University of my dreams

Great people, interesting subjects, packed schedule every day, and getting to realize many important things: This is how I could sum up my first month and a half at the University of Warwick.

I will be writing about two things in this post – about choosing the right program and about an activity that I pursue in my leisure time.

Upon hearing “history and political science”, one might ask, why history – what good is it in today’s world – and why political science – are you going to become a politician? No, that’s not what it’s all about. It’s mostly about understanding today’s world. In addition, when I read another book, hear a lecture, and complete a seminar, I get to realize how the two subjects are fantastically intertwined every time. If you want to analyze whether or not the US will be the global leader in the next ten years, you simply can’t do without history. You need to go back in time, to the situation before and after the world wars, and even compare how the dominant position of the US differs from that of Britain in the 19th century. And you will have to use some political science terms such as “power”, “hegemony” and “terrorism”.

I have four subjects in my program, two in history and two in political science. There are one or two lectures and one seminar for every subject per week. It might seem like there is not a lot to learn, but the opposite is true. The biggest emphasis is on self-study. This means that we have to read about 4 books/articles/chapters per subject per week, and answer the seminar questions based on that. Seminars here take the form of discussion on questions given in advance, and the teachers always try to ask provocative questions to make us think.

One of the reasons why I chose this university, in addition to academic excellence, was the broad range of extracurricular activities, and I have been using the offer more than a 100%. I’ll tell you about my volunteering at the local Arts Centre.

The Warwick Arts Centre (WAC) is probably one of the busiest buildings on the campus, along with the library. It’s a walk-through building that offers a shortcut to many other key buildings. The WAC has fascinated me since the very beginning; just about everything that you imagine as being “art” takes place there. There’s a theatre, a studio, a huge concert hall, a cinema, and exhibition grounds there. I went to see a Moscow Philharmonic concert less than a week after my arrival, and I was ecstatic. I thought I should see more events, but that would be quite costly; what do I do? About two days later, I found a volunteer job offer – assistance during performances. I applied immediately, was invited to an interview, and was chosen. My job entails checking tickets, being available to customers at all times, and perhaps selling ice cream during intermissions. The advantage is that I can see performances for free. For example, I have seen a concert of the world’s best drummers and the comedian Milton Jones.

What more could you ask, than expecting something and having it be exactly as you expected, and perhaps even better? I would like to thank The Kellner Family Foundation, for enabling me to study at this amazing university.