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Questions and Answers about the Scottish Literature On-Site Course

Does the Course requires any special knowledge of Scotland?	No more than the brief Online materials.
Does the Course require any special background in Scottish literature?	Only a solid knowledge of English language literature in general is assumed. Most of our students will be high-school or grade school teachers with a background in English. No particular awareness of Scottish writers per se is expected.
How much reading is required for the class?	Rather less than would be expected for a college-level course in any other literary subject, as the student is also spending his time and effort in investigating the country. The students will read a variety of Scottish novels, plays, poems, prose, emphasizing whatever genres or writers appeal to them. At least one or two novels would be expected, and a rather wide variety of poetry (s the country is perhaps best known for that genre).
What sorts of Scottish Literature are acceptable?	Any work by a Scottish author which is related to a particular site or area of the country (which the student of course must then visit) is germane. Some of these "locales" can be quite general. For example, any poem on the Highlands of Scotland is acceptable if the student visits the Highlands; any work about Edinburgh if that city is visited, and so on. So is any work by an author whose biography can be localized, for example, any work by Burns if the student visits the Burns' sites in Ayrshire or Dumfries; any work by Scott if the student visits Abbotsford. Also acceptable is any Scottish play seen in performance Scotland, and any work by a poet who is observed reading from this work.
How will students demonstrate the extent of their reading?	At the outset of the journal they will submit to the instructor, students will list all the readings they have done for the course, and will discuss in their journals how their comprehension of those materials have been affected by their visits to the corresponding literary sites.
How many literary sites need to be investigated?	This depends on the depth of the individual investigation. There are five main "literary" areas: (1) Edinburgh, (2) Glasgow, (3) Ayrshire, (4) Borders), (5) Highlands. Any three is an acceptable minimum, but the student must remember Scotland is a small country. Glasgow is only 40 miles from Edinburgh. The Borders are only an hour south of Edinburgh, some of the most interesting areas in the Highlands start just a little north of Glasgow, Ayrshire is just an hour by train south of Glasgow. And, there are a number of other sites besides these five, which are perfectly acceptable substitutes-Orkney for example (the small group of islands just north of the Scottish mainland).
How long must the journal be?	The longer the better, but depth is more important than quantity. If the journal seems a bit thin to the instructor, the requested term paper will be a bit longer. But no student will receive a poor grade in the course simply because the journal length does not reach some magic figure kept in the instructor's head. The student is expect to enjoy the trip to Scotland; a half-hour per day to record and analyze observations should be adequate.
Must the journal be typed before submission?	Yes. This is partly so the instructor can read it, but also because the student is thereby encouraged to add to the reflections. The "immediacy" of the journal is not an issue here; what is important is the insight it reflects. The journal can be sketched in situ, and fleshed out later.
May photographs be submitted with the journal?	By all means.
Should any other materials from the site be included, such as site brochures?	No, though citations from such brochures are certainly logical.
Is it necessary to rent a car to see these sites?	Not generally, public transportation will do. A car rental is an especially exciting way to see any country, of course, and is certainly recommended. And to see "Little Sparta," the multi-media garden in Lanarkshire, does require a car.
May the student bring a friend or spouse to stay at Dalkeith House?	By all means-bring the whole family. Anything that makes the experience more delightful for the student is to be encouraged. Dalkeith House will offer rates for couples (married or otherwise) or families.
Can any of these literary sites be located outside Scotland?	Yes, but such must be kept to a minimum (no more than a quarter of the sites). Students who expect to visit London, for example, will find that one of the most famous literary sites in that great city is the home of those fine Scottish writers, Thomas and Jane Carlyle, in Chelsea.
Must the academic work be completed that same summer?	No. Any student will be given an Incomplete upon request. However, the work must be completed by the end of the subsequent fall semester.
Suppose I have my own itinerary for Scottish travel, must I stay in Dalkeith House?	No-it is merely an attractive extra or option. Virtually all the materials and directions for this class can be found Online. The student may bypass Dalkeith House entirely.
Must I speak to the class instructor personally, either in Wisconsin or in Scotland?	No. The class is designed as independent study.
Must I contact the instructor personally, before signing up for the course or before leaving for Scotland?	No to both questions, unless the student wishes to be reassured about something-about his/her proposed reading list, for example. However, the student who intends to stay at Dalkeith House must contact the House in advance to alert the Director about room requirements, times of arrival and to receive information about means of admission to the House.
Must I at least e-mail the instructor before initiating registration or travel?	No, but it's a good idea. Any student is quite welcome to do so at any time during the spring semester, for purposes or clarification or just reassurance.
What times during the summer are available for this course?	For purposes of investigating Scottish literature, the student may travel any time during the year. But Dalkeith House is open for this purpose only from end of the Spring term until the beginning of the Edinburgh Festival (which starts about the middle of August). The House is almost always booked-up during the Festival itself.
May this class be taken at times other than the summer?	The class is only offered during the summer. However, the travel and study can be done at any time. Just contact the instructor (David McCordick/Dept. of English/UW-Stout/Menomonie, Wisconsin 54751, or e-mail at mccordickd@uwstout.edu).
Where is an easy place to get quick information about Scotland, and Scottish literature?	Read the section entitled "Where to find the sites".
Is there a convenient anthology of Scottish literature I might consult?	"Convenient" is a somewhat problematical term. There is only one comprehensive anthology of Scottish literature, that edited by this instructor, David McCordick, Scottish Literature: An Anthology. It is in three rather massive volumes (1250 smallish-print pages each), printed by Peter Lang (New York) and by the Scottish Cultural Press (Edinburgh). Several Wisconsin libraries have a copy, and the volumes can be found easily in Scottish libraries. Dalkeith House has a set, of course. A quite easy way to find Scottish works that have a geographic corollary is simply to skim through the Table of Contents of these three fat volumes and select the works whose titles are place or area names. And one should consult the Bibliography.
How sophisticated must be the journal analyses of Scottish literature and its relationship to the Scottish "landscape"?	The instructor assumes this is the student's first acquaintance with either Scottish Literature, Scotland itself, or even foreign travel. No student of literature can fail to profit from a visit to the country which produced that literature. Just record honestly and carefully what you have learned.