Undergraduate perspectives on the new Tripos

Maitri Nori (Murray Edwards)

When choosing my first-year options, I actively sought to broaden my understanding of history by delving into completely unfamiliar periods. While this decision added a considerable challenge to my academic journey, it is a choice I am very glad I made. Initially grappling with my Ancient Societies paper, which spanned 0-1000 AD, I was often in a state of bewilderment, slowly trying to comprehend the timelines and themes that spanned the topic. The learning curve was steep, but within the first few weeks, I eventually found my feet and developed a genuine appreciation for the intricacies of societies I’d previously never come across. My Global Eighteenth Century paper was more familiar, but my preconceptions about the period were quickly overturned with exposure to themes of migration, political culture and theories of knowledge. Inspired by the new frameworks of analysis provided by this paper, in my second year, I decided to pursue eighteenth- and nineteenth-century intellectual history through the History of Political Thought paper. I continued to expand my knowledge of nuanced political theory, finally figured out what ontology meant and found particular interest in early feminist theory. I began my second topic paper about world empires this Lent, and am enjoying connecting broader, thematic lectures with a focus on the Qing and Mughal empires in my essays.

For me, the new level of freedom we have to pick our topics is the most advantageous aspect of the new Tripos. Not only have I been able to hone in on what I find most interesting, but I have also been lectured by academics at the forefront of their fields. Furthermore, I have made strong friendships that often originated over a shared enthusiasm for niche interests like migration history (or something as obscure as turnip farming in early modern Britain). I love the post-lecture chats, the conversations on the walk to the Sidgwick site and kitchen conversations revolving around what essays people are working on. There is a truly supportive, community aspect to the History degree that has made the all-nighters well worth the effort.

Since my first year, I have actively participated in the University history society. As the Academic Affairs officer of CLIO in my first year, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting new speakers and liaising with other members of my course across colleges. This year, we have rebranded and reinvigorated this society, now called the Cambridge University Society for History (CUSH), where I serve as Chair. Organising and spending time at various History Society events, both within and outside of college, has not only strengthened my friendships with coursemates but has also enhanced my communication skills and enriched my learning outside the Seeley.

The new Tripos has allowed me to develop my competence in effective research and my ability to present powerful arguments concisely and clearly. I hope to pursue a career in law and am eager to put the skills I have acquired during my degree into practice after I graduate.

Ella McCartney (Emmanuel College)

I went into my first year at Cambridge with the intention of studying a broad range of history, but also histories that I had never encountered before. Like Maitri, I also chose to study Ancient and Medieval States over the First Millennium, where I particularly enjoyed teaching on the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Caliphates. Engagement in primary sources was a key aspect of this paper, which enabled me to gain a far greater insight into these very distant societies than I could have imagined. My modern option in my first year was the Global South from 1750 to the present day, which was a comparative history of Africa and South Asia. This was by far the most challenging and rewarding academic experience of my first year, as it has helped to completely alter my thinking of the world around me. The thematic structure of this paper worked particularly well as it tackled topics such as colonialism, nationalism, gender and labour and migration throughout this period. After completing exams on these two papers at the start of final term of first year, we concentrated on submitting coursework for Historical Thinking, that had been taught throughout the year, and a Sources paper. My Sources paper was on the Armenian Genocide, which was at times quite difficult, due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, but invaluable in equipping me with necessary historical skills to pursue further source work.

For my second year, I have still kept my options relatively broad. In the first term, I borrowed a paper from the Classics Faculty on Ancient Empires, where I studied the Achaemenid Persian Empire up to the Roman Empire. In the second term, I am studying Caribbean history from indigenous societies up to the present day. Alongside this, I am doing a Research Project on women in Cambridge between 1900 and 1950. The ability to study this breadth of options is something that is so unique to the new Cambridge Historical Tripos, which often makes me the envy of my friends at other universities.

During my time at Cambridge, I have been involved in Cambridge’s student newspaper, Varsity. I have had varied positions in the newspaper from Investigations Editor, News Editor and Interviews Editor. Cambridge’s broad history degree was particularly useful when I was given the opportunity to interview the world’s first fellow in indentureship studies, Gaiutra Bahadur, for the newspaper. Having already studied the topic in first year as part of my Global South course and having since revisited it again as part of my Caribbean course in second year, it felt great to put all my learning to practical use.

Despite still being unsure of what I want to do after I graduate from Cambridge, I am confident that the academic and social experiences I have had here will help to guide me and positively impact me for the rest of my life.