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Rueben Loffman

History Major, Graduated 2005

My degree has enriched my life in so many ways, and on so many levels. From the very start Lancaster University history department offered me the prospects I had wanted – and others I had not even envisaged. The structure of the Lancaster history degree allows you to take two history modules in the first year, of which I chose a history of the Enlightenment and a history of National Identities. Both of these courses fully prepared me for second year study.

It is also important to note that the history degree in Lancaster flexible enough to allow students to spend a year abroad in the second year – a prospect I fully embraced. I went to Boston College (USA), and took modules in Latin American history, Chinese history, and African-American history to name but a few. Not only did I extent my knowledge of the world's cultures, but living in a different society for a year provided me with memories I will never forget, such as singing with the Boston College Chorale or just catching a Red Sox game!

When I returned to Lancaster for my third year I studied Science and Society, Middle Eastern and Islamic History, and did a dissertation on British Abolitionism. All three of these topics rigorously engaged my interest, and this was due not only to my own personal motivation but also to the outstanding abilities of the students I studied with and the tutors I was taught by. My special subject, Science and Society, helped develop the research skills that I employed in my dissertation. Indeed, the special subject allowed me to get really close to primary sources, and hence was an immensely gratifying experience as a historian. It was also a sheer pleasure doing a course on Middle Eastern history as well as the intellectual history covered in Science and Society.

After my degree I plan to do an MA in African history at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, and from there who knows but I feel Lancaster has prepared me well enough for the choices I will face in the future.

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