Anthropology and Geography, 2014
“Brookes is incredibly lucky to have an amazing Social Sciences department, with staff who are all devoted to their subjects and the classes they teach. This has been shown throughout my classes especially in my final year”
Ahead of her 2 week archaeology dig in Jordan this summer, Lily reflects on her time studying Anthropology with Geography at Oxford Brookes University.
My dissertation was on stone tools from a site called Wadi Faynan 16, and I have been given the opportunity by Dr Sam Smith, one of the tutors, to work on a new site in the South of Jordan. This once-in-a-lifetime experience will be a fantastic opportunity to meet archaeologists and other students.
Before coming to Brookes I travelled and worked around South America and Spain spending time in Madrid and Seville. Having had this amazing and enriching time away from study meant I was really ready to immerse myself in higher education.
In the first year I took a module called Introduction to Archaeology, and from that point my favourite area of the course was Archaeology. Anthropology is incredibly broad, and offers an exciting mix of my favourite social sciences, old and new. I have learnt about many different people and cultures from around the world: past and present.
The Anthropology/Geography course included group work and field work which has improved my team working and researching skills. I have completed pieces of work that I am really proud of, especially my archaeology dissertation. I would advise other students to do it if they feel strongly about a certain subject.
Brookes is incredibly lucky to have an amazing Social Sciences department, with staff who are all devoted to their subjects and the classes they teach. This has been shown throughout my classes especially in my final year. Dr Sam Smith is a Senior Lecturer for Anthropology and Archaeology, and was my tutor for many classes, as well as my dissertation advisor. Sam shows huge enthusiasm for Archaeology (as a practicing archaeologist), and he makes all his classes inspiring, as well as being an approachable and helpful advisor. Other members include Dr Helen Walkington, Principal Lecturer for Geography, who also shows a great passion for her subjects and classes.
Oxford is an incredibly inspiring city to live in. I enjoy cycling around, through parks and the city centre, seeing things that you never noticed before and also taking in the history that surrounds it. It’s a thriving student city, and experiences outside Brookes, like my part time job, playing football for Headington Ladies and joining a gym outside the university has given me the chance to be in touch with other students from Oxford as well as non-students.
The Pitt Rivers Museum, Natural History Museum and the Ashmolean Museum have been really useful to me and I’ve visited numerous times throughout my studies to see artifacts and exhibitions. I’ve also made use of the Oxford University Bodleian libraries, which become available to students at Brookes in their final year. For my dissertation in particular this was an amazing resource: the range of books and journals they have is amazing!