The end of the semester is near.. let’s prep for exam time!
Please, everyone, take the poll (by the 6th of April, 5pm) so we can figure out what everyone needs and tailor the last two classes to your needs.
Thank you for participating!
Online task for all: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Let’s try a blended learning format of our class. This way of teaching is becoming more and more popular all over the world and you will probably encounter it in the future more often.
So how does this work?
- Like before, instead of getting together in class in person, we want to come together and work on 5 questions online.
- Down below you will find these questions and we would like every student to pick at least 2 and answer them.
- You may in groups if you like (please indicate if you decide to do so).
- You are also more than welcome to answer each others posts and comment on them.
- The main point is to start a discussion and to interact with each other.
- Please use short examples from the book to backup your comments /entries.
- Everyone should have made a comment / answered 2 questions by April 6th, 5pm.
Discussion questions:
- Some critics say that The Picture of Dorian Gray reflects elements of Wilde’s own life, especially the three main, male characters and in terms of experience, background, thinking, attitude. Discuss how each – Dorian, Basil, and Henry – represent parts of Wilde’s own life, character, and background. Also: what did the author himself say about this comparison?
- When Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published, it was condemned as an ‘immoral book’. What do you think that means? And do you agree? Why? Why not?
- “Corruption is a thing that writes itself across a man’s face. It cannot be hidden.” Do you agree with this saying or not? Why? Why not? Do you think this quote still applies today?
- What is the lesson and the message of The Picture of Dorian Gray? Is there a lesson in it for people today?
- At the end of The Picture of Dorian Grays, Dorian decides to attack his portrait. Why, do you think, did he decide that and what shaped his decision? In this context, what does Dorian’s decision have to do with the message of the book?
If you are looking for more information, remember to check out the Dorian Gray section on our website or to search the library and Internet for helpful ideas. Please share links, videos, articles etc. that could be relevant to everyone. Support your peers!
Good luck and we are looking forward to a fruitful discussion!
Call for contributions
The end of the semester is closer than you think….
If you would like to make up for classes you have missed and / or improve your contribution/ participation, here is a way to do that:
For our website, find more information about:
The Works:
- Songs of Innocence and Experience
- Villette
- Picture of Dorian Gray
- All the poems that were dealt with in class
The Authors:
- Charlotte Bronte
- William Blake
- Oscar Wilde
- Ernest Hemingway
- James Joyce
- …
The Theories:
- Feminism
- Marxism
- Colonialism
- Post-Colonialism
- Anti-Colonialism
- Film theories
- Narratology
- Other theories
Contributions could be:
- Blog entry:
- short written text/report/summary/review about anything related to our topics
- Vlog entry:
- video report about anything related to our topics
- Interviews:
- conversation with anyone about anything related to our topics
- Infographics
- Video links:
- anything useful & related to our topics from YouTube
- Anything you wrote yourself:
- short stories, poems, dialogs, … (related to any of the topics)
- Photos, cartoons, memes, etc.
- … any other ideas?
Send an email to your tutor if you would like to sign up for any of these and to receive more information on the individual tasks. Your work will then be used for the website (anonymous or not, your choice).
Coversheet, Turnitin and friends
If you are not sure where to find the “coversheet” for the tutorial essays, you are in luck. Please find below a PDF version of the form.
Essay Coversheet Form – 1st year tutorial essay
If you can’t remember how to use Turnitin and get the digital receipt for your submission, follow these instructions:
Here are instructions from the Turnitin website.
And this is a very short video tutorial on how to create a receipt on Turnitin.
Here is the University of Sheffield’s guide to the digital receipt of Turnitin.
And here you will find Griffith University’s guide to Turnitin and digital / printed receipts.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
If you haven’t read The Picture of Dorian Gray yet, here are a few ways to do so:
Listen to the free audio book via LibriVox. You can download the app for your iPhone or Android and then search for The Picture of Dorian Gray. A lovely, older British gentleman will read the book for you there 🙂
This is another audio version (mp3 or mp4) of Dorian Gray.
You can also go to this website where you will find the online version of the book.
Gender, norms, performing and performative
Watch the following short video clips if you are interested in this topic and / or you are thinking about writing an essay about Cloud Nine.
Remember, the essay question is the following:
How and why is gender portrayed as a performance in Cloud Nine?
Judith Butler on Gender and performativity
Another clip to explain the concepts of gender, performativity and social concepts:
Judith Butler speaking at UCD about gender norms in 2015:
First Year Information Booklet
If you don’t have the little blue booklet or you don’t know where it is because it’s already been so long since they handed it to you when you came to UCC first: there is help!
You can find it online, click here or open the document down below.
You can find all the information you need on citations, presenting, grading, things you have to do and should do in there.
Here is the document for you to download:
Harlem Renaissance, Poetry, Claude McKay
Since there won’t be any tutorial for the Thursday groups this week, we would like you to work on the following TWO tasks by commenting on this post / emailing your tutor.
First task: Harlem Renaissance, Poetry, and Claude McKay
–> (Re)read the poems “If we must die”, “Tropics in New York”, and “America” by Claude McKay, compare the three and answer the following questions:
- What does the author say about America in his poems?
- What are his feelings towards the country?
- Do his feelings apply to present-day America and its situation?
If you don’t have the poems, a simple google search will help you locate the texts. E.g. there is a very sweet video done by National Geographic about “The Tropics in New York”. If you cannot find a copy, contact your tutor and they will provide you with a one.
Second task: Poems and writing
- Think of the different poems you have read about the US in the last couple of lectures and maybe reread them.
- Browse the news about what is going on in America currently.
- Now, write your own poem about the country. It can be long, short, sad, happy, stream of consciousness, anything really. You can even write a song or a ballad.
- Send the poem to your tutor via email and indicate if it is OK, if they publish it on the website anonymously under the section “student contributions”.
IMPORTANT: Complete both tasks by March 2nd, 2016.
If you complete both tasks successfully by the given deadline, you will get attendance for this class. There will NOT be a make up class. THIS online exercise is the make up class.
Photo source: GW English News
Writing your essay
Struggling with essay writing ? There is plenty of help!
Do you know Purdue? No? It is an excellent website for all things that have to do with writing. Go explore! Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
A brilliant video, explaining very clearly what to do, how to structure your essay and how to organize your paper. Watch it!
- Some words of advice from the Harvard Writing Center
- Birmingham University’s advice on writing
- The folks at University College Dublin also have a section on writing and specifically on writing essays.
- Might wanna check out your spelling and grammar. Ask Grammar girl and check out their website.
IMPORTANT: Don’t forget how important formatting, layout and grammar/spelling are!! Also, don’t forget page numbers!!!
Still need help? See the updates on “how to write” on this website for more information or contact your tutor or mentor at UCC (including several new links and videos!)
Cloud 9
Last week as well as this week, we discussed Cloud Nine by Caryl Churchill.
Discussion question:
What do you think of Churchill’s choice to have actors play characters opposite to their own sex. What are the implications of this choice? Why, do you think, did she write the play that way?
UCC English Tutorials 