Happy New Year

Happy New Year and I hope 2016 is good for everyone.

Having started this degree in January 2011, 2016 should be my final year with the OU. I would like to do more study, but I have simply been priced out of the education market, and anyway unfortunately the value of many generic degrees has reduced markedly, so when the PPE ends I will pursue other areas of interest -  top of the currently list is learning the electric guitar.

Anyway, have a good 2016 and I wish you every success with your endeavours.

DD306 : Living Political Ideas - Playing catch up while spinning loads of plates.

WEEK 10

• Room 2: Political AnimalsRepeat

  
  
• Week 2: Widening Access: Justice and Rights for Non-humans
• Searching an OU Library database: Nexis UKSubpage

  
  

WEEK 11

• Room 2: Political AnimalsRepeat

  
  
• Week 3: Towards a New Politics?

Well, Merry Christmas everybody, as you can see from the previous automated posts I have been somewhat distracted over the past month.

Life just gets busier. At least the house extension is nearing completion and from the 21st Dec we have been able to access and use most of the house again, which was important as we have guests over Xmas and it feels great not to be confined just to the kitchen and a bedroom, which made studying almost impossible.

Mid-December I found out that I have been accepted as a speaker at an international conference in America around Easter. This is great news but means that a presentation must be written and papers submitted before the end of January. 

On top of all this, my other pet writing project is also gathering speed and needs a lot of work to be really for first presentation in February.

As to this course, I have competed Week 1, and pretty much understand the arguments around the boundary issues between human and non-human. Now try and crack weeks two and three out in the couple of days I have off work between now and New Year.

Feels like I have a load of plates spinning at once......

DD306 : Living Political Ideas - New Year Break

DD306 : Living Political Ideas - Christmas Break

DD306 : Living Political Ideas - Week 11

DD306 : Living Political Ideas - Week 10

DD306 : Living Political Ideas - TMA02 Marked and Returned

That was nice and quick, which means I was probably the first one to submit the TMA, and it is certainly a motivator to get an early submission in this time round as well.

The mark was not quite as good as TMA01, but a middle of Pass2 is fine considering the struggles I was having with study time and a generally busy and disruptive work and home life. The main thing is that I am still solidly on course for the required Pass2 or better, so there is no point, and indeed I don't have the time, to spend endless hours ringing every last possible mark from the TMA - that is what I did last year in order to have a slightly less frantic year this year.

Once again, a really thorough and comprehensive critique of the essay from my tutor. His comments are bang on the money and the advice is spot on. It would seem my main problem was relying too much on external sources which were not developed further, and I should have concentrated more on Machiavelli and Dahl's thoughts and how they are used, interpreted and made to live.

Got things to do tonight - then tomorrow on to Room 2 - Animals and Politics ???