Hannah Kosky is a third year BA Philosophy student. Here she gives us an insight into what student life is really like at the University of Birmingham.
Written by Hannah Kosky
When I talk to friends from different universities about life as a Birmingham student, one of the things they always are jealous of is the fact that we get to enjoy a beautiful, green campus and yet only 10 minutes away by train, you are in the heart of the second biggest city in the UK. Birmingham city is a place of endless opportunity that I have enjoyed visiting very much. I have explored restaurants and bars, like the Botanist and the Alchemist, museums, shops and more! My parents were happily surprised when they witnessed how developed the city is, and have visited me many times (given that we almost always end up in Cadbury’s world, I sometimes question their motive).
The development you see in the city is also evident on our campus. During my two years as a student, I have been lucky to see the development of our green heart which brought with it a new Mediterranean tapas restaurant. This year, I also got to enjoy the new teaching and learning centre which is a great alternative to the library, where you can work alone or with friends in big open spaces.
Onto the learning…
Philosophy is great because it allows you to explore so many different subjects from those with a more scientific focus like ‘Science and Nature’ to ethical modules like ‘The Ethics of Killing’. My housemates always look forward to hearing about new things I have learnt for us to debate. We have had great discussions on some of the topics I covered in sex ethics, such as ‘is buying and selling sex wrong’ and ‘what really is consent’. I really enjoyed the lectures for this module, enough to make it to every lecture despite it being a 9am start! Despite the early rise, Dr Iain Law managed to keep everyone awake (no matter how hungover) due to his chatty, fun presenting style.
I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy the philosophy of mental health, but it turned out to be another of my favourite modules. In the first half of term, we looked into what mental health is and then we looked at what delusions are, and progressed onto more difficult topics like whether delusions are rational. It was brilliant to be taught by Professor Lisa Bortolotti who has submitted many papers in the philosophy of mental health and is at the forefront of the field. Her connections meant that we got ‘mini lectures’ by guest speakers during the year. The module influenced me more than I could have thought, and inspired me to look into taking a psychology conversion course after my degree.
Although my third year is sure to be different from my last, I look forward to seeing how my life develops as a Birmingham student.