The Relationship between Media and Gender in the Modern World
April 19, 2024
As I check my phone, turn on the TV or even subconsciously glance at the magazines near the Tesco checkout, the glaring links between media and gender jump out. This may not even be noticeable to some anymore, but the stereotypes and ideals associated with gender are often a key avenue in media. The problem …
Learning to read… and re-read
December 11, 2023
Reflecting on my time as an English student, a large part of my enjoyment has come from exposure to an array of diverse literature. From Old English elegies, to gothic comics, to creative writing, I’ve certainly not been short on options. But accompanying this range was a feeling of ‘switching brains’ to fully engage with …
Oppenheimer and The Waste Land
October 10, 2023
Early on in Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film Oppenheimer, there is a whirlwind montage of the young J. Robert Oppenheimer imagining phenomena within quantum physics. We see visions of the universe, atoms and waveforms intercut with shots of Oppenheimer surrounded by art, history, and monumental architecture. It is a kaleidoscopic composition signifying the turbulence of the …
Keeping up with my contemporary reads whilst studying as an English student
July 31, 2023
Reading for pleasure can be tricky as an English student. Finding the time to balance the reading that my course prescribes me with my own personal reads is something I have often struggled with. Unfortunately, time and time again I have had to prioritise the reading for my course at the expense of the books …
How MA Applied English made me a better museum professional when I least expected it
July 5, 2023
I graduated with my BA in English Studies from UoN way back in 2004; 19 years later, in 2023, I’m just about to hand in the final piece of work of my MA in Applied English, studied via Distance Learning. In my tour guide costume at the National Justice Museum The Galleries of Justice, now …
Podding along: studying a distance learning MA as a mature student
April 5, 2023
It seems a lifetime ago when I was timidly embarking upon the Applied English Distance Learning MA back in 2020. I remember feeling waves of self-doubt about completing MA – after so many years away from Higher Education – questions played on repeat through my mind, haunting me with fears of not being good enough, …
Why we should read poetry and prose aloud
March 8, 2023
Reading poetry or prose aloud has long been a popular tradition. It is an oral work of art, allowing an audience to take in the sounds and rhythms that the internal mind cannot emulate. However, it wasn’t until last year did I really come to appreciate it. As a child, my parents would read lullabies …
Review on the power of prejudice in Harper Lee’s, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’
December 3, 2018
This blog post was written by first year English student, Harriet Mills. To Kill A Mockingbird was the novel that made me see that books are about way more than just the plot or ‘telling a story.’ After reading such a powerful book that explores the power of stereotypes and contextually the deep-rooted injustice within …
Harry Potter and the Library of Nostalgia
May 1, 2018
This blog post was written by first year English student, Polly Moss. Having reread the first Harry Potter book over Easter for my course, I was struck both by how nostalgic the book made me, as well as how far it was possible to continue to appreciate the series as both a child and as …
In Defence of ‘The YouTube Book’
March 9, 2018
This blog post was written by first year English student, Polly Moss. When walking into a Waterstones or WHSmith and heading to the Young Adult section nowadays it is not uncommon to come across a shelf reserved specifically for books written by YouTubers. Nestled among the vampire romance and dystopian fiction many remember as the …
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