Embedded Spring: Constitutions and the Founding of the American Republic
The Program
What does the Constitution actually do? Find out in Oxford, UK.
Study the governing documents of the United States in the context of negotiated treaties and constitutions with Rutgers and Oxford researchers at Pembroke College. Discuss political legitimacy, state formation, and the legacy of British legal institutions while visiting the colleges and museums of Oxford and the ancestral home of George Washington’s family.
Program Locations
England
Oxford
Oxford, a city in central southern England, revolves around its prestigious university, established in the 12th century. The architecture of its 38 colleges in the city’s medieval center led poet Matthew Arnold to nickname it the 'City of Dreaming Spires'.
Academics
This program will be a 1-credit, 8 day-long visit to Oxford University conducted during Spring Break in the Spring 2023 semester. Students will participate in a 3-credit semester-long history seminar that will introduce the themes and topics of the trip. The course will be taught at Rutgers-Newark during the semester.
In the course students will be studying the founding of the American republic and working to document the 1947 New Jersey state constitutional convention on the Quill Project, a digital interactive platform created at Pembroke College to illustrate how constitutions and treaties are negotiated and crafted. Students will share their discoveries with Quill Project students and faculty in lectures and workshops, research their own individual projects at the Bodleian Library, and tour sites of significance to the themes of the course.
Note for Law students interested in taking the course: Per Law School's Academic rules, Law students may receive 3 credits of interdisciplinary credit for this course. They cannot receive the additional 1 general elective Study Abroad credit as it is not coded as a graduate level course. Law students may only register and receive credit for interdisciplinary courses if approved by the office of Academic Affairs prior to enrollment. Please check with the Dean of Academic Affairs' office before submitting your deposit.
Housing and Meals
Accommodations and dining will be at Pembroke College. All meals are included. There will be one group meal at a pub in Oxford.
Financial Information
Program Costs
| All Students | |
|---|---|
| Program Cost | $4,590 |
Program Cost includes:
- Tuition
- Housing
- Most meals
- Excursions
- Administrative Fees
- Emergency Medical Access Abroad
Out-of-Pocket Costs
| Flight | $1,000 |
| Meals | $100 |
| Personal Expenses | $100 |
| Total | $1,200.00 |
Out-of-Pocket Cost includes:
The above costs are estimations and represent the known out-of-pocket costs students encounter during their time abroad.
Some of these expenses will be paid for prior to going abroad, such as an airline ticket, while some of these expenses, such as personal expenses, will be paid in-country as part of your daily expenses. As you plan, you will need to budget these costs and spend wisely throughout your time abroad.
Scholarships
Faculty Leaders
Born in Paterson, Professor Murphy studied at Haverford College and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Before joining Rutgers in 2016 he previously taught at Baruch College, where he won a Whiting Fellowship for excellence in teaching and was a member of the faculty of the Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York.
Professor Murphy is the author of Building the Empire State: Political Economy in Early America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), which shared the James A. Broussard Best First Book Prize from the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic.