I am writing this blog on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, one full day before my departure, and I am feeling both excited and slightly worried about my trip to Thailand. I have travelled to many places and have branched out in practically every direction, both within and away from Europe. I have also travelled east,...
In some families, the inheritance isn’t money… It’s a knife. A baton of survival, passed silently from one generation to the next. On streets like Church Road, among communities of colour, that baton became a legacy. The truth for many young black boys is that the knife isn’t about power; it’s about protection, identity, or...
To belong to a place you never lived in is a strange inheritance. For many diasporic Africans, “home” is more a presence than a location, felt in names, rhythms, stories, and the hushed pull of a continent that lives inside us even when we may never have stood on its soil. It is important as...
In this digital age, questions of who speaks, who decides, and who benefits have become central to understanding how technology reshapes democracy. Digital activism has redefined participation, transforming communication and civic power through Artificial Intelligence or AI. In the context of this discussion, it will be argued that AI will continue to expand accessibility...
Having returned from our trip to Turkey, I feel like I have a much deeper and more personal understanding of the country. I anticipated gaining knowledge, but the experience exceeded all my expectations. I experienced moments that truly astonished me, particularly the sensation of moving from one continent to another in just a few minutes....
When I was a child playing sports in my small rural town, I could never understand why I sometimes felt so uncomfortable. As a young teen, I just wanted to do the thing I loved: playing games with people I considered my friends. Yet I would speak to my family and ask why I didn’t...
The history of the Caribbean is rooted in the lives of its Indigenous peoples, such as the Kalinago and Taíno communities, who sustained themselves through fishing, agriculture, and careful use of natural resources. This long-established way of life changed dramatically from the 15th century onward as European powers—including Spain, Britain, France, and the Netherlands—began colonising...
This trip to Turkey has been an immense pleasure. We were fortunate to be in the presence of various academics and student representatives who shared their presentations, further deepening our understanding of Turkey’s development model and beautifully uniting and building upon every lecture and reading we have covered in this module. This trip allowed us...
Over the last week, I embarked on a journey with my classmates to Istanbul, the city known as the meeting point between Europe and Asia, not only in a literal geographic sense, but also through its rich culture, vibrant politics, and storied history. Istanbul is a unique city because it seamlessly blends the legacies of...
After spending five days and four nights in Istanbul, Turkey, my perspective on the country has undergone a complete transformation. Before visiting, I only knew Turkey as a place rich in history and architecture, but being there allowed me to experience the culture, religion, and development of Turkish society in a much deeper way. On...
My visit to Türkiye changed many of the ideas I had before the trip. Before travelling, I imagined the country simply as a place between Europe and Asia, with the European side being more modern, safer and more similar to Western cities. I expected the lifestyle to feel European, even though most people are Muslim....
Before joining the field trip to Turkey, my understanding of the country was shaped mainly by my favourite novel, My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk. I imagined Turkey as a place where tradition dominated everyday life and where the cultural influence of the Ottoman Empire remained visibly strong. However, during the trip, several experiences...