ENGL 357
as when Women, wondrous fond of place
Considering that the Restoration and Eighteenth Century is my favourite period of English Literature, the term paper I penned for ENGL 357 for Dr. Scott MacKenzie was a rather pitiful attempt overall. Dr. MacKenzie ended up giving me a reasonably high grade (though, in my opinion, unjustifiably so) for the paper so I felt a little better. I really wish I could view my final examination essays though – the essays I wrote on the characters of the Rake and the Coquette and their parallel evolutions through Restoration and Eighteenth Century literature was much more interesting than this.
Incidentally, Dr. MacKenzie is currently teaching a section of ENGL 358 focusing exclusively on the characters of the Rake and the Coquette this year.
Schools for Scandal: Trends in Collaborative Authorship during the Augustan Era
Introduction
Particularly in the current post-Romantic scholarly milieu, Inge notes that literary academics continue to “maintain the traditional image of the author as an individualist up against a material world, trying to create something pure and unsullied” (623). Stillinger adopts an even stronger position, noting that contemporary scholars are guilty of reifying the author as a lonesome prodigy, of subscribing to “the romantic myth of the author as a solitary genius” (202). Others, such as Foucault and Barthes, have attempted to instead banish or suggest the death of the author, severing the connection between authors and their works (Stillinger v). Adherence to either image, the solitary author or the dead author, is largely incompatible with attempts to study literature of the Augustan era which, according to Griffin, was characterized by “[a] higher incidence of collaboration…than at any time in the history of English literature” (1). This frequency of collaboration, continues Griffin, “can tell us something important about the literary world that the Augustans inhabited, a world different from our own, and requiring that we approach it with properly adjusted critical preconceptions” (1), that is to say, preconceptions that do not presuppose the myth of the solitary author or the absent author. This paper, then, seeks to investigate the ways in which redefining existing paradigms of authorship may lead to meaningful insight into new ways of studying literature of the Augustans, particularly that of Dryden and Pope. Moreover, this paper will attempt to trace patterns of collaboration by attempting to identify the types of literary collaboration, based upon authorial intention and motivation, prevalent in the early and late Augustan periods.
To the waters and the wild
BIOL 335 has really perplexed me; I’m not quite sure what we’re supposed to know and what we’re not. It seems a little wishy-washy but I suppose that’s because I had BIOL 334 right before this. If you bump into me, feel free to ask me about bacterial gene transfer, the lac operon or recombinant gene technology.
“Children of the Earth” has started airing in Britain so of course I can’t wait for the North American viewings. I’m halfway through the first episode…and wow! It’s incredible. No wonder I love Torchwood. (Unfortunately, Toshiko, my television girlfriend is dead so that’s a bit of a downer.)
I forgot to post my courses here so here is the list!
- ANAT 390 001
- BIOC 302 202
- BIOC 302 T56
- BIOL 240 1D1
- BIOL 300 101
- BIOL 300 L08
- BIOL 304 102
- BIOL 304 L07
- BIOL 337 2W2
- BIOL 360 L01
- BIOL 361 101
- BIOL 362 201
- ENGL 304A
- ENGL 312A 0011
- ENGL 348A 005
- ENGL 357K 002
- ENGL 409A 001
- I’m on the waiting list for this course due to some issues with the SSC not recognizing me as an English Literature major. How unfortunate! But I’ll get in, I know it! ↩
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail
Last night, I stayed up until midnight with some classical music and Agatha Christie just to wait for my marks to be released. I’m far from disappointed but I know there’s room for improvement; I’ll just have to work harder! It’s been a great year though – I can really reflect on courses now:
- BIOL 200 – This course was actually quite interesting (considering I’m into cells and all) though it was a little poorly communicated exactly what was needed to do well. My section (Berger) did catastrophically on the section-specific midterm so we were scaled up. I’d advise regular studying for this course – it’s a lot of concepts and processes to understand.
- BIOL 201 – I really disliked this course for the sole reason that what was taught was not directly translated into examinable material; far too much material was expected to be gained by doing the problem sets. It almost seemed like lectures were extraneous.
