My (Eclectic) Liberal Arts Journey

...as a Liberal Arts student, I’ve made more decisions about my degree than any other student at the university! I’ve found a lot of joy in discovering unexpected passions and crafting my degree around those interests. Although majoring is quite common, I’ve never majored in a subject — but even looking back on my eclectic mix of module choices, I still see a really cohesive pathway built around cultural and women’s studies.

My Liberal Arts journey!

Please note: Liberal Arts students now take 40 credits of core modules a year.

I was particularly adventurous in my first year, taking a mix of subjects I’d never done before. I was drawn to ‘Introduction to African Culture’ due to my A-Level English Literature coursework on two Nigerian texts, and found I really enjoyed the ethnographic case studies of Anthropology. Conversely, I really didn’t get on with the more quantitative methodology of Sociology, and while I’m glad I took ‘Social Divisions’ to get to know a lot of vital theorists, I knew I would leave Sociology firmly in First Year.

Sometimes, time-table clashes or limited places mean it’s not possible to take the module you want to take. And I’ve found this to be a huge blessing in disguise! Going into second year, I knew how much I enjoyed Anthropology, and really wanted to take the module ‘Kinship, Gender, and Sexuality’. Alas it was full, so instead, I took the module ‘Anthropology of Tomorrow’, all about interpretations of time across cultures and the future of anthropology as a discipline. I never would’ve picked it as a first choice, but it remains one of the most fascinating and engaging modules I’ve taken.

Now, two years later, I’m able to take ‘Kinship, Gender, and Sexuality’ as a fourth year module (some modules are open to both second and final year students) so it all worked out in the end!

Having loved English Literature my whole life, I was always certain I’d bring it through the entirety of my Liberal Arts degree, and I’ve enjoyed doing so immensely. But I’ve also adored rediscovering subjects I didn’t take for A-Level. Picking History back up in second year was a delight, and ‘Feminisms and the Women’s Movement in Modern Britain’ remains perhaps my favourite module I’ve taken.

Although my degree started with a wide assortment of subjects, by the time I got to deciding my final year modules I knew I just wanted to take English Literature, Anthropology, and History modules: centring on a study of culture rooted in Humanities.

The flexibility of module choices in Liberal Arts also means that I can choose which assessment types I end up doing. While I was fine with exams at A-Level, I always felt they weren’t the most fulfilling way of sharing my knowledge, and at university I’ve consistently picked modules with coursework assessments like essays and portfolios. This means I can spend more time tinkering happily over essays rather than revising for exams, which I enjoy much less!

I also purposefully picked modules with creative practice/shorter essay assignments for my final year, when I knew I’d also be writing my dissertation. It’s been a fun mix - writing a 3,000 word History essay on 19th century Britain, alongside designing a form of interactive media, all while planning my 10,000 word dissertation!

I rarely meet a student as fulfilled with their degree as myself and my Liberal Arts friends. Even though I’ve just followed my own sense of fun in picking modules over the last few years, I can see a clear - if eclectic - development in my interests on women and culture.