Study Abroad Year Report: Conclusion

As April rolls around, my year abroad and therefore my SAY blog enter their final stages. The entire process has been an overwhelmingly positive adventure with new lessons learned, friends made and perspectives developed on a daily basis. I would therefore like to briefly reflect on my experiences of living and studying abroad and the process of documenting my year through the SAY blog.

Reflections on living abroad

Having grown up in London it was to many people’s surprise that I chose to study at UCL. My response to suggestions that I leave the city to experience somewhere different was that London is an enormous and beautifully varied city. Moving from N6 to WC1 would therefore be an exciting change which indeed it was. However it was not until I moved to Los Angeles that I realised how thrilling living in a new city and country could be.

Los Angeles, my home for the year

Before coming to the US my father graced me with one piece of advice: ‘don’t be deceived; the only thing Americans have in common with the British is our language and even that we don’t really share’. While this is partially true, it has been the differences between our two cultures which have made living abroad such a rich learning experience. These differences have also encouraged me to adopt new lifestyles and philosophies. For example the slower pace of life here in Southern California encourages you to enjoy the moment rather than worry too much about the future.

There are of course many things I do not like about living in Los Angeles. As mentioned in several posts, poor public transport infrastructure and horrific congestion make moving around the city a constant challenge. I have also found the insular views of many Angelenos to be quite frustrating. These are often facilitated by a belief that the US is the single most important country in the world with everywhere else being its subordinate. This outlook is mostly held by those who have not travelled beyond its borders. However I can only see these as positive experiences for helping me appreciate other places and people, and making me more aware of our differences in opportunity.

Reflections on studying abroad

Studying for a year abroad is a fantastic and refreshing experience, one that I would recommend to anyone for whom it is available. I think it is very different to studying full time as an international student. Having already spent two years studying Geography at UCL, I came to UCLA with prior experiences and future expectations that would shape my entire year of studies.

Throughout my time here at UCLA I have been constantly comparing my studies with those at home: the size, length and content of my classes, their various forms of assessment, and the overall major/minor degree structure adopted in the US. While I was initially critical of a system that forced students to extend their degree by a year* in order to take a wider breadth of classes, I have come to appreciate the opportunity to broaden my academic horizons by taking courses from a range of different departments. Many of these have supplemented my geographical studies while others have allowed me to engage with passions I would not have been able to explore otherwise.

Numerous UCLA clubs and societies advertising on Bruin Walk 

The experiences of studying abroad extend beyond the classroom to the whole university. At UCLA I have been exposed to many aspects of college life that are not present in the UK. These include extraordinary pride in college sport, ‘Greek life’ (fraternities and sororities) and an enormous variety of different clubs and societies. Taking part in these and many other aspects of American university life has been both fun and deeply insightful, allowing me to draw my own conclusions on what I believe is conducive to a positive university experience in both countries.

Reflections on the SAY blog

As a geographer living and studying in a new place, I am always making comparisons between life here and at home. My SAY blog has not only enabled but also encouraged me to do this. By providing me with a platform to write about my thoughts and experiences, it has helped me understand and explain many differences between the UK and US both at university and beyond.

My favourite spot for working on my SAY blog

The flexibility of the SAY blog has also allowed me to explore themes and topics that are of particular interest to me, urban transport being a key example. While I initially intended to write a single post on the matter, this blog has encouraged me to look further into the subject by writing a series of linked posts. This has been of wider use in helping me choose a thesis for my dissertation. The SAY blog has also encouraged me to examine topics I had previously not studied at much depth, fortification being an example. All of the issues examined in my blog have been formative as I generate views and opinions about UCLA, Los Angeles and the US.

Working on my blog has developed my ability to write concisely (this post perhaps being an exception) and passionately about things that matter to me. It has also opened my eyes to how something that appears mundane, such as a food truck, can in fact be a fascinating topic when forming an argument. The end result has been a series of blog posts that reflect how my thoughts have evolved throughout the year. I am therefore grateful for all the fantastic and formative experiences I have had along the way.

* Undergraduate degrees in the US are typically four years, one year longer than undergraduate programmes available in the UK.

Spring Quarter Classes

After a short yet sweet Spring Break, I enter my final term here at UCLA. My choice of classes for the spring quarter are as follows:

Geography 6 - World Regions: Concepts and Contemporary Issues
Convened and taught by the controversial Jared Diamond, Geography 6 explains the importance of geographical circumstances on our lives. It does this by examining the varied histories and environments of the different regions of the world. In this class we will examine what geographical factors have led to such stark differences in income, health, education, etc. between America and Haiti, Nigeria and Germany, and North and South Korea. Jared Diamond is known for holding views sympathetic towards environmental determinism, a concept we at UCL have learned to approach with an especially critical perspective. I therefore hope studying under him will be a particularly interesting experience.

Assessment: 25% attendance and participation, 25% mini papers, 25% mid-term exam, 25% final exam.

Music History 68 - Beatles
This class will allow me to study one of my favourite bands while also offering a fantastic chance to study the social geography of Britain from a specific perspective. This perspective will be contextualised by the Beatles' rise to stardom during an era characterised by drastic changes to the country’s social climate. It will also be interesting to study the UK, my home country, from an American perspective. Already the concepts of terraced and semi-detached housing have caused confusion. While this is amusing, it is also a great chance to see which aspects of life that I consider quite normal appear to be fairly unusual to an outsider. It is classes like this that make me truly appreciate the extreme flexibility of the US higher education system.

Assessment: 15% attendance and participation, 20% online writing assignments, 15% mid-term, 20% final paper, 30% final exam.

Psychology 88 - Mind over Health Matter: Social Psychology behind Modern Health Controversies
As students we are frequently exposed to many health controversies that affect both our peers and those in wider society. These include access to healthcare, vaccinations and the abuse of substances, especially those popular among students such as Adderall, Cocaine and Ecstasy. Psychology 88 encourages students to look at the cultures, practices and beliefs behind western health, while also examining the psychological phenomena that drive them. Almost entirely made up of discussion seminars, this class will once again provide a fascinating opportunity to learn about American perspectives towards such issues.

Assessment: 20% attendance and participation, 30% mini papers, 50% final paper.

