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Re: Sheffield

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To add to what Nick is saying, I am indeed biased, being a bit of a city dweller-type person, and having grown up in places where pleasant architecture was rather important to me.

However, fear not: if you, unlike me, are not averse to physical effort and actually enjoy long walks, then you'll most likely appreciate the fact that the city seems to just stop if you go a few miles away from the centre (in the right direction) and you find yourself in the calm, beautiful (and unfortunately rainy) peak district. To tie this all back with philosophy though, Nick and I (and several other people who read this) went on a reading weekend in the peaks with the department a few weeks back, and spent a wonderful few days talking about philosophy, walking in the peaks, and drinking.

The department is fairly good at this sort of thing: encouraging more informal venues for students to meet up and enjoy philosophy rather than slave at it, and they exploit the beauty of the surrounding area quite well. Then again, I'm sure this is the case in quite a few good universities. But it's always nice to know what to expect in terms of extra-curricular-yet-academically-relevant activities (not that masters courses really have a curriculum...)

-- Edward.

On 16 Mar 2006, at 16/03/200612:31, N Tasker wrote:

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James,

I think Ed is painting a rather one sided picture of the city. Sheffield is a
very green city with enormous expanses of parkland. From a distance the city
can look like a forest with a few buildings poking through the canopy. It's
possible to walk from the city centre through attractive parkland all the way
out to the peak district. If you enjoy wild places then you'll be in your
element out in the peak district: miles of crags and moors, lakes and mountains
with quaint villages down in the valleys. Sorry to wax lyrical here, but I'm
rather upset to be leaving all this!

Some of the residential areas are pretty and quiet, and there are many grand
buildings dotted around the city, although Ed is right that Sheffield isn't all
that consistent in its fine architecture.

The best thing about the department is the friendly and communal atmosphere.
Every week, all the staff and graduate students come together for the
departmental seminar, which features a different speaker from around the
country every week. I've found all the staff to be very friendly and
approachable.

If you have any specific questions then I'm very happy to help, and if I don't
know the answer I'll try to find out for you.

Nick


Quoting Edward Grefenstette <pha04eg@sheffield.ac.uk>:

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BUPS-DIS@bups.org


Dear James,

As far as the city goes, I'm not a huge fan. A lot of people rant and
rave about how beautiful it is, and I've come to the conclusion that
I have different standards. The university itself isn't exactly a
tribute to fine architecture either.

Fortunately the department is a redeeming feature. With a lecturing
force 25 men/women strong, including some (relatively) big names like
Stephen Lawrence, George Botterill, Bob Hale, Rober Hopkins and Eric
Olson, and nearly 40 postgraduates, it's a pretty good atmosphere for
research. I've been to a postgraduate seminar during an open day and
was impressed with the informal but quite rich discussions going on.
It's not quite Oxbridge, but it's getting there, methinks.

So if you're prepared to work in what I believe is one of the ugliest
buildings in the world (on the outside; the inside is quite nice), in
a rainy cold city, I believe it's quite worth it. And hey, you could
be one of those people who falls in love with the place.

Regards,
Edward.

On 15 Mar 2006, at 15/03/200616:39, James Alexander Cunningham wrote:

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DIS@bups.org



I've just been offered a place on the Research MA at Sheffield, and
am minded to accept. It looks pretty good from the outside, but I
was wondering if any of you guys at Sheffield have any inside gen
you would like to share about the course, department or university.

Replies on or off list as it suits you.

Best

James





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-----------------------------------
Edward Grefenstette
University of Sheffield (Undergrad.)
Philosophy Student Representative
BUPS Committee Member

Email pha04eg@sheffield.ac.uk
Tel +447841143380




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at: http://www.bups.org/mailinglist.shtml





Browse or search the BUPS-DIS archives, or unsubscribe from the mailing list at: http://www.bups.org/mailinglist.shtml 

-----------------------------------
Edward Grefenstette
University of Sheffield (Undergrad.)
Philosophy Student Representative
BUPS Committee Member

Email pha04eg@sheffield.ac.uk
Tel +447841143380




Browse or search the BUPS-DIS archives, or unsubscribe from the mailing list at: http://www.bups.org/mailinglist.shtml