I’m finally done with exams, and that means I’m done with my undergraduate degree. I still can’t wrap my mind around how quickly these three years went by. I heard it from other people, and you’re hearing it from me, but it’s one of those things you can’t understand until you experience it. I guess you could say it’s a posteriori, not a priori knowledge. (That was an attempt at relating this to Philosophy. Did it work?) Even though I’m done with this degree, I’m going on to pursue a Master’s in September, so I’m not entirely done with academia yet. I’ll be starting a new year of university, just like all of you.

There have been several great summer days in Bristol, and then some frustrating days with an unnecessary amount of rain and wind. Still, the city is beautiful, and ready for new students. I think that getting here initially was a bit daunting, especially as an international student, but this has been a truly incredible experience. When you get to Bristol, explore the city and find out all it has to offer you. Go to your classes. Talk to your Professors. Go to departmental seminars and talks that interest you. Join some societies. Don’t worry about stuff like finding friends, because I promise that you will find your people.

Philosophy has so much to offer you. I have sat through Logic, wrestled with Heidegger, explored Black Philosophical Thought, Religion, engaged in a wonderful course that explores Death, Dying and Disease, and that’s not even the entirety of what was available to me as a Joint Honours student. There is so much within Philosophy, and you can pretty much get into anything you’re interested in. If there’s anything the course misses out, you can always get to it in your extended essays, where you get to write about anything you want. I hope you’re excited about the course, because you should be. I wish you the very best of luck in what is yet to come. I hope you all enjoy Bristol as much as I did.  🙂

Vanessa  

I have two more exams to the end of my Undergraduate Degree, which is a strange thing to get my mind around. Rather than getting extremely reflective about the end of my degree, I think I’ll focus on giving some exam advice I’ve accumulated over the years.

I think I mentioned in a previous blog that I prefer exams to essays, because exams force you to do your best in a limited time period, and then walk away from it. I’m prone to overthinking, so it’s great to be forced to walk away from something. I’d say I enjoy the preparation process too. Preparation begins very early on. I know this is something people say all the time, but keeping on top of your readings and constantly reflecting on what you’re learning is so important. However, if you fall behind, you’re given plenty of time to study and you need to make use of this time. In three years, I’ve developed a general approach to exam preparation that works perfectly for me.

This is my general exam preparation process:

1. Choose how many topics you need to study for the exam. For each exam, there are usually eight questions, relating to eight out of ten topics you have studied. That means there are two topics that might not show up. In the exam, you have to answer two questions (in first year, it might be three questions), so it is a good idea to study four topics (or five if you want to be super prepared, and three or two if you’re more of a gambler).
2. List all the topics. List all possible questions. List all key ideas or key terminology. List, list, list!!!! Writing things down (digitally or on paper) really helps to focus your revision. I find that if I think of what I need to do without writing it down, I either over-estimate or underestimate everything. However, if you have superhuman thinking abilities, then ignore this advice.
3. Once you’ve identified what you need to do, do it in whatever way you think is best. There are so many different study methods, and you should have found one that works for you by now. Google different methods and try them out if you don’t already know how you study best. Also, read!!! Reading is so important for Philosophy, and your essays/exams usually reveal how much you’ve read. How are you going to get a well-informed essay without reading anything?
4. Sit the exams, do your best, and don’t think about the exams until you get your results. When I leave an exam room, I make it a point to avoid thinking of all the things I might have answered better. Instead, I think about the next exam, or how I’m going to celebrate the end of exams, or anything else. There’s no point in getting stressed about an exam you’ve already finished. It’s important to know how to walk away from it because otherwise you’ll cause yourself unnecessary pain.

I hope this helps you when you’re sitting your exams. I know you have some coming up soon too. Good luck! Let’s work hard and finish well together.

Vanessa 

There have been sunny days in Bristol! After months of wearing my winter jacket (even on the days when there’s a little bit of sun, because let’s be real, sun doesn’t necessarily mean warmth), I finally was able to go out without it. Dare I say I even felt a bit of sweat? If you can’t tell already, I have been over the moon about the sun. So much so, that I considered making this whole blog about the sun. I wanted to write a poem about the sun, and maybe even include a few pictures, but I guess I should talk about some other stuff.

