(5)
Review left 12/11/2020
While I have been to London a few times and enjoy British television, movies, and literature, I often find myself wondering at the larger context. From this class, I was hoping for an overview of London that would provide me a broader perspective. This class turned out to be perfect for me. Ruth is an amazing teacher. She is very knowledgeable, well organized, a wonderful speaker and story-teller and has a warm personality. The subjects were broad-ranging, from key historic events to underlying social concerns. We “traveled” from Roman London, the Reformation, Great Fire of London, port development and empire, the Victorian era, WW 2, and into the future, where the Olympic Park is being developed. The presentations deepened my understanding of these time periods, including some of the serious problems that occurred. Watching the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics on our own before the last class was great fun. It pulled together a lot of what we learned, and led to an interesting discussion. I don’t think I’d have appreciated the opening ceremonies near as much without this class! In sum, the class was really enjoyable and I learned a lot!