- CHEM 233 – Difficult but rewarding if appropriate (i.e. lots) time investment is allocated for this course. It’s easy to fall behind so stay ahead by studying early and often.
- CHEM 205 – Straightforward and simple – there aren’t any tricks to this course. Learn the material, and learn all of it. Practice the problem sets, they’re harder than the actual exams.
- CHEM 235 – Fun and easy but deceptively tough on marking. Take the time to watch all the pre-laboratory videos and study hard for your written final.
- ENGL 221 – Easy, peasy and fun elective course. Covers Romantic era to modern-day literature. Should be popular with those who dislike older literature.
- ENGL 348 – Absolutely amazing. This class is by far my best class at UBC – sympathetic instructor, enlightening class and inspiring people. There isn’t a lot of work either, just walk in with an open mind and do attend as many classes as possible.
- ENGL 357 – Enjoyable readings and a great instructor made this one breeze by. I wish it were longer but I’m happy with the fair marking overall.
- PSYC 100 – Biggest mistake ever – this course sucked my soul from my body and left me an empty shell. Entirely rote memorization – the exams test on ridiculously minute trivia. Would not recommend to anyone who has a pulse and a brain unless it was absolutely necessary. UBC Psychology, work on your pedagogical development! Doing those psychology studies was fun though; especially for credits.
I woke up a bit earlier today to have breakfast with my dad and grandma. It’s always nice spending time with them; I find that I’m typically out of the house for most of the time during the school/work year so meals are good family times.
Afterwards, I promptly went to campus to return my boatload of books on collaborative authorship and the Augustan authors (evidently, I received 88 on my paper and 90 on my exam where I wrote two essays – one on the character of the Rake and the other on the character of the Coquette through the Restoration and eighteenth-century). I then met with J where I was a tad on the garrulous side, talking about OpenCourseWare and First Year Seminars. I know he’s still looking for an Associate Vice President Academic and several commissioners so I’d look out for those opportunities. J is driven, smart and diplomatic – I think he’s poised to effect real change this year. I hope he reaches out to S and J for their great ideas though.
Afterwards, I bumped into S at the Minischool office where we’ve got…let’s say…a pickle to sort out regarding bookings for Fall courses. While it will be a physical nightmare (can one of the prerequisites for my assistant be that s/he must be able to lift their own weight in wooden stages?), I’m crossing my fingers and praying that the bookings people can help us out. I found out that she might be heading to Edmonton which saddens me a little, but she’s doing what she’s always wanted to do so more power to her. We joked a bit, had a free lunch courtesy of the AMS (who says there are no free lunches in this world? mine had penne carbonara today!) then parted ways.
I went to go purchase my BIOL 334/335 textbooks which were exorbitant but thankfully K has assured me that I may borrow her set for the summer. I get to return my books and get my money back! Hurray.
All in all, not a bad day at all. I’ll be spending my day with S tomorrow doing Minischool turnover stuff. I’m still waiting on A to finish his turnover so I can begin Director of Finance duties at SUS.
Seems like I never take vacations.
On a happy note, I found a video of “My Boyfriend’s Back.” It brings back memories of ballroom lessons with L. Weren’t those fun, L? See the video after the jump.
Strapped, noosed, nighing his hour
I’m sitting at my desk, finishing up some review of Thermodynamics in CHEM 205 and frantically hoping that I won’t fail.
Nothing really happened today – I’m surrounded by the soft hum of my computers and piles of study material. The curtains are drawn closed, thank you very much, I don’t think staring outside into the gloomy rainclouds will do me any good. I still have a pile of books leftover from my ENGL 357 research paper – I should go return those.
My brother came home today from leadership training. It was quiet, too quiet, in the house without him. I wonder how he found it? I think I read something about advanced kayaking on one of his itineraries. He was so thoughtful – he clipped me a few coupons before he went. I wonder if I’ll get a chance to use them? I’ll have to remember to check the expiration dates on them.
I watched Desperate Housewives from 9-10pm today. It’s a luxury, considering that my exam is tomorrow but I don’t mind. I’ll get by this exam, I think.