Critiquing Mike Davis

Having made extensive reference to the work of Mike Davis in this blog, I realise I may come across as heavily sympathetic towards his views. This is not the case and, for the sake of balance, I feel it is important to briefly critique his work and contrast it with the views of some other urban theorists and activists.

Davis’ analysis of Los Angeles in his polemical City of Quartz has been described by Andy Merrifield (2002: 172) as ‘gloom-laden’ and ‘deeply pessimistic’. Immediately Davis’ use of quartz - a diamond-like mineral which sparkles in the sunshine but is also hard and cheap - as a scornful and subjective metaphor for the city warns readers not to take his work too literally. Throughout this piece Davis purely focusses on negative narratives of the city and, as Alan Hunsaker (1992: 506) points out, ‘provides no plan of action or short-term objectives to attack the identified problems’.

This leaves readers with a defeatist view towards the city and its future. It is therefore important to highlight that Davis’ analysis contrasts with the work of many other Marxist urbanists, for example Marshall Berman’s Adventures in Marxism which occasionally ‘spots the positive and empathises with the good little guys as much as raging against the evil big guys’ (Merrifield 2002: 170). Reyner Banham’s Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies also offers a far more positive view of the city as he examines the ways Angelenos from all communities relate to its four ‘ecologies’: the beaches, freeways, flatlands and foothills.

Davis’ account of Los Angeles as being fortified and deeply divided has also been undermined by the work of many social activists across the city. One such example, mentioned earlier in this blog, is the Great Wall of Los Angeles. This project not only aimed to raise awareness of the city’s diverse history, but also to bring people together from all communities in its creation and restoration. Since the wall's completion in 1976, 105 other murals have been painted around Los Angeles (SPARC 2016)*. This has brought people from all levels of society together to form a new, city-wide community that transcends traditional social barriers.

For his relentless attack on Los Angeles, Mike Davis has been dubbed an ‘anti-urban’, ‘overly apocalyptic’, ’city-hating socialist’ (Angotti 2006: 961; de Turenne 1998; Merrifield 2002: 171). However, in order to cultivate some positivity in his work and justify my frequent referencing of it, I turn to Hunsaker's (1992: 507) point that City of Quartz also challenges readers ‘to examine their own values and priorities with respect to Los Angeles and the future’. Like many geographers, I fall into temptation to write about the negative, rather than positive aspects of the city. Davis’ work has therefore encouraged me to scratch beneath the surface of this often superficial city, while also underpinning my arguments surrounding what I have found. However, as I hope this and some of my other articles have demonstrated, there is also much cause for optimism in this vibrant, if at times perplexing megalopolis.

*I encourage anyone to explore some of these beautiful pieces here.

References

Angotti, T. (2006) ‘Apocalyptic Anti-Urbanism: Mike Davis and his planet of slums’, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 30, 4, 961.

Berman, M. (1999) Adventures in Marxism, London: Verso.

de Turenne, V. (1998) ‘Is Mike Davis' Los Angeles all in his head?’ (WWW), San Francisco: Salon (http://www.salon.com/1998/12/07/cov_07feature/; 17 April 2016).

Hunsaker, A. (1992) ‘Book reviews - City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles by Mike Davis’, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 14. 4, 502.

Merrifield, A. (2002) Metromarxism, New York: Routledge.

SPARC (2016) ‘Neighbourhood Pride’ (WWW), Los Angeles: Social and Public Art Resource Centre (http://sparcinla.org/neighborhood-pride/; 17 April 2016).

Kogi BBQ

While food trucks have been present in the US since the early 20th century, their recent post-recessionary resurgence has made an enormous splash in the gourmet food industry (Lempert 2010). An iconic player in this food revolution is Kogi BBQ. Established in 2008, Kogi prepares and sells Korean/Mexican fusion tacos on the streets of Los Angeles.

Patrons of Kogi BBQ in Abbot Kinney, Venice

At first glance Kogi BBQ appears to capture everything quintessential of Los Angeles: mobility, the boosting and consuming of food culture, and the coming together of different ethnic groups. While also being a delicious combination, the fusion of these two ethnicities is of particular significance in Los Angeles. With Latino workers making up more than half of the employees of Korean-owned businesses in the city and comprising three quarters of Koreatown’s residents, Korean-Latino relations are a socially and economically fundamental aspect of Los Angeles (Gap Min 2013).

Kogi BBQ also brings people together in public spaces, a rare occurrence in Los Angeles. As Mike Davis (1992) argues, the coming together of people has been heavily discouraged by city councils through the reduction and restriction of public spaces.

Unlike its food, however, Kogi does not appear to encourage the mixing of social or ethnic difference amongst its patrons. Rather, it draws in a relatively homogenous crowd who at a superficial level appear to be wealthy members of the city’s middle class. Thus following a visit to the notorious Kogi BBQ, I realised the aspect of Los Angeles it most clearly reflects is the city’s stark class divisions.

It is both Kogi’s prices and choice of locations that I believe both symbolise and encourage these divisions. With tacos costing $2.29 each and burritos starting at $6, Kogi does not offer an affordable alternative to other expensive Korean or Mexican eateries. It therefore only attracts a clientele with greater expendable incomes.

To match its customers, Kogi only frequents wealthier parts of the city (see map below) such as Oakwood, Westwood and Silverlake. It never ventures into poorer neighbourhoods such as Inglewood, Compton and Southgate, and is therefore unable to bridge social and ethnic gaps in the city like it does in its food.

Kogi BBQ's planned locations for the next week on a map of median household income in Los Angeles (Kogi 2016)

I find this particularly interesting considering a series of recent posts I wrote discussing how fortification, through a variety of mechanisms, divides people in Los Angeles. Food trucks like Kogi BBQ hold the potential to break down social barriers in Los Angeles by bringing people together to celebrate multi-ethnic culinary delights. However it seems they have had the reverse effect. Instead, trucks like Kogi have gentrified a sector of the food industry which once catered to the blue-collar workers of America’s industrial age. Rather than reflecting Los Angeles as it could be, Kogi BBQ is a startling reminder of Los Angeles as it is: characterised by exclusion and division.

References

Davis, M. (1992) City Of Quartz, London: Verso.

Gap Min, P. (2013) ‘Changes in Korean Immigrants’ Business Patterns’, in P. Gap Min (ed.) Koreans in North America: Their Experiences in the Twenty-First Century, Plymouth: Lexington Books, 57-74.

