This morning I was able to find out what courses (modules) I will be taking. I signed up for
eight courses in May, and they assigned me three. I got my top three choices! I will be taking: Theology, Personhood and Ethics, Belief and Unbelief, and Introduction to the London Stage.
Before getting into explanations of classes, there are three significant differences.
1. U.K universities are only three years long. So when I mention first-year courses or third-year courses, that just means what year most people take that course.
2. There isn't the idea of General Education/Liberal Arts. Most students have their degree, and they only take that subject.
3. As I will probably reiterate, studying and the university experience as a whole in the U.K is mostly independent and self-regulated. There isn't participation points or weekly quizzes. Attendance is not mandatory.
A quick breakdown of each course:
1. Theology, Personhood and Ethics
This module basically considers the theological understanding of what makes a person in the context of different ethical and biblical approaches to the questions of various aspects of the human experience. By looking at the Christian tradition with concepts of identity, meaning, knowledge and truth in mind, one can better examine how gender, faith, love, friendship, death, dying, sin, forgiveness, virtue, character, and revelation work within people and what gives a person their personhood.
That summary might have been confusing, I apologize. I am still trying to figure this class out, and this is what I parsed out from the course description. I hope to better clarify what this class is when I have taken the actual course. This is considered a first-year course, and the class I am most excited to take. I have never taken a course like this in college.
2. Belief and Unbelief
The summary for this class is complex so I have just cited it here:
The module aims to enable students to understand the contemporary critique of religious "belief" in the modern and particular post-Christian age. Informed by classical secularisation and post-secularisation debates, students will learn how the tensions between belief and unbelief have been transformed from their enlightenment origins into completely new sorts of engagement. This will involve underlining how new scientific and technological developments have altered our intellectual landscape, and particularly how socio-cultural issues are involved in the development of postmodern sensibilities. These particularly focus on new stances towards truth claims and experience, creating a context that both rejects traditional religion and yet is developing new senses of the “spiritual”. (Univeristy of Roehampton)
This course will be my hardest as it is a third-year course. As a senior, I have no doubt I can take the challenge, but it is still intimidating. I am excited to take classes with 3rd years, which is equivalent to a senior here in the U.S.
3. Introduction to the London Stage. This module focuses on theater trends in British History. We get to see a lot of shows both on the West End and fringe theaters. We will also go to the globe and Royal Theater to see how classical texts have either been modernized or stayed the same. This course is only offered to international and study abroad students, which means I will have the chance to connect with other students in my situation.
Other Details
I only have classes on Thursdays and Fridays with each class being 2-3 hours long. I am curious to see how this effects my studying and absorption of the material. The university stresses independent study, and I am excited to do my own research and see just how self-motivated I am! Having classes only two days a week means I can travel more and build in good study time.
None of my modules start before 10:00 am, which will be a stark difference to back home where I have only had 8 am's. As a night owl and reluctant early bird, this could not be better. I also end my days before 4:00 pm, which is also a nice change.
Another change is I know exactly what my assignments are from the start. When browsing classes, I was sure to pick classes that required essays or portfolios. Courses that involved lengthy group presentations or exams were placed at the bottom of my list. I know my strengths and wanted to make my academics easier by doing work I had control over. At my home university group work does not account for a large portion of my grade but a group project could be worth 75% of my grade at Roehampton, and that is something I was not comfortable taking a risk on. For my Belief and Unbelief module, the grade is 100% based on one 4,000 word essay, which will be a challenge.
I chose these modules based on the fact I cannot take them at home. I am lucky that I only needed university-wide electives and therefore, can take anything I wanted. I took one religious studies course in high school as an elective, and I really enjoyed it. My home university does not offer any distinct religion courses. Some of my classes have included some religious elements but none that solely focuses on religion. I also really enjoy theater, so picking that class was a no brainer. I have no idea what the course work will be for this course, but I don't care! We see a different show every week-two weeks and then talk about them, and that seems like fun.
In short, I couldn't be happier with my classes and look forward to lectures. If you have been reading along, thank you! It means so much to have eyes on my work, and I hope you have been enjoying it thus far.