Arcadia Study Abroad Book, Film and Music Clubs

• Arcadia Study Abroad Book, Film and Music Clubs are an opportunity for students to understand their host country in a whole new way!
  
  
• Books are read and discussed both online and in person with fellow students and Arcadia staff over the course of the semester.
  
  
• The Music Club in Spain explores musical traditions and discusses Spain and its musical culture. Learn more.
  
  
• Visits to sites of importance to the books under study are also part of the Club's mission. See previous books enjoyed by club members.
  
  
• Guides will moderate the discussion group and provide ideas and suggestions.
  
  
• To join, reply to the email invitation from your program manager, which you will receive after you are accepted. Once registered, you can comment and interact with fellow Club members! 

Fall 2011 Clubs

• Great Britain Book Club

  • Soulless by Gail Carriger

    Soulless is a unique, hilarious, and accessible novel, set in an alternative-history of Victorian London. The main character, Alexia Tarabotti, finds herself in a world where vampires and werewolves have enormous, if shadowy, political power in British politics - but Alexia has unique abilities to manage it all exactly to her liking. Approaching its subject with an irreverence and a sense of humor, Soulless is definitely a book that will appeal to a lot of different readers.
    
    I chose Soulless as our fall book club selection for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's really funny, and I personally love a book that doesn't take itself too seriously. On a different note, though, I find that it's useful to read alternative histories, because it helps you think about your own expectations of what society is and what it should be.
    
    -Katharine Reinhart, Program Manager
  
  
  

   

  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

    The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is an exquisitely crafted novel that provides an intimate view into the world of a private girls' school in 1960s Edinburgh. This novel is as much a psychological study of its five main characters as it is a view into a time where Scottish society was transforming in profound ways. Miss Brodie herself is one of literature's great eccentric characters who is able to shape the world to some extent according to her own wishes - that is, until she is betrayed by one of the students she holds most dear.
    
    I chose The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as this semester’s Scotland selection because it is a modern British classic, one of the greatest novels to come out of the UK in the last 100 years. Muriel Spark, a native of Edinburgh, paints a wonderful picture of the city as it was in the 1930s, before Britain became embroiled in the devastation of World War II – a city that thought of itself as more European than Scottish, more enlightened than provincial. The novel also manages to be historical, alluding to some of the main political and moral questions of the time, without suffering under the weight of a typical historical novel. The main reason I love this book, though, is because of its central character, Miss Brodie, and her relationship with her “set”. While she clearly has many faults as a woman (and as a teacher), she is a truly remarkable character, and I thoroughly enjoy her.
    
    -Anna West, Scottish Programmes Officer

• Scotland Film Club

  • The 39 Steps (1935)

    Alfred Hitchcock’s most celebrated British thriller, adapted from John Buchan’s novel. Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) becomes the victim of mistaken identity when a female corpse is dumped in his flat by a spy ring. He tries to track down the true murderers whilst being pursued by the police, and hooks up with an unwilling accomplice (Madeleine Carroll). Their adventure eventually leads them to a music hall, where the secret of the 39 steps is revealed.
    
    Based on: The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
    
    

     

  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

    Maggie Smith stars as the Edinburgh schoolmistress, a role for which she received an Oscar. Miss Jean Brodie nurtures her pupils in a flamboyant style, becoming quite an inspiration to the girls. She presents life as one long romantic adventure while espousing her wisdom on art and music, and passionately defending fascism. Ultimately, one of her pupils betrays her, first by seducing the man Miss Jean Brodie loves and finally by claiming that her teacher’s destructive influence caused the death of a fellow student.
    
    Based on: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
    
    

     

  • Rob Roy (1995)

    Updated version of the 1952 classic period drama set in the 18th century. The Scottish hero Rob Roy (Liam Neeson) borrows money from the powerful Marquess of Montrose (John Hurt) in order to provide for his MacGregor clan. However, Montrose’s evil henchman Cunningham (Tim Roth) has other ideas and is determined to stop Roy getting his way.
    
    Based on: Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
    
    

     

  • Trainspotting (1996)

    This internationally successful adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s cult novel was credited as heralding a renaissance in British film-making. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) is the most self-aware of a group of heroin addicts living in Edinburgh, even though his attempts to kick the habit are generally short-lived. Along with friends Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie (a psychotic Robert Carlyle), he roams the city looking for kicks and opportunities to finance his next fix.
    
    Based on: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
    
    

     

  • Hallam Foe (2007)

    Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) is almost over the sudden death of his mother when he begins to suspect that his beautiful stepmother, Verity (Claire Forlani), may have had a hand in her death. After a confrontation with Verity, Hallam escapes to Edinburgh. With no money and no friends, he finds his tree-top skills well suited to the rooftops of the city, where he lives ferally, attempting to avoid the perils of the streets below and becoming obsessed with a gorgeous girl (Sophia Myles).
    
    Based on: Hallam Foe by Peter Jinks