Kogi BBQ (2016) 'Schedule' (WWW), Los Angeles: Kogi BBQ (http://kogibbq.com; 4 April 2016).

Lempert, P. (2010) ‘Evolution: The Time for Food Trucks Has Arrived!’ (WWW), New York: Supermarket News (http://supermarketnews.com/blog/evolution-time-food-trucks-has-arrived; 3 April 2016).

Fortress UCLA

Following my previous post regarding fortification in Los Angeles, I have become more aware of the ‘militarisation of urban space’ as a mechanism for segregating the city (Davis 1992). I believe that, not unlike the infamously exclusive enclaves of Bel Air and Hidden Hills, UCLA has utilised similar methods to keep ‘undesirable’ people out of its hilly campus.

Like the fortresslike architecture Davis describes in parts of Los Angeles, UCLA tactically employs a wall of tall trees to separate Sunset Boulevard and other access streets from the roads that run through the university. These prevent outsiders from easily entering the campus while also blocking views into it. This creates a private and enclave-like atmosphere both within and outside of UCLA.

The tall wall of trees separating UCLA from surrounding roads 

A rare gap in the trees showing the division between De Neve Drive (inside campus) and Sunset Boulevard (outside)

Similar to the private security forces that guard homes and businesses in the wealthier parts of Los Angeles, UCLA also employs its own police force. UCLAPD patrol the campus in armed and armoured squad cars. They maintain order while also intimidating and on occasion removing unwanted people from the campus.

UC Los Angeles Police squad car

Virtually every corner of UCLA is under constant 24-hour video surveillance. This encourages good behaviour while also warding off outsiders who might cause trouble on campus. In 2009 the Daily Bruin reported the use of over 350 closed-circuit television cameras throughout UCLA’s facilities. This number will have undoubtedly increased significantly since.

One of the many cameras capturing 24-hour surveillance at UCLA

In one of my early blog posts I mentioned that the campus feels like a microcosm within Los Angeles. Unlike the rest of the city UCLA is green, welcoming to pedestrians and features plenty of stunning revivalist buildings. However, while UCLA is undoubtedly a beautiful campus, I would argue that it has also utilised methods of fortification to exclude and intimidate unwanted outsiders. It has no homeless people, almost no crime, and a disproportionately low number of ethnic minority people compared with the city’s overall demographics. (UCLA 2015; U.S. Census Bureau 2010). This is something Davis also recognises in other fortified areas of the city

In a similar vein to my posts regarding El Niño and the marine layer in Southern California, it has been very interesting to experience a geographical phenomenon I am consecutively studying first hand.

References

Daily Bruin (2009) ‘Security cameras monitor campus’ (WWW), Los Angeles: Daily Bruin (http://dailybruin.com/2009/10/13/security-cameras-monitor-campus/; 3 April 2016).

Davis, M. (1992) City Of Quartz, London: Verso.

UCLA (2015) ‘Enrollment demographics, Fall 2015’ (WWW), Los Angeles: UCLA (http://www.aim.ucla.edu/tables/enrollment_demographics_fall.aspx; 3 April 2016).

U.S. Census Bureau (2010) ‘2005-2009 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates’ (WWW), Suitland: U.S. Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/06037; 3 April 2016).

Fortification: the next chapter of The Great Wall of Los Angeles

My task for this term’s History M155 (History of Los Angeles) final paper has been to propose a new chapter for The Great Wall of Los Angeles. This chapter, like others that have come before, must represent a historical event, person or phenomenon that has reshaped the city. Drawing on my studies in urban geography, I proposed ‘fortification’. Coined by urban theorist and historian Mike Davis in his polemical 1992 City of Quartz, fortification captures the ‘militarisation of urban space’ in cities like Los Angeles (Davis 1992: 221).

In order to justify my proposal I discussed three processes occurring throughout the city. These were the emergence of gated enclave communities, the securitisation of space, and the use of fortress-like design in Los Angeles architecture. All of these have had a segregating effect in a city which, following civil insurrections such as the Watts Riots of 1965 and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, no longer appears to encourage the mingling of people in public spaces.

This being a history class, I was required to use primary sources to reinforce my argument. The three sources I chose were an article published in a 1991 issue of the Los Angeles Times (McMillan 1991), the classifieds section of a 1990 issue of the Los Angeles Times (1990), and a photograph taken by Diego Cardoso (1992: 241).

The first of these sources helped to explain how and why gated enclave communities have emerged. It describes the $250,000 installation of eight electronic gates in Whitely Heights, thus demonstrating how neighbourhoods play an active role in sealing themselves off from the rest of the city. The action was justified by residents as a means of controlling ‘crime and traffic’ coming from the nearby Hollywood Bowl area. Leading to a 20% increase in property prices, the article also highlights how gates are more than a physical barrier as they keep lower income residents out.

I used the ‘classifieds’ section of the Los Angeles Times to show how, in 1990, spaces were becoming increasingly fortified through the use of private security services. This particular issue boasts 53 advertisements for private security, more than any other position being promoted in the paper. Beyond the number of advertisements was the impressive variety of services offered, ranging from ‘security guard’ to ‘armoured car crews’ and ‘experienced field supervisor’. Almost all posts offered some sort of ‘armed’ services. This clipping therefore points to the increase in securitisation and thus fortification of public and private space in Los Angeles.

A snippet from the Classifieds section of April 24, 1990 issue of the Los Angeles Times

Finally, a photograph taken by Diego Cardoso illustrates the extent to which architecture in Los Angeles has become a form of fortification. With Frank Gehry at the forefront of this design revolution, Cardoso’s photograph captures the fortress-like nature of Gehry’s Goldwyn Library. Defensively entitled ‘Dirty Harry’s Library’, the photograph depicts an introverted building with high gates, thick concrete walls and a sunken entrance. This impenetrable and unfriendly facade almost entirely resembles a fortress. This particular site is therefore a demonstrative case of fortification in Los Angeles.

'Dirty Harry's Library' by Diego Cardoso (1992)

There are many other aspects of fortification which, for the sake of brevity, I was unable to describe in this essay. It is also important to note that Davis' is not the only narrative of the city. Many other urban theorists and activists, such as Reyner Banham, have written more positively about Los Angeles' layout and its structures. However Davis' work lends itself well to studies that explore more negative aspects of the city's urban design.

