‘Frenemies’: A History of Anglo-American Relations, 1783-2027

University-level study and support

During your time on the Oxford University Summer School for Adults you will:

• Study in small seminar groups with no more than 12 students, guided by expert tutors
• Receive two one-to-one tutorials
• Have the opportunity to attend guest lectures and participate in social events
• Have access to the on-site Bodleian Library and IT facilities
• Gain experience of studying at university level
• Develop new skills
• Experience a friendly and supportive learning environment
• Connect with a global community of lifelong learners

Seminars

Participants are taught in small seminar groups of up to 12 students, and receive two one-on-one tutorials with their tutor.

Sunday

Seminar 1: An overview of the political, social and cultural conditions which prevailed in both countries prior to the foundation of American sovereignty in the 1783 Paris treaty. Despite strong cultural affinities, differing economic interests had made war almost inevitable. However, ideological differences were far less clear-cut, with enthusiastic allies of American republicanism in Britain and adherents to the British constitution in America.  

Seminar 2: The aftermath of the War of Independence was marked by continued tensions between the newly-sovereign United States of America and Great Britain, the latter intent on fostering and strengthening its ascendency as the world’s foremost trading empire, while the former was rent by profound political and cultural divisions. How much did the two countries really have in common?

Monday

Seminar 1: War between Great Britain and France in 1793 placed exceptional strains on the new Atlantic trading alliance. While the Jay treaty (1795) held off open conflict, resurgent anti-British sentiment in the United States promoted by Thomas Jefferson’s Republican Party was fanned further by British efforts to halt American trade with France and frustrate its territorial expansion westward. The indecisive war of 1812–1814 and common economic and strategic interests led to decades of relatively peaceful coexistence.

Seminar 2: During the earlier 19th century American republicanism continued to operate as an irritant to trans-Atlantic relations while also providing inspiration for British radicalism. The American Civil War precipitated a grassroots anti-slavery movement in the north of Britain and within the growing political power of nonconformism. Many wealthy British families had derived their fortunes from the slave trade and offered material and moral support to the confederacy.

Tuesday

Seminar 1: The later 19th century: While Great Britain persisted in its faith in the regulatory power of free trade, the United States imposed import tariffs which strengthened its industrial base, challenging Britain’s role as the ‘workshop of the world’. The opening of vast tracts of Midwestern prairie to agriculture and declining cost of transport by sea resulted in a severe rural depression in Great Britain. As American dependency on the British global trade network declined, so did mutual sympathy between the two countries.

Seminar 2: The First World War: The United States was by no means inclined to support Great Britain in its war against Germany, adopting a policy of neutrality while continuing to export food and war materiel to all the belligerents. While Great Britain benefitted especially from this trade, it created growing debt. American opinion turned towards favouring Britain in the conflict in 1917 with Germany’s resumption of submarine warfare against neutral shipping and the publication of the notorious ‘Zimmerman telegram’ in which Germany sought the aid of Mexico in pursuing a future war against the United States. Ultimate victory over the Central Powers gave public credibility to the idea of a ‘special relationship’.

Wednesday

Seminar 1: The interwar years: The refusal of the US to join the League of Nations made Britain and France the leaders of efforts to promote international governance and law, while a strongly protectionist United States was vocal in its disapproval of British colonialism. During the early 1930s fascism was on the rise in both countries although only the United States pursued the eugenic policies which inspired the Nazi party in Germany. The growing commercial and military might of the US convinced Great Britain to promote the ‘special relationship’ model in its diplomacy.

Seminar 2: World War II: American isolationism, as exemplified by the Neutrality Acts of the later 1930s, was overcome partly by an effective British propaganda campaign and partly by the positive relationship developed between FD Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. The result was the ‘Lend-Lease Act’, followed by a full wartime alliance after Hitler’s declaration of war against the United States in December 1941. The ‘special relationship’ got physical for the many British women who formed relationships with American military personnel, while the condition of American race relations was violently displayed in the streets of numerous cities and towns.  Anglo-American collaboration achieved its highest level through the monumental preparations and conduct of Operation Overlord and subsequent occupation of Germany.

