A2 COMMS & CULTURE: National identity extension work

We are going to be talking about national identity this week and the extent to which it remains an important component of our own individual sense of self as well as a means of uniting and dividing communities. There are two programmes from Melyvn Bragg's History of Ideas radio show that it would be good to listen to. One explores Multiculturalism and the other asks: What is Englishness? Please give them a go!

A2 LITERATURE - Some hints for the TPT essay!

If you are feeling a bit worried about how to approach the essay on The Pardoner's Tale (due Thurs 4th) then here are some tips:

• Start your essay by clarifying the terms of the question and setting up your argument. The key to a good opening is to find the balance between putting the  significant ideas (moral blindness or ambition) at the centre of your essay whilst including some relevant contextual comment too.
• You are being asked to adopt a position in relation to the statement & question ... to what extent do you agree? It is standard practice to accept that the viewpoint offered has some validity - don't just reject it as worthless. Explore it and see what evidence you can find to support it.
• However, you will hopefully feel that there is more to the text than the statement in the question suggests. Perhaps the viewpoint offered is a bit simplistic or presents only a narrow reading of the text. Now is your opportunity to counterargue  or offer other interpretations. For example, you may feel that the Pardoner's ambition is actually fuelled by greed.
• Having explored the options, end your essay with a considered response to the question & refer explicitly back to it. The more successfully you focus your response on the key question words, the better...

Hope this helps!

AS COMMS & CULTURE - Thinking about the coursework...

Do you change the way you speak to 'match' the people you are speaking to? If you do, why do you think you do it? Is it to create a sense of 'belonging' with others? Do you 'match' your language to others out of a fear of standing out? Or to try and create a relationship with them? Or to gain approval? These are the questions that are addressed in Giles' Communication Accomodation Theory (CAT for short), where he studied the ways that we 'match' our language to that of others (he called this convergence) and the ways that we sometimes deliberately 'distance' our language from others (he called this divergence). If you have chosen to do your 500 word investigation on your use of language, then you may well want to find out more about this - you could start here .

If you've chosen to do your investigation on clothes, then you should check out Gareth's teaching blog - he has posted a link to a recent radio programme on hoodies...

AS LITERATURE - Preparing for 'Beasts of no Nation'

Our next text explores the life of a (fictional) child soldier caught up in civil war in an unnamed African country. To prepare ourselves for this, it would be a good idea to find out more about the use of child soldiers across the world today. An apt place to start is this site on the bbc, which includes accounts by child soldiers about what their lives are like.

This site is also worth visiting.

Someone who has really inspired me is Emmanuel Jal. He is a Sudanese hiphop artist who often uses his past life as a child soldier as his material for his music. Below you can watch Warchild, a largely autobiographical song about life as a child soldier. It's not the greatest video in the world, but listen to the lyrics:

Finally, watch Pray the devil back to hell, a documentary about child soldiers in Liberia, which lasts about 50 minutes. Highly recommended!

A2 LITERATURE- An introduction to Marlowe

We will be starting Dr Faustus next week and to prepare for this, it would be a good idea to do some reading on Christopher Marlowe. This would be a good place to start.


If you haven't bought Dr Faustus (A folio) yet ( & I really hope you have) then this is the recommended version.


And remember that your essay on The Pardoner's Tale is due in next Thursday - if you missed Friday's class then I have put the essay question in the post to you.

A2 COMMS & CULTURE: POSTCOLONIALISM

If you're interested in finding out more about the history of immigration to the UK, you can do so here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/short_history_of_immigration.stm#1914

And if you have time over half-term, I recommend that you try and get hold of a copy of East is East(1999) - an excellent film set in 1971, which examines the culture clash within a family living in Salford.


Finally, C4 have now put the 'Sticks and Stones' documentary where Ashley from So Solid investigates the use of the 'n' word on Youtube. You can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2bAeTpCjNc

A2 LITERATURE: MODERN VERSION OF TPT

AS COMMS & CULTURE: EXTENSION WORK

We have spent some time in class looking at how different items of clothing act as social signifiers - especially focusing on the range of ways that the hoodie has been decoded in society, including how it can be used and decoded as a barrier. (For more on this, read http://spacecollective.org/acervus/4656/Hooded-Culture.) Another case-study you might be interested in researching is the Burberry brand and how its meanings have been socially constructed and changed. Reading this article will get you started:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Chav+backlash%3B+Burberry+pays+the+price+for+its+tainted+image.-a0127022129

Can you think of any other items of clothing or brands whose connotations have been redefined over time?

AS LITERATURE ~ Secondary reading on BRH

Extension work...
Here are some links to articles about Dennis Potter / BRH:

http://homecinema.thedigitalfix.co.uk/content.php?contentid=58771
(Review of the dvd)


http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/jun/05/tvblogbypeterbradshaw

http://www.johannhari.com/2003/11/19/why-have-we-forgotten-dennis-potter-
(Dennis Potter and Christian themes)

http://cinetext.philo.at/magazine/potterland.html
(includes comment on Blue Remembered Hills)

The more you read, the better you'll do ...