h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk - A6169403
Author: AgProv - U538194

Brief history of this piece:

I wrote a guide entry on the county of Norfolk that was popularly held to be "good, but impossibly long".

I then split it down into four seperate entries so that the bit that was specifically about Norfolk could be submitted seperately.

This was originally the last section of the "Norfolk" entry ( an essay on "The City of Norwich" span off form "Norfolk" and then an essay on "UEA" was a natural spin-off from "Norwich")

Submitted all sections seperately to Peer Review, but this one on the UEA was handicapped by it being at least thirteen years since I was last in Norwich.

So this was written from memory and hasn't acounted for recent changes: as a result it's not a picture of how the university isd now, it's a memory (maybe even a fond one) of how it was then.

Challenge: working this up into something relevant and current!

Any and all UEA people are invited to punt ideas in.

Cheers

AgProv (8422656)
EAS, 1984-88, last in Norwich in 1993

Couple of suggestions:

It is an interesting fact that UEA was built on a golf course (which explains the odd set up of the natural grounds).

It is also well known for being one of the top 'lefty' uni's in the country, probably boosted by the the number of Environmental Science students at the university (who attend the Climate Change research centre which is apparently one of the best in Europe). Additionally, almost every single one of Norwich's 9 Green Party councilers (highest for the party in the country) have something to do with the university.

I don't remember you mentioning the Creative Writing Degree - which is one of UEA's most important degree's and is rated as the top degree of its kind in Europe - people who have graduated from that include Ian McEwan and Tracy Chevalier, and the degree is taught by authors such as Michele Roberts, Patricia Dunker and Andrew Cowan and is affiliated with Doris Lessing and Salmon Rushdie.

Current number of students is roughly 13,000.

The university gets a wonderful mention in a Monty Phyton episode where they refer to the Village Idiot running a BA in Idiocy at UEA (probably mentioned as such because the university had only just opened and was often called 'the University of Easy Access' - the Phyton lads all come from Cambridge!)

Also, the university paper is now called 'Concrete' (after the building material), but is still considered one of the best in the country. The university also boasts a radio station called 'Livewire' which is also apparently quite respected despite its low listener ratings.

That's all I can think of at the moment but I thought you might like a little extra information from a current student!

I'd like to propose that this goes to the <./>Writing-Fleamarket</.>.

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