What Laurine says about the Master's in Social Anthropology
Laurine from France
What is the best thing about your programme?
"That's a hard question because I really enjoy the programme so picking only one is going to be hard! The courses are really interesting, but I will say the best part of the programme is the teachers. All teachers I have had since the beginning of the programme are great! We are a small programme, so they have the possibility to really work individually with us; we can have any question and they will always be here to answer. I also think it's a really good study environment that we have with them, so I'm really glad."
What is studying in Sweden like compared to studying in your home country?
"I would say it's really different from my Bachelor’s in France. The main difference is that in my Bachelor’s, we were about 100 students. So, for example, when we had lectures, it was impossible for the teacher to answer every question and be there for every student. In this Master’s, we are about 10 students, which was super surprising for me. We really have the possibility to just talk with professors and even during the lectures, it doesn't feel like it's a lecture in a sense. The teacher is giving us a lot of knowledge, but at the same time, there’s always this dialogue with us asking questions.
In France when I had seminars, it was more like a practice of anthropology. But now in seminars, it's more like the real academic seminars that we can attend as a researcher or as part of a company that has anthropologists and uses their insights. So it's really good practice and it is super interesting to have this space where you can express your opinions and thoughts. Also in general, the atmosphere is really nice, so you can express whatever you think without fearing that it might be judged."
What is it like being an international student in Lund?
"I really like being an international student here because it's really simple. It is easy in Sweden in general, especially because there are a lot of international students so we don't feel like we are the only ones arriving in a new country. But also, recently I have been in contact with a lot of Swedish students, and it's not like there is a big gap between international students and Swedish students. We visit the same places and they are really nice and welcoming. So it’s easy to feel at home in a way. Also, I think for international students Sweden is a good choice because you're going to manage to live here even if you don't speak the Swedish language."
What surprised you the most about Sweden?
"I come from the south of France and we have this reputation that is kind of true, but I didn't realise it until I was in Sweden. Basically, we can just go out on the street, and if there is someone next to us, we're going to just start a conversation. Or like sitting at a café, if you hear the conversation next to your table, you can jump in. I knew that in Sweden, that’s not something that is common at all. It was surprising to see that the way of interacting with others is different here. I have the feeling that in Sweden you're not going to talk to strangers on the street, so it takes more time to get to know them. But once you know them, you know them for real – you make strong bonds."
What are you planning to do after your studies?
"I had this idea before starting my Master’s that I wanted to continue with research. I'm not completely sure, but it's nice to see that even if I decide not to stay in academia, my programme is still going to be useful because we have these practical courses. So I think it's preparing me really well for working in anthropology. I had this clear idea of what I wanted to do for a really long time, but now I see other possibilities. Maybe also now that I'm in my Master’s, I have further insight into what academia is, what I like about it and what I don't like about it."
Want to learn about Laurine's experience of being active in the Social Sciences student union? Read her blog post:
Meet our student ambassador Rodrigo
Read his testimonial and chat with him via Unibuddy.
"I enjoy the way the programme is structured"
Jesse from the USA