AS LITERATURE - Audience readings

We have read enough of Blue Remembered Hills now to realise that it is rich in symbolism. One of the key aspects you will need to demonstrate in your coursework is an understanding of how different audiences might interpret our texts in different ways. With a text like Blue Remembered Hills we might look to a Psychoanalytical approach for another way of interpreting the symbolism that Potter uses. In preparation for our discussion about this in class, I'd like you to do some research on Freud and read up on his theories, in particular his ideas about the id, ego and superego. Can you do this for next Thursday (Oct 7th) - ta.

A2 COMMUNICATION & CULTURE - Extension work

If you want to develop your understanding of Karl Marx and his ideas further, then listen to this radio programme. It lasts about 45 minutes and features a discussion between academics and thinkers, hosted by Melvyn Bragg, about what Marx stood for. You should find it challenging and useful...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003k9jg

A2 LITERATURE - Stephanie recommends...

Stephanie has found this clip on Youtube - it's definitely worth watching & is a very good intro to our tale (though ours has a rather different ending...) -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNEWatD0viw

AS COMMS & CULTURE - The power of the white coat

Today we started to look at clothes as cultural codes. One of the ideas we discussed was that some items of clothing act as powerful signifers with connotations that influence both our perceptions of others and our own behaviour. Callum explained Milgram's experiment to us and you can watch a modern version of the study on Youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcvSNg0HZwk

A2 LITERATURE - Chaucer radio programme

A really good resource for A2 Literature is a radio series called In Our Time. Here you can listen to academics discussing key writers and thinkers - a great way to develop & broaden your background knowledge. (Remember that one of the key things you are being assessed on in the exam is your understanding of context.) One of the programmes has been about Chaucer, and you can listen to it here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003hycq

The programme is 60 minutes long. Give it a go - it might not be the kind of thing you normally listen to but it is full of valuable insights which can only help!

AS LITERATURE - Blue Remembered Hills

As we start to read and discuss Blue Remembered Hills, it seems like a good time for you to do some background reading on Dennis Potter. You can read about his life and works here: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/451441/ . You can also view clips from his other famous works on Youtube, including this one from Pennies From Heaven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k089jzXgmpw . Remember that we said that Blue Remembered Hills is naturalistic in style (the exception being the adult actors playing the children) - if you watch the clip above you will see an example of drama which definitely isn't naturalistic in style.

The title of our drama is taken from a poem by AE Housman called A Shropshire Lad. The part of Housman's poem that our title comes from is:

Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?

That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

What is 'yon far country'? What do you think Housman is suggesting in these lines? Based on what we have read and discussed about Scene 1, what is the connection between the lines above and BRH?

A2 COMMS: is Vince Cable the new Karl Marx?

Vince Cable, LibDem MP for Twickenham & Business Secretary in the Coalition Government is compared with Karl Marx in this BBC article - it's worth a read:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11388764

A2 LITERATURE - lesson switch!

For next week only, I am swapping classes with Chris. I'm going to be seeing you on Tuesday at 9.00 & she is going to be taking you on Friday at 11.50. Please spread the word if possible! We will be continuing with The Pardoner's Tale & you'll need to bring your text/printout of The Introduction to The Pardoner's Tale. Again, please make sure it is the original version that you get hold of, rather than a modern translation.

Also, one of my students from last year wants to sell her York Notes from A2 (for each of our set texts). She also has a copy of Othello which is in good condition. She's selling them for £3 each. Let me know if you are interested...

A2 COMMS & CULTURE - capitalism

If you want to refresh your understanding of Capitalism you might be interested in watching this very basic guide to Capitalism courtesy of an American Instructional Film made in 1948:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtOtV-gE3YQ

AS COMMS & CULTURE: Defining culture

In class we watched an extract from Baraka as a stimulus to talking about what culture is. If you're interested, you can watch more of Baraka here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOrJxMMn-rw&feature=related.

And, see how other people define culture here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cultureshow/cultureis/

Finally, one of our AS students from last year is looking to sell his Comms & Culture textbook for £10. Let me know if you are interested in buying it...

