Hope's blog
When she started this blog, Hope was in the second term of her degree course on English Literature and Journalism. She was enjoying Great Expectations more than The Monk.
To navigate to an individual entry, open ‘Document Map’.
Entries
The Olympics –Practising discrimination since 1948March 7th, 2010
Politics: Fun with photoshopFebruary 28th, 2010
My brain no longer wishes to functionFebruary 21st, 2010
Did I waste my youth?February 11th, 2010
Please can I study ‘An Introduction to Graphic Novels’ instead?January 31st, 2010
My week: A summary.January 24th, 2010
An introduction and various reviewsJanuary 17th, 2010
The Olympics – Practising discrimination since 1948
March 7th, 2010
The last blog! I may do some more anyway, I really like putting down my thoughts each week, even if nobody reads them. (If your reading this, which I assume you are, then clearly people are reading these).
It’s been cultural week at my uni this week, which means for all humanities students, we had no lessons for a week (Score!).
However the most cultural thing I did this week was go to Frankie and Benny’s with my friends, (we had to drive out of the city!), and have a bit of a riffle through a vintage fair today. So I didn’t attend any of the events the university put on.
I have a good excuse for this lack of culturalism, I have been doing more work than I would ever have done with lessons on. This cultural week couldn’t have come at a better time, with a poetry essay deadline looming (22nd march), and the start of the easter holidays not far away, during which I refuse to do any of my essay work, I have been knuckling down.
There is now absolutely nothing you could ask me about Swift and his opinion of women, Dickens and his portrayal of class and the working man or Brontë and her depiction of women I don’t know. It has paid off though, I have done my first draft of my poetry essay and have enough notes to start my novels one tomorrow. So tonight I rewarded myself with the last piece of mince pie that had been sat in the freezer, and to quote The Internet: NOM.
However, I did find out a funny story about Swift. He would patron old women all over the city. The women all had two things in common, they all had some form of job, such as selling things. The other thing was – they were all physically deformed in some way, some where missing an arm, a leg, an eye. This is so Swiftianly insane, he would then give them nicknames one was (affectionately?) known as Cancerina, another, who was missing a leg, he named Stumpanympha. A funny and odd story that amused me while I was making notes.
And now, because I have had a very English themed blog something out of the ordinary, Qi was talking about the weirdest Olympic events, I thought I would do a list for you:
Real Olympic events:
* Dog trimming
* Poetry
* Town planning
* Architecture
* Epic literature
* Drama
* Orchestral music
* Instrumental music
* Drawing
* Graphic arts
* Painting
* Motorcycle sport
* Wushu (I have no idea what this is)
All of the arts events were discontinued in 1948 – as it was argued that the art contestants could not be amateurs – a runner is only a runner for the olympics and then he goes back to his other job, however a poet is a poet all year round. I think this is utter rubbish and as a distinctly non-sporty person I say: bring back the arts medal!
Goodbye blog!
4 Responses to “The Olympics – Practising discrimination since 1948”
Jonathan Gibson Says:
March 8th, 2010 at 11:41
Surprised there wasn’t one for literary criticism in the early years (medallists including F.R. Leavis (GBR), I.A. Richards (US)).
hannah says:
March 8th, 2010 at 12:46
Wushu shouldn’t be on the list, it’s just martial arts
hope says:
March 8th, 2010 at 20:53
Haha I literally had no idea what it was so thanks for letting me know I just put it on because it sounded a bit funny, which probably isn’t the best excuse but it was quite late
hannah says:
March 8th, 2010 at 22:46
If I am honest…I googled it! But I was pretty sure beforehand!
Politics: Fun with photoshop
February 28th, 2010
While I write this there is a who-has-the-loudest-music battle going on in my flat. Chief competitors being, the drunken party of girls in the kitchen, and my disapproving flatmate trying to drown them out from his bedroom. Bedroom-boy has a more powerful baseline, but the girls implement their music with even louder screaming so they are winning for the moment. I, unfortunately, cannot compete only having my mac and a severe unwillingness to scream randomly (even among other female company), so can only (indeed, am forced to) participate as a spectator.
Anyway, I should probably mention my week in English. We started Christina Rosettis’s poetry in, well, the poetry seminar. My lecturer does not like her, not one bit, and I tend to agree with him (probably because he is only offering his reading), she is a whiny little emo who should maybe get over herself. But it is quite interesting the read. (The screaming-girls have just screamed insults at bedroom-boy, so now his baseline of protest is so loud my bookshelf is vibrating). In novels we did Turn of the Screw, and as it turns out, there were no ghosts after all, the governess was just mental. I find this reading much more pleasing than that of the ghosts, but it doesn’t really make the book anymore interesting.
