Following the Footsteps of Scholars

Today's list of events:

• Hop-on Hop-off
• Ashmolean Museum
• Carfax Tower
• The Covered Market
• Christ Church

Today was the last day the HUM 1915 class spent more than an hour on a train! Today the class traveled to Oxford, England. Our first adventure in Oxford was a Hop on Hop off tour. The tour carted the class around the city pointing out the many historical colleges, monuments, and pubs and eateries that are either mentioned in, or have influenced literature. The Franciscans, founded by St. Francis of Assisi, took over Oxford and changed the education system, philosophies, and standards. 

When Henry VIII began stripping the nation of its Catholicism, he acquired the school from Cardinal Wolsey in 1546. He renamed the school and changed all of their ideologies. It is also known that Roger Bacon graduated from Christ Church and was credited with inventing the magnifying glass. 

Famous Students of Christ Church include:

1. Albert Einstein 
2. William Penn
3. John Wesley 
4. Lewis Carroll 
5. John Locke 

Christ Church, Oxford

The Sheldonian is the official hall for the University of Oxford and holds a variety of events. The University's parliament meets here and this is where students are admitted and receive their degree. 

Sheldonian Theater, built by Christopher Wren, whose architecture we've

seen throughout the UK

C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carrol, and J.R.R. Tolkein would all go here and share their works

Punting is a fun past time in the city of Oxford. Formally used as cargo boats these are now generally used for pleasure. A punt is a shallow boat, similar to a gondola, and uses a long pole as an oar. The struggle many people have while punting is to keep their punting pole out of the muddy floor of the Thames, many get stuck and have to choose to free the pole or let the punt float along as it may. 

Punting boats

The Ashmolean Museum was the first stop on our bus tour. This museum is known for being the world's first university museum, and is home to many art exhibitions and archaeological finds. Some of these include ceramics, drawings, statues, and musical instruments from the time of the Roman empire to the present. 

First stop off of the hop-on hop-off, the Ashmolean Museum.  

 

Hannah is graduating next month and is continuing her education at George Washington University in Museum Studies! She was very excited to spend time at the well-known Ashmolean Museum 

The Carfax Tower was originally the clock tower of St. Martin's Church built in 1062 when the chapel fell, the clock tower was restored to be the focal point of the intersection of Queen Street, Cornmarket Street, St Aldate's and High Street. 

Carfax Tower

Emily W, Kaurin, and Liz climbed this tower to get a better view of the city

View of Broad Street from the clock tower.. 99 steps high!

Many areas of Christ Church inspired different sets for the Harry Potter movies. HUM 1915 has grown up in the Harry Potter generation, so seeing this places that are full of extensive history and are visually familiar is really cool. During our recent trip to Scotland we saw "The Elephant Room" where J.K. Rowling began the series on a napkin, so seeing these places in sequence was really inspiring.

Inside the gates of Christ Church

The Great Hall where some of Harry Potter was filmed and what inspired 

their set for the dining hall in Hogwarts

Hannah, Allie, and Kaurin walk down the steps where some of 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was filmed

Christ Church Cathedral from the main entrance

Kaurin and Emily W, our business and accounting majors in front of a famous business school in Oxford

The Hum 1915 class has spent roughly 4 hours a day traveling by train the past week. That is a total of 28 hours! It was a bittersweet feeling showing our rail passes for the last time. Exploring outside of London has been incredible, but we look forward to seeing the city itself tomorrow and for the rest of this week. 

Last train ride!

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