Lilypie

Friday, July 23, 2010

First Year, Second Semester

I start school again next week. This would be the second semester of my revamped first year (because I have started, then deferred, then the system changed and the modules got broken up, but finally I am getting it going!), and I will be taking four modules this time round. My appeal for additional subject "for interest sake" did not get through so I am back to doing the normal curriculum which adds towards the whole cumulative grade point average.

Not that it is that big an issue to me. After doing some calculation and if I mugged a bit more, I think I can just achieve a first-class honours if I keep my grades up. Besides, I am studying things I like, so it is a very good deal indeed!

I will be having lessons every Thursday and Friday, a switch from previous semester where my lessons were every Monday and Tuesday. In any case, the subjects I will be taking will be : Changing English, Using English, Shakespeare, Aphra Behn and The Canon and Literature and Gender.

Changing English is on the history of English from its origins in the fifth century to the present day, together with the dynamic diversity of present-day varieties of English found throughout the world. It focuses on the radical changes that have taken place in the structure of English over the thousand years or so, picking on the influences of migration, colonialism and many other historical, social and cultural phenomena.

It will also look at dialects, accents, as well as the shifting styles of individual speakers as they respond to changing circumstances, like dialect and stylistic variations in English, and accents as a social symbol. There will be two assignments and one written examination.

Using English is the way in which the English language is used today in different contexts, in many parts of the world, by both native and non-native speakers. It explores issues of language use in speech and writing, in work and play, and in persuading and informing.

It will also touch on the adaptations and variations in English language use and debates relating to how these are perceived and evaluated by difference groups of users, as well as the marketisation of English, correctness, appropriateness, social judgments and offensive language. There will be two assignments and one project at the end, no written examination.

Shakespeare, Aphra Behn and The Canon explores the complex processes by which certain writings and not others achieve a high cultural status, and examines why the very concept of the canon is now being challenged. Topics studied will be the idea of the canon, theatre poet, politics and performance, dramatic text, the restoration theatre, and love, sex and marriage.

There will be two assignments and one written examination at the end. The books to be studied will be Henry V, Othello, As You Like It and The Rover. Finally, I can get to do Shakespeare! How I wish I can clear this and look forward to an entire module fully on Shakespeare next year or so!

The final module is Literature and Gender. It covers themes and issues that arise out of reading literary texts with a concern for gender, and explores the various factors that have led to the rediscovery and re-reading of texts by women.

The literary texts studied include prose fiction, poetry and drama, mainly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and largely by British and American women. The texts are concerned with the issues of sexuality, race and class, including A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, The Color Purple by Alice Walker and Top Girls by Caryl Churchill. There will be two assignments and one project, no written examinations.

So this semester, I only need to take two papers as the other two are fully coursework based. I can hardly wait for term to start! Seems like a very exciting term ahead!

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...