Wessex Scene asked some third-year students about their favourite (or least favourite) module – use this information how you see fit.
SOES3015 – Paleoclimate Change
We have all heard that we are fucked because of climate change, however it is nice to know the exact science quantifying our lack of hope. This module left a nihilistic impression of coming global crisis that is hard to shake off. Where you may hear about climate on the news as new records for heatwaves and more typhoons, I now see it as the coming catastrophe I now have been fully awakened to. Science. Paleoclimate Change demonstrates how present global warming is unprecedented compared to any other event in history.
Douglas Bryson (MSci Oceanography)
PHIL3034 – Philosophy of Sex
The title says it all really. Sex. A truly fascinating subject, and one that will always leave you tittering in the corner of a classroom. This module comes to you from the genius brain of Fiona Woollard who is literally a certified Sex God and one of the top Philosophers in the field, so you know you’re getting a good deal. The content is incredibly interesting and the assignments are actually fun, and you get the additional bonus of being able to whip out fun acronyms in the bedroom (PIVWMO – ‘Penis in Vagina with Male Orgasm’ is not necessarily sex everyone!). I have only heard great things from other students about this module, and it was the highest grade I got, so you can take it from me that it is quality learning.
Emily Dennis (BA Philosophy and English)
SOES3018 – Applied Oceanography and Fieldwork
Among Marine Biology and Oceanography students, the stress of writing the ‘Plymouth Report’ is transferred from year to successive year every December like COVID in Jesters. But this awareness of the Report’s horror in no way prepares you for that absolute carnage that is trying to write a 3,000-word report using sketchy data you collect while hungover or seasick, with lecturers whose help often leads to more questions, and openly contradicts itself. After causing several breakdowns (one VERY public) and many all-nighters recreating graphs for the 74th time, this module left me with the impression that scientific report writing is hell, and definitely not for me.
Hester Churchouse (MSci Marine Biology)
ENGL3096 – Shakespeare Then and Now
Led by the phenomenal Jakub Boguszak and Alice Hunt, Shakespeare Then & Now is not your typical English module. Taking one of England’s most beloved playwrights, the module aims to look at not only how Shakespeare’s works were perceived at the time of their conception, but also how we perceive them now. From studying theatre practises, problematic themes to questions like ‘has Shakespeare aged well?’ and understanding the critical discourse around the texts, Shakespeare Then & Now wasn’t the same old study of Shakespeare we were all subjected to in GCSE or A-level. Jakub and Alice breathe the worlds of Shakespeare, their passion palpable in every lecture, and the module acts as foundation to your own interests in Shakespearean literature. It’s a module that allowed you to explore your own interpretations, whether that be its unique first essay (a commentary on how you would direct a Shakespearean scene) to its truly expansive and challenging second critical essay. Everything about the module is conceived to allow students to demonstrate everything they have learnt, and by far its greatest achievement was distilling a newfound appreciation in the world of Shakespeare.
Sam Pegg (MA English and Creative Writing)
