Day 5: My Birthday! :) (and Putney Debates...)

Woot woot! I got to celebrate my birthday in London! What could be better? :) Also, Barron got his luggage today! British Airways lost his bag, so he had been managing with just a few outfits for 5 days now! He was, of course, very delighted to be reunited with his bags.


We did have our first day of class today though, but it should be a really interesting program. Today was the "Citizenship: History and Implications" session. Basically, we discussed what we mean by citizenship and different ideas of what it means to be a citizen.

Adding on to that, we studied what national states are, how they were formed, and we questioned the extent to which they require "active citizens." After that, we were able to discuss issues about democracy and political participation by contrasting the polis of Ancient Greece with the liberal democratic model of today.

Something that I've found very different is that they allow time to have coffee/tea breaks VERY often! We get one at least once per hour, which is something I'm definitely not used to! It seems like the British really value using breaks as a point to refresh in order to stay most effective during class and work.

Kirsten even delivered a cake and a card for me in class today! It was so sweet, and I definitely didn't expect it :)



Anyways, we were able to cement some of the knowledge we gained this morning by visiting The Putney Debates Exhibition in the Church of St Mary the Virgin. Sue Rolfe, one of the curators, gave us a personal tour of the exhibition. Basically, the Putney Debates (of 1647) played a huge role in modern democracy because it was a debate between the Divine Right of Kings versus Parliament control. Interestingly enough, and I didn't know this before, England (along with Saudi Arabia) is the only country that doesn't have a written Constitution! Also, I didn't know this, but British people are not actually citizens -- they are technically subjects to the Queen. It is cool how Roehampton University is perfectly located to discuss human rights because they debates occurred in the surrounding areas. Additionally, Roehampton has always been known as a campus open to progressive ideas, so it is definitely a great learning atmosphere to be in!


We then headed back to the classroom where we watched the, ahem, riveting film called "The Putney Debates," in which they reenacted a modern version of the debates, in a sense.

After class, we were all super tired so we took naps until dinner! We had the funniest dinner ever and somehow we were all so loud and giggly... but it was great fun besides the evil looks from the dining center staff.

As we got back, we all got ready to celebrate my birthday!! Everyone on the trip signed a card for me and we headed to Central London, which is absolutely stunning at night, and all had a smashing evening :)