Now, we are currently doing politics in journalism so we had an interesting talk about the next election. There is a high chance of a hung parliament this time – so much so, that the Times reported today that the Queen is being prepared for it ‘to ensure there is no risk that uncertainty could lead to a constitutional crisis over the Queen’s powers to accept or refuse a request to dissolve parliament.’. This seems to suggest the civil service is afraid of rebellion from the masses on hearing there is a hung parliament. Now, I don’t know about you, but, much as I’m enjoying the fight between Gordon I-am-human-honest Brown, Dave Stop-photoshopping-my-propaganda Cameron, and Nick The-other-one Clegg, I’m not sure it inspires revolutionary sentiment in me.
Anyway, I digress, Nick Clegg has stated that the Lib-Dems will not enter into a coalition with either of the other parties, at all, ever. So that leaves us with the interesting question, what will happen if the margin of votes is not even large enough to support a minority government?
Will Labour team up with the Tories and form a mutant alien government? or Will we have to vote again?
Overall, I’m really looking forward to participating in my first election.
My brain no longer wishes to function.
February 21st, 2010
Hello again!
I have spent the day in reading and taking notes on Wuthering Heights. It took me 8 hours to do half the book but finally I have finished! By the end the words seemed to swim before me eyes and preform Olympic style back flips.
It has been a bit of a rubbish week this week, on the English front anyway. After almost missing my train back up north and spending hours in the crowed crush on monday, I came back to find my poetry lesson, that I had so diligently hurried back for, had been cancelled. I was a little annoyed, but the lecturer was ill so you can hardly blame him.
In Novels we got out titles for our next essay. The titles are pretty ambiguous and not like anything I have encountered before; one is simply: masculinity and/or femininity, another is, that thought provoking question: focus, sight and seeing. I actually quite like this idea as it allows us to just put our own thoughts into it. We have to compare and contrast two of the novels we have studied, however we have to pick three novels from this term to revise for our exam, and cannot write about anything twice. Therefore, in choosing my essay novels my first question was – what would be hardest in the exam? I have chosen to study Wuthering heights and Great expectations under the title – The importance of setting in the Gothic.
All this is relatively interesting. The only thing that irks me about this essay is we have to write 500 words about how we applied out feedback from the previous essay to the current one. I don’t mind doing this, but 500 words seems like a huge amount to have to write, I would not have minded maybe 250 words but not 500 of ‘Deborah said I did …. badly so in this essay I endeavoured to it better’. Honestly, could you do it?
Anyway, I am going to watch glee now and enjoy not having to think much more today.
Did I waste my youth?
February 11th, 2010
An early blog! I just realised that I’m going home for the whole weekend and will be leaving my precious mac in my halls for 3 days (burglars please don’t read that part), so will not be able to do my usual Sunday afternoon blog.
My poetry teacher is completely convinced Swift would be fun to sit and have a drink with but thanks to the very loveable Stephen Fry and his Qi elves (I would join their ranks in an instant! I still picture them with elf christmas hats adorned with the letters Qi, with an ability to play the opening music when you squeeze the bobble), I know that Swift never laughed and couldn’t! I feel sorry for Stella personally. Anyway, I really do like Swifts poetry but I wish our lecturer would do more in depth analysing rather than just explain the story of the poem. We’re moving on to Christina Rossetti next week, whom my lecturer hates which should be interesting.
This week I also started watching Skins after a recommendation from another blogger in the comments and a mention that Effy is based on Estella in Great Expectations. I would completely agree with this, she plays both Cook and Freddie but will not get close to either as she ‘destroys everything she touches’. She is only good for breaking hearts, that reminds me of someone! However, I must point out that I grew up in the west country not far from Bristol (Brizzel) and I didn’t encounter half as much drug abuse, ‘surf and turf’ with random people or anything else, as those teenagers, there might have been a bit of drinking but thats another matter.
Anyway, thats my blogging done for the week more to come after I have been home, been to an art show and seen the boyfriend, he’s making me something for Valentines this year, I’m rather apprehensive.
Please can I study ‘An Introduction to Graphic Novels’ instead?
January 31st, 2010
I’m wondering where to start this week, it hasn’t been overly astounding. I did get to go home which was lovely, but had to have fillings which was not so nice – I did get to see my boyfriend and my mum though, so bring on three massive needles in my gum, I say.
I should be starting to read ‘Rebecca’ but, because I went home, I picked up some books I have been wanting to read for ages. Do you get cravings to read books? I do, I’ve had a craving to read ‘Watchman’ ever since I started uni. This is a book I would happily study in class – there’s just so much going on. We can peer into every dark corner of human nature in a society falling apart. Technology has developed much too fast, the cold war is a very real threat. Both Dr. Manhattan and his departure could prove fatal to the whole world. Society is crumbling but we can see at the end how it may be rebuilt, even after so much destruction.
‘Watchmen’ deals with all these big concepts but also the smaller, darker human condition – as society crumbles we see fathers kill their children to escape the bomb, small children kidnapped and fed to dogs. Crime is on the rise and cartoonish masked vigilantes fight it as best as they can. But these people are not without their flaws and quirks. Rorshach who can only see the world in black and white and is willing and able to brutally eliminate the black. Dan with a fetish for super hero costumes. Dr Manhattan falling out of touch with what it is to be human with potentially deadly consequences. Finally, the Comedian, rapist, murderer, killer of children and pregnant women, lover of all things violent and disgusting, who is merely a parody of the society he lives in, he shows them what they have become, which doesn’t help either him or them in the end.
