I knew that the history department and the students' union were some of the highest-rated in the country.
Learning about different traditions' vision of a life worth living has helped me realise what my own is, and thus helped me become a happier individual.
Petros Polyhronopoulos
BA History and Politics
Why did you choose to study at Sheffield?
Both the university and city led to me choosing to study at Sheffield. I knew that the history department and the students' union were some of the highest-rated in the country, which alongside Sheffield's amazing student satisfaction rate convinced me it would be a good experience. The city appealed to me because of how close it is to the Peak District, other interesting cities like Nottingham and Manchester, and how many green spaces there are inside of it. Finally, the cheap cost of living certainly doesn't hurt!
What modules are you studying this year? Are there any modules that you have particularly enjoyed during your degree so far and why?
The two modules I have enjoyed the most this year are HST202 Historians and History and HST21008 Life Worth Living. HST202 provides you with an overview of the main historiographical schools and how they analyse certain historical events (e.g. decolonial scholars focus on how the study of history has been dominated by former colonial powers in the West which has led to the marginalisation of the colonised from history and its discipline). This was really useful because it has helped me figure out the lens through which I prefer to study history. HST21008 was amazing because it was all about how different religious and non-religious traditions throughout history have thought about what makes a good life. I loved this module because it shows how history is useful outside of academia - learning about different traditions' vision of a life worth living has helped me realise what my own is, and thus helped me become a happier individual.
If you're a dual student, what do you enjoy about doing a dual degree?
I study History and Politics and I think it was a great decision because both departments synergise with each other very well in regards to both content and degree structure. Both departments enable you to take an extremely broad selection of modules (from both the history and politics departments as well as others such as philosophy). Subsequently, I have been able to focus on 20th century history which I find more interesting, and then study politics modules which build upon this content. For instance, I am currently taking a history module on American foreign relations, and how America has sought to construct a global hegemony has had massive relevance for my politics modules on modern human rights and security challenges (both of which America dominate).