American culture is known worldwide, positive reputation or not, but the British could go head to head with the United States for most distinct cultural norms.
Stretching beyond colloquialisms to etiquette, food and politics, the Brits always give me a reason to feel either like an inadequate American or just laugh and roll my eyes.
As a study abroad student fully integrated into a London university, or ‘uni’ as the Brits call it, and also living in a hall with British students, one of the most striking differences between British and American life has proved to be in academia.
Though I will be studying at the London School of Economics from October through June, I will only be taking four classes this entire time. Even more, for each of these classes I only have one one-hour lecture and one one-hour discussion each week. That means eight of hours of class each week. That’s it. I went to high school for eight hours a day in the States, just to put that in perspective.
In addition to not being big on class time, the British aren’t into regular assessment. For my Applied Environmental Economics class for instance, 100 percent of my grade is the final exam. No pressure right?
Instead of weekly essays, pop quizzes or midterms (all of which I consider normal forms of assessment) it is entirely up to you to make sure you are on top of all your (very lengthy) weekly readings. The only way to really assess this throughout the year is by participation in a one-hour discussion group.
Lectures are taught by professors who are incredibly knowledgeable in their particular field. For instance, my Human Rights Law Professor next term has acted as a legal adviser, consultant and expert to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. My Economics Professor, Chris Pissarides, just won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
Ironically though, students are encouraged to have strong academic relations with their teachers, not professors. Teachers lead the weekly discussion classes and are much younger and typically less knowledgeable. Some are still studying to get their master’s degree.
In addition to the classroom, there are also striking differences in the social atmosphere of British ‘unis.’ While in the States’ Halloween is pretty much the biggest holiday of the entire collegiate year, by Halloween weekend, not only had no one asked me about my costume, I hadn’t participated in any unnecessarily long debates on which party would be more fun or spent hours searching for neon leggings that I would never wear again.
There are no fraternities or sororities. There are sports, but I couldn’t tell you when or where they compete. There is only one social advocacy initiative that the entire 9,000-person student body is virtually expected to support.
Clubbing dominates the social scene. Specifically, clubbing during the school week. Monday and Wednesday nights are extremely popular.
Both systems have their strengths and their weaknesses, and even though thinking of my final exams makes me nauseous, I’m glad I get to experience an entirely different system. More independent study is certainly more challenging, and hey, who doesn’t want to go clubbing every Monday night?
thescene@theeagleonline.edu