References

Cardoso, D. (1992) ‘Dirty Harry’s Library’ in M. Davis City of Quartz, London: Verso, 241.

Davis, M. (1992) City Of Quartz, London: Verso.

McMillan, P. (1991) ‘Affluent Enclave Will Close Gates on the City Neighborhoods’, Los Angeles Times, February 19, 1991.

Los Angeles Times (1990) ‘Classifieds’, Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1990.

Art Review: The Great Wall of Los Angeles

Last week I visited The Great Wall of Los Angeles, formally known as The History of California. Located on the sunken wall of the Los Angeles River in Coldwater Canyon, this 840 meter public art project is one of the longest murals in the world (Rickey 1984). It was coordinated in 1976 by the Social and Public Art Resource Centre and UCLA’s Professor of Chicano Studies Judith Buca.

The Great Wall of Los Angeles

As suggested by the title, the piece illustrates the many chapters of history that have impacted and shaped Los Angeles as we know it today. Some events are local to Los Angeles, for example the 1984 Olympics and the 1962 Watts Riots. Others are national and global phenomena such as the baby boom, the space-race and the birth of rock and roll. However there is a particular focus on points of history affecting ethnic minorities and often repressed communities. Such examples include the 1871 Chinese massacre, the 1930-31 Mexican-American repatriation and the civil rights and gay movements.

The Wall itself is fantastic. While extremely informative, it also beautifully put together with each chapter flowing seamlessly into the next. Though not entirely chronological, it paints a cohesive and and intriguing story of the city’s past. I found this particularly interesting in conjunction with my M155 (History of Los Angeles) class.

The location is also noteworthy. Painted on a section of the Los Angeles River, the mural evokes a major aspect of the city’s past: the water wars of the early 21st century. This episode, leading to the river's creation, enabled the growth of the San Fernando Valley where the Wall is located.

I would deeply recommend the site to anyone visiting or living in Los Angeles.

References

Rickey, C. (1984) ‘The Writing on the Wall’, in J. Quirarte (ed.) Chicano Art History: A Book of Selected Readings, San Antonio: Research Center for the Arts and Humanities, 87-91.

The empowerment of NGOs: Looking at BRAC in Bangladesh for Geography 141

My final paper for Geography 141 (Uneven Development Geographies: Prosperity and Impoverishment in Third World) gave students great flexibility with their topic choice. This offered me the chance to build on something I had looked at briefly in last year’s GEOG2014 class at UCL. Using the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) as an example, I chose to examine how NGOs in Bangladesh have gained considerable power at the expense of government in the past few decades.

My findings suggested that NGOs like BRAC are taking power from government through both local and global forces.

Locally, BRAC has become empowered through its relationship with Bangladeshi people. This has occurred due to its involvement in healthcare, education and other service-based programmes. As a result many people have become directly involved with the NGO. It now has over 3 million members from over 15,000 villages (Newnham 2000). This extensive relationship with Bangladeshi people has given BRAC a far greater public image than state agencies, prescribing them more power over local political and social issues.

Globally NGOs such as BRAC have achieved increased power through two main streams. The first of these is the ‘new policy agenda'. Dictated by the doctrines of the Washington Consensus, this encourages a withdrawal of the state and a consequent increase in power and autonomy held by NGOs and private enterprises. The second is the increased support BRAC and other NGOs receive from development agencies and donors who see them as a more effective form of development and democratisation than governments.

The impacts of this empowerment on development have been felt on a local and global scale. Locally it allows NGOs such as BRAC to expand their operations and to act under their own terms. This has allowed BRAC to efficiently train over 130,000 farmers to use modern agricultural techniques, provide over 12,000 people with legal and human rights information, and to establish over 300 new schools across the country (BRAC 2015: 12-15). Globally, increased power and autonomy has allowed BRAC to expand its development agenda to other countries including Sri Lanka, Haiti and Afghanistan. BRAC’s empowerment and a greater global image has also led to it being used as a template by other NGOs around the world with similar aims.

This was a great opportunity to independently research something that has always interested me. It has also challenged my views of both NGOs and the development industry as a whole.

References

BRAC (2015) ‘BRAC Annual Report’ (WWW), BRAC (http://brac.net/sites/default/files/ar2014/BRAC-annual-report-14.pdf, 29 February 2016).

Newnham, J. (2000) ‘The BRAC Poultry Programme in Bangladesh: A Performance Measurement Framework.’ Paper presented at the International Conference on Business Services for Small Enterprises in Asia, 3-6 April, Hanoi.

Wildflower Bloom: El Niño brings life to Death Valley

Wildflower 'superbloom' in Death Valley

I recently wrote about how UCLA is not only a brilliant place to study Geography, but is also located in fabulous region to study the geography of. Having learned about the marine layer in my EPS 9 class, I was thrilled to wake up one morning and experience the weather event firsthand. Another such phenomenon I have been fortunate enough to witness while studying in Southern California has been the El Niño Southern Oscillation.

Occurring roughly every two to seven years, El Niño is characterised by abnormal weather conditions. These include increased temperatures and rainfall on both coasts of the Pacific, alongside other unusual weather events around the world. This is caused by prolonged heating of the central and east-central band of the Pacific Ocean which replaces the cool surface waters of the Humboldt Current. Arguably as a result of climate change, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA 2016) has reported the current El Niño episode as being the strongest in history.

El Niño weather conditions are known for having severe impacts on agriculture and health, especially in developing countries in Central and South America. Thus a stronger episode will likely have a harsh outcome for many. However in Southern California a silver lining has appeared in El Niño's thick clouds: an unprecedented amount of unseasonal rainfall has caused a rare wildflower bloom in Death Valley, covering it's usually barren desert landscape with a glorious sea of glowing yellow.

A 'superbloom' of this scale is exceptional and relies on a selection of rare weather events occurring in perfect conjunction with each other. These include strong desert winds early on to spread the seeds, light winter rainfall to clear a layer of mud and expose them for growth, and heavy spring rainfall to hydrate them and encourage growth. All enabled by the strength of the current El Niño episode, these factors have resulted in a magnificent bloom which has drawn people from across California and even the rest of the US to bear its witness.

