Tutorials
It has been a pretty busy week so far. I finally have a clearer picture of what I am going to be doing in the next couple of months. I am taking two tutorials for the next 8 weeks and aside from working on a seminar paper about a topic that I have yet to choose. Oxford has a completely different system of teaching than in America and it seems like it suits my needs better than back at home.
In the tutorial system, the focus is more about developing a discussion between the tutor and the student. Rather than lecture to a lot of students at the same time and holding the student accountable for what they are supposed to have learned through tests, my tutor and I will meet and discuss different topics that he assigns me to research. My tutor will give me a topic or question to develop a thesis about. I will spend the week researching the topic and writing a paper about it. Some tutors assign books to read while others allow the student to find their own books. Once a week, I will meet with my tutor and read the essay to him. Afterwards, we will discuss what I wrote and he will essentially pick apart everything that I wrote and question it. The point is not so much to write a good essay as it is to be able to thoroughly defend the position I am taking.
Every student does two tutorials at a time, a primary one, which meets once a week for 8 weeks and a secondary tutorial which meets every other week for 8 weeks. My primary tutorial is called Jesus and the Gospels and my secondary tutorial is Judiasm:100 B.C.-100 A.D.
All this being said, it seems that I am going to be pushed academically more so than I ever have been before.
Besides academics, I am also enjoying the city of Oxford itself. There are many features to this city and it is full of surprises. It is also a very pedestrian friendly city and I have no trouble riding through the city center on my bike. All of the buildings are made of brick or stone and are usually between 100 and 400 years old. The architecture is simply stunning and there are buildings from many different periods in Britain's history. As soon as I get the chance to take some good pictures of the prominent ones, I will post them here.
Blessings.