Week 12: Back to Work

Halla allesammans! Now, whilst most of you are presumably still on holiday, this week has seen me begin my first of four modules. I don't quite know why, but the terms seem to be longer here in Sweden than they are in Britain, but that may be because most people are third-year students and are therefore used to twelve-week terms. In any case, now's definitely not the time for dossing about.

For one thing, Uppsala University is huge, and the Humanities buildings alone take up more space than the entire of Tremough Campus (excluding Glasney Parc): therefore, trying to find the right classroom can be a somewhat nightmarish situation. Not only do you have to get the right floor, you also have to get the right, er, "house"... one wrong turn and you could wind up fifteen minutes late! However, in Uppsala, this is not a problem, as traditionally lessons don't start until quarter past the hour, even though they're advertised as being on the hour. In theory, the lectures last two hours, although in practice it's more like an hour and a half, as the lecturer usually takes a fifteen-minute break in between.

My first module is Swedish History. What, then, does that involve? Well, to be frank, it's a rather hasty overview of Sweden from the Vikings to the Early Modern Era to the 19th Century to the Present Day, and as the module only lasts for four weeks, this has to be done rather quickly. Hence, I was learning about the Vikings on Monday, but today I was being told about the death of Karl XII in 1718, so effectively I've covered a millennium of history in less than a week. Hmm.

Fortunately, the assignment is a bit more organised: basically, I have to write an eight-page essay (about 3,000 words) comparing an aspect of English (or British) history with an aspect of Swedish history. So, for example, I could compare the political system in England with the political system in Sweden. Except for the bit where I'm not going to. Instead, I'm comparing the Reformation in England with the Reformation in Sweden, as it seems a bit more interesting. For example, both Reformations were enforced by Kings with ginger hair! So there you go.

Each module lasts about a month - except for the literature course, which can be done at any point within a five-week period - meaning that my term should (in theory) finish in late November, although it all depends on when I decide to do the literature course. The good news is that I definitely have three weeks off in December, so I reckon during that time I'll probably go off on a little excursion round other parts of Scandinavia; I particularly want to visit Oslo and Copenhagen, as well as Gothenburg and Trondheim.

I'll be going to Stockholm tomorrow, so next week's bulletin will probably involve me yammering on about the great Swedish capital. But until then, this has been...

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sweden (But Were Afraid To Ask)
Chris Stanley