Dr. Elizabeth Baigent, Senior Tutor with the Programmes in Oxford, is the University Reader in the History of Geography. She was educated at the universities of Oxford and Münster. She has held research fellowships at the universities of Oxford and Stockholm and a visiting professorship at John Hopkins University, with funding from bodies such as the British Academy and the Fulbright Commission. From 1993 to 2003 she was Research Director of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and Research Lecturer in the History Faculty. She has 530 scholarly publications including a (co-authored) book which won an international prize. She is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Historical Society, and the Royal Geographical Society.
Where were you born and raised?
I spent all my early life in England, much of it in Bath in the west of England. I was one of four sisters and had a very happy childhood.
What international travel have you done, and how has that affected the way you view the world?
I began to travel internationally as a teenager as a member of various orchestras and choirs. This was hugely enjoyable, but hardly gave much of an insight into the cultures of the places we visited. That came later when I had a year as a graduate student at Münster University in Germany, and then a year as a research fellow at Stockholm University. The experience of living in another culture is chastening, and even humbling when one is working in a different language. I spoke no German or Swedish before arriving in those countries and so had to learn quickly. Academic conversations weren’t particularly daunting as academics have a certain, well understood, way of speaking to each other in any western country, but daily challenges such as chatting to children or registering with the authorities were far more difficult. It made me realise how difficult life is for immigrants and how their words and actions are easily misunderstood. The problem is not just one of language either: I had a year at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, when, despite being a native speaker of the language, I definitely felt I lived up to the designation of ‘Alien’ which my passport bore.
Did you grow up with a love for learning, or is it something that developed over time or at a pivotal point in your life?
My mother is an Oxford graduate and teacher, so my sisters and I had no option but to excel academically. Three of the four of us were undergraduates at Oxford (the fourth followed a course not offered at Oxford) and we have all gone on to have good careers. . I think I never really considered having a career other than an academic one, but I get increasing pleasure and satisfaction out of being an academic.
What does it mean to be a University Reader?
The titles of ‘professor’ and ‘reader’ are given at Oxford to those with outstanding publication records. It’s a title of distinction which carries no particular duties with it, so my job with the CCCU’s Programmes in Oxford continues as before.
What is involved in your role as Senior Tutor with The Scholars’ Semester in Oxford (SSO)?
As well as giving lectures and tutorials, I work with other academic members of staff to devise courses, allocate students to tutors, and ensure work is appropriately assessed. I work hard to integrate our students with the University at large and to help them get the most out of their time here. I enjoy having everything well-organised so that the course runs smoothly and we can get on with academic work
The Scholars’ Semester in Oxford has a reputation for being the most academically challenging student program offered to CCCU students. Why do you think that is?
Because that’s the point of it. The academic standards at the University at large are very high and we try to take only those who are intellectually equipped to come. When they are here the students get pushed very hard to do better, regardless of what level they are performing at. They use world-class libraries: when researching for a piece of independent writing in Oxford an SSO student from a small college described as ‘exhilarating’ the thought he could find exactly those texts which he wanted to read, so that his aspirations did not have to be curtailed to fit the resources available. Academic standards are uncompromising, and although students enjoy social, musical or sporting activities too, these are much further down on the list of priorities.
What do you suppose is the hardest thing for an American student to adjust to with the Oxford system of learning?
The tutorial. This is the heart of the Oxford undergraduate course. The tutor sets reading for the week, the student reads and answers an essay question set by the tutor, and the two then meet, alone, to discuss the work. There is no back row in the tutorial: the student’s abilities and effort are subject to intense scrutiny.
What is the most rewarding thing for students studying in Oxford?
The tutorial! It is daunting but pleasurable to have an hour each week when your concerns and enthusiasms and arguments take centre-stage, and when your thinking is subject to intense scrutiny.
How have you noticed students becoming inspired in Oxford?
For the really clever ones Oxford is a revelation. They go back in command of their subject and with their ambitions set on world-class universities for graduate school. One of our former students is now at Oxford doing his doctoral work; another is choosing between Harvard and Cambridge for hers. Of course the students’ home institutions as well as the students themselves must take the credit for much of this, but the students often say that Oxford played a pivotal role in changing their expectations of what scholarship is and what their part in it might be.
Tell me a little bit about your family. I understand you have three sons?
Yes, they are 11, nine and seven years old, so they keep me busy. It’s a pleasure to watch them develop and learn. The boys enjoy parties with the students. They are all very kind to them, though also amused at seeing the Senior Tutor at the mercy of three exuberant and sometimes intractable small boys.