I spent some of my breaks reading blogs of people I know and sifting through their words. I want to know more about people, I find. Everyone’s got a story; I want to read them all!
All this studying has made me terribly melancholy. I hope when exams are done that the sun is out and I can “sport in the wind.”
My parents brought me home brunch and dinner today – sometimes I wonder if I should mind eating takeout meals alone – whether they’ll be the norm when I get older. I do enjoy family meals but my schedule is just prohibitive sometimes. I hope I won’t have to eat too many takeout dinners alone. Though it’s sometimes quite nice – gives me time to think and to muse…I do that a lot.
I’m currently listening to “My Skin” by Natalie Merchant. It’s nice and soothing. I’d best be off to study more.
Edit: Is there anything Youtube doesn’t have? See what I mean after the jump.
Out, out, brief candle!
Today I had my ENGL 357 exam which could have admittedly gone much better. I had begun earlier by trying to gather materials to write two essays – one about domestic England and one about commercial England as depicted in the works…but I decided to talk about rakes and coquettes instead. Hope it doesn’t preclude me from getting a good mark…Fingers crossed!
I can share the introduction for my ENGL 357 paper now, I’ve handed it in:
Particularly in the current post-Romantic scholarly milieu, Inge notes that literary academics continue to “maintain the traditional image of the author as an individualist up against a material world, trying to create something pure and unsullied” (623). Stillinger adopts an even stronger position, noting that contemporary scholars are guilty of reifying the author as a lonesome prodigy, of subscribing to “the romantic myth of the author as a solitary genius” (202). Others, such as Foucault and Barthes, have attempted to instead banish or suggest the death of the author, severing the connection between authors and their works (Stillinger v). Adherence to either image, the solitary author or the dead author, is largely incompatible with attempts to study literature of the Augustan era which, according to Griffin, was characterized by “[a] higher incidence of collaboration…than at any time in the history of English literature” (1). This frequency of collaboration, continues Griffin, “can tell us something important about the literary world that the Augustans inhabited, a world different from our own, and requiring that we approach it with properly adjusted critical preconceptions” (1), that is to say, preconceptions that do not presuppose the myth of the solitary author or the absent author. This paper, then, seeks to investigate the ways in which redefining existing paradigms of authorship may lead to meaningful insight into new ways of studying literature of the Augustans, particularly that of Dryden and Pope. Moreover, this paper will attempt to trace patterns of collaboration by attempting to identify the types of literary collaboration, based upon authorial intention and motivation, prevalent in the early and late Augustan periods.
I noticed Dr. MacKenzie making faces of consternation while I was writing my exam…I hope it wasn’t because he was reading my paper!
By happy chance today I was really hankering for some butter chicken. Ended up eating it for lunch and having a Starbucks Doubleshot on Ice afterwards (thanks to L’s influence).
I’m delighted by my new set of pyjamas. They’re silk! How luxuriously sumptuous of me. And I didn’t even pick them (as if I have the time or patience to pick what I wear while I sleep)! They came from Hong Kong by way of visiting relative. How thoughtful! And my dad is making me some ribs for midnight snacking as we speak! Most people who know me realise that if I’m hungry at night, I simply don’t eat. That is the secret to my thinness.
Today my grandma and I had a most interesting talk. Apparently way back when, in Shanghai, some of my ancestors were humble straw sandal weavers. I thought to myself: how exciting! Liu Bei from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was also a straw sandal weaver and he became to be a great and beloved leader. Totally cool! Such humble beginnings – I cannot ever forget that I am not some prince – that I don’t deserve any sense of entitlement. Everything I work for, I work for on the shoulders of my ancestors.
As it turns out, I got the AMS Minischool position! Now I must pick between being an AMS Councillor and the AMS Minischool Coordinator…hm…
Now the best is behind me, I’m off to go study madly for CHEM 205/BIOL 201.
Edit: Just watched a really cool TED talk by Erin McKean on what Hamlet called, “words, words, words”. See it after the jump!
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