The journey through FYP helped Sam Flood discover her love of the contemporary era and its literature. Now, she is graduating with a combined honours in contemporary studies and political science as well as a certificate in art history.
What drew you to King’s originally?
An older counsellor at my summer camp told me when I was 15 that King’s would be the perfect choice for me. I wasn’t really thinking about university at that point, but the thought of King’s and all the stories she told me about Halifax stuck around in my head until I was in Grade 12. I knew I wanted a small school with a tight-knit community, something niche and somewhere new—I had never been to Halifax, but the beautiful pictures of the campus helped. I was lucky to have an incredible English Lit teacher at my high school (a shared experience with a lot of King’s students, I find), Dr. Downey, who exposed me to authors like Italo Calvino, Lewis Carroll and, of course, a lot of Shakespeare—he really pushed me to choose King’s. The Foundation Year Program (FYP) was, of course, a major decision in my choice; the thought of taking a whole year to read my way through history with others who were just as interested in, though mostly unfamiliar with, the texts we encountered sounded something that was right up my alley.
What program are you graduating from, and what inspired you to pursue that program?
In the end, I graduated with a combined honours in contemporary studies (CSP) and political science and a certificate in art history. I originally thought I’d be a classics kid, and then the early modern period fascinated me (I really loved everything we read in FYP), but by the time we got to the era of revolutions and our contemporary period, I knew what my focus would be for the next part of my degree. Everything I had been reading on my own time: Butler, Waugh, Woolf, hooks and Davis, was pointing me in the direction of the contemporary era, so it just seemed right to choose CSP.
Political science seemed to be a perfect complement to the theory and literature-dense education I was already getting at King’s. And I was right—everything I read and talked about in contemporary studies was mirrored perfectly in political science, allowing me to really apply my CSP readings and discussions to current events around the world. I remember my first political science class at Dalhousie with Dr. David Black; my friends and I all sat in the same row and took handwritten notes. After class, he waved us over and asked: “You’re all King’s students, aren’t you?”
It was the visual arts and films of the inter-war period, which I discovered in a few Dalhousie history classes with Dr. John Bingham, that led me to add to the art history certificate. It was really great having a whole other focus to my degree.
Was there a course, professor, reading requirement or experience that has had a lasting impact on you?
There’s no way to list every text I encountered through CSP that I know I will hold close for the rest of my life, but to name a few: Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals from Professor Catherine Fullarton’s class, and How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir by Amber Dawn and “L’Intrus” by Jean-Luc Nancy from Dr. Dorota Glowacka’s classes.
Taking the Berlin study abroad course with Dr. Sarah Clift and Dr. Maria Euchner at the end of my second year was definitely the highlight of my degree, something I know is a sentiment shared by most students who went on that trip. I couldn’t get enough of the city, especially when first exploring it while reading Walter Benjamin’s Berlin Childhood around 1900, which I’ve read over and over again since. Seeing the work of some of my favourite artists whom I encountered in the history class, 20th-century European Art, Literature and Film at the Neue Nationalgalerie and getting the chance to write about them was such a treat. I couldn’t sing higher praises to this course.
I took Dr. Susan Dodd’s Apocalypse class in second year, a course that definitely inspired my honours thesis, which attempted to flesh out an Arendtian theory on nuclear war, the stuff of apocalyptic nightmare. We seem to have transitioned out of this cold war zeitgeist obsessed with nuclear annihilation, despite the fact that many nuclear-armed countries are currently updating their arsenals—something I feel to be deeply troubling. Hannah Arendt, a popular figure in the CSP curriculum, but a seemingly unlikely thinker for this topic, jumped out at me immediately when thinking about this issue. Her writings on natality, theory of action and her distinctly Roman conception of international law provided much insight into the gravity of the nuclear dilemma in the 21st century while imploring us to think of it daily with courage fueled by our “love for the world,” as Arendt said.
Dr. Margaret Denike’s course, Sex, Race and the State, which I took at Dalhousie, was particularly impactful too. The lessons and readings will continue to help me think about state control, the role of the law and issues related to gender, race and class, especially considering current U.S. politics.
What’s your favourite snack for late night study sessions?
I’m a big fan of the chicken kofte wrap at the Turkish restaurant Chef In The Kitchen on LeMarchant St.—by far the best place to eat near campus.
What will you miss most?
I’ve totally fallen in love with Halifax and the East Coast during my time at King’s, so I’m sticking around the city for a little bit post-grad. But I think I’ll always be chasing the high of my first FYP lecture—my legs were bouncing up and down in my chair, and my pen was flying through my notebook—I was so excited.
A small program like CSP, and a greater (still small) community like King’s really draws in people who are passionate, spirited and connected to what they learn and do—the genuine curiosity and closeness I found in the community will definitely be hard to emulate elsewhere. It’s the small things like chatting with classmates and professors before our classes and late-night writing crunches in the library that I’ll miss the most. I worked at the front desk of Alexandra Hall for my entire undergrad and would always be sure to work on move-in day and welcome all the new first-years—there’s just something about September at King’s that I’ll miss so much. My morning bike ride to school in the warmer months with my two roommates, Cece and Rowan (who I also happened to share almost every CSP class with) was the best part of my school day. Cruising into the Quad and saying a quick hello to everyone we passed on our way always filled me with excitement for my classes.
What’s one thing from your time at King’s that you’re especially proud of?
Completing my thesis and taking on my defence was a challenge for me, one that was incredibly rewarding and thrilling! I felt that I really got to know Arendt while reading her most important texts, which was a really wonderful experience—I’d often look through her poetry or correspondences to take a break from her more dense writing.
Thinking back to who you were when you received your acceptance letter, what would you tell her?
Don’t try to swallow your excitement for the next four years! Your expectations only brush the surface!
Where do you hope your degree takes you next?
Well, right now I’m working as a research consultant at the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, just on LeMarchant St., so not too far from King’s. But in the next year, I’m hoping to backpack through Chile, Bolivia and Argentina for a few months and apply to grad school. I’m not too sure yet, but I’d love to make my way back to the U.K. (where I lived as a kid) for an MPhil, maybe in Peace and Conflict studies or something law related. I know whatever program I choose will probably mirror CSP in some way: something interdisciplinary and with a good balance of pretty much everything.
