city’s main streets, overlooking Christ Church Meadow towards the river Isis. Fellows include religious reformer John Keble and art critic John Ruskin, but perhaps the most famous feature of Corpus Christi is the gilded statue of a “pelican in piety.” Additionally, each of the program tutors presents an open lecture. Evenings after dinner permit you time on your own to explore Oxford. Or you might choose to partake in impromptu trivia nights and movie nights with other participants. The city of Oxford is rich with cultural and leisure activities, offering a variety of museums, bookstores, theaters, restaurants, pubs, shops and natural settings to visit. Free time during the two-week program offers participants many opportunities to explore Oxford and the university’s 38 colleges, home to gifted individuals such as Walter Raleigh, Christopher Wren, William Penn, Edmund Halley, Cecil Rhodes, T.E. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Dodgson, Jonathan Swift, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Aldous Huxley, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, John Ruskin, William Fulbright, Richard Burton, Dudley Moore, Hugh Grant, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.
Odyssey to Oxford was the first noncredit, alumni residential program at Oxford and a forerunner of alumni travel-study programs throughout the nation. More than 400 MSU alumni and friends have journeyed to Oxford to study at the oldest university in the English-speaking world and arguably the most prestigious worldwide. Today, Odyssey to Oxford is one of MSU’s most noteworthy lifelong education programs and we invite you to join us for a memorable experience in 2024 and take your place in history.
“I wonder if anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful. One almost expects the people to sing instead of speaking. It is all like an opera.”
“This Oxford, I have no doubt is the finest City in the world.”
— JOHN KEATS
— WB YEATS
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