Sorry for my rant no one else cares to hear about it you see, and you can just skip that part and not read it.
What I should be telling you is that I finally got my poetry essay back on monday. I got a 2:1 which I was very pleased with and the comment ‘with a bit more refinement we could push you up to a first’ from my lecturer, which was really encouraging. We’re doing Swift at the moment, for the first time in an English lesson last week I didn’t understand anything, usually I have a good if not acceptable grasp of whats happening – not last week. This week however I understood and even began to enjoy Swift. I think just beacuse it was an easier to understand poem.
In Introduction to the novel we did ‘Great Expectations’ again. Which was good as we studied Marxist theory and how it fitted into the book, however my lecturer spent most of our time in which we should have been learning about marxism discussing her own political views, talking about the NHS, ridiculous higher education fees etc. Although these where interesting and I mostly agreed with her it did not further the education I had already paid for.
Hmm, I have tried to focus this blog on ‘my academic work and experience of learning’, but I just had to talk about ‘Watchmen’ sorry! Will try harder next week.
7 Responses to “Please can I study ‘An Introduction to Graphic Novels’ instead?”
hannah says:
February 1st, 2010 at 11:29
I <3 Watchmen. Best line? "Possible homosexual. Must remember to investigate further."
matt says:
February 1st, 2010 at 14:48
I’ll eat my hat if we don’t have he same Enlish lecturer! My lecturer ([name removed]) had the same rant about the NHS and higher education fees… either we’re at the same uni or she’s moonlighting somewhere else!
hope says:
February 1st, 2010 at 20:19
Are you in [name removed]? Because I have [name removed] too! It wouldn’t be too extraordinary as this blog thing was sent out to everyone, but a bit odd.
hope says:
February 1st, 2010 at 20:20
That line is amazing! Rorschach is just insanely brilliant.
mattsays:
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:10
Wow, we’re going to the same uni and have the same english lecturer; spooky! I really anjoyed her lesson, even if it was almost completly off topic. Who do you have for poetry?
matt says:
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:11
Oh and Watchmen is amazing!
hope says:
February 4th, 2010 at 16:46
That is a bit weird, and yeah I thought it was a good rant and did agree with her.
For poetry I have [name removed], who looks like a chipmunk. Who do you have?
My week: A summary.
January 24th, 2010
Everybody appears to be doing their blogs on the actual Monday we are supposed to post them, (yes other blog writers I have been having a poke around). I shall be rebellious and do them on Sundays. Then, when I get out of bed at 2pm and dress about 3pm (when I can’t live without a cup of tea any longer and must leave my room), I can convince myself I have not spent the day watching QI, Celebrity Big Brother and Come Dine with me on continuous loops but rather working because I’ve written 250 words for my blog. (Incidentally this tirade has taken up 100 of those words).
What did I do this week? Oh yes.
Monday: Poetry and Society – Our wonderful lecturer started the workshop with a long talk about the assignment we did before the holidays, we had to write 1500 words about 3 different poems (500 words each). He started the talk with ‘You should know I have failed a third of you’, and went on to mention we would not get the results until next week as they where still in the process of being double marked. Now I don’t mind an overall talk about the results of an assignment and what could have been done better generally. However, I really think it should be given on the day you get your marks back because now we’ve all been left to worry for a week over something we can do nothing about.
Tuesday: Media law – I adore Media Law! Mainly because my law teacher is interestingly pierced and gives advice such as ‘We used to be able to say whatever we liked about normal people, they didn’t have the money to sue us. But DON’T do that these days as there are law firms, with numbers in their company names, that offer no win no fee.’.
Wednesday: Practical Journalism – General talk about interviewing techniques and our favourite interviewers – Piers Morgan was literally booed off of the ‘good interviewers’ side of the board when someone had the audacity to say they liked him.
Thursday: Day off – Shopping! It was surprisingly easy to find my friend a full Lady Gaga style outfit on the high street.
Friday: Introduction to the Novel – It was our first workshop on ‘Great Expectations’. We focused on the women in the novel and placed them into Patricia Ingham’s ‘Categories of Dicken’s Women’. For example, Miss Havisham is ‘Excessive’ – she conforms to social expectations but does it in a very extreme way. Personally I love any talk of woman’s role in society and how it is depicted within both literature and the media – I’m sure my family and my boyfriend are fed up of me seeing some advert, TV programme, film, reading some book etc. and completely over analysing how the women are depicted. So I found these categories really useful and insightful – if I do my essay on Dickens I will probably use them as my starting point. Incidentally, Dickens ideal women were efficient but submissive, something which is reinforced through the novel. As somebody in my class put it ‘What a knob!’.