Arcadia Scotland
Fall 2015 Events
Date
August 4, 2015
There is much to look forward to during the Fall 2015 Semester in Scotland. Here is a first glance at the events that will be taking place during your time in Scotland.
Registration opens Wednesday, August 12 at Noon (EST) in your Arcadia Passport.
Brave New World at the King’s Theatre
Themes: Creating & Imagining Scotland, Life of the Mind
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s ground-breaking novel bursts into life on stage in a first ever stage adaptation by award-winning playwright Dawn King. Brave New World is a dystopian, satire novel set in a futuristic world, touching on the dangers of technology, genetic engineering and consumerism.
Highlands Weekend
Themes: Origins, Scotlands
A weekend excursion to explore the beautiful and fascinating history of the highlands with one night in Inverness. The trip will include a tour of the Blair Athol whiskey distillery and a chance to discover Pitlochry, a popular town with beautiful scenery. The excursion will also include a visit to Leault Farm in the town of Kincraig, with the opportunity to watch a sheepdog demonstration and visit the Battlefield of Culloden. We will take a cruise across Loch Ness to visit Urquhart Castle, a ruin that has persevered through 500 years of medieval conflict. After the castle we will travel to Fort William and have free time to explore and experience spectacular views on Britain’s only mountain gondola. On the final part of the excursion we will visit Glencoe to absorb the breath-taking scenic mountains.
Firbush Activity Weekend
Theme: Active Scotland
Firbush Outdoor Centre is an activity filled weekend run by the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Sport and Exercise staff. Firbush is based in a spectacular location – in the southern Highlands on the shores of Loch Tay. There are a broad range of activities on offer, dependent on weather conditions, such as: hill-walking, mountain biking, road biking, kayaking, canoeing, orienteering and a historical tour. There will be a ceilidh dance on one of the evenings.
Rosslyn Chapel and the Scottish Borders
Themes: Origins, Scotlands
The Scottish Borders is full of beauty with sweeping valleys, forests and heather-clad moorlands. The day excursion to the Scottish Borders will begin with a visit to the Rosslyn Chapel which was founded in 1446 using ornate stonework and mysterious symbolism. The Abbotsford House is also an important part of the enthralling history of the Scottish Borders and will be included in the day excursion. The Abbotsford is the home of Sir Walter Scott, the 19th century novelist and poet. There will be free time to explore Melrose village and the ruins of Melrose Abbey which was founded in 1136 for the Cistercian Order and largely destroyed by Richard II’s English army in 1385.
World Gymnastics Championships
Theme: Active Scotland
The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships are taking place in Glasgow this year with gymnasts competing to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The finals will be held at the SSE Hydro, a unique entertainment venue that recently opened in 2013 and sits on the banks of the River Clyde. The excursion will be watching the final of the Men’s Artistic Gymnastic Team, teams will be dependent on the results. The type of gymnastics that the gymnasts will be performing include: all-around, floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.
Voice of Scotland – Day in Glasgow
Themes: Discovery & Invention, Life of the Mind and Bookclub
Vibrant and energetic, Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city with a background of protest to explore the Life of the Mind theme. The excursion will begin with a guided tour of the Glasgow Central Station, exploring Glasgow’s 19th century history as part of the global industrial revolution. We’ll have lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in collaboration with his wife, Margaret MacDonald as part of an aesthetic protest. The excursion will then move on to the Riverside Museum and the People’s Palace to investigate Mary Barbour’s role in the Rent Strikes of 1915 and the broader rise of the Labour movement in the UK.
Andrew Crumey
Bookclub
As part of our lecture series Dr Andrew Crumey, a Scottish author who holds a Ph. D in theoretical physics, will be joining us at the Edinburgh Center to talk about his novel, Sputnik Caledonia. For this novel, Crumey won the Northern Rock Foundation Writer’s Award. The novel depicts a Scottish boy who wants to become Scotland’s first cosmonaut, and is transported to a parallel communist Scotland where he takes part in a space mission to a black hole. The title of the novel refers to the Russian Sputnik program (a spacecraft launched under the Soviet space) and the alternative name for Scotland, Caledonia.
Ceilidh Dance
Theme: Creating & Imaging
Ceilidh is the Gaelic word for a visit or gathering and involves Scottish country dancing to traditional Scottish folk music. Ceilidhs have played a vital role in Scotland’s cultural and social life for many years. The ceilidh is a fun opportunity for all of the Arcadia students to come together to celebrate Scottish culture. The Scottish dance will take place in Stirling, a beautiful historic city in the heart of Scotland’s central belt.
Learn more about Co-Curricular Themes & Excursions in Scotland.