Desert Gold (Geraea canescens)

As the current spell of El Niño weather conditions bring life to Death Valley, I am once again reminded of how fortunate I am to study abroad and experience the subjects of my geographical studies first hand.

References

Ashok, K. and T. Yamagata (2009) 'The El Nino with a difference', Nature, 461, 7263: 481-484.

NOAA (2016) 'February 2016 El Niño Update' (WWW), Silver Spring: NOAA (https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/february-2016-el-niño-update-q-a…and-some-thursday-morning-quarterbacking; 7 March 2016).

Learning about and experiencing the marine layer

My EPS 9 (Solar Systems and Planets) class has taken a recent break from astrology to focus on Earth’s atmosphere. In doing so we have looked at the marine layer. This occurs when an air mass forms over the surface of a cool ocean or lake. Because this body of air is higher in density than the warm air above, it becomes trapped below forming a flat layer (NOAA 2011).

This is not a rare phenomenon in Southern California where cool waters moving down from Alaska allow the marine layer to form. Due to a high pressure gradient from desert heating, the marine layer often moves inland engulfing much of the coast in heavy fog.

Last week exactly this happened. For two days Los Angeles became grey and cloudy with poor visibility. While locals find this deeply disturbing, I found it fantastic for two reasons: first it gave us a respite to the glaring sun which has been belching out days with high’s of 27ºC. Secondly because it was very exciting to experience a weather event that, only a few days prior, we had learned about in class.

Un unusual view of UCLA with the marine layer blocking out the Sun

UCLA is not just a brilliant place to study geography; it is also situated in an extraordinarily interesting region to study the geography of, both human and physical. This was one of my key motivations for choosing it as my host university for studying abroad. I am glad that, through my EPS class, I have had yet another chance to engage with my geographical studies first hand.

References

NOAA (2011) ‘The Marine Layer’ (WWW), Silver Spring: NOAA (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/ocean/marine.htm; 26 February 2016).

Film Review: The Day of the Locust

John Schlesinger’s (1975) vision of Nathaniel West’s seminal The Day of the Locust (1938) uses Hollywood to metaphorically depict America during the Great Depression. The story focusses on a small group of characters: the socially and sexually awkward Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland), Yale graduate and storyboard illustrator Tod Hackett (William Atherton), ex-Vaudeville trouper turned door-to-door salesman Harry Greener (Burgess Meredith), and his daughter Faye (Karen Black), an ‘actress’ who is romantically involved with both Homer and Tod throughout.

All four characters have moved to Los Angeles to fulfil their fantasies. This includes gaining their share of the American dream and taking advantage of the country’s economic mobility. However as the film unravels it becomes evident that none of them will achieve this. Like the rest of the US that it represents, Los Angeles is unable to deliver on its promises. This idea is frequently alluded to throughout by Tod’s sketch of a group of faceless and miserable people, the locusts, sitting on a city bench and waiting for a bus that never seems to come.

The 'locusts' waiting for a bus that never comes (Schlesinger 1975)

Following my last post about falseness in Los Angeles, I think the metaphorical use of the city to represent a land of empty dreams is particularly interesting. This dates back to the late 19th century when boosters created an image of the city as the answer to the nation’s problems. In doing so they rewrote the region’s narrative using the ‘Spanish fantasy past’ as a foundation. The San Bernardino Arms, a crumbling Spanish Mission Revival style housing complex where our characters live, is perhaps a nod to the city’s artificial history. Following the era of intense boosterism described in my previous post, Los Angeles’ facade has only been amplified by the film industry. This is a key theme in The Day of the Locust. It is this dream that has lured the superficial and shallow to the city. Homer, Tod, Harry and Faye are all victims of this.

While the film does an excellent job portraying an unsatisfactory America and the profoundly negative effect unfulfilled promises can have on its people, I felt that Schlesinger went a little overkill on his metaphorical allusions. An apocalyptic final scene depicting rioting outside a premier at Grauman's Chinese Theatre suggests the country is headed for an anarchistic revolution. During this crux, Schlesinger perhaps hits the message a little too far home by overlaying Tod’s sketches of locusts onto the rioting crowd. This leaves very little for audiences to interpret themselves.

References

Schlesinger, J. (1975) The Day of the Locust, Hollywood: Long Road Productions

West, N. (1938) The Day of the Locust, New York: Random House.

Los Angeles and the commodification of falseness

Los Angeles is a city shrouded by a reputation of falseness. With a great deal of its early growth being the result of the film industry’s move to Hollywood at the start of the 20th century, it is now known as a host to many who come to reinvent themselves for the screen (Sklar 1975). However as my History M155 class has illustrated, this reputation has far preceded the introduction of film to Los Angeles. In fact it dates back to the city’s very earliest days.

Founded in 1781 as ‘El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula’, or ‘the town of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula’, Los Angeles’ history is marked with conflict, violence and racism (Pool 2005). Though the Spanish colonisation of California was more peaceful than some of their previous conquests, the Manifest Destiny of the Americans - the belief that the United States should stretch from coast to coast - brought with it great violence and the massacring of many indigenous communities (Stephanson 1995; Villa 2002). This peaked during the 1846-48 American-Mexican war whereby the wholesale destruction of many towns was an everyday occurrence. The 1847 razing of Tongva Village was a prime example. While Mexicans and indigenous communities were at the centre of such conflict, other ethnic groups also suffered severe violence. The 1871 Chinese massacre in Calle de los Negros was perhaps the most scarring case (Zesch 2012). In addition to violence, the gerrymandering of the city’s districts gave political power to the wealthy Anglo-American elite, leaving little for Los Angeles’ non-white residents (Sonenshein 1993).

However this history has been largely ignored. It was the belief of several of Los Angeles’ early American colonisers, such as Henry E. Huntington and General Harrison Gray Otis, that Los Angeles was destined to become the most important city in the country, if not the world (Friedricks 1992). These early ‘boosters’ of the city guided others in creating an image of Los Angeles that would attract people from across the nation to move West and help the city grow. In a similar manner to the screenwriters who would later occupy Hollywood, boosters essentially created a new narrative of Los Angeles. This was done by promoting a variety of positive aspects of Southern California including its climate, the year-round citrus trade, and perhaps most controversially, its ‘Spanish fantasy past’ (Zimmerman 2008).

