Last week saw the arrival of our LLB Law cohort 2019-20. A wonderful group of very dynamic, highly enthusiastic, students joined us for a range of ‘welcome week’ activities, including induction lectures from our academic and administrative team.
Prof Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, on the values central to studying Law at Goldsmiths
The Head of Department, Prof Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, warmly welcomed the students, congratulating them for entering Goldsmiths Law, giving them an overview of the programme and speaking to them about the Goldsmiths values intrinsic in our pioneering LLB Law degree.
Students were introduced to all their Year 1 modules – Contract Law, Public law and the Human Rights Act, Criminal Law, English System in a Global Legal Context and 21st Century Legal Skills – by our academics teaching in Year 1, Dr Virginie
Dr Dagmar Myslinska introducing Contract
Barral, Dr Alex Dymock and Dr Dagmar Myslinska, our law librarian Greg Bennett and Lecturer in English for academic purposes Sara Ewing.
Our senior administrator in law, Jean-Michel Villot, then spoke to students about all the key administrative processes and student support systems, in relation to learning, teaching and assessment, and the day-to-day life as a law student at Goldsmiths. The students learnt about our personal tutoring systems from the senior tutor, Dr Dagmar Myslinska, before being welcomed to Goldsmiths by the president of the Student Union and members of the Student Union team, representatives of the ‘student ambassador’ scheme and members of the careers service.
Dr Alex Dymock introducing Criminal Law: Theory and Practice
But ‘welcome week’ was not simply about introductions; students have immediately got down to work, taking part in a debating exercise, where they were confronted with a host of challenging questions: whether there exists a democratic or constitutional justification for a second referendum, whether the UK could follow the example of European countries where tuition at public Universities is free (or where there exist low tuition fees) and whether the use of torture to prevent an imminent terrorist attack is incompatible with fundamental human rights. They debated with confidence, paying attention to drawing on evidence and highlighting weaknesses in their ‘opponents’ arguments.
LLB Law students ‘debating’. Dr Virginie Barral in the background, offering advice.
Lectures started this week, with students working effectively their way through a very comprehensive set of VLE/online materials and engaging with the academics during lectures.
In a briefing session with the Head of School, students were also presented with an exciting placement/Pro Bono opportunity, which gives them access to legal advice work in Law Centres, Advice Agencies, CABs or charities, for a period between 3 to 6 months, on a 1-day per week basis, with a focus on ‘social welfare’ law (we’ll be publishing more information about this opportunity here; watch this space!).
The ‘Justice Syndicate’ immersive (jury trial) experience
Students are now preparing for their first encounter next week with two of the ‘professional activities’ incorporated in our pioneering ’21st Century Legal Skills’ module: an immersive ‘jury trial’ experience, with theatre company fanShen, and a visit to the Royal Courts of Justice, for a mock criminal law trial for ‘murder’, coordinated by the National Justice Museum.
4 October 2019