| Overview |
This program will actively explore the Cities of Cambridge and London as we learn about youth cultures, public policy, international law, and the politics of childhood. UK history and present-day Cambridge and London offer a wealth of opportunities for engaged, place-based learning. We will use the classroom as a space to prepare and reflect as we visit world class museums like the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge and the Young V&A in London, wander through historical landmarks like Trafalgar Square, tour famous neighborhoods like Soho, attend a screening at the illustrious British Film Institute, and decompress on a punting tour of Cambridge.
Advocates in the UK were particularly instrumental in forming movements to press for the extension of basic rights to children in the early 20th century. These efforts led to the emergence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified treaty in the world. Many of the most prominent NGOs focused on children’s well-being were founded and are still headquartered in London. Moral panics that politicized youth culture throughout the mid 20th century often originated in the UK, and youth political engagement today offers a striking example for young people around the world both formally and informally via youth-led social movements.
Students will live and study in the City of Cambridge, allowing them close proximity to the university and its rich academic life as well as the many benefits of living in a small city, while also taking mid-week excursions to cosmopolitan London to visit historical sites and renowned museums. Students will be free to wander Cambridge, visit London, or tour other parts of the UK on weekends. |
| Location |
Cambridge & London, England
Cambridge is an historic university city, home to the many colleges, departments, and centres of one of the United Kingdom’s most famous universities, the University of Cambridge. The City of Cambridge has a smaller feel and boasts many scenic green spaces and river paths, but is only a short train ride away from the cosmopolitan city of London. Students will live in central Cambridge, within walking distance of the university; there they will have the opportunity to meet and interact with other university students, attend a debate at the historic Cambridge Union Society, and tour medieval architecture. Students will also take midweek day trips to London for cultural and academic excursions. |
| Course |
Course: POL 114 or POL 242
Credits: 3
Divisional
Today, children and youth in the United Kingdom debate issues in Parliament, conduct independent political campaigns, and leave school to protest their government’s inadequate response to climate change. Soon, 16 and 17 year olds will be able to vote in national elections. How did young people in the UK come to be so empowered? This transition is especially striking when considering children suffered high rates of mortality in the early 1800s, that they were widely employed in dangerous factory work during the industrial revolution, and that there was little effort at a system of compulsory public education until 1870. Our course will consider this transition as its central question and employ a political development approach to explore and analyze key developments in the cultural and political conceptualizations of childhood and adolescence, the formation of transnational social movements that advocate for children, the gradual extension of rights and social welfare benefits including education, and the mobilization of young people as political actors throughout the UK. Along the way, we will attend to the ways that identity and status can structure opportunities, policies, and political competition.
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| Faculty |
Sara Dahill-Brown
Associate Professor
335-758-3364
dahillse@wfu.edu
Sara Dahill-Brown is an Associate Professor in the politics and international affairs department at Wake Forest where she has taught for more than a decade. Her research and teaching center on educational politics and policy. She is an alumna of Utah’s public schools and a recovering middle school teacher as well as a graduate of Trinity University (Texas) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When not professoring, she loves to bake (mostly cookies), hike (preferably in the Western US), and garden (usually with her family). |
| Accommodation |
Situated in the heart of Cambridge, Warkworth House is a short walk to any of the central Cambridge Colleges, the Cambridge Union Society and the University Centre where courses and program activities are held. In addition, it’s an easy stroll to Market Square, the River Cam, the city’s museums, galleries, shops, pubs and restaurants. Warkworth House is a three minute walk to the bus station servicing all the London airports and only a 15 minute walk from the railway station with frequent direct trains to Central London and beyond.
The rooms in the INSTEP House are shared rooms consisting of double rooms and one large triple room with small number of single rooms also available. Each room has its own bathroom facilities. In the basement there is a shared, fully furnished kitchen, a student lounge with cable television and a classroom. Linens and towels are provided and are changed weekly.
https://instep-programs.org/cambridgehousing.html |
| Excursions |
Some anticipated excursions/field trips are as follows:
- Punting tour of Cambridge
- Foundling School Museum in London
- London Museum-Docklands
- Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology in Cambridge
- Ragged School Museum in London
- Homerton College Library in Cambridge
- British Film Institute in London
- Nuns Way Recreation Ground in Cambridge
- Walking tour of London's Soho district
- Museum of Youth Culture in London
- Young V&A in London
- Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge
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| Selection |
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| Costs |
The total cost of summer study abroad can be broken down into four categories:
- Program Fee - Usually covers room, in-country travel, excursions, some meals and other costs associated with the program.
- Tuition – Students on WFU summer programs pay WFU summer school tuition per credit hour. The 2025 summer rate was $950/per credit hour.
- Airfare (estimated) – Varies per location. Students are responsible for their own airfare unless otherwise noted.
- Personal Expenses (estimated) – These will vary depending on the students' spending habits, cost of living in the destination country, and the number of meals included in the program fee. This may also include visa fees, vaccinations, academic supplies/books and other miscellaneous daily expenses.
Billed by Wake Forest:
Program Fee (estimated) - $4,050
Tuition (3hrs) - $2,850
+
Personal costs (will fluctuate per student spending and location):
Airfare (estimated) - $1,800
Personal Expenses (estimated) - $2,190
Estimated total cost - $10,890 |
| Scholarships |
Scholarships are available through the Center for Global Programs and Studies. Scholarship deadline is February 1st.
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| Visa & Passport |
Passport Information
Students need to check their passport's expiration date and ensure that it will be valid for at least 6 months after the program's end date.
Students going on a summer program need to make sure their passport is valid through at least mid-February of the following year.
US passport holders who need to renew their passport should visit the U.S. Department of State's passport website for information on this process.
Non-US passport holders who need to renew their passport should refer to their home country's passport office.
Visa Information
If you are a US citizen, you most likely will not require a visa for your summer abroad program. If you do, details will be shared with you by GPS. Non-US passport holders should check with their host country's embassy or consulate to find out if a visa is required for their program or not. |
| Contact |
Sara Dahill-Brown
Associate Professor
335-758-3364
dahillse@wfu.edu
Amanda Batten
Study Abroad Advisor
Center for Global Programs and Studies
(336) 758 3194
battena@wfu.edu |
| Testimonials |
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