Spanish fantasy past is an early example of Los Angeles creating a false image of itself. Rather than focus on the city's bloody history, boosters appropriated and commodified Mexican culture for the consumption of tourists and eventual immigrants. This marketing campaign focussed heavily on the built environment and Los Angeles soon became decorated by Spanish Mission Revival architecture, much of which still characterises the city to this day (Weitze 1984). Similarly, bells were placed along the El Camino Real - which straddles much of Highway 101 - to trace and commemorate the journey taken by the Mission padres from San Diego to San Francisco (Kurillo and Tuttle 2000).

Travel poster advertising Los Angeles' sunny climate and Mission style architecture

Poster advertising Los Angeles through its citrus trade

UCLA's Beta Theta Pi fraternity chapter influenced by Mission style architecture

Bell decorating the El Camino Real

This romanticisation of Los Angeles’ past was extremely successful. Between 1850-1930 the city’s population grew from 1,610 to 1,238,048 allowing it to quickly become a regional economic powerhouse (USCB 1853; USCB 1931). However this was done by covering up the savage destruction of the region’s preceding communities and, to add insult to injury, using their cultures to sell an altered version of history. Following a previous article I wrote regarding the commodification of place names, it is interesting to consider that I am currently living in a city which is itself the commodification of an entire culture pulled from beneath its feet. It thus seems appropriate that Los Angeles, whose ‘history’ is an inaccurate and romanticised facade used to disguise its brutal past, should be regarded by many as home to the fake and superficial.

References

Pool, B. (2005) ‘City of Angels' First Name Still Bedevils Historians’ (WWW), Los Angeles: Los Angeles Times, (http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/26/local/me-name26; 26 January 2016).

Friedricks, W.B. (1992) Henry E. Huntington and the Creation of Southern California, Columbus: Ohio State University

Kurillo, M. and E. Tuttle (2000) California's El Camino Real and Its Historic Bells, San Diego: Sunbelt.

Sklar, R. (1975) Movie-made America, New York: Random House.

Sonenshein, R. (1993) Politics in Black and White, New Jersey: Princeton University.

Stephanson, A. (1995) Manifest Destiny: American Expansion and the Empire of Right, New York: Hill and Wang.

USCB (1853) The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850, Washington: United States Census Bureau.

USCB (1931) Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, Washington: United States Census Bureau.

Villa, R.R. (2002) Barrio Logos: Place and Space in Urban Chicano Culture and Literature, Austin: Texas: University of Texas.

Walker, D.L. (1999) Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California 1846, New York: Macmillan.

Weitze, K.J. (1984) California's Mission Revival, Los Angeles: Hennessy & Ingalls.

Zesch, S. (2012) The Chinatown War: Chinese Los Angeles and the Massacre of 1871, New York: Oxford University.

Zimmerman, T. (2008) Paradise Promoted: The Booster Campaign That Created Los Angeles, 1870-1930, Santa Monica: Angel City.

Road trip around the South

One of the best things about living in the United States is the enormous potential for domestic travel. In true American style the best way to do this is by car. This is not just because of the incredibly low fuel prices of $1.439/gallon, which equates to £0.23/litre in the UK! While writing a post last term, I realised how much I preferred the journey to places than the destinations themselves. While on the road, whether as the driver or a passenger, you are exposed to a far more authentic side of the country through the lives of ordinary Americans. Indeed Tim Edensor (2003: 151) argues that roads 'are enmeshed within unpredictable, multiple flows of ideas, sensations, other spaces and times, narratives, and socialites'. Though this may seem mundane to some, it has been one of my greatest joys while travelling on my year abroad.

It was in this light that, following a brief visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I joined some friends on a five day road trip of the Deep South. Driving a total of 2,060 miles, we visited a total of eight states (Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee). Along the way we crossed the historical Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, stopped at Panama Beach, drove over the Great Smokey and Blue Ridge Mountains, and visited the disturbingly pristine Parthenon in Nashville. However the best part of the journey was taking in America on the open road.

A map of our route

References

Edensor, T. (2003) 'Defamiliarizing the Mundane Roadscape', Space & Culture, 6, 2, 151-168.

Here are some photos taken along the way:

Sauvage Bayou, Louisiana

Panama City Beach, Florida

Cahaba, Alabama

Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

Cahaba, Alabama

Cognitive mapping in Los Angeles

Following on from a post I wrote earlier this term, I have done a little more reading into how transport methods affect our knowledge of cities. In an article written for Access Magazine Mondschein et al. (2013) distinguish two general modes of travel. These are cognitively active, which includes walking or driving, and cognitively passive whereby someone is a passenger of a car or public transit.

They argue that cognitively active travellers are far more capable of generating mental maps of Los Angeles. This because the are constantly exercising their cognitive mapping abilities as they navigate through the city. This contrasts with cognitively passive travellers who do not engage as much with their routes or surroundings. This was demonstrated by cognitively active travellers being more able to estimate the distance between themselves and nearby locales. They were also more capable at describe the locations of their homes and workplaces using street names and intersections as opposed to local landmarks.

Cognitively passive travellers who focus on other things, such as texting or browsing the internet, create incomplete mental maps. They may therefore lose out on opportunities that ‘unknown’ parts of the city may offer. These include jobs, services or certain forms of recreation.

In line with my earlier post, Mondschein et al. (2013) argue that an active engagement with transport leads to a greater knowledge of cities. However we do not agree on everything. Namely while I believe that public transit facilitates the creation of better ‘mental maps’ of the city, they argue that such modes of transport are inhibitive of cognitive mapping. They instead argue that driving cars is more effective.

I can appreciate the reason for this argument. They suggest that while on a bus or tram, commuters pay no attention to what is around them. Inversely, they suggest that drivers are actively route planning and therefore more engaged with their surroundings.

However I believe that Mondschein et al. (2013) have ignored a key aspect of both modes of transport: the level of interaction with maps. As I previously argued, GPS systems used in cars limit a driver’s exposure of a city to their nearby surroundings. This prevents a more holistic, long-term understanding of the city. Users of public transport, on the other hand, are frequently exposed to maps of the whole city which I suggest is more conducive to effective mental mapping.

A map of Los Angeles' bus and rail systems

I would therefore be interested to conduct a slight variation on this research, focussing instead on how people's use of GPS affects their ability to cognitively map a city.

