Human, Social and Political Sciences

Dr Marissa Quie is a College Lecturer in Politics at Magdalene and teaches a range of subjects across the Faculty of Human, Social, and Political Sciences.

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Matthew’s research combines his interests in social class(ification), consumption, debt-based finance, and political economy. His previous studies have explored savings variations amongst participants of the Great British Class Survey, the role of personal credit and debt in class making and struggle, and the origins of the economic ideas of financialisation in Britain. Matthew’s current research examines classificatory discourses, models and struggles across media outlets and amongst financial institutions, and traces their affective dimensions through people’s identities, political persuasions, and life chances.

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I am Swedish, and worked in London, France and Taiwan before coming to Lucy Cavendish. I went on to do an MA in Public Policy at York University, and specialises in communications. I now work as a press officer at the European Commission which in practical terms means that I am given boring texts and make them interesting. My policy area is higher education. I loved the intellectual challenge of being a Cambridge student and would happily do it all over again! The first memory of College that springs to mind is rowing with the spectacularly bad Lucy rowing team on the equally spectacularly beautiful Cam at sunrise. I believe we aren’t half as bad anymore...

I originally dropped out of school before completing GCSEs; later, I worked in radio and completed an Access to HE Diploma at the Manchester College. Before coming to Cambridge I was a little uneasy about how I would relate to other students, but Lucy is a special college because many women have come from a non-traditional route like myself. The pastoral and academic support has been fantastic. You know that staff genuinely care about their students and their individual development. I have enjoyed the challenge of Sociology, in particular, and also the interactions with other students and supervisors. The supervision system is good because of how personalised it is. This makes sure areas that I need to cover in depth are discussed thoroughly. The course in first year was a huge change to anything I'd experienced academically before so it took time to adjust, but I learned to thrive.

I studied film-making at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and had made two documentaries in China when I decided I wanted to consider the social issues I had encountered there in more depth. Lucy Cavendish has a vibrant and non-pretentious atmosphere; the diverse mix and friendliness of international students and staff and the cohesiveness of college members are just the tip of the iceberg! I feel most at home here, the facilities are great, and I know that support will be given to me wherever and whenever I need it. The course has widened my perspective on life and made me more objective in assessing problems, situations and people. HSPS is really broad in scope and extremely relevant. My advice to anyone interested in studying it is: be inquisitive - question everything, even your questions.