I'm still trying to get back into the swing of uni life and swing it does! I seem to be constantly swinging from the house to uni, to one place or another, to the house and back to uni again.
I had my 'Victorian Millinery' presentation yesterday, which the lecturer deemed 'stellar' and I was quite happy with the outcome, although I think he looked favourably on us because we were the very first group to present!
This is one class I'm as yet not too sure about. Not the content of the course - I love everything about this period and the lecturer is quite brilliant...he's just extremely unorganised - a trait that never seems to go down well with me. It's only been two weeks and he's been late to the lecture both times, which means that instead of getting a quick 50 minute lecture, we get a rushed 40 minute lecture. Last night, he actually asked us where the tutorial was being held, then when all 50 of us arrived at the seminar room, it was being occupied. This meant that our 4.00pm tute actually started at 4.25pm. Add to this somewhat controlled chaos the fact that myself and my group were supposed to present at the beginning of the seminar; a usual tutorial group contains about 25 people (if that), and you can just imagine how jangled the nerves were.
After our 7 minute presentation, we got down to looking at one of Wordsworth's sonnets. Now, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy poetry although admittedly, I rarely fully understand it. But isn't the ability of appreciating the meaning of a piece of poetry and literature dependant on your background knowledge of the poet/author as well as the history of the period? Doesn't our perception and the subjectivity of a text change according to our knowledge of these factors? Basically, I feel as if the foundations of the course are a little wobbly, mainly due to time constraints and tardy teaching but maybe, once again, it's up to me to conduct my own background research before the lecture.
I'm not feeling as confident as I would like and I was really looking forward to this class! Anyway, it's early days yet.
I had my 'Victorian Millinery' presentation yesterday, which the lecturer deemed 'stellar' and I was quite happy with the outcome, although I think he looked favourably on us because we were the very first group to present!
This is one class I'm as yet not too sure about. Not the content of the course - I love everything about this period and the lecturer is quite brilliant...he's just extremely unorganised - a trait that never seems to go down well with me. It's only been two weeks and he's been late to the lecture both times, which means that instead of getting a quick 50 minute lecture, we get a rushed 40 minute lecture. Last night, he actually asked us where the tutorial was being held, then when all 50 of us arrived at the seminar room, it was being occupied. This meant that our 4.00pm tute actually started at 4.25pm. Add to this somewhat controlled chaos the fact that myself and my group were supposed to present at the beginning of the seminar; a usual tutorial group contains about 25 people (if that), and you can just imagine how jangled the nerves were.
After our 7 minute presentation, we got down to looking at one of Wordsworth's sonnets. Now, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy poetry although admittedly, I rarely fully understand it. But isn't the ability of appreciating the meaning of a piece of poetry and literature dependant on your background knowledge of the poet/author as well as the history of the period? Doesn't our perception and the subjectivity of a text change according to our knowledge of these factors? Basically, I feel as if the foundations of the course are a little wobbly, mainly due to time constraints and tardy teaching but maybe, once again, it's up to me to conduct my own background research before the lecture.
I'm not feeling as confident as I would like and I was really looking forward to this class! Anyway, it's early days yet.
I don't like a disorganized class either, and it doesn't really inspire my confidence in the instructor. Hopefully he will get his act together soon. I agree, poetry can be hard to translate without background info on the poet and the era in which they lived.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have some interesting class this semester. I'm anxious to hear about "Ghosts and the Gothic". It sounds like fun!
Ghosts and the Gothic is great! Currently reading 'Northanger Abbey' and will be reading Dracula and The Turn of the Screw as well as watching some gothic films!! This will be a different class.
ReplyDeleteOh the curse of the unprepared professor! Especially when it's a class you're interested in and time is so short. I agree with Brandywine - your Ghosts and the Gothic class sounds pretty cool. I'm taking a Brontë focus class. Jane Eyre has that gothic feel to it, too. I've never read Northanger Abbey (shame on me-an English major) but I'll be sure to get to it once the semester is over.
ReplyDeleteHey Caz! I unknowingly dropped into your blog and got stumped by your title picture. Rarely do we find such studious blogs. I'm so astounded to see you still studying. I belong to India and here it's not like your place at all..I admire you:D
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome to my blog:
http://ayushi-milestones.blogspot.com/
Thanks Aayushi, my aim is to inspire.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I wish I was taking that class with you, it sounds like so much fun!
ReplyDelete