References

Mondschein, A., E. Blumenberg and B.D. Taylor (2013) ‘Going Mental: Everyday Travel and the Cognitive Map’, Access, 43: 2-7.

Visually mapping Los Angeles

My last post suggested that poor public transport connections and the dominance of the car in Los Angeles have given residents a poor sense of what exists around them, myself being no exception to this.

In an attempt to challenge this I plan to improve my understanding of what is around me by mapping nearby areas, sites and buildings onto photos of Los Angeles. With UCLA's dorms, which are located on the uppermost section of the bowl shaped campus, offer fantastic vantage points to do this. However in order to gain a further understanding of what makes up this enormous city I have also attempted to map locales onto a photo of Los Angeles taken from the Griffith Park Observatory.

South facing view of Los Angeles from the Griffith Park Observatory

East facing view of UCLA with some of Los Angeles in the background from my dorm in Sproul Hall

South-west facing view of Westwood with Los Angeles and the West Coast in the background from De Neve Holly Hall

Map of Los Angeles showing the points and directions (blue arrows) at which photos were taken

How do modes of transport affect our knowledge of cities?

Last week my History M155 (History of Los Angeles) professor, Dr deGuzman, asked if I had any feedback for his class. As a Geography student my response was immediate: I suggested that he use more maps. While listening to events that have happened in Los Angeles’ past, I had realised I did not know where in the city such episodes had taken place. Names like Olvera Street, Fort Hill and the Lower Plaza kept coming up, but I did not know where they were in relation to the rest of the city.

Picking up on my English accent, Dr deGuzman asked if I would need maps for a History of London class. ‘Of course not’ was my response, ‘I know the city like the back of my hand.’ He then asked whether I could study any other city's history without a map. After a little consideration I suggested a History of New York would be a possibility.

Last term I wrote an article about how available modes of transport in Los Angeles, London and New York have affected my ability to experience each city. My discussion with Dr deGuzman has pointed my attention to the impacts different modes of transport can also have on one’s knowledge of where things are within a city.

When travelling around London’s extensive public transport network, one is constantly forced to look at maps. The most prominent of these is Transport for London’s (TFL) famous Tube Map. Though the map is schematic rather than accurately geographic, it gives users a rough overview of where many areas of London are located. This can be the case even if such places are not a part of a traveller’s daily commute. A paper presented in 2008 by Katrin Dziekan (cited in Guo 2011: 2) confirms that transit maps are the ‘primary source of information for passengers traveling to unfamiliar places.’ The power of TFL's map to inform people of the city’s geography has been demonstrated by David Mullins et al. (2012) who argue that locales south of the River Thames, where tube connections are notoriously more sparse, are far less well known to London residents. Zhan Guo (2011) has also found that most commuters plan their routes using transit maps. This leads to many travellers taking routes that appear shorter on maps, but are in fact longer in terms of time and distance.

Transport for London's schematic Tube Map

New York’s MTA Subway map, which is geographically accurate, presents an even greater opportunity to learn how the city is laid out. Indeed every time one looks at the layout of the subway they are confronted with a map of the entirety of New York from Staten Island to Queens. This explains why, in only one week, I was able to quickly understand where everything within the city is located. On reflection, this was certainly one of the reasons I felt a much greater initial sense of belonging in New York than in Los Angeles.

New York's MTA geographically accurate Subway Map

Unlike New Yorkers and Londoners, residents of Los Angeles spend very little time interacting with maps of their city. Instead, with private vehicles comprising almost 79% of Los Angeles’ transport, a driver’s greatest exposure to the city is often through satellite navigation systems which tend to only show one’s immediate surroundings (USCB 2012). Ironically it seems that while commuters in London and New York spend more time underground, they have a greater understanding what is above them than residents of Los Angeles.

Satellite Navigation display whereby drivers can only see their immediate surroundings

I believe this could have quite a severe impact on the psyches of Angelenos. With such a restricted exposure to their city’s layout, I would argue that residents could have a weaker understanding of who and what lies around them. Without such an awareness I believe that residents generate a somewhat more insular outlook towards the rest of the city. This could potentially lead to the creation of more enclave communities as people try to cut themselves off from the surrounding city (Luymes 1997).

References

Bownes, D., O. Green and S. Mullins (2012) London Underground 150: How the Tube Shaped London, London: Penguin Books.

Dziekan, L. (2008) 'The transit experience of newcomers to a city – learning phases, system difficulties, and information search strategies,' paper presented at the 87th meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.

Guo, Z. (2011) ‘Mind the Map! The Impact of Transit Maps on Path Choice in Public Transit’, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 45, 7, 625-639.

Luymes, D. (1997) ‘The fortification of suburbia: investigating the rise of enclave communities’, Landscape and Urban Planning, 39, 2, 187-203.

U.S. Census Bureau (2012) ‘2008-2012 American Community Survey’ (WWW), Suitland: U.S. Census Bureau (http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk; 18 November 2015).

Grades in the UK and US continued: liberal arts versus STEM

Continuing on from my previous post, I have looked a little further into the differences between grading systems in the UK and the US.

In my earlier post I argue that it is somewhat easier to achieve higher grades in the US than in the UK. However my perspective on this topic is warped by the fact that, rather than belonging to the sciences, I am a liberal arts student. As such it is only appropriate to consider whether grading also differs for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students.

Following some secondary and informal primary research, I have come across an interesting observation: non-STEM students in the UK seem less likely to achieve higher grades than STEM students, while in the US the opposite appears to be true.

In 2012 the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reported that only 8.1% of law students compared with 30% of mathematics students were awarded first class degrees. The table below further demonstrates this disparity. This contrasts with Todd and Ralph Stinebrickner’s (2011) findings that while 19.8% of US students begin university with the intention of majoring in STEM fields, only 7.4% remain true to their word as the remaining 12.4% move towards liberal arts where grading is less harsh.

First class degrees awarded by subject for the academic year (UK) 1998/99 (HESA 2001)

From what I gather this is partly linked to the mechanisms through which liberal arts and STEM subjects are graded. As previously mentioned, from a liberal arts perspective 100% is valued differently in both countries. In the US it refers to the highest expectation placed upon students while in the UK 100% is a standard measured against the entire academic community. However this only holds true when marking subjective and argument driven essays. From a STEM perspective 100% means getting all the questions in a paper correct. In short, getting 7/10 in a STEM subject will result in a 70% being awarded in both the UK and the US, but not the same grade. Rather as my previous post indicates, 70% equals a ‘first’ in the UK and a barely passable ‘C’ in the US.