Thursday 

Seminar 1: The post-war years to the Suez crisis: The close wartime collaboration continued on many fronts, from the joint occupation of Germany and the Nuremberg trials to the foundation of NATO and the enormous financial support the UK gained through the European Recovery Program. The sharing of intelligence and nuclear technology was expanded until severely curtailed by the US in response to the spy scandals of 1949 – 1952. In 1956 Anthony Eden’s Churchillian response to Nassar’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal resulted in an even more serious rupture with the US, ultimately confirming the latter’s undisputed leadership of what was popularly known as the ‘free world’.

Seminar 2: During the later Cold War popular agitation in Britain grew against the Vietnam War. Further agitation was provoked by the presence of American nuclear bases in Britain, culminating in the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp (1981 – 2000). Politically, the neo-liberal governments of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher made common cause in a campaign against the welfare state and publicly-owned industries. British popular music from the later 1960s became a major export to the United States, with cultural influences flowing both ways in the expanding field of entertainment media.

Friday

Seminar 1: On the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev and George H W Bush proclaimed a ‘New World Order’, in which the United States was the lone superpower and, militarily at least, the United Kingdom was its most committed ally.  Joint interventions in Iraq and the Balkans appeared to confirm the continued relevance of the ‘special relationship’. However, with the early 21st century ‘war on terror’ it was placed under increasing strain in public opinion due to a series of measures pursued by the government of George W. Bush, for example, the harsh treatment of prisoners in Iraq, the extraordinary rendition policy employing British facilities, indefinite detainment of perceived enemies at Guantanamo Bay and the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ propaganda campaign.

Seminar 2: The departures in US foreign policy from the principle of collective security in Europe through NATO and the imposition of punitive tariffs has set the US and the UK on different foreign policy trajectories. Britain seeks to strengthen its economic and security relations with the European Union. Will a ‘special relationship’ with the United States survive?

Programme timetable

The daily timetable will normally be as follows:

Saturday

14.00–16.30 – Registration

16.30–17.00 – Orientation meeting

17.00–17.30 – Classroom orientation for tutor and students

17.30–18.00 – Drinks reception

18.00–20.00 – Welcome dinner

Sunday – Friday

09.00–10.30 – Seminar

10.30–11.00 – Tea/coffee break

11.00–12.30 – Seminar

12.30–13.30 – Lunch

13.30–18.00 – Afternoons are free for tutorials, individual study, course-related field trips or exploring the many places of interest in and around Oxford.

18.00–19.00 – Dinner (there is a formal gala dinner every Friday to close each week of the programme).

Social programme

A range of optional social events will be offered throughout the summer school. These are likely to include: a quiz night, visit to historic pubs in Oxford, visit to Christ Church for Evensong or Said prayer and after-dinner talks and discussions.

Beyond the summer school, Oxford is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city with a busy cultural and social scene offering a wide variety of plays and shows, concerts, films and exhibitions.

Residential options are outlined below.

Please see the ‘how to enrol’ section below for guidance on how to book or request the right accommodation for you.

Residential option

This includes accommodation and all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).

Our central Oxford accommodation combines the character of an historic building with the convenience of a modern hotel. All rooms are located in Wellington Square, a short walk to Oxford city centre, and include tea and coffee making facilities and free Wi-Fi.

View full details of Rewley House accommodation.

Non-residential option

We also offer places on a non-residential basis whereby participants can take classes and have meals (lunch and dinner) at Rewley House, having arranged their own accommodation elsewhere.

Course aims

This course aims to:

• Familiarise students with the main events, trends, and debates which shaped both diplomatic relations and public perceptions of the ‘special relationship’ from 1783 to the present day.
• Encourage in students an appreciation of the complexities of Anglo-American relations, both political and more broadly cultural.
• Introduce students to a wide range of relevant historical sources.
• Provide close guidance and support in the writing of academic essays.

Course objectives

This course will enable students to:

• Identify and explain the main events, trends, and debates which shaped both diplomatic relations and public perceptions of the ‘special relationship’ from 1783 to the present day.
• Form an appreciation of the complexities of Anglo-American relations through political, economic, strategic and cultural perspectives.
• Explore and assess a wide range of relevant historical sources.
• Further develop their research and academic writing skills.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will have been given the opportunity to understand:

• A range of historical factors which shaped public perceptions, strategic considerations, and political calculations on both sides of the Atlantic in conducting Anglo-American relations from over the period.
• Why governments through the period developed different approaches to Anglo-American relations.
• How public debate in both countries contributed to shaping policy.
• The impact of news media, literature and visual culture in shaping public perceptions of Anglo-
• American relations.