AS COMMS & CULTURE: GETTING STARTED

Welcome to the AS Communication and Culture course! This blog is the place to come to check key information, get reminders & find links to other websites which will help extend and broaden your knowledge of the course. So - firstly, the text book for the course, written by the examiners is:

AS COMMUNICATION & CULTURE - THE ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTION (BENNETT & SLATER)
ISBN 978-0415455121

This book is never going to be able to replace the teaching in your classes, but may well prove to be a useful back-up, especially when you are consolidating your knowledge by revising units once we have covered them in class. You can order it at the college bookshop (until October) or you can buy it on Amazon.

EXTENSION WORK:
After your Murder Mystery task, you might want to do some extra reading about the roles we adopt in groups. A good place to start might be to read about Zimbardo's famous prison experiment, which you can find at http://www.prisonexp.org/

A2 Comms - don't miss this!

Over the next few weeks, I recommend you try and see the remastered version of Metropolis (1927) at the cinema. Probably the most famous German film ever, Fritz Lang's creation of a futuristic dystopia is a great critique of industrialisation and capitalism. You can watch the trailer here ...




... and read a review of the film here -http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/09/metropolis-restored-film-review

... and see why this is such an important cultural artifact here -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8949756.stm


Metropolis is relevant to many central areas in the A2 course, and would make a great case-study for you to use. It's also thought provoking and original - don't worry if you are not a sci-fi person (I'm not), this film is MORE than that! Find out when and where it's on here:
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/metropolis-1927-version-film-listings-15306.html

A2 COMMS & CULTURE: WELCOME BACK

Welcome back to Comms, I hope that you are well rested and that your summer was culturally enriching.

Now ... although I am not a great fan of the AS textbook, I think that the A2 version is much better and is definitely worth buying. It's called A2 Communication and Culture (The Essential Introduction) and is by Peter Bennett and Jerry Slater (ISBN 978-0-415-471602). It will probably be just under £20. It covers all of the theoretical perspectives and key concepts that we deal with at A2 and I recommend that you do invest in a copy.

We are going to start the 2nd year course learning about the -isms (Capitalism, Marxism, Feminism, Post-Modernism, Post Colonialism) which act as the theoretical perspectives through which you will approach the whole course. If you want to get ahead, then why not watch the cartoon version of Animal Farm on Youtube (even better - read it!) which will prepare you for Capitalism and Marxism.

A2 LITERATURE: WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back to A2, I hope you had an excellent summer. First things first: these are the texts you need to buy for my side of the course this year. Firstly, we are starting with The Pardoner's Tale by Chaucer. Make sure that you buy the original text and not a modern 'translation' version. Two good versions you might want to consider are the Cambridge University Press version (ISBN 0 - 521-46818 - 3) and the Cambridge School version (ISBN 978-0-521-66645-9). Our second text is Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. Please make sure that you buy the folio A version rather than folio B. The best version, in my opinion, is the Longman version (ISBN 978-0582817807), which has some good notes in it. Our final text will be Shakespeare's Othello. It's up to you which version you get and you should be able to pick up a second hand copy easily if you want to (my preferred version is the Cambridge version ISBN 0-521-53517-4). These three texts will be our exam texts & now you know which ones we are doing you can start getting organised on your background reading. A good place to start would be to find out as much as you can about what life was like in 14thC England and in 17thC England. You might also want to do some reading on morality plays. I'll post some good links to some good sites another time...

AS LITERATURE: GETTING STARTED

Welcome to the course! There are two texts that you need to buy for my side of the course & it's a good idea to try and get hold of them as soon as possible. The first one is a play called Blue Remembered Hills, by Dennis Potter & the ISBN number is 0 - 573-01699-2. Check the college's bookshop first to see whether they have any copies in - alternatively, it should be easily available via Amazon or you can order it from your local bookshop. The second text you will need is Beasts of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala & the ISBN number is 0 - 7195 - 6843 - 9. At the moment, this book is only available via Amazon Marketplace, where you can pick up a new or nearly new copy from just £1. Alternatively, you can pay the college a deposit of £3 and borrow one of our copies. Your deposit will be returned to you once you have returned the book so long as the book is still in good condition (this means you can't make notes in the text). We will be starting our first text in week 2 so make sure that you are getting yourself organised.