For the sake of brevity I will not look too much further into this. Certainly with 70% being an entirely different threshold for both countries, I am sure that STEM questions would be much more challenging in the UK to prevent everyone getting artificially high grades. Curving of grades is also something that needs to be taken into consideration. However, the fundamental differences in grading style between both countries do point to it being more possible to achieve higher grades in STEM subjects than the liberal arts in the UK, and the reverse in the US.

References

HESA (2001) ‘Statistics Focus’, Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2, 3, 1-22.

HESA (2012) ‘Higher education student enrolments and qualifications obtained at higher education institution in the United Kingdom for the academic year 2010/11’ (WWW), Higher Education Statistics Agency (https://www.hesa.ac.uk/pr/2355-statistical-first-release-169; 12 January 2016).

Stinebrickner T.R. and R. Stinebrickner (2011) ‘Math or science? Using longitudinal expectations data to examine the process of choosing a college major’ (WWW), Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research (http://www.nber.org/papers/w16869; 12 January 2016).

Grades in the UK and US: what’s the difference?

One of the first things I noticed as I began my studies in September was the difference in grading systems between the US and UK. When asked by another student about my ‘GPA’ (grade point average), the best response I could offer was my average percentage of 71 that I had achieved over the past two years at UCL. ‘71?’ they asked, ‘you must be really struggling!’ I was quickly informed that 70% equates to a C- in the US higher education system, the minimum score required to pass a class at UCLA.

Having completed my first quarter of classes abroad, I have now become more acquainted with the American grading system and how it translates to the UK’s. As the table below illustrates, it is a fairly simple conversion (Fulbright Commission n/d). In each case grade classifications are separated by 10%. With both systems offering five classifications, the highest grade is therefore separated from a fail by 31%.

UK Classification	UK %	US Grade	US %	GPA
First-class	70+	A	90+	4.0 (A+ = 4.00; A- = 3.67)
Upper second-class	60-69	B	80-89	3.0 (B+ = 3.33; B- = 2.67)
Lower second-class	50-59	C	70-79	2.0 (C+ = 2.33; C- = 1.67)
Third class	40-49	D	60-69	1.0 (D+ = 1.33; D- = 0.67)
Fail	0-39	F	0-59	0.0

UK versus US grade classifications (Fulbright Commission n/d)

The only difference between the two models is the absolute percentage values of each grade range. However this carries particular significance when considering the highest grades offered by each system. In the US an A-grade (90% or above) informs a student that they are at most 10% below an entirely perfect piece of work. By contrast, in the UK a first-class (70% or above) could be as much as 30% below this level.

I first realised the significance of this when I was awarded 98% for a reflective coursework essay written for my UCLA FTV106 class. While I was pleased with this mark and proud of my work, I could not help feeling that this paper was nowhere near 2% below a perfect argument of my thesis. Rather I am sure that had I spent more time and care on the essay it could have been a far better piece. Contrasting with this, my highest mark achieved at UCL to date has been 77%. This somehow felt like a much greater achievement and I am still unsure what I could have done to improve by 23%.

In an attempt to find out what separates these two marks from 100% I have looked at the marking criteria offered by both universities. UCLA’s (n/d) measures are very concise. Students are offered an A-grade (90-99%) for work of ‘superior’ quality, while an A+ (100%) is reserved for work of ‘extraordinary’ quality. UCL’s (n/d a) grade descriptions are a little more comprehensive:

First-class (70-79%): Shows a deep understanding of the question, and is very well organised and expressed. Evidence of very good analytical skills, critical thinking and appropriate reading. Very good grasp of concepts. Comprehensive use of relevant examples. 

First-class excellent (80-89%): Surpasses the standards associated with the 70-79% level. The work displays a deep, critical understanding of the question, with excellent level of organisation and expression. Evidence of excellent analytical skills, critical thinking and appropriate reading. Excellent grasp of concepts. Extensive and critical use of relevant examples. 

First-class outstanding (90-100%): Exceptional thoroughness and clarity. Exceptional insight or originality in the use of evidence. Outstanding critical ability based on extensive reading. Clear ability to formulate responses to questions in novel and relevant ways.

Clearly, the two grading systems value 100% very differently. It seems that in the US 0-100% is a measure of what is expected of students, thus full marks are perfectly attainable. At British universities 0-100% appears to be a measure of what is expected in the academic community. This is suggested by UCL’s usage of words such as ‘originality’, ‘critical’ and ‘novel’, implying that an outstanding first-class should be awarded to an article of journal standard. Indeed many university departments state that work receiving above 85% is publishable (see Nottingham University 2011; UCL n/d b). Thus students in the UK mostly receive marks in the 60s range, rarely reaching above the high-70s. I believe the impact this has on the psyche of British students is quite significant. A score of 70% informs us we do not need to do any better, but that we can do almost 1.5 times better. For those students not only driven by grades but also by doing the very best possible, this extra 30% is an enormous incentive to improve the quality of their work. This perhaps helps lay a clearer path towards a career in academia amongst UK graduates than it does in the US.

It is important to note that this blog is written from the perspective of a liberal arts student and that this article refers to the marking of essays rather than short answer questions such as those found in the sciences.

References

Fulbright Commission (n/d) ‘Marks’ (WWW), London: Fulbright Commission (http://www.fulbright.org.uk/pre-departure/academics/marks; 5 January 2016).

Nottingham University (2011) ‘Writing essays’ (WWW), Nottingham: Nottingham University (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/philosophy/documents/ug/essay-guidelines.pdf; 6 January 2016).

UCL (n/d a) ‘Grade Descriptors and Marking Criteria’ (WWW), London: UCL (http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/undergraduate/grade-descriptors; 5 January 2016).

UCL (n/d b) History Department Undergraduate Marking Criteria’ (WWW), London: UCL (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/history/undergraduate/current-undergraduates/marking-criteria; 6 January 2016).

UCLA (n/d) ‘UCLA General Catalogue: Grades’ (WWW), Los Angeles: UCLA (http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/archive/catalog/2005-07/catalog/catalog05-07acadpol-2.htm; 5 January 2016).