During my time attending visit days, and meeting prospective students, some people have asked me questions about Lancaster University’s flexible part one system. As someone who benefited from this system, I thought it would be helpful to make it the subject of this week’s blog, and explain how it has benefited me personally.

The transition from A-level to university is quick, and it is natural to feel anxious about whether you have made the correct decision when choosing your degree scheme. It is not uncommon to want to have time to experience a subject before committing to it for three years. Or it might be that you have other academic interests that you haven’t yet had chance to study formally, but might wish to learn more about. If this applies to you then the flexible part one system should benefit you.

In your first year at Lancaster, you will be required, during registration, to sign on to the subjects you want to study. Each student in the PPR department is required to take three subjects in their first year. Those of you intending to study a triple major (such as PPE) will have satisfied this requirement, and need only to sign on to those subjects for which you’ve already applied. But for those of you who are studying single or joint honors, it will be necessary to select other subjects to take you up to three.

What Subjects should you choose?

This one is entirely up to you. You should choose the subjects you are most interested in, or those that you may want to continue with after you have completed your first year. Upon completion of your first year, you will be given (provided you pass) the opportunity to shape your degree scheme based on the subjects you have taken. There are some limits to what you can choose. Some subjects, for instance, require previous training. This is the case with vocational subjects, but also with sciences and maths, which obviously require students to be at a high level before beginning.

Why is this beneficial?

As I benefited from the part one system, and used it to change my degree scheme, I will answer this question by explaining how it helped me. When I first arrived at Lancaster, I had been accepted on a joint major in Philosophy and Film Studies. As much as I was interested in film, I had doubts over whether I wanted to pursue it as a career. Moreover, I was very passionate about politics, and it was simply in virtue of not studying politics at A-level that I was deterred me from applying for it in the first place. Naturally, upon being informed about the flexible part one system I decided to choose politics as my minor subject.

This allowed me to make a fully informed decision on how I wanted my degree to progress. I found that politics and philosophy complemented each other well. During my last visit day, it was interesting to speak to a prospective student whom raised similar points. He told me that he was interested in politics because it addresses the practical issues of society and its institutions, and philosophy because it addresses questions concerning the just society and the morally correct way to organise institutions. I felt the same way about this connection, and as such, I made the decision to drop film studies and progress with a joint major in Philosophy and Politics. And looking back as I approach the end of my final year as an undergraduate, I can honestly say that I made the right decision.

 

The end of term is quickly approaching. This has definitely been my most difficult term, being the one in which I need to complete my dissertation. But I’m almost there. I’ve completed the other two assignments that are due in. Now I’ve just one chapter of my dissertation left to write and then I can look forward to the break.

It is also coming toward the climax of our pool season. We are currently second in the league after pulling off decent wins in our last few games. Things are tightening up at the top, but those currently occupying the number one spot are still in reach. We play them in the final week. It would be great to go out with a win, but I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

On the Monday after breaking up, I will be leaving home again in the direction of the North West, not to go back to uni, but for a week’s holiday in the Lake District. My family and I go there every year. This time my girlfriend, Abigail, is coming along too. We always plan our walking schedule ahead of leaving. The longest walk we tackled last year was Wansfell. It is by no means to most difficult walk in the Lakes but it is challenging enough for me. I really enjoy the walks but I equally enjoy a celebratory pint in one of the local inns as a reward.

We stay in the same area each year; a small town called Ambleside, situated next to Lake Windermere. Ambleside is populated with many nice cafes, book shops, and Inns, one of which overlooking the Lake. There is a village nearby, called Grasmere, which the famous poet William Wordsworth described as “the loveliest spot that man hath found”. He would know, as he spent the latter part of his life there, and also marks the place of his burial. Each year we complete the walk from Ambleside to Grasmere which takes a few hours but the picturesque landscape makes it well worth it. On the return route we always stop in a nearby pub called The Badger, where as the name would suggest, visitors are able to enjoy their drinks while watching the badgers arrive for their evening meal. I’m yet to witness this as we always visit at the wrong time, but this time I think we should make an effort to see it.

For those of you unfamiliar with Lancaster, you will be happy to know that it is situated rather close to the Lake District; close enough that it is in travelling distance if you wanted a day out or break from work. When I was in first year, the university organised a bus trip to the Lakes. Worth looking out for that when you arrive!

In this blog I am going to talk about first year philosophy at Lancaster. Your first year will serve as an introduction to philosophy. You will study a variety of different modules over the course of the year, allowing you to get to grips with the many different concepts and view points. This is also a time for you to find out what you are most interested in. Philosophy is a broad topic and chances are you will be lured towards particular areas of interest. This is important, as you have the option to choose your own modules in your second and third years, so it pays to know what interests you the most.

