Becky Lartigue’s English Trip is Ready for Another Year

Brenna McCoubrey
Staff Writer

It’s not the first, and it most certainly will not be the last. For two weeks English Professor Becky Lartigue is recommending sophomores, juniors, and encouraging first-year students to join the excursion across seas to England. You don’t have to be an English major to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but you will have to apply for an exclusive spot on the two-week trip to England for May 13-26, 2015.

Students may be enrolled in courses Early Modern English Literature (ENGL 330) or Shakespeare (ENGL 467) to gain immense background knowledge about sites that will be visited in England, such as Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London, The British Museum, The Globe Theatre, St. Augustine’s Abbey, Shakespeare’s birthplace, and Canterbury Cathedral. Professor Lartigue said the Canterbury Cathedral was the favorite of sights visited by the guinea pig students who made the trek for the first time in 2012.

“We had a glorious day and played on ruins of this old monastery,” Lartigue said. “The students really, really enjoyed it.”

Lartigue noted that seeing a live theatre production at the national theater as something the first explorers of Springfield College got to experience, and will be on the itinerary for this upcoming trip. She believes travel is vital in every young students college experience.

“I think travel is really crucial. I want students to study abroad as much as they can,” Lartigue said. “I didn’t study abroad, but I had a great undergraduate experience. It’s just my one regret.”

Why not take the opportunity to learn about where you’re going and be able to experience it for a whole two weeks first hand? “I hope they will get the travel bug and take the time to travel to another culture,” Lartigue said.

The program is open to all students interested. If you are not in the English major you must email Professor Becky Lartigue at rlartigu@springfielcollege.edu (note: no “e” in last name of her email). The application requires students to hold a 3.0 GPA and submit a  couple letters of recommendation all due before November 17th. The trip will be exclusive and will only accommodate students who are highly interested and eager to learn. “I think they will learn a lot about Renaissance England and its literature,” Lartigue explained.

This is a growing program that hopes to continue every couple years here at Springfield College. It’s up to the students to stay interested in the medieval times of England to keep this program, and history, alive!