Philological Exchange
Anastasia Senchenko, a 2nd-year student at the Faculty of Humanities at HSE campus in Nizhny Novgorod, is spending her third month studying at the University of Tartu, Estonia, as part of a student exchange programme. Tatiana Krasilnikova, a 1st-year student of Philology, talked to her about Tartu, philology, and other aspects of life in Estonia.
Anastasia Senchenko, a 2nd-year student at the Faculty of Humanities at HSE campus in Nizhny Novgorod, is spending her third month studying at the University of Tartu, Estonia, as part of a student exchange programme. Tatiana Krasilnikova, a 1st-year student of Philology, talked to her about Tartu, philology, and other aspects of life in Estonia.
— How is the study process organized? Is it more difficult to study at the University of Tartu than at HSE?
— An exchange student chooses their disciplines depending on the demands of their home university. A certain number of credits should be gained during the semester in order to be granted access to exams, and exams are held at the end of each semester.
We make our own schedule, which can combine contrasting disciplines. A lot of time is spent on self-study; there are not as many classes a week as at HSE, but this is compensated for by the number of hours spent in the beautiful university library preparing for classes.
— Who are your classmates? What is the language of instruction? What are your favourite subjects?
— However weird it may sound, I don’t really have any classmates. The reason is that there are no classes in fact. Everyone just attends the lectures they have chosen. But people are usually the same at the courses I attend, since they are all related to philology.
All subjects are taught in English, except for some moments when lecturers ‘switch’ to Estonian in order to explain something more clearly. My favourite class here is sociosemiotics. But all the courses are interesting! For example, Photography in Literature, History of Baroque Literature, History of Romantic Literature.
— Is the atmosphere in Tartu different from what you are used to?
— The atmosphere of a university city is perfect for studying. The centre of Tartu is full of university buildings; libraries and archives are everywhere. But the city itself is small… So, live and learn!
The student council also organizes many extracurricular activities; I’ve helped organize some of them, and with others, it’s a pleasure to simply participate in them.