The teaching part of the course is divided into lectures and seminars. Lectures constitute the majority of the actual “teaching”. First year lectures usually last for one hour and it is here that your professor will explain the week’s topic. Seminars, on the other hand, are participatory. Normally, your seminar tutor will lead a class discussion. This provides an opportunity to debate with your fellow students and for you to present your own ideas.

Of course, philosophy is not a subject that can just be “taught”. It requires engagement with different ideas and thinking through arguments. This is why much of your studying will involve reading the work of philosophers. Each week, you will be given a seminar reading on that week’s topic, which will be discussed as a class in the following seminar.

Your assessed work will be split between essays and exams. You will write an essay on each of the topics you study throughout the year. There are a few things you need to know. You will have to submit both a hard and digital copy of your essays before the deadline. Essays have set word limits, so make sure you structure and condense your argument to keep it to the correct length. Another important thing is referencing. References are important because they are used to acknowledge the work of others. It can be hard to get used to referencing properly. In philosophy, the most common referencing styles are Harvard and Chicago. The university has guides on each of these styles, and there are plenty of useful guides online. Just make sure you take time out to get your head around referencing as this will benefit you a great deal when it comes to writing essays.

First year philosophy exams take place in your final term. As you will already know, exams can be difficult and stressful. The first thing to remember is that philosophy is about rational inquiry, critical thinking, and sound reasoning; it is not about memorising a list of facts. You do, of course, need a good understanding of the different view points and concepts. But what is most important, is that you are able to engage with the arguments and reason your way to a conclusion. One of the best ways to help with this is to write practice essays, this way, writing in the exam will come more naturally.

All of this will be explained to you when you arrive, so don’t worry if you forget. If you are like me, you will find first year philosophy really interesting, and it will give you a good idea of what you want from your degree.

 

This week I thought I would write about presentations. If you are someone like me, who has a borderline pathological fear of public speaking, the prospect of delivering a presentation can be daunting. Presentations are definitely my Achilles heel. Essay writing comes much more naturally to me, and although this comes with its own difficulties, such as writing intelligently and coherently, these difficulties are more profound when in front of an audience. Before I start sounding too alarmist, I should also say that yesterday I had my first presentation of the year and contrary to my own expectations, it actually went rather well. In this blog post, I will share with you some of the changes I made and offer some advice on how to master the presentation.

1) Know your Topic

This one may seem self evident, but it is easy to fall into the trap of over preparation and end up with a mountain of notes without any of it registering in your head. Notes are important, but they are just props. The most important information should be stored in your brain when you walk into the presentation room. This will give your audience the impression that you really know your stuff. There are a number of things you can do to help with this. In philosophy you will be examining arguments. It is therefore imperative when reading a text that you can follow where the argument is going and locate the main moves. If you have understood the main arguments for and against an issue, then you should be able to debate it. I would advise you to do just that. The likelihood is that you’ll have a flatmate or coursemate who will be interested in this stuff too. If you can speak clearly about these issues in an informal way with friends, then it is only a small step to being able to do it in a formal setting.

2) Abstraction

Being prospective philosophy students some of you may have heard this term used before. When philosophers talk about abstraction, they are referring to the method by which concepts and ideas are stripped of irrelevant information, leaving only the aspects that function as a necessary part of the argument. This is important as you don’t want to be bogged down by irrelevant details and so you should focus only on what matters as part of the bigger picture. Philosophers like to use fantastical and sometimes outright bizarre thought experiments to test our intuitions on certain concepts. It is important not to get distracted by this. Some philosophers present arguments with so many twists and turns that it is often difficult to remember where you began. The thing to do is to take each part of the argument at a time, frequently taking a step back to identify the underlying theme, and then write it down. If you do this, by the end of your preparation you should have all the relevant information at hand, with which you can start to construct your presentation in a clear and concise way.

3) Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

This one is especially important for people like me who find public speaking difficult. It is important for two reasons. First, it allows you to perfect you delivery and tone. I was advised by my lecturer to record myself and play it back, as this will give some indication of what your audience will hear. Listening to your own voice is a painful and cringe worthy experience, but it is also a useful educational tool, which will allow you to correct and alter the way you deliver your presentation. Second, rehearsing also helps with timekeeping, which is why you should time yourself. Presentations usually have set time limits, and you don’t want to be left with the additional worry of not keeping to time. If you have practiced your presentation and you know you are keeping to time, you will be more confident when it comes to the real thing.

Hopefully these suggestions will help. But, of course, different people have different ways of learning, and if you have your own way of doing things that works for you, then maybe you should stick to it. Next week I will be writing about Lancaster’s nightlife.