So, I chose to study the extended history part for the optional week and learnt more about the women's suffrage movement. I stand by my reasoning that learning a language for one week is paramount to useless, although I enjoyed Mandarin last term.
- How has your knowledge been developed? 1) The difference between militant and peaceful action; 2) the way in which a historical narrative has been created that has the Pankhursts and the suffragettes at centre stage, meaning we miss out on a lot of the other nuances and groups of the time that led to female suffrage; 3) ultimately, World War I was a huge factor in extending the franchise to women.
What has helped you to learn? I enjoyed the radio clips and looking at the pictures in the museum online. The biographies were less interesting for me; I found that aural learning (via the radio programmes) coupled with a transcript for more detailed analysis worked well for me.
I also handed in my TMA (03) - it's been a long while since I updated this blog! I'm losing heart rather with long-distance learning. I got 86/100, which I suppose is perfectly reasonable but I'm very disappointed. I thought that I had written a fairly good essay and was hoping for 90+. This course is making me question whether university and studying would actually be the right road for to take in a general sense, which is very disheartening as I have always thought of myself as someone who is academic and would have excelled at university had other life circumstances not got in the way. Now, I wonder if maybe university wouldn't have been all that great anyway, even if I had been well enough to go at a more 'normal' age. At 27, I feel old. There are many people older studying this access course, I realise, but they are doing other things with their lives. I have done nothing with mine but be ill and cause a lot of people a great deal of hassle.
Life just seems rather hard at the moment.
Comments
New comment
In my experience it's very hard to get 90+ in a humanities subject. If they think your essay is worth a distinction 85/86 seems to be the usual grade given regardless. It's harsh because it leaves you teetering on the edge of the classification boundary and one low scoring essay can mess everything up. I spent six years like that, teetering on the edge of a 1st. Not a pleasant experience really. I wish they would use the full score range for humanities subjects rather than cap us at about 90. I got a 91 once during my BA, but that really was the exception. Generally it was 85/86 for a distinction level essay. Perhaps they consider that it's impossible to write an essay which is perfect in humanities, because it's subjective, as opposed to other subjects which have objectively right or wrong answers.
Matt
hello
Hi Ellen....just wanted to say how great it was to meet you in Bristol....and.....to say go for it gal...the degree in some shape or other....I so wish you well with the publishing of your first book...as I said that would be a nightmare for me....I tend to be mathematical in approach... please say hi to your mum and penny as well....yesterday was just the tonic I needed....what ever you decide life holds for you I wish you well.
diana