by vinobrien » Tue Aug 12, 2003 10:30 am
Following on from Why Latin?, Episcopus and Keesa both asked about Oxford. Raya may have heard all this before but here goes.<br /><br />I studied English Language and Literature at Keble College Oxford and enjoyed every moment. Oxford is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and one of the best resourced places to study. Keble is a large, Victorian, coloured-brick edifice to the north of the centre. It was an all-male, drinking-and-rowing college when I was there. I didn't row, but the beer was cheap. Almost all the colleges accept both boys and girls now.<br /><br />Oxford is unlike other universities in that teaching is tutorial rather than lecture based and you have to apply to a college not to the Universtiy. You should do some detective work before applying, find out about the different colleges, who teaches there and what their interests are because your college tutors, the Dons, are the ones you will be taught by for most of your time at Oxford. Dons are often nearly human and will respond positively to, sometimes even welcome, contact from candidates before they apply or come for interview as it shows interest.<br /><br />As I understand it, Classics at Oxford has changed over the years as a result of changes in the UK education system - it now has a lot more options in history and philosophy, and consequently less focus on Latin and Greek language, than in the past. However, they do not take real beginners and insist that the embryonic Classicist should have passed basic courses in both languages and be advanced in one at least. There are a number of summer schools that can prepare undergrads to the proper level before they start if their Latin or Greek is not up to scratch.<br /><br />I still go to Oxford regularly as I live about 40 minutes away and have Greek tutorials there. <br />
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