32169: Corpus Law Diary week 7 TT
Oxford terms are normally eight weeks long, and this should be "7th week" for most undergraduates - but these days, it seems like references to 'normal' circumstances are deprived of any substantial meaning. Because of the unexpected impact Covid-19 had on our lives, it is, in fact, "10th week" for first-year Corpus lawyers, and a relatively busy one. Because our "Mods" examinations were cancelled in March and rescheduled online in early May, our tutors arranged for us to start this term's work in advance to account for the time we needed for revision and sitting the exams themselves. For the most part, this way of going on with the term's work has been working out really well: it allowed us to keep the workload relatively steady while having a reasonable amount of time to revise for Mods and rest afterwards. Nevertheless, with the weather becoming ever more inviting outdoors and the summer holidays just around the corner, I feel like everyone is impatiently waiting for the end of term.
As I mentioned, this has been a surprisingly busy week: not so much because of the amount of reading, as we only had one contract tutorial - but because our exam results were released on Tuesday. I am writing this over the weekend, meaning it has been a few days since then, and fortunately the feelings of anxiety and nervous excitement have now subsided. Moderations are the only public examination law students sit at Oxford before their finals, so obviously they are a big deal. This is true even though the results we achieve in Mods do not count toward our final degree, and if one fails them, this only necessitates a re-sit. Nevertheless, it is great to finally get a sense of closure and move forward with our degrees. I've found myself to be lucky enough to be able to do some (socially distanced!) celebrating since the lockdown in my home country is now quite relaxed. Sadly, not everyone has had the chance to do the same, and I certainly regret not being able to celebrate with my friends back in Oxford. But then again - I am not in a position to complain. In terms of degree work this week in our penultimate contract law tutorial we were looking at vitiating factors such as duress or undue influence. The transition from Mods to Final Honours School subjects has definitely been challenging: we are now marked according to the same criteria as we will be in two and a half years. But it has also been very exciting. I, for one, have noticed that FHS subjects seem to be taught in a much less formulaic manner. Because we now have some experience with legal thinking and methods after finishing the Mods courses, I find myself engaging with the new material in a more meaningful way, which makes the work more pleasurable, even if it's conceptually more difficult. Besides, I was surprised by how 'practical' contract law has been. Compared to the public law subjects of criminal and constitutional law, and the rather abstract slave- and horse-themed scenarios we'd often come across in Roman Law, the cases and principles we are learning now are mostly of everyday application, which is an enjoyable refreshment. Coming up next Tuesday is a tort tutorial, which I anticipate will involve some heavy lifting in terms of work and thinking: we are moving on to causation, which is a conceptually difficult area of law.
That being said, it would be unfair to present everything in shining positives. I miss Oxford, especially because Trinity was supposed to be the more relaxed term, compared to the chaos of Michaelmas and the stresses of Hilary. I have also, like many of my peers, found myself longing for the amazing academic facilities we get to enjoy at University: most of all, the vast resources of the Corpus library and the spaciousness of the Bodleian. Even if as an undergraduate I only use a limited portion of the University's collection and most of it is now available online - save a few older titles - the remote studying experience definitely made me appreciate the comfort of using a physical copy of a book or the welcome disruption of having to run up and down the stairs of the Law Library to fetch a copy of a journal. It is all quite frustrating - one would think that without the many distractions of University, working from the comfort of one's home would be easier. Far from the truth, I have more often than not found myself unfocused or unmotivated to work as intensely as we do at Corpus. But I try to think that this is a situation we all have to adapt to, not complain about. Making up for the disruptions of this term will probably require some substantial revision and catching-up over the summer holidays but luckily, we are not lacking in resources to do so thanks to the ingenuity of our tutors and the support of the librarians, who try to keep the disruptions to a minimum. And, on the flip side, all this makes me really appreciate how great of an environment Oxford and Corpus are.
What helped a lot during the pandemic, as one of my friends mentioned in her entry a few weeks ago, was the community atmosphere our tutors are creating regardless of us being in different parts of the UK, let alone the world. Even during the lockdown, we still carried out the Finalists' Lunch in 4th week via Zoom, and are going to have a virtual End of Exams Celebration event. It is very uplifting to know that our tutors and colleagues are going through the same struggles as we are. And - although distanced - we remain members of the close-knit, supportive community that Corpus (and especially, Corpus law) is, as cliché as it may sound.
One of the tremendous privileges of studying at Oxford, and one that is very humbling, is how closely we get to work with leading academics and experts in different disciplines of law. All our tutors are very knowledgeable and eager to mentor us in the fields of their study. For instance, being an international student, I have recently been thinking about differences between the civil and common law legal systems, and mentioned it to one of our tutors. In return, I got an e-mail with a full introductory reading list to help me navigate the topic. That's probably going to keep me busy over some weeks during the summer holidays, and quite happily so. While I cannot wait to put all of my law textbooks on the shelf- be it by the physical act of placing them there, or rather closing the umpteen tabs of my web browser—this doesn't mean that I want to entirely forget about the law for the next three months.
Naturally, since my turn for writing the diary entry fell in the penultimate week of the academic year, it wouldn't be complete without at least some reflection on my first three terms of being a student at Corpus. Of course, I didn't imagine it to end like this but among the negatives, there's a silver lining. Given all the disruption that we've experienced over the past three months, coming back to Oxford in Michaelmas 2020 will be all the more thrilling and exciting. Of course, that is if the University will not alter its position on our return. The excitement with which I think about returning is perhaps the best testament to what an eventful year this was, and to how much I have already grown into the College and University. And the best thing about being a first-year is that we still have two more years to look forward to!
