Hello everyone:

Don't know if you've been checking in on the UoL Philosophy website, but there's a new, fairly long news post from the department there. It seems that they are abandoning the red and yellow Grayling books as course guides. There is going to be an individual online guide for each course, except Intro to Phil, which has its own book and you get it when you register. There don't seem to be any of these new course guides posted yet. They are supposed to trickle out over the summer. Just a heads-up. --Ron

Hi LouFederer:

First of all, welcome to the UoL International Programme!

You'll get a couple of books, Philosophy 1, and Philosophy 2, edited by A.C. Grayling when your study materials arrive, along with a couple of student guides that explain the courses you'll be taking. Generally, you have to do substantial reading outside these two texts for each of the modules. There are sample exam questions in the student guidebook, and those are things to keep in mind while starting your reading for a module, but it's best to focus on questions and topics from past exams, which you can find on the UoL website.

1. I have only been taking 2 modules per year. You'll have to do 3 in order to finish in 4 years, and that's quite a bit. But, if you get started early and work methodically on all three topics, you should do just fine. What I do is I do background reading during the summer on modules that I plan to register for in the fall. Last year, for example, I did the Aristotle module, and I was reading the Metaphysics last summer. I alternate week-to-week: One week is Aristotle, the next week is Metaphysics. That way, I don't forget too much. When the fall arrives, I gather up the old exams for the UoL site and sort through the questions, picking out topics I like, such as Aristotle's conception of substance in the Metaphysics. Then, I group the questions topic-by-topic, and start trying to read the material with an eye toward answering the old exam questions. In the spring before the exams come up in May, I start writing out sample answers to the questions. Some of the forum participants have submitted sample answers; you can find them in the course topics. Well, we need to add some more, too.

2. I haven't used the Pathways thing and don't know of anyone who has. I have taken courses at my local state university (I'm in northern California), and that has helped and hurt, I think. It's a little more fun to have live discussion in a class and see what other people say, but the material is often different from what UoL asks for in the exams, and you can get distracted. Or, I was, at least. The main thing is discipline and regularity in your study. If you drop it and go too long without working, you'll have a hard time when the crunch comes in March and April. If you go to the VLE Cafe page on the UoL site, you'll see how some of us were getting pretty panicky around exam times this past spring. But, again, if you practice writing out actual exam questions, you'll be much more relaxed and able to think when you sit your first exam. Things get easier the second year. A lot easier.

3. Hard to say how much time to spend. I try to do a few hours in the library on the weekends. Mostly just reading at first, with more notes as the weeks pass by, and then with more practice writing as May begins to loom. In March and April, you should do a few practice 2 hour or 3 hour exams, where you grab a past exam, pick 2 or 3 questions, and write out the answers to them, just as if it was a live exam. Read over your answer later and critique it. Post your answer here and get some feedback.

Have you decided in what order you're going to take the modules?

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Good luck with the programme, stay in touch with the rest of us would-be philosophers, and let us know how it works out! Thanks! --Ron

Hey Casey, you're off to an outstanding start! Especially so when taking three courses in one year. Congratulations! --Ron

Hi all 

I'm going to be starting my Philosophy BA this Autumn and I am yet to receive any study information or material, and since I am too impatient to wait until August, I was wondering if any of you guys could answer my questions.

1.) When studying for the degree, do you study the year's modules simultaneously or do you study them one after the other? If there is no prescriptive method, which is more advantageous, would you suggest?

2.) Do any of the students here use the Pathways Philosophy Programme which offers paid-for tuition? I am thinking of using the service as the prospect of studying untutored is extremely daunting. Note I have never studied Philosophy beyond the International Baccalaureate (pre-university exams). Would I be taking a huge risk 'trying' to get a Philosophy degree unsupervised?

3.) How many hours per week should I be studying? I work three days a week and I want to get the degree finished in four years.

Those are all my questions for now. I would be really thankful for any advice you guys have to offer. Thank you.

LouFederer

Hi everybody. I am really glad to have found a forum where UoL Philsophy students can convene and discuss aspects of the course. I have enrolled to begin this Autumn, and am awaiting my study materials/syllabus.

My name is Lou and I live twenty minutes outside of London. I am 22 and am a true lover of the Arts.

I only discovered Philosophy two years back during my 'Theory of Knowledge' studies as a student on the International Baccalaureate. I aced the IB, decided I wanted to study English Literature at Oxford and then, as fate would have it, I met the man of my dreams and took an un-preempted gap year. During my year off, working part-time (and reading full-time), I began to realise that despite always wanting to pursue Literature, Philosophy was my truest passion; the pursuit of knowledge and the truth interests and titillates me more than analysing Literature. I still read voraciously, but owing to my knew 'Philosophy Student' status, I've had to shun fiction and poetry for the meantime to engulf centuries of philosophical texts. I am hoping that the skills which allowed me to flourish as a Literature student will come in handy in my philosophical undetakings!

My main interests in Philosophy are Ethics, Political Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy and Epistemology; my favourites philosophers are Plato, Hume and Mill. I am so excited at the prospect of becoming a true Philosopher. I hope that this UoL BA will be the first degree of many towards, I imagine, a PhD. I will then recycle myself back into education, sharing my passion with students of the future, and hopefully changing the world a little bit too.

I would be very interested in talking to other students, taking advice re exams and how to study along the way... I am not going to lie, I am feeling quite daunted at the prospect of learning without any tuition; I hope that I can engineer a method of autonomous study that will allow me to achieve my full potential.

If you want to have personal correspondence with me, you can e-mail me at Loublouchapman@hotmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you all!