Teaching methods

The teaching methods on this course may include:

• Short lectures/Presentations
• Physical handouts
• Seminars/group discussions
• Student presentations
• Video recordings

Participants will attend two one-on-one tutorials with their tutor during the week.

Pre-course assignment

Participants are required to undertake preparatory reading and complete a pre-course assignment of 1,500 words. Although this does not count towards credit, it is seen as an important way of developing your ideas and is mandatory. The pre-course assignment is typically due in the first week of June.

IT requirements

Students are encouraged to bring a laptop to Oxford to assist them with their studies.

For residential students, wireless internet access is available in all bedrooms; for all students, wireless access is available in communal spaces of the college.

All students will be eligible to use the computers and printer in the computer room at Rewley House.

Assessment methods

You will be assessed during the summer school by either a 1,000 word written assignment or a presentation supported by individual documentation. To successfully gain credit (10 CATS points) students should attend all classes and complete the on-course assignment.

Please see the ‘certification’ section for more details about CATS points.

Dr Kees Windland – Tutor

Kees Windland is a graduate of St Cross College, University of Oxford. His research and teaching interests range from Victorian art, architecture and aesthetic theory to the cultural history of modern Britain and twentieth century ideologies.  He has offered a variety of courses for Oxford Lifelong Learning over the past twenty years while working concurrently as a teacher and educational consultant in Eastern Europe and India.

Certificate of Attendance

All participants who complete the course will receive a physical Certificate of Attendance.

Academic credit

OUSSA is an accredited summer school taught at undergraduate level; each one-week course carries 10 CATS (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) points at FHEQ (Framework for Higher Education Qualification) Level 4.

CATS points will be awarded to students who attend all classes and complete the on-course assignment to the required standard. Please see the ‘assessment methods’ section below for more details.

Certificate of Higher Education

Credit (CATS points) earned from OUSSA can be transferred towards our flexible Certificate of Higher Education. This part-time, award-bearing course lets you decide what, how and where you study by gaining credit from short courses, including short online courses, in-person weekly classes and OUSSA.

For full details, including transferring credit gained from OUSSA to the programme, see our Certificate of Higher Education programme page.

English language requirements

As students are expected to participate fully in seminar discussions and are required to produce written work, it is important that applicants can demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency in the four language skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking.

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency in the form of an original certificate, or a certified copy, that is not more than two years old on the date the summer school starts. You must satisfy one of the following requirements:

• IELTS Academic: minimum overall score of 7.5, with not less than 7.0 in each of the four components
• TOEFL iBT: minimum overall score of 110, with not less than 22 for listening, 24 for reading, 25 for speaking and 24 for writing
• C1 Advanced, formerly known as Cambridge English: Advanced or CAE: minimum overall score of 191, with not less than 185 in each of the four components

For further information on English language qualifications:

• IELTS
• TOEFL
• Cambridge English

The requirement to provide English language test scores may be waived in either of the following circumstances:

• If you have completed a full-time degree-level programme at a recognised institution where teaching and assessment throughout the course was undertaken entirely in English, and the programme was completed with a gap of no more than two academic years to the course to which you are applying. If you studied this course in a country that is not majority English speaking, you will need to provide evidence that the course was taught in English. This can either take the form of a link to the appropriate page of the institution’s website or a statement from the institution confirming this.
• If you have worked for a minimum of two years in a majority English-speaking country where the main language for the role was English, and your role involved daily professional use of each of the four language components: reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Visa requirements

The Department welcomes international students on all its courses. However, it is the responsibility of successful applicants to ensure that they comply with UK immigration law.

If you are not a UK or Irish national, you might need to apply for a visa before coming to the UK, depending on which passport you hold. You can check if you need a visa before coming to the UK on the UK Government’s website. We strongly recommend that you establish whether you will require a visa before submitting your application.

If you do not require a visa to come to the UK for a short period of study, you will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

The Programme Administrator will provide non-UK/Irish nationals enrolled on the summer school with a standard-format PDF letter by email confirming enrolment and course details once their fees have been paid in full. These letters are issued on request only.

If you require a visa, you should ensure your summer school application is submitted as early as possible to allow yourself sufficient time to complete the visa application process. See current visa processing times.

For legal reasons, the Programme Administrator is not permitted to provide any visa advice to applicants; any queries should be addressed to student.immigration@admin.ox.ac.uk.

Information about visiting the UK to study is available on the UK Government’s website and Oxford University’s Student Immigration website.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have taken the necessary steps to enable you to be admitted to the UK. The University takes no responsibility for a visa being denied at any point before or during a course.

Please note that the standard cancellation policy applies in all cases. See ‘Cancellations’ in the section below.

Fees

Payment

All fees are charged on a per week, per person basis.

Please be aware that all payments made via non-UK credit/debit cards and bank accounts are subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

Course change administration fee: please note that course transfers may be permitted in exceptional circumstances; however, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions, an administration fee of £50 will be charged.

Payment terms

• If enrolling online: full payment by credit/debit card at the time of booking
• If submitting an application form: full payment online by credit/debit card or via bank transfer within 30 days of invoice date

Cancellations and refunds

Please see the terms and conditions for our open-access courses.

The Department cannot be held responsible for any costs you may incur in relation to travel or accommodation bookings as a result of a course cancellation, or if you are unable to attend the course for any other reason. You are advised to check the terms and conditions carefully and to purchase travel insurance.

Funding

Concessionary rates are available on a non-residential basis for those that qualify.

The concessionary fee is for non-residential attendance only; participants will then be responsible for finding their own accommodation. For full details, including eligibility, see our OUSSA FAQ page.

Recommended reading

Dobson, Alan P. (1995) Anglo-American Relations in the Twentieth Century: The Policy and Diplomacy of Friendly Superpowers. Routledge

Hitchens, Christopher (2013, 2021) Blood, Class and Empire. The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship. Atlantic Books

Dumbrell, John (2006) A Special Relationship. Anglo-American Relations from the Cold War to Iraq. Palgrave Macmillan
 

Module code: O26I602SSR

Most courses fill quickly so early registration is strongly recommended. If your preferred course is fully booked, you may wish to add yourself to the waiting list and the Programme Administrator will contact you should a place become available.

Please note, the programme is only open to those over the age of 18.

Online enrolment (single person accommodation and non-residential)

Single accommodation, double room for 1 person and non-residential places should be booked online by clicking on the ‘Book now’ button on this page.

Online enrolments require payment in full at the time of registering.

Enrolment form (multi-occupancy or accessible accommodation)

Those requiring twin, double or accessible accommodation (including ground/lower floor accommodation) should complete an enrolment form as these rooms cannot be booked or requested online.

Please send the completed enrolment form to the email address below. Both the PDF and Word option of the form below are editable, so you can complete them online before saving and sending to us as an email attachment. You do not need to print and scan them. (Please use these forms only if you are making a twin or double booking for two people.)

Enrolment form:

• PDF
• Microsoft Word

Please send your completed enrolment form to oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Accessibility and disability support

Disabled students who have registered for, or are planning to attend, the OUSSA summer programme should contact the Programme Administrator by email at oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk to discuss any support needs.

Students with a mobility impairment can consult the University Access Guide and should contact the Programme Administrator at oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk to request any accommodation they need in this regard.

There is a special access ramp and a self-contained bedroom suite on the ground floor at Rewley House, equipped for use by people with mobility problems, with an adjoining room for carers. Two public disabled parking bays provided by Oxford City Council are situated on Wellington Square close to the Department. If you need this accessible room, please indicate this on your enrolment form, or contact the Programme Administrator prior to your arrival. Please also let us know of any support needs you may require.

If you need a room on a ground or lower floor, please indicate this on your enrolment form or contact the Programme Administrator prior to your arrival.

If you would like more information about support available to students with disabilities, please see our support page.

Terms and conditions

View our terms and conditions

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact us at oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk.

You may also find our frequently asked questions help page useful.

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