Semester 1 Summaries: Zach Bishop

Posted on: 10 December 2021 by Zach Bishop in 2021 posts

Following a first year of disruptions and lockdowns, it has been wonderful to finally be back on campus this semester and experiencing the best of what the city of Liverpool and the university has to offer.

Liverpool is a city with something for everyone – whether you’re a music fan, a sport fanatic or someone who loves nothing more than nights out on the town, Liverpool has something for you! As a second year student studying History and Politics, its been wonderful to finally take a visit to many of the museums such as the International Slavery Museum and the Museum of Liverpool which have both assisted me in my exploration of History at university and have proven to be exciting and insightful days out.

The reintroduction of in person teaching has also been exciting and has definitely allowed for university to feel a little more normal than last year. For me, in-person seminars was something I felt I was really missing out on last year, mostly because of the nature of my degree which requires lots of discussion and the sharing of ideas. This semester has allowed for students to get back on campus together to share ideas and carry out both discussions and debates amongst ourselves and with our seminar tutors and lecturers – this has really allowed me to develop my own knowledge in my areas of interest and is what university is all about. My personal favourite module I have taken this semester is ‘Racism and Resistance: African-Americans since Slavery’ which has given me a thoughtful and thorough insight into the lives and experiences of people of colour in the United States since Slavery was abolished. I have found myself (surprisingly) excited for my 9am seminars every Tuesday to engage in thoughtful conversation and learning for this module. 

With the reopening of bars, nightclubs and sporting venues this year – I’ve had the most amazing time experiencing every part of Liverpool without restrictions! A personal highlight for me would have to be nights out in Liverpool city centre as well as in the Baltic Market area – student nights at the Raz near Bold Street on Mondays being a personal favourite of mine which I would highly recommend to anyone who appreciates cheap drinks and cheesy throwback tunes like me.

Living in a new part of Liverpool this year, in the Smithdown area, has allowed myself and my friends to explore all that the outskirts of the city centre has to offer such as the vast variety of restaurants and takeaways down Smithdown Road as well as exploring Sefton Park which is the perfect place for any study-break walk.

My second year so far at the University of Liverpool has allowed me to finally experience all that Liverpool has to offer as well as make use of on-campus teaching and university buildings. I’m already excited and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has to offer following such a memorable first semester!