Locations & Dates
The 2012 Program will be held at Brasenose College, Oxford, England from July 1 to August 4, 2012. Oxford is one of the great architectural treasures of the world, containing examples of building styles from the eleventh to the twentieth centuries. It was described by Matthew Arnold as “that sweet city with her dreaming spires [that] needs not June for beauty’s heightening.” Along with Cambridge, Oxford University is one of the two universities in Europe that has preserved the medieval collegiate system. Brasenose is located in Radcliffe Square in the center of Oxford. It is surrounded by St. Mary’s Church, All Souls College, the Bodleian (University) Library and Exeter College. Brasenose College is a descendant of Brasenose Hall, which formerly occupied part of the current site of the College. Brasenose Hall traces its history to 1262. The College was founded in 1509 by William Smyth, bishop of Lincoln, and Sir Richard Sutton, a lawyer. The word Brasenose is derived from “brazen nose” and refers to the Hall’s original door knocker. It is believed that this original 13th century knocker was recovered in 1890 and it stands behind the high table in the Brasenose College dining hall. Brasenose, one of the first Oxford colleges to admit women, has a long and distinguished history in law.