A nice example to explain to us all what’s wrong with the British education system:
Stephen Moss is an author and naturalist based in Somerset, and course leader of Bath Spa University’s MA Travel and Nature Writing.
That Bath Techncial College is now running an MA in nature writing is one part of what’s wrong. But that someone running an MA course in nature writing says this is another:
They once roamed in huge herds across the grasslands of Europe, but a century ago, following mass killing for food and sport during the First World War, the European bison went extinct in the wild. Europe’s largest land mammal was only saved thanks to captive breeding, following which they were released back into the ancient forests of Eastern Europe.
Bison have since been reintroduced into several other European countries, and last week it was announced that the UK would be the latest of these.
No. The thing being reintroduced into the UK is the wisent, or forest bison. The thing that wandered in vast herds over the grasslands was the steppe bison, rather more similar to the American buffalo. Which is where those images of vast herds wandering the grasslands come from, the US, not recent European experience.
This is akin to confusing lions and tigers and we really would peer in concern at a nature writer who made that mistake. On the other hand it is Bath Technical College…..
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Another example of the state of British Higher Education is this - https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1389424/1/Final%2520Thesis.pdf
My understanding of a PhD was that it was to being something new/novel to the subject. I know this is probably difficult in non-STEM subject as you are likely to rehash the same territory as others have (history is already written). But still you might expect some insight from the author rather than:
It has been argued that NGOs BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
Proponents of this argument maintain WITTER, WITTER, WITTER.
Where is her viewpoint in this? Perhaps it got to 230 pages to bore the supervisor to death so they just gave her the qualification. Double so if you had to listen to her nonsensical raving in person.
The candidate would have a bright future writing Environmental Impact Statements.
"huge herds" .... "the grasslands of Europe"
Yerwot? Has he ever given a cursory look at a map of Europe? Where are these grasslands of Europe that huge herds of *anything* could roam across. Everything reads as though he's removed "North American" and replaced it with "European".
Europe is forests. Grasslands is Asia. Huge herds across the steppes of Russia, yes that work, but huge herds across the grasslands of Europe is a nonsense.
And as the Wiki article describes,the European bison's range decreased as humans cut down forests - why would cutting down forests impact the bison if they ranged in huge herds across grasslands?
Some years ago I was tangentially involved with a private gift to Bath Spa of a considerable sum. Bath Spa, who had agreed to spend the donation on a specific educational topic, then reneged, but only after taking the money which was spent on the construction of a purpose built facility, which of course they use and sill use for other purposes. Not an impressive establishment.
Ah, Bath Teacher Training College. That explains a lot.
Yes, it includes Sion Hill - aka the girlfriend farm. Also Bath School of Art which had a pretty good reputation before
Step one MA Nature writing
Never use Google or otherwise try to correct you own ignorance.