Easter Break is coming up soon, and there have been essay deadlines this last week of March, which I have surprisingly met early, and with relatively little stress. I think the sun, and the flowers blooming outside my bedroom window may have been responsible for this lack of stress.  Bristol is honestly so beautiful on the perfect spring days. I can’t wait for you to see it.

My Easter Break is going to consist of more sun in Kenya, family, and frantic dissertation writing and editing. My dissertation is due right after the break, exams are pretty soon after, and then I’ll be done. Where did all the time go? Is this the right time to reminisce about my time at the university? Probably not. All I’ll say is that there’s so much to enjoy in Bristol. There’s something for everyone, and it really is what you make it. I would recommend learning and experiencing as much as you can, or just getting extremely excited about the sun as I do. Both are totally valid.

I realise I haven’t talked about enough Philosophy, so why don’t we have a quote by David Hume? That’s Philosophy, right?

“That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise.” – David Hume

Technically he is talking about sorts of knowledge and matters of fact here, but did you see the bit about the sun? He’s totally excited about the sun too.

Vanessa 

Hi everyone! This teaching block, I am taking 3 units:

1. Theology 20 Credit Dissertation
2. Ethics and Literature (Race and Black Philosophical Thought)
3. Feminist Philosophy

My Theology dissertation is coming along really well, and I got to present part of it last week, which was very exciting and scary. This is primarily about Philosophy, but for anyone that might be considering Joint Honours, I’ll just briefly say that in Theology, you basically get to do a shorter version of your dissertation (8,000 words as opposed to 12,000 words) in the term of your choosing. Essentially, you do the same for Philosophy, except its called an Extended Essay. I finished my Philosophy Extended Essay last term, which went really well. I did it on the case for including Indigenous Religions in the mainstream study of the Philosophy of Religion, particularly focusing on African Religions. That just shows how wide the choice is for the subject matter of your dissertations/extended essays. You can basically pick anything your heart desires (as long as you can defend your choice and follow through with it).

Dissertations are always exciting (at least in the beginning, when you’re not yet too worried about deadlines yet) because you get to choose your topic, and work on it independently. You learn a lot about research and time management as well, and you begin to trust your own thoughts and ideas much more. However, this teaching block’s Philosophy units are giving the dissertation a run for its money. Feminist Philosophy and Ethics and Literature are turning out to be my favourite Philosophy units ever. I do love ‘traditional’ Philosophy and learning all about dead white guys, but to study something so current and related to my identity from a philosophical perspective is everything I could ever wish for. In the past weeks for Ethics and Literature, we’ve looked at Audre Lorde’s Blackstudies poem, Roots (1977 series), and W. E. B. Du Bois. In Feminist Philosophy, we’ve considered Construction and Performance of Gender, and Intersectionality within Feminism. Don’t those just sound like lectures you want to be in?

Vanessa 

The end of last term was a blur of essay panic. I don’t know why I always end up at that point. There is always more than enough time throughout the term to work on the essays, and I do use that time, but somehow I always end up in a panicked state towards the end. However, I’m happy with how the essays turned out. Last term as a whole was very fulfilling. I got to be involved in some great projects with some great people. One highlight was being allowed to prepare and lead a session where we were teaching Philosophy, under the heading ‘What is it to be human?’ at a charity called IDEAL for their Domino Effect Program. They do great things, so look them up if you’re ever in Bristol. Another highlight was my Philosophy Extended Essay. Basically, you get to do your extended essay on whatever you’d like (within reason), and I got to do mine on the need for including indigenous religions in the mainstream study of the Philosophy of Religion.

The beginning of this term was all about exams. I would say I prefer exams to essays, because once you’re in the examination room, you’re forced to do your best and then walk away. My constant approach with exams is to prepare as much as you can, and then stay calm and do the best you can. That approach has never failed me. I’m looking forward to working on my Theology Dissertation more this term, since I had to focus on the Philosophy one last term. I have to present some of my dissertation in less than a month (please send good thoughts my way.) I’m also looking forward to my Philosophy units –Feminist Philosophy and Ethics and Literature. This year, Ethics and Literature is focusing on Race, and we get to read great African-American, Black-British and African Literature, and examine Race from a philosophical perspective. It’s great to have such relevant and needed units, and I think the Philosophy Department has made real efforts recently to offer a Philosophy that can be enjoyed by all groups of people.

Vanessa