Program Search
Winter 2027
Dates: Late December, 2026 - Mid-January, 2027
Application Deadline: September 15, 2026
Costs: Contact the program sponsor for updated cost
This course focuses on class and gender, and the ways in which theatre engages with and represents these systems. London is a diverse and historied city, which makes it a brilliant site for this course. Not only will we be reading plays, we will also be using field work (museums and galleries, backstage tours, live performance, historic sites) to add relevance and cultural context to our in-class discussions about theatre. Developing an understanding of the way theatre, ballet, and visual art provide narratives and events that support the status quo or actively questions, disrupts, or overturns the narratives of dominance is central to an understanding of the cultural necessity for the free voice of arts to a society or culture.
Sites visited:
England: London
*View the last term day-by-day itinerary here!
View this short video clip to get a sense of this winter intersession traveling seminar!
College of Staten Island, CUNY
Gonzalo Villena
ELI Director
Questions? Contact me
studyab@csi.cuny.edu
Tel:(718) 982-2100
This program is sponsored and administered by The College of Staten Island/CUNY
Gretchen Elizabeth Smith is Associate Dean for Students in the Meadows School of the Arts and Head of Theatre Studies in the Division of Theatre. She provides oversight for the Meadows offices of Student Academic Services; Scholarships & Financial Aid; and Recruitment & Admissions, and for the Theatre Studies track of the Division of Theatre’s B.F.A. program. Dr. Smith has been a tenured faculty member of the Division of Theatre for two decades, as well as holding the position of Chair (2018-2021).
She teaches courses in theatre history and performance studies, including seminars focusing on gender in performance and theory, American and English dramatic literature, analyzing performances of ritual and festival, and the B.F.A. playwriting sequence.
As a theatre historian and performance studies scholar, her research interests include analyzing texts and images from Molière’s popular and court performance in France during the reign of Louis XIV, and investigating Paris’s female performers (actresses, dancers, singers, and others) across the conflicting duality of employee and icon during the second half of the 19th century. She is currently writing about the imagery of Molière in texts published between 1660 and 1682.
As a playwright, her scripts focus on women and identity, interrogating narratives surrounding history, biography, gender, bodies and ageism; her plays have been performed in various cities including New York and Athens.
Since 1995, she has been the mentor and producer of New Visions, New Voices, staging original full-length plays written by B.F.A. students. Plays and playwrights from NVNV have gone on to readings and production in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Austin, Miami, and Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the International Centre for Women Playwrights, and served as the Regional Director of playwriting for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In this position, she was instrumental in bringing the work of student playwrights to regional and national conference audiences as well as awarding honors and scholarships.
Dr. Smith is also active in SMU’s Study Abroad program. She has taught and led programs in London and Oxford since 2003 and is a past member of SMU’s Education Abroad Council. She has been an active mentor in SMU’s Engaged Learning program, working with over 25 students on projects centered in Dallas, New York, Seoul, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Moscow and London. She received Engaged Learning’s Excellence in Mentoring Award for her contributions.
IAU’s J-Term Traveling Seminars are unique in that the classroom and campus changes based on the location of the program. The J-Terms consist of 17-21 day academic and cultural courses led by IAU faculty and include 24/7 staff support. The seminars are thematic in nature and involve travel through multiple countries. During the program, students have access to a variety of spaces including partner institutions, hotel conference rooms, lecture halls, and museums in which to conduct coursework and lectures. Students are housed in hotels or residence halls in each city. Breakfast is included.
Duration
Late December, 2026 - Mid-January, 2027
Costs
Contact the program sponsor for updated cost
Costs included: Program fees include tuition for 3 credits, lodging, medical insurance, entrance fees to all museums and guest lecture venues, transportation to and from each city, breakfast daily and most dinners.
Costs not included: airfare, personal expenses, some meals
Students who enroll in a January Term Seminar and the spring semester in Aix-en-Provence consecutively are eligible to receive a $2,000 grant credited to their spring semester invoice. In order to be eligible to receive the grant, students must participate in the Early Start Program during the week between the end of the January Term Seminar and the start of the spring semester. The Early Start Program allows students to move in with their French hosts a week before the semester begins, receive French language instruction, and participate in local cultural activities! Visit IAU's Scholarship website for additional details.
Application Deadline: September 15, 2026
Eligibility Requirements:
Minimum GPA: 2.5
Once applicants apply through CCIS and get accepted, all applicants are required to complete IAU's online application.
Students are also responsible for submitting the following application materials to IAU once accepted:
Once an application is complete, students can expect a response within 2 weeks. Admission is granted on a rolling basis before the application deadlines outlined below. For questions about an application, please contact studyab@csi.cuny.edu.
“My experience going abroad through IAU has been nothing shy of extraordinary. I went into it not knowing any of my classmates, but the professors immediately made us all feel welcome. We soon began traveling in a foreign country and with every new excursion we all became such close travel companions. Being in that type of environment forces you to step outside of your comfort zone and open yourself up to new cultures and experiences. Having been a part of this program has not only benefited my knowledge of the world, but created unique memories with people I wouldn't have otherwise met, that I will forever cherish. If you're looking for personal growth with a side of adventure, IAU abroad is your next step.”
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