Oxford International Human Rights Law Program – Week 1

 It’s been five days since I arrived at Oxford and I can’t believe how much I have learnt and experienced in that time. We are staying in New College, one of Oxford’s oldest colleges, which is absolutely incredible. The buildings and gardens are beautiful and our rooms are bigger than I thought they would be.

Grounds of New College

There are about 80 participants in the program from all over the world. The majority of students are from the United States, with others hailing from countries such as Canada, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Italy and India. Many of my classmates are Masters students or people already working in the field – there’s even a Supreme Court judge participating in the program! It’s definitely safe to say that I feel very much out of my depth at the moment but everyone is extremely approachable and friendly.

View from my dorm window

The classes themselves are really challenging but very interesting. In the mornings, we have classes on the Fundamentals of International Human Rights Law and in the afternoons, we study a specialty course. I have chosen to study War, Peace and Human Rights, which is about the rules relating to armed conflict. The classes are taught by leading human rights scholars. They expect a lot from us but at the same time, have already taught us so much about this complex field. Even though I’ve so far managed to keep up with the extensive reading, I’m finding it hard to grasp all the concepts we’ve been covering in the lectures and seminars.

Some 'light' reading for the next few weeks

We eat all our meals in New College’s dining hall. The food so far has been amazing – I feel like we are constantly being fed! What’s even more amazing is the hall itself. It was used as the substitute dining hall in the Harry Potter films and it feels like we are actually in the movies.  

The Oxford University Press booktsore

Most of this week has been spent reading so I haven’t had the chance to really explore the city of Oxford too much yet. From what I have seen, though, the shopping is pretty good! A group of us are planning on going to London tomorrow, which we are all looking forward to. Tonight is also our first formal dinner and, from what I’ve heard, is one of the highlights of the program.

New College Dining Hall

One thing none of us counted on was the English weather. Most of the Australians were excited to be leaving behind winter but we’ve since discovered that summer in England means rain and temperatures of about 16 degrees.

With planned theatre nights, attending Olympics events and punting on the Thames, the next four weeks will be amazing. It’s still hard to believe, looking out of my window every morning, that I’m actually a real-life student at Oxford University.  

Lindsey Chu is participating on our Oxford International Human Rights Law Program in the UK. Lindsey is in her 5th year of Bachelor of Communications/Law at University of Newcastle.