All posts tagged: Academia

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for the lack of blog posting, it’s been an incredibly busy week! So, what I have been doing the last few weeks? Well, this term I started by new module for the Spring/Summer term: The Virgin’s Places. This term I will be exploring all about the Virgin Mary in various places around medieval Europe, focusing specifically on Chartres Cathedral in France, the city of Siena and in the Spanish kingdom of Castile. This course is great fun, and its really fascinating to be studying the extent to which these people from the Medieval ages saw Mary as their intercessor, guardian and divine source of help. This week we’re looking at Duccio’s amazing panel painting Maesta, which if you haven’t seen, it’s stunning! As part of the module I am back off to Paris next week! – boy, I cannot get away from there, 3 times in the last 7 months, not that I am complaining. Luckily we are travelling to Paris by train, which was a great relief to me and other students who …

End of a long week

So last week I completed my first ever 48 hour open exam, and boy oh boy, it was an experience that I wouldn’t really recommend to people. Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. I’m the kind of girl who plans her essays in advance, and  ends up writing an extra billion words, to which I then have to get rid of – hard to do in a limited amount of time. Anyway, I survived! I’m working on a post which will detail some tips that I found really helpful for preparing for this type of exam. I’ve also started my new module this term – The Virgin’s Spaces – all about the Virgin Mary! So keep checking out the blog to see what I’m learning about. I hope that the first two weeks have gone well for everyone, and in the up-coming-weeks I have many plans for some potential posts, including tips on getting internships in the arts!

Day 1 Paris Trip

So today is the first day of our trip to Paris, and what a great day it has been! This morning the ‘Death and Deovtion’ group ventured to the amazing Saint Denis church. There we explored and analysed the stained glass, the tombs of various French Kings and Queens and the crypt! After spending the morning there, we took the metro and emerged on the isle which houses Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. In Notre-Dame we went around the treasury,  looking at the various reliquaries that the church possesses and then we had the rest of the day off! Tomorrow we will go to Chartres Cathedral, which I’m really looking forward to! It’s great to be seeing all these places in person, especially because I’ve been studying them for the last 4 weeks. It seems even stranger seeing as I only come to Paris about 3 months ago – since coming to the same places again, I’ve noticed just how much more I can see in the various buildings since doing my course. Posted from …