From Margaret Thatcher to Oedipus Rex: Arts and Humanities Taster Day

Participants came from twelve different schools for a series of taster workshops aimed at introducing them to the nature of these degree courses and the wealth of opportunities on offer at university and beyond.

The day covered modern political history (Dr. Lucy Delap, St. Catharine’s College), music and classics (Dr. Jenny Tamplin, Wadham College), Russian literature (Dr Muireann Maguire, Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, University of Oxford) and social anthropology (Luke Buckley, Wadham College).

The sessions were designed to introduce participants to new topics and areas of study and to help them to develop valuable critical and analytical skills for both sixth form and future university studies.

The Year 12 students had the opportunity to analyse source material and discuss, with one another and the Oxford and Cambridge academics, the gender politics of Margaret Thatcher, representations of Oedipus Rex in opera, characterisation in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and the role of anthropology.

One participant said: “The lecturers opened my eyes to the different areas of humanities subjects.” A second said “I can now see their value. It’s very easy when surrounded by the scientists to forget that the arts and humanities are just as important in their own way.”

Students visited the different Cambridge Colleges for a taste of undergraduate life, enjoying lunch and a tour with current undergraduate students and also met recent graduates in the field of arts and humanities. Schools Liaison Officers from both universities and Dr Philip Oliver, Admissions Tutor at St. Catharine’s College, provided a session on the courses available and the application process at the two universities.

One participant said: “There is a wider breadth of degree options than I expected.” Another added “I have gained a better insight on how courses are taught.”

The University of Cambridge’s Area Links Scheme and the University of Oxford’s Regional Outreach programme each link every local authority in the UK to the universities’ Colleges for schools liaison activities.

Pictured: students from Walton High School, Milton Keynes; Camden School for Girls, London; and Parkside Sixth, Cambridge, representing